Friends and Allies

It has occurred to me that if I were to blog more often, I would probably spend so much less time staring at a blank page, wondering where to begin. I’d spend less time on background info and more time making my point. So, I mentioned attending a Language Exchange with members of the Worker Rights Center, and their Wage Theft Campaign. The part I kept saying I would mention later, was that I had offered to nominate the Center for my congregation’s Share the Plate program, as they’ve recently lost some funding. The feedback I got was that financial contributions were certainly welcome, but what they really wanted was opportunities for workers to share their personal stories with various faith groups as part of their Wage Theft Campaign. So I said, I’ll look into what kind of options there are to be a guest speaker for one of our lay led services, and since I figured UUCP’s sermons were probably scheduled pretty far out, I’ll ask if there’s any interest from our sister congregation. One thing led to another, and if things work as I’m hoping, the WRC will be sharing their stories as part of a “Labor Sunday” service at one of our sister congregations here in the Valley.

This isn’t a campaign I ever saw myself involved in, but I was really touched by the time I spent with WRC workers. It seemed like I could make a meaningful contribution, even if it was just knocking on doors until someone said yes. I’ve found myself volunteering to become more involved in the campaign and some other potential projects.

I’ve been thinking a great deal about my role as an ally. I’ve had to check myself a few times, ready to run full steam ahead with some fabulous idea (some of y’all know these as “Cyndi’s delusions of grandeur”), because this isn’t my party. I was invited to the party, then I volunteered to be a party planner, but the theme and the vision of the party are not mine. If I don’t keep that in mind, I am no longer an ally. So I stop and turn around, and ask for feedback and direction.

I was reading an article I came across at No More Deaths called Becoming An Ally. It’s a really good article overall, but I particularly like the How to section. I’ve crossed the borders of faith, culture, race, and language many times in one one one situations. I’ve crossed them as part of a multifaceted group in a supporting role, but never as an organizer. I’ve tried to keep these things in mind as I navigate my first effort at organizing an interfaith effort with racial, class, cultural, and language barriers.

Maybe it’s because this is so present in my mind right now, that I feel stung by comments from some of my fellow activists and members of my church family about the UniteAZ White Ribbon Campaign. These criticisms don’t seem to recognize the diverse theological and political views of our allied groups or their individual members.

I have friends who have worked tirelessly on the UniteAZ campaign and I have friends who feel it’s the wrong approach. I don’t see them often, but these are people who awe and inspire me with their passion and dedication. People who light up my heart every time I see them with the sheer force of their spirit, people that I can’t help but embrace when I see them. People I have prayed for, cried for, who have graced me with their support in my personal growth as an activist, their presence in my home, their gifts of serving as mentors and role models for my children and probably in many other ways I haven’t even begun to realize.

While the UUA at large and the Arizona congregations in particular have a special relationship with Puente, one in which we need to be accountable, we are also accountable to Somos America, Arizona Dream Act Coalition, National Council of La Raza… all of which have endorsed this campaign.

So when there is division among members of targeted communities, what is our role as allies?

The work that Puente does is critical, and I am a passionate supporter of their efforts. When push comes to shove, you will find me wherever the drums are nine times out of ten. That’s just me… in your face, ready to burn your eyelashes with the candle or slap you with a light bulb if that’s what it takes (but very gently, and with much love though… I promise).

But not everybody is comfortable in that role, and more importantly, there are people who will never be reached that way. I’ve seen people slow down and read the protest signs, seen looks of contemplation cross their faces, and I’ve prayed that they will seek out more information that will lead them, ultimately, to seek justice. But I’ve seen just as many people go out of their way to avoid coming close enough for direct eye contact. Those people might shove a flyer in their pocket, and look at it later…. and may also feel the call to justice.

I may not always agree with certain viewpoints or actions from individuals or groups, but I will always honor their path in this struggle. Who are we to say the effort of one targeted group is better than that of another in their fight for justice?  We are still tripping over our own insecurities and inadequacies. It is not for us, as allies, to choose sides among our friends or tell our allies what kind of party to throw when half the time we can’t even figure out what we’re supposed to bring to the potluck.

