It is good to have an admin that foregrounds human rights issues, just as it's necessary to directly confront America's own dismal, violent history of violating those rights. For most of the past 250 years the US has displayed rank hypocrisy, with only the 1970 and 80s offering any substantial respite from slavery, racist terror, lynchi…
It is good to have an admin that foregrounds human rights issues, just as it's necessary to directly confront America's own dismal, violent history of violating those rights. For most of the past 250 years the US has displayed rank hypocrisy, with only the 1970 and 80s offering any substantial respite from slavery, racist terror, lynchings, massacres and riots, biased and draconian laws, and police brutality.
Like many readers, I hope that Dr Richardson will again, and soon, address the matter of the Atlanta mass murders in the context of struggles over rights. This could be a watershed moment -- hopefully the Atlanta atrocity galvanizes American support behind equal rights for all, as the George Floyd protests did last year. In one week the Asian American community has made dramatic strides in organizing for protests; there is still much to learn from Black American political organization.
A key sign will be the extent to which different segments of society identify their own struggles with other, related ones. That is another promising type of political action that Republicans face with mortal dread. I can't wait to be part of regular large, well-integrated crowds in the coming summer protests. We The People, All Of Us This Time, Every Time, For All Time!
My eyes turned a bit away as did my mind while reading today's Letter. I woke up with ten people dead in Colorado. As I write these words the massacres are fixed in me. I see the people in the stores in which I shop; the worn coats and assorted shopping bags as we trudge through the aisles. We keep our distance; bend over each other to reach a jar on a high shelf. We can't see each other's smiles, just our tired eyes. Without a pause, I then see the eyes of Asian commentators and talk-show guests. The faces of reporters and hosts look as those they are stunned and awkwardly approach those that have been maimed and carry the marks in their minds and bodies of always feeling discriminated against and made small.
Heather mentioned the voter suppression bills. They mark our history, our mates, families, friends, neighbors, colleagues... They mark us all. I cannot get away from this. I will mail my tax return forms, clean the apartment and talk to a couple of friends; all the while, these murders, the gun violence, the mental illnesses, the hatred, isolation, social media, scapegoating, small minds and dark places drench all else. The nobility of Joe and Jill Biden, the gigantic efforts made by the people in the administration and the heavy toll on the good Americans are the lights I see on this day of little visibility.
TPJ helped me write this today. The force of his feelings and words brought me out. I join TPJ, all other subscribers and the people in the USA on this day of mourning with the determination to make life right for us all.
Thank you to those who appreciate my comments, but you all are the ones who inform and influence me. There is a high standard of thinking and writing to match on LFAA.
The Boulder atrocity is simply too much, too soon. We've barely begun to process the Atlanta killing and grieve for our dear fellow Americans murdered there.
My family has ties to Colorado going back to the 1880s. Dad born in Denver; family land (now sold) in Rifle Boebert's district; several summers in camp in Florissant; brother and SIL went to Colorado College; cousins in Littleton. We're among the few who heard of Littleton before Columbine, and have fond memories from visiting. I wish to recall the good times.
At dozens of racial-justice rallies, and hundreds of protests over the decades, I survey the crowds for numbers and composition. Asian Americans are a visible presence since we lost George Floyd. I noticed very few Black Americans at the two Atlanta-related vigils, and two Zoom meetings, I attended in the last week. This is truly unfortunate, but still, Blacks care deeply about the travails of fellow Americans also besieged by white supremacist hate, so hopefully support increases for Asian American rights. The benefits of well-integrated, diverse protests multiply and ramify beyond particular causes and tragedies. Supporting other people's rights boosts our own and many others.
TPJ, A dear friend, a teacher, lives in Englewood, CO. She texted me soon after learning of the massacre, and I was about to text her about it when I saw hers to me. I have visited Colorado a few times, spent a some time in Boulder and will look up Florissant. Can you tell us where you family's land was? Wherever we may be, we are alongside the Coloradans.
