Therapy Day Ramble

     This is rambling as post-therapy often is:

     I had therapy today and it took an unexpected twist. We ended up talking about the Civil War, and I was being honest. it always seems if I do that I am judged as a racist by any Northerners listening. Somehow Northerners forget or do not know that Lincoln did not free the slaves until he was in danger of losing to the South and could not raise more troops. They do not know or care that Lincoln is the President that condemned the 38 Dakota men to die and executed them on December 26, 1862 in Mankato, MN. They do not know or care about the sharecropping system that replaced slavery that was hardly better for the freed slaves, or that the Northern robber barons gained their wealth often on the backs of blacks in the chain gangs after the war.

      Yesterday a neighbor of mine said that Louisiana sounded horrible. My bet is she’s never been lucky enough to ride in an air boat through the swamps and see the gorgeous cypress trees with their hanging Spanish moss, or listen to the blues in NOLA, or eat crab claws or shrimp so fresh you have to chase them around your plate. Definitely her loss. I don’t know many that go to the Deep South of vacation unless they go to the coast.

     I have lived in the North for 33 years. I have been told, to my face, that “every time I hear your accent I think you are uneducated, illiterate, and ignorant.” Great neighbor. It’s even better when you couple it with my having to fight tooth and nail to survive a racist upbringing I did not agree with and had to struggle to survive in as a two-spirited lesbian.            

     Prejudice never seems to end, does it? I hate you because you hate me because my great grandfather did this when yours did that, and on and on and on and where did that tooth for a tooth idea come from, anyway? And we put down Israel and Hamas? Really? Maybe we better do a little housecleaning of our own first.

     Here’s some ideas:

Keep 5 dollars in your pocket for the poor at the corner, or at least roll down your window and speak. Being seen is really important (Taught to me by a man who had been on the streets a lot.)

Actually tithe 10% of what you bring in or 1/40 of your wealth.

Buy a toy for that Toys for Tots box next year. (Mine was often the only one there this season.)

Make a meal for a homeless shelter.

Whatever your political leaning, show up for a protest.

Download the 5 calls app and actually use it.

Befriend that lone black kid that walks down your street, or the Muslim woman at the bus stop. 

Hug those in the wheelchair or the homeless, help them remember their humanity.

Check up on your neighbors who are brave enough to share their troubles with you. 

 

Remember, you are the only one who can build community around you.

Wake up, people, and just do it.

all my love,

Beth