Related articles

• Where is the justice? (curlykidz.wordpress.com)
• Recall Election Set For Arizona “Papers Please” Law Sponsor (lezgetreal.com)
• What it Means to be an Ally for Racial Equity – Rev. Sam Trumbore (timesunion.com)
• Is Arizona Finally Fed Up with Right-Wing Politics? (time.com)

Finding Our Humanity: Calling on my fellow Euro-Americans

Last Sunday I was stopped by a member of my congregation… someone from what I call my church family. She mentioned THIS is why I cannot, will not, comply, written after I explained to my son that I would probably (or not) be arrested on the National Day of Non-Compliance. 

Arizona in Crayola: Multicultural, I guess. Non-Toxic, debatable.

 When I asked my son what might lead an officer to suspect someone was not in the country legally and he answered, with only a little doubt in his voice…

“Their race.”

To which I countered,

“What race are Americans?”

He responded, 

“White.”

With no hesitation. None whatsoever.

[snipped]

My son is only 14 years old, and already he’s picked up the subconscious message about who is American and who is not. My son is only 14 years old, it already it is imbedded somewhere in his subconscious that Americans are white.

 Read More

 
After confiding that she’d been thinking about that blog entry ever since, she started to talk about all the different classifications of Americans… Mexican, African, Native, Chinese etc.

I have to confess that I got a little nervous. Because the only thing harder than talking about race with people who are not white, in my experience, is talking about race with people who are. And I felt my shield go up, because I’ve heard one or two profoundly stupid things said in my church home, and I wasn’t sure what was coming. I was afraid it would be some argument about how all those prefixes should be dropped, and my mind was racing because I hadn’t been mentally prepared for a “that thing you said” conversation. But then she asked, “But what am I? Am I Caucasian or European American?” And I responded cautiously, still not sure where we were headed, “Well, there would be Italian, German, and Irish American…”

And then she asked the million dollar question. What can she do, in her day-to-day interactions, to challenge the assumption that Americans are of European descent by default, and everything else is “other.”

I wish I’d had a better answer. I’m a unusal case (in more ways than one, I know…) in that outside of work and church on Sunday, very few people who I see on a daily or weekly basis are white. I shared with her that I make it a point (with people who tend to use race or ethnicity to describe others when it is not relevant to the conversation), to mention EVERYONE’S race (aka, my “this white lady at walgreens” story), I don’t have those kinds of conversations often.

Tonight I was at a volunteer meeting for the Community Posada and someone (not white) mentioned Euro-Americans in a conversation, which was the motivation I needed to write this post and not table it until after I get all the other drafts in my head published. Most of the discussion on what I write happens in the link comments on my Facebook wall, but for the sake of centralizing feedback and hopefully providing some ideas and resources for others, I’d like to ask people to comment here and not on FB. You don’t need to sign up for an account to comment.

I want to hear from my Anglo/Euro/Caucasian American readers. Do you consciously use language to counteract the assumption that Americans are white by default? What does that sound like? How and when do you use it? What kind of reactions do you get? If you don’t, what kind of ideas do you have?

Thanks to all of you in advance, and a very special thanks to my sister. You renewed my faith last Sunday, as well as my commitment to continue witnessing, LOUDLY, about the costs of racism to white people. As proud as we may be to fight for justice, we need to acknowledge that we are also fighting for our own humanity.

A PS… This was written as a call for reflection & discussion to white/euro/anglo/gring@ people because I feel strongly we need to take more responsibility in creating equality and justice for all. People of privilege shouldn’t be looking to the people who are being oppressed to show us the light when we’re holding the matches and candles. That said, if you don’t fall into the targeted demographic and you have a suggestion about how we can do better or want to point out something we may do with the best of intentions that we really shouldn’t, jump right in.