Granddad bought land as an investment near Rifle CO in the 1930s or 40s, I believe. We visited once on vacation but none of us lived there or derived benefits; it caused bitter quarrels among our elders til they sold it in 1980s, retaining underground mineral rights (still nothing). Family land and Rep Boebert both in/near Rifle = never worth the trouble!
CO has its own tragically distinctive history of hatred and violence.
Sand Creek Massacre 1864
Washita Massacre 1868
Ludlow Massacre 1913
Columbine, Aurora, Boulder Massacres
These are just from memory. Undoubtedly there are more, but I cannot bear to think about or look up others. It's time to write in sympathy to my cousin in Littleton.
Sorry to have taken you to the unfortunate investment and the differences that ensued. Communication with my friend in CO included that Boulder had enacted bans on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. A state district court judge ruled this month that Boulder could not enforce the bans. The country's addiction to guns assaults us without end. TPJ, your mind and heart always seem full. I wish that good thoughts and rich experiences outweigh the sorrow. Thank you for your generosity.
Thanks so much, Fern. It's really no big deal now for us and our cousins.
In 2018 there was a 30-second photo op with Eliz Warren and Ayanna Pressley. I said that, if they ever were in position to form a cabinet, go with the Parkland FL students, who are ready RIGHT NOW. Sen Warren said "You are so right! They are great!" Several weeks later she declared for president. Whoops!
In late 2019 I had the privilege of meeting one of my heroes: Jaclyn Corin, MSDHS '19, in her freshman college year. I asked and she agreed to speak to my class, but then the pandemic engulfed all ... the rest is history.
Those are my recent brushes with greatness, I suppose. We are but plankton borne on the tides of fate.
...human rights issues, including the right to freedom from gun violence--as we were so painfully reminded once again by the mass shooting in Boulder, CO.
If we want to end armed violence, what will the gun owners do with all those guns ? Can you picture something happening that would convince them to recycle them into something usefull? This requires a lot of creative imagination. What new behavior can replace their insecure behavior? If I were a teacher in a room full of kindergarteners, how would I divert their attention to something productive? And meanwhile the mafias and gangs don’t know another way to exist. How do we teach them, teach them another way?
Maybe we can ask Jill Biden if she has some ideas?
Several countries and US states have had successful gun buyback initiatives. Australia had two very effective buyback campaigns, with destruction of surrendered firearms. Scrap metal has many worthwhile uses. Let's get "scrappy," folks!
I don't even remember which buyback campaign here in the US started it, but I posted an article on Facebook lauding one such effort - and that was the beginning of the dissolution of my family ties on Facebook. You'd think I was trying to walk into their houses and confiscate all their toys the way my sibs and sibs-in-law reacted, when all I was saying was that this was a good way to encourage people to get rid of firearms they didn't want or need.
Like TPJ writes, gun buybacks. Southern California law enforcement agencies have had periodic gun buyback campaigns.
Swords into plowshares. I think of that when I watch colorguard members of drum & bugle corps and high school/college marching bands spin that wooden rifle facsimile high up into the air and catch it--without getting any heads cracked!
This is not the answer for present day owners of gun arsenals. The change will require gun safety laws with enforcement in the short term, and educating our young in the long term.
TPJ, you have highlighted for me one of the issues that has dogged the reformist movements for more than 50 years: the problem of one reformist group (such as the 1960s version of the Black Panthers) not being willing to join up with other reformist groups (such as the Women's Movement--which had its own huge problems in the 1960s and 1970s with racism and homophobia). The push these days toward an understanding of the impact of intersectionality on the human condition--that it is not enough to locate the forms of oppression within one state of being but in the combination of lived realities--is a relief to me and has to continue and be a lot more publicly acknowledged and discussed.
