Drawing Parallels

"By the breaking in of enraged merciless armies, flourishing countries have been laid waste, great numbers of people have perished in a short time, and many more have been pressed with poverty and grief." --John Woolman

I'm on Day 5 of my personal #Woolman14DayJusticeChallenge. My first four posts have been on Facebook, where I shared and commented on these articles:

• Day 1: Commentary: Time for a shift in state’s Department of Juvenile Justice
• Day 2: Three Years Old, Black and Suspended
• Day 3: Moving The Race Conversation Forward
• Day 4: Navajo Kindergartner Sent Home from School, Ordered to Cut His Hair

Day 5 is on the blog because I have a lot to say! Here is the article: Flying Out of Our Cages. As I planned my comments on Day 5, I was conscious of conflicts that were coming up for me. First, this article is about injustice in Palestine, and I'm not well educated about injustice in Palestine. But from what I do know, the dynamics feel very familiar. Next, because the conflict is so polarized, I feel an awareness that if I express sympathy for the plight of the Palestinians, I may offend some -- not just Israelis, but some of my Jewish American friends. I don't really know! We never talk about it! Sound familiar?  It's like, when I talk about the tragic killing of Michael Brown, some privileged folks jump to the defense of the European American police officer who shot and killed him. I never really know who will take a particular position, and I am frequently surprised. I don't know who I might offend with this post. But on Day 5, I'm drawing parallels.

So, do I risk offending people by speaking out on a topic on which I am not well educated? My answer is yes. I may say some uneducated things, and I may offend some people, but I will learn in the process, others may learn along with me, and that is progress. I want progress.

As I read this article, Flying Out of Our Cages by Palestinian psychiatrist Samah Jabr, the information felt familiar. The Palestinian men who she writes about are responding to their oppression in the same ways some African American men respond to oppression in the US. Of course! We're all humans. If our draw in life is oppression, we respond to that oppression in similar ways. If our draw in life is privilege, we respond to that privilege in similar ways. Similar dynamics are set up between the privileged and the oppressed. Similar arguments are made by individuals in the groups. The privileged dictate the dominant framing of the story. (Read "Who's afraid of a map? Palestine bus ads spark debate in Vancouver" for more on this topic. The article is the source for the map, above.) The oppressed dictate the fringe framing of the story. Privileged people who want to live with as little psychic pain as possible will stay within the confines of the dominant frame. Life is just easier there. Oppressed people can only live within the privileged frame through extreme contortions of their identities. So it doesn't happen very often.

In Israel and Palestine, Israelis are the privileged, and Palestinians are the oppressed. Israelis dictate the dominate framing of the discussion. Palestinians dictate the fringe framing of the discussion. Life is easier for Israelis who stay within the dominant framing of the discussion just as life is easier for European Americans who stay within the dominant framing of race issues in the US. Dominant framing of the issues in Palestine blames the Palestinians just as dominant framing of race issues in the US blames African Americans. You can't count on finding the truth in the dominant framing of issues because it is framed to benefit the privileged.

Drawing parallels can help people of privilege find the truth. It's not easy to do.

Remember Them: A Monument by Mario Chiodo in Fox Square, Oakland

I find that to be a fool as to worldly wisdom, and to commit my cause to God, not fearing to offend men, who take offence at the simplicity of truth, is the only way to remain unmoved at the sentiments of others. --John Woolman

Welcome to our new breakfast hangout! Leaving Palo Alto meant leaving our old favorite breakfast hangout, 3G's Cafe. Now we bring our breakfast with us and enjoy it at Fox Square. I've been experiencing the powerful monument, Remember Them, by Mario Chiodo. This morning, as I photographed the sculpture, a man approached me to ask me which was my favorite. We got talking, and then he came over to sit with Greg and me, and we talked about great leaders for justice throughout history. How perfect.

I've been in a heated exchange recently with someone who worries that I may be raising my daughter to have a "victim mentality". When I hear people express thoughts like that, it's like a hard, painful pinch. "Victim mentality" is stored in my brain as coded language to express the belief that the problems African Americans face in this country is largely due to poor attitudes. If they weren't so angry, if they weren't so resentful, if they just tried a little bit harder, the problem of racism would go away. A friend, just yesterday, frustrated by the "victim mentality" comment that I told her about, said to me, (I'm paraphrasing) "I wish white people could spend just one day with brown skin. Just one day." Then this morning I noted Abraham Lincoln's quote: "Whenever I hear anyone arguing for slavery, I feel a strong impulse to have it tried on him personally." If you don't personally experience the struggles of racial injustice, you can't ever fully understand. But you can move toward understanding. That's the main point of the Woolman 14 Day Justice Challenge: Read about injustice and share about it with others to move toward understanding. Then commit to speaking out against racial injustice without fearing to offend.

I expect the Woolman 14 Day Justice Challenge to remain always at the heart of A Woolman's Journey. Those courageous folks who complete the challenge will get permanent recognition here on the blog. (Of course you can remain anonymous if you choose.)

Remember the challenge: For fourteen days, read an article about injustice and post it to social media with an honest comment. Tag your post with #Woolman14DayJusticeChallenge.

If you are interested in my journey to speak my truth about racial injustice, please become a follower of the blog, A Woolman's Journey.

Visit www.remember-them.org to learn more about the monument and the artist.

Inaugural Post: The Woolman Fourteen Day Justice Challenge

"I had fresh confirmation that acting contrary to present outward interest, from a motive of Divine love and in regard to truth and righteousness, and thereby incurring the resentments of people, opens the way to a treasure better than silver, and to a friendship exceeding the friendship of men." John Woolman, 1774

John Woolman is my hero. At a time when Quaker slave ownership was common in the soon-to-be United States, he traveled all over the colonies to Quaker homes and Quaker meetings to preach his passionate truth: Slave ownership is wrong, and it is in conflict with the core Quaker belief in human equality. His work was the the kindling for the Quaker abolitionist movement. He died of small pox before he saw the fruits of his labor.

He was also against animal cruelty and economic oppression. He lived his life according to his beliefs. He told people not what they wanted to hear, but what he believed to be true. It was not easy for him. But he spoke his mind during the day, and he writhed with psychic pain at night.

Asher Woolman, a Quaker who once posted a notice in hopes of finding his runaway slave, was my 5th great grandfather. John Woolman was Asher's older brother. John Woolman is my hero.

That was all a long time ago. Today, Quakers still hold equality as a core value, and so do most people. Back then, it was hard for Quaker slave owners to take a hard look at themselves and say, "Slave ownership goes against my core principles, and therefore I will stop owning slaves." Today, it is hard for privileged European Americans to take a hard look at themselves and say, "Fostering an unjust system in the US goes against my core principles, and therefore I will stop fostering an unjust system."

The system in the US is mostly just for European Americans, but it is not just for African Americans. Too many European Americans fail to take a hard look at that fact. Too many European Americans gain a sense of superiority from their superior position in society, and instead of acknowledging the injustice in their superior status, they justify their superior status. They trick themselves. That, right there, is why injustice thrives in the US.

And so, a challenge! The Woolman Fourteen Day Justice Challenge. Your challenge is to learn about injustice over the next fourteen days. Each day for fourteen days, read an article about injustice and post it to social media with an honest comment. Tag your post with #Woolman14DayJusticeChallenge. You may incur resentments of people, but you will open "the way to a treasure better than silver."

Where to find the articles? Here are some suggestions:

• The Root
• Southern Poverty Law Center
• The Center for Racial Justice Innovation
• Color of Change

One article every day for fourteen days. Post the article to social media. Make an honest comment. Tag your post with #Woolman14DayJusticeChallenge. You can do this! <3