Related Articles

• Own Your Beauty: On Being Multi-Racial in the Racist, Rural South (blogher.com)
• Why Racial Profiling Persists in Medical Research (time.com)
• All Are Alike Unto God: A Reaction to Margaret Blair Young and Darius Aidan Gray’s _Standing On the Promises_ Series (motleyvision.org)



consult PPR_SCRIBE’S GUIDE TO BLOGGING ABOUT RACIST CRAP

I bookmarked this two years ago, and I can’t believe it seems more relevant now than it did then. 

 

via GUIDE TO BLOGGING ABOUT RACIST CRAP.

Related Articles

• How to tell someone they’re Racist (pinkbananaworld.com)

migrations | Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix

Are you a US citizen? Fair question… what I worry won’t be fair is who gets asked, and who gets believed. When it comes to immigration, “innocent until proven guilty” no longer seems to apply.  Not only does this criminalize undocumented workers, most of whom are guilty only of the CIVIL (not criminal) crime of crossing the border, but also criminalizes US citizens & legal resident aliens.

How long does it take to prove your immigration status if you don’t have your birth certificate and/or passport with you? How long does it take when you do? There are news stories that document citizens and legal resident aliens being detained for up to three days, stories of citizens and legal resident aliens being deported.

How would you explain to your employer why you didn’t make it to work for three days? Who would care for your children?

Todos somos Arizona.

Are you a U.S. citizen?” he asks my husband.

“Yes.” What would have happened ten years ago, before my husband was naturalized?

“Are you a U.S. citizen, ma’am?” he asks, his gaze shifting to me.

“Yes.” I begin to panic. I never thought to bring our family’s passports along. For heaven’s sake, we’re trying to pass from Arizona to California.

“Are the children both U.S. citizens?”

“Yes.”

via migrations | Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Phoenix

CNN Newsroom: Blog Archive – U.S. Citizens Deported « – CNN.com Blogs

“You know what this proves to you? That in Arizona, they want everybody to be able to prove they’re legally in the country. They want everybody to prove that they’re an American citizen. Here we had an American citizen, that the federal government, not state authorities, but the federal government, with all their technology and all their information capacity that they have, could not determine, for more than three days, his status as an American citizen. It’s very, very, very dangerous ground to tread,” the Chicago Democrat said.

Source: Tragic result of immigration policy

A decision recently in the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) underscores the tragic impact that current U.S. immigration policy has on families of legal U.S. residents and citizens.

In its decision (Wayne Smith and Hugo Armendariz et al, v. United States), the IACHR found that U.S. deportation policy violates fundamental human rights because it fails to consider evidence concerning destruction of families and the best interest of the children of deportees.

via Tragic result of immigration policy | desmoinesregister.com | The Des Moines Register

Maintaining that the U.S. government was behind a U.S. citizen’s imprisonment for more than a year in the United Arab Emirates, the American Civil Liberties Union filed a lawsuit Wednesday seeking federal surveillance records.

via ACLU sues for government surveillance records of former Hawthorne man | L.A. NOW | Los Angeles Times

 

It’s official: white people done lost they minds

We don’t need no stinkin’ facts. Frankly, I’m more scared of white people than Al Qaeda sometimes. The Jihadists are crazy, but some of my people are giving them a run for their money.

Rep.Gohmert, with all due respect, YOU are a terrorist. YOU are terrorizing the American public with wild speculation about some theory that might potentially happen in some wild realm of your imagination. What you did on the house floor is no better than yelling “fire” in a crowded theater. There’s a difference between credible evidence and wild speculation, and you should be able to decipher where that line is.

I have pretty much gotten used to the average Joe on the street insulting another’s patriotism in a disagreement like this, but I really expect better from an elected official, and a former judge.

 

What’s wrong with the idea of mothers sneaking into the country, giving birth, and sneaking back elsewhere to lovingly rear their children into U.S.-hating mini-Osamas? Besides the fact that there’s no evidence of such a phenomenon?

via PostPartisan – Terror babies? Really?.

Tea Parties, Coffee Parties… let’s all just have CAKE

In discussions about immigration and SB1070, people from both sides of the issue are prone to making sweeping statements and accusations about the other.  I had a really awesome talk with a “small government” friend this week, and we shared experiences of trying to engage people on the other side of the debate in dialogue about the ISSUE and finding ourselves on the receiving end of personal insults, both disappointed that people don’t want conversation; they are just looking for confrontation.

*heavy sigh* We can all do better than this.

I come from a military family… my mother, father, stepfather, grandfather and great grandfather all served in the military, so I grew up “everywhere.” I’ve lived in at least eight states… both coasts, the south and the midwest. I’ve lived overseas twice, and had the opportunity to visit several other countries as a result. I know, as one of my favorite hymns goes, that other hearts are beating in other lands, all just as beautiful as mine.

This is my song, oh God of all the nations

a song of peace for lands afar and mine.

This is my home, the country where my heart is;

here are my hopes, my dreams, my holy shrine;

but other hearts in other lands are beating

with hopes and dreams as true and high as mine

a song of peace for their land and for mine.

My country’s skies are bluer than the ocean,

and sunlight beams on clover leaf and pine.

But other lands have sunlight too and clover,

and skies are everywhere as blue as mine.

This is my song, oh God of all the nations;

going to a party… a tea party, that is…

If you’re wondering if the title of this entry is a joke or a vie for your attention, it’s not. Well, definitely not the former, maybe a little bit the latter. This isn’t what I had planned for today, and even though this entry might make more sense if I publish the other one first, seeing as it is a detailed explanation of my personal views on SB1070, the article I have in draft will wait for another day, because right now I feel a need to “Witness.”

So, it happened like this… it was almost time to leave work, and I was well past done with stupid (I’ve been known to announce to the department, “Ok, that’s it… I’m done with stupid!”), and when I got up to put some docs I’d just reviewed in the next person’s inbox, and decided to visit a friend’s desk to insist that the happy hour we’ve been talking about for approximately two months needed to happen soon. He tortured me by listing all the weekends he’ll be out of town (damn single people), mentioned something about a rally he was planning on attending in DC, and then commented that he’d been planning on making me go to happy hour with him anyway.

Is it a tea party rally?

Well, no, but there’s nothing wrong with that. And a brief conversation about media coverage of tea party rally’s ensued… then,

How are you planning to “make” me go do something we’ve been talking about for two months?

Well, I know you and I agree on a LOT of stuff but we don’t believe the same things. And I know you’re not a wagon jumper… I know that you don’t just jump on the bandwagon, you have solid reasons behind it.

That boy couldn’t have melted my heart faster if it had been butter & he’d been holding a blowtorch. But I figured this had probably come up as a result of me wearing my Standing on the Side of Love shirt to work on July 30th, the day after the protests, which I realized in retrospect probably fueled a lot of speculation as to whether I’d spent the night in jail (alas, but no…).

So we got into a conversation about SB1070, and I explained my views on border security, the immigration system, and SB1070… what I think the problems are, what I think would fix them, etc. He listened, nodded frequently, and at the end of my monologue, said basically that my arguments are really solid, and when he’s tried to have conversations with people, all they can say is that it’s racist. To which I replied, “I agree that it’s racist, and this is why…” and as I spoke, he nodded, cracked a few grins cuz you all know I have no filters, and then said, “That totally makes sense, but nobody else that I have talked to has explained it that way.” And I talked a little bit about race relations, that in my experience, on one side you have a group of people who are very uncomfortable talking about race in mixed company because on the other hand, you have white people who are very uncomfortable hearing about race in mixed company. We as a whole are not very good at differentiating between personal racism and institutional racism, and white people are especially bad at it, and tend to assume that anytime someone says this law is racist, that they personally are being called racist and they immediately get defensive. The wall goes up and the communication goes down the toilet. More agreement from him, and he lamented that because he has favored the law, he’s been immediately being labeled a racist. I lamented that because I oppose it, because I actually believe in what we printed on the fucking Statue of Liberty, I get to be called anti American.

So as I’m preparing to go, he says, So do you want to go to a tea party rally with me? I thought about being in close quarters with that many white people (and yes, I have looked in a mirror lately)… “No, not really.” “C’mon, why? I’m serious, I’ve been to several and I’ve never seen anything like what hits the news. They’ve always been the nicest people, they just believe in small government like I do.”

And so I had to ask myself, OK Cyndi… WHY? You talked yourself hoarse two weeks ago about media bias and how deeply imbedded in our subconscious these racialized images are. Do you really believe that, and if you do, then you know that your reluctance to go anywhere with this friend who you admire and respect is based solely on a media stereotype. You’ve been all about the first principle… do you really affirm and promote the inherent dignity of all people? How many times have you commented wryly that you’re always preaching to the damn choir? You’re always talking about being the change you want to see in the world. Are you really open minded, or is that just CYNDI”S spin? Is this an opportunity for you to learn something and hopefully teach something?

So as I walked out I said over my shoulder, “I’ll go to a tea party rally with you if you go to an event with me.”

He said, Done deal.

I hope he likes yellow.

Think Mexico’s economy has nothing to do with US? Think again…

This isn’t so much a blog as a list of articles about how US Policy has impacted Mexican agriculture and economy.

Cyndi Whitmore’s Facebook Links

Today, August 10, 2010, 13 minutes ago

Down on the Farm: NAFTA’s Seven-Years War on Farmers and Ranchers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico

Today, August 10, 2010, 13 minutes ago | Cyndi WhitmoreDown on the Farm: NAFTA’s Seven-Years War on Farmers and Ranchers in the U.S., Canada and Mexico

Source: http://www.citizen.org

DWINDLING INCOMES FOR SMALL FARMERS IN THE U.S., CANADA AND MEXICO, LOST FARMS AND RURAL CRISIS IS NAFTA’S LEGACY

Disadvantages of NAFTA – Problems with NAFTA – Negative Effects of NAFTA

Today, August 10, 2010, 13 minutes ago | Cyndi WhitmoreDisadvantages of NAFTA – Problems with NAFTA – Negative Effects of NAFTA

Source: useconomy.about.com

An outline of the disadvantages of NAFTA.

US Subsidies Cost Mexican Farmers Billions | Portal for North America

Today, August 10, 2010, 14 minutes ago | Cyndi WhitmoreUS Subsidies Cost Mexican Farmers Billions | Portal for North America

Source: http://www.portalfornortham…

A study released in early December 2009 argues that American agricultural dumping has cost Mexican farmers billions of dollars since the implementation of NAFTA in 1997. While the report, written by Timothy A. Wise, the Director of the Research and Policy Program at the Global Development and Envir…

TripAtlas.com – About North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement

Today, August 10, 2010, 14 minutes ago | Cyndi WhitmoreTripAtlas.com – About North_American_Free_Trade_Agreement

Source: tripatlas.com

The North American Free Trade Agreement is the trade bloc in North America created by the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and its two supplements, the North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation (NAAEC) and The North American Agreement on Labor Cooperation (NAALC), whose member…

Where We Work: Mexico

Today, August 10, 2010, 14 minutes ago | Cyndi WhitmoreWhere We Work: Mexico

Source: http://www.madre.org

MADRE is an international women’s human rights organization that uses human rights to advance social justice.

Greenpeace protests genetically modified corn in Mexico – CNN.com

Today, August 10, 2010, 15 minutes ago | Cyndi WhitmoreGreenpeace protests genetically modified corn in Mexico – CNN.com

Source: http://www.cnn.com

Mexico saw the first public protests this weekend over the government’s decision to allow cultivation of the first genetically modified corn, which environmentalists and others say could ruin the nation’s native crop.

Witness for Peace:HAMPTONS ONLINE: What Drives Migration? Surprise, It’s Corn

Today, August 10, 2010, 15 minutes ago | Cyndi WhitmoreWitness for Peace:HAMPTONS ONLINE: What Drives Migration? Surprise, It’s Corn

Source: http://www.witnessforpeace.org

This January, a delegation of 15 Long Islanders traveled to Oaxaca, Mexico, to explore the roots of migration from Mexico to the United States, meeting with Mexican migration experts, interviewing migrants, and visiting communities affected by migration. During the trip, the delegation – which i…

NAFTA AND U.S. CORN SUBSIDIES: EXPLAINING THE DISPLACEMENT OF MEXICO’S CORN FARMERS | PROSPECT

Today, August 10, 2010, 30 minutes ago | Cyndi WhitmoreNAFTA AND U.S. CORN SUBSIDIES: EXPLAINING THE DISPLACEMENT OF MEXICO’S CORN FARMERS | PROSPECT

Source: prospectjournal.ucsd…

By Rick Relinger This paper intends to explicate the causal relationship between U.S. federal subsidies for domestically produced corn and the post-NAFTA

Inspired Faith, Effective Action » A Very Brief Primer on U.S.-Mexican History

Another informative article from Kat, which links to some of the best/worst video I took during the protests & vigils.

Why am I writing about this? There are people who complain that immigrants come here and do not attempt to assimilate into U.S. culture. That actually isn’t true, but it’s clear from our history that U.S.Americans have done just that, and not only refused to assimilate but then took the land from their host nation…twice. There are people who have said that undocumented immigrants from Mexico are ignoring the law by crossing the border between our two nations without papers. It’s clear from our history that Mexicans have lived on this land long before it was called the U.S. When the U.S. annexed the land (by force) it split extended families apart so that some were now U.S. citizens and some remained Mexican citizens. There are people who draw a firm distinction between Mexicans and Indians (Native Americans), tolerating the presence of Native Americans but insisting that Mexicans should stay “out” unless they have a piece of paper allowing them “in.” It’s clear from our history that even Euro-Americans once recognized the commonality between Mexicans and Indians and there are Native people who still recognize that commonality today. Some of the most vocal protestors of SB1070 are Native Americans, who object to the exclusion of their sisters and brothers down south, and who themselves are the targets of racial profiling. A recent activist arrested for protesting SB1070 asked a question that has stuck with me, and I hope it will stick with others: “Why are people who are indigenous to this land being checked for status by people who are settlers of this land?”

via Inspired Faith, Effective Action » Blog Archive » A Very Brief Primer on U.S.-Mexican History – Multicultural Growth & Witness at the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations.

Many Christians are “missing the mark” on immigration

My heart has been grieving over the immigration battle brewing in the state of Arizona. SB1070 is nothing short of government sponsored terrorism toward people of color, particularly our Mexican brothers and sisters.

I do consider both Mexican nationals, and Americans of Mexican descent, to be my brothers and sisters. I try to think of all the people in this world as my extended family. Why? Because I am a Christian and the Bible tells me that my God created all men and women in His image and calls us His children.

And while I do understand that some of the people who are being terrorized by this law have come to America illegally, I also understand that many American citizens are being terrorized as well. I wonder how this law can be applied without resorting to racial profiling, effectively making “brown the new black.”

As I have researched further into the issue, I have discovered the racist origins of the new law, and the [un]surprisingly stacked deck against people of color being able to immigrate legally to America. I encourage all Americans to uncover the truth of these things for themselves and give it serious thought.

But beyond the origins SB1070 and the legalities of immigration, I feel very strongly about this issue from the human rights perspective.

You see, America rapes and plunders the world.

We steal the resources of third world nations. We rob the people of these nations by paying shockingly sub-par wages. We industrialize and mine in them without following our own environmental standards. We wage wars and make refugees out of the citizens.

Doesn’t it make sense that the people we steal from would attempt to follow their wealth and resources to America? Mexico and Latin America are being destroyed by America’s drug war. Latinos are having their homes and neighborhoods taken over by cartels and gangs and we did this!

We have made them refugees and when they come here seeking the freedom and opportunities that we have denied them, we treat them like the worst kinds of criminals. Most of the people who immigrate illegally into the US are not criminals – they are hard working, honest, and good people. The supposed crime statistics just don’t add up.

So how can we, who call ourselves Christians, support the violent offenses against our brothers and sisters? Do they deserve to have their homes raided? Do families deserve to be torn apart? Do children need to lose their parents? Do honest, hard-working people (who otherwise would never be allowed to come here, check the history!) deserve to be treated like the scum of the earth?

Let me just say this before moving on – Manifest destiny is not proof of “God’s blessing” on America. Manifest destiny is the rationalization of theft in the name of God. Think about it. How would be feel about Mexico’s “manifest destiny” to take back their original lands? Yeah, I thought so.

Just because we are experiencing difficult economic times in our nation, does that mean it’s ok to develop a mob mentality and start going after “those dirty Mexicans who steal all of our jobs”?

Those who claim to be Christians should be doing anything in their power to alleviate pain and suffering on our planet. Starting with how we treat those people who are already here, and then extending that grace to the nations we have been destroying. Why? Because Jesus tells us to to bring heaven to earth!

“This, then, is how you should pray:
‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.^‘

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Matthew 6:9-15

Jesus asks us to pray for God’s kingdom to be on earth as it is in heaven. We have been bringing hell to earth and robbing the people of this planet of their peace and joy. Do you think the kingdom of God is so divided? Will there is Mexico Heaven and America Heaven and Canada Heaven? I think not! We are one planet, one people.

“The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14

The entire law, which Jesus came to fulfill, can be summed up as loving your neighbor as yourself.
I have read this carefully, and I haven’t found that is specifies only white neighbors, or “good” neighbors, or “nice” neighbors, or Christian neighbors. It just says neighbors. Whether your neighbors are the people who live next door to you in your neighborhoods, or they are the neighbors of our nation, this text applies. We are to love them as we love ourselves.

We have destroyed their homes and stolen their resources. We have done the opposite of loving our neighbor. Would you steal, destroy, and pillage your own family? Would you condone the ripping apart of loved ones? Yet, we do! As long is it’s a mentality of us vs. them.

So, maybe you can’t see immigrants as your neighbor yet. Although you should, I understand we are all on varying stages of acceptance. I know many ‘Christians’ who see immigrants as enemies who steal jobs, burden our economy, and reap the benefits of American tax dollars. If that is the case, you are still without excuse!

“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you: Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you.” Matthew 5:43-44

Because we are called to love even our enemies and to pray for those who persecute us! Love them, for God *is* love, and God created us all. There is divinity in every person on this planet. We all bear the image of God.

Your hatred and treatment of immigrants is the same as murder. Did you get that Christians?

“You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.” Matthew 5:21-22

Those are strong words, but they are needed. We humans are pretty thickheaded. Christians, I fear, even more so. We read these words, but fail to even come close to living up to them. We are supposed to be the radical ones on this planet. Not living life in judgment of all those around us, condemning them for their sins. No, we are supposed to be radical in our love, radical in how we treat one another, radical in meeting the needs of those who are weak, hungry, sick, poor, and downtrodden.

Christians in the first century church sold all their possessions and gave to those in the community so that none had need. Think about what America does. Rather than give up even some of our possessions and wealth to those in need, we steal even more! We are so far from the calling of Christ.

I challenge you to rethink what it means to be a Christian and what stance you should be taking on immigration. Think about how you need to change yourself and your thoughts first, and then focus an eye on changing the hurts of our world. Immigrants don’t need to be vilified…they need to be loved, treated with respect, and shown the true light of Christ’s message. Sadly, all they see from us – supposed Christians – is darkness, hatred, and fear.

The word ‘sin’ in the original Greek means “to miss the mark” Christians are indeed missing the mark on this issue, and many more that relate directly to how we treat others. Not only are we guilty of this sin, but we make the message of Christ unappealing. You represent Christ….so, how are you doing with that?

She loves me, she loves me not: Black, White, or Illegal Alien?

I touched on issues surrounding the term illegal alien* a couple weeks ago in Walking the (color)Line, when I mentioned a couple ways I suspected this term has affected my children’s perceptions of the Latino community. There was a part of me that wondered whether I was reading too much into things… but let’s just say that’s no longer a concern. Within the last week or two, I read a blog or article about multiracial girls being asked what color their husbands would be. I wondered if Halle had ever heard or been asked something like this. I made a little note to self to bring it up, but Thursday night in the car, she raised the subject. She was talking about how she was going to date a boy for one year when she grew up, and asked if that was too long. I told her it depended on the boy; with some boys, a year might be too long, with another, a year may not be long enough. She suddenly started talking about whether this boy might be white or black and something about so and so… I interrupted and asked if people asked her that, and she confirmed. Then I asked, “Do you guys talk about that?” and she responds matter of factly, “Oh, yeah.” I asked if that was something that had just come up this year, and she said no, it was last year too. I asked how it came up, and she said, just when they talk about who they think is cute. She continued with her story…   

“Anyway, so and so asked me once, and I said he would probably be Black or White, but not Mexican, but then I met Tristan, and I like him and I think he’s cute, and he’s Mexican…”   

Her voice trailed off.   

I asked why she hadn’t thought she would date someone who was Mexican before Tristan.   

“Well, cuz they do a lot of bad things. I mean, they’re always on the news cuz they’re criminals… and stuff.”   

cue my breaking (anti-racist) heart.   

Needless to say, we had an immediate conversation about perception, stereotypes, racism, media bias, and Bull Connor Jr. Nickel Bag Joe Sherrif Arpaio. And we will continue to have these conversations (and others, like how there are a lot more people in the world than just Black, White or Hispanic), because this IS a big problem. And it’s not because this flies in the face of what I believe personally, but because the seed of racism is finding roothold in the heart of THIS child.   

Her love is like the ocean...

 

This is my UU, social justice, civil action child. This is the child who drew the line with her peers over the n-word. This is the child who has volunteered to mentor special needs kids or served in student government or both for three of the four years she’s been attending her current school. This is the child whose teacher has made it a point to contact me no less than three times so far this school year to express his gratitude to and  praise the way Halle had befriended a new ESL student, which makes me wonder that my daughter’s unreserved offer of friendship is already rare by the age of 10. This is the child who took the initiative, unsolicited, and went to a Spanish-speaking teacher to get a “cheat sheet” of basic conversational phrases, and carried two spanish english dictionaries with her every day for the first two months of school.   

“Now think carefully about what I’m saying, and why it matters. Here was a woman who no longer could recognize her own children; a woman who had no idea who her husband had been; no clue where she was, what her name was, what year it was; and yet, knew what she had been taught at a very early age to call black people. Once she was no longer capable of resisting this demon, tucked away like a ticking time bomb in the far corners of her mind, it would reassert itself and explode with a vengeance. She could not remember how to feed herself. She could not go to the bathroom by herself. She could not recognize a glass of water for what it was. But she could recognize a nigger. America had seen to that, and no disease would strip her of that memory. Indeed, it would be one of the last words I would hear her say, before finally she stopped talking at all. “ ~Tim Wise, White Like Me   

This is the depth of our racist conditioning.   

*If you’re unaware of the controversy over the term Illegal Alien or just don’t get why people are “making such a big deal about it” or that it’s not just about being politically correct, I found an article that sums up what is so very wrong about this expression very well: Why use of the term “illegal alien” is inaccurate, offensive, and should be eliminated from our public discourse. | Border Crossing Law Blog.

 

 

 

 

             

 

  

When one refers to an immigrant as an “illegal alien,” they are using the term as a noun. They are effectively saying that the individual, as opposed to any actions that the individual has taken, is illegal. The term “illegal alien” implies that a person’s existence is criminal. I’m not aware of any other circumstance in our common vernacular where a crime is considered to render the individual – as opposed to the individual’s actions – as being illegal. We don’t even refer to our most dangerous and vile criminals as being “illegal.”