It's highly significant that women's-rights activism emerged partly in response to sexism and marginalization in the 1960s antiwar and Civil Rights movements. There was a rallying cry then: "Chicks up front!" So the roosters shoved the "chicks" to the forefront of crowds -- often without informed or any consent -- believing (falsely) that police and Natl Guard were less likely to shoot women. With such disregard, it'd be more surprising if a revitalized women's movement did NOT arise.
It is good to have an admin that foregrounds human rights issues, just as it's necessary to directly confront America's own dismal, violent history of violating those rights. For most of the past 250 years the US has displayed rank hypocrisy, with only the 1970 and 80s offering any substantial respite from slavery, racist terror, lynchings, massacres and riots, biased and draconian laws, and police brutality.
Like many readers, I hope that Dr Richardson will again, and soon, address the matter of the Atlanta mass murders in the context of struggles over rights. This could be a watershed moment -- hopefully the Atlanta atrocity galvanizes American support behind equal rights for all, as the George Floyd protests did last year. In one week the Asian American community has made dramatic strides in organizing for protests; there is still much to learn from Black American political organization.
A key sign will be the extent to which different segments of society identify their own struggles with other, related ones. That is another promising type of political action that Republicans face with mortal dread. I can't wait to be part of regular large, well-integrated crowds in the coming summer protests. We The People, All Of Us This Time, Every Time, For All Time!
My eyes turned a bit away as did my mind while reading today's Letter. I woke up with ten people dead in Colorado. As I write these words the massacres are fixed in me. I see the people in the stores in which I shop; the worn coats and assorted shopping bags as we trudge through the aisles. We keep our distance; bend over each other to reach a jar on a high shelf. We can't see each other's smiles, just our tired eyes. Without a pause, I then see the eyes of Asian commentators and talk-show guests. The faces of reporters and hosts look as those they are stunned and awkwardly approach those that have been maimed and carry the marks in their minds and bodies of always feeling discriminated against and made small.
Heather mentioned the voter suppression bills. They mark our history, our mates, families, friends, neighbors, colleagues... They mark us all. I cannot get away from this. I will mail my tax return forms, clean the apartment and talk to a couple of friends; all the while, these murders, the gun violence, the mental illnesses, the hatred, isolation, social media, scapegoating, small minds and dark places drench all else. The nobility of Joe and Jill Biden, the gigantic efforts made by the people in the administration and the heavy toll on the good Americans are the lights I see on this day of little visibility.
TPJ helped me write this today. The force of his feelings and words brought me out. I join TPJ, all other subscribers and the people in the USA on this day of mourning with the determination to make life right for us all.
(Camb MA)just now
Thank you to those who appreciate my comments, but you all are the ones who inform and influence me. There is a high standard of thinking and writing to match on LFAA.
The Boulder atrocity is simply too much, too soon. We've barely begun to process the Atlanta killing and grieve for our dear fellow Americans murdered there.
My family has ties to Colorado going back to the 1880s. Dad born in Denver; family land (now sold) in Rifle Boebert's district; several summers in camp in Florissant; brother and SIL went to Colorado College; cousins in Littleton. We're among the few who heard of Littleton before Columbine, and have fond memories from visiting. I wish to recall the good times.
At dozens of racial-justice rallies, and hundreds of protests over the decades, I survey the crowds for numbers and composition. Asian Americans are a visible presence since we lost George Floyd. I noticed very few Black Americans at the two Atlanta-related vigils, and two Zoom meetings, I attended in the last week. This is truly unfortunate, but still, Blacks care deeply about the travails of fellow Americans also besieged by white supremacist hate, so hopefully support increases for Asian American rights. The benefits of well-integrated, diverse protests multiply and ramify beyond particular causes and tragedies. Supporting other people's rights boosts our own and many others.
TPJ, A dear friend, a teacher, lives in Englewood, CO. She texted me soon after learning of the massacre, and I was about to text her about it when I saw hers to me. I have visited Colorado a few times, spent a some time in Boulder and will look up Florissant. Can you tell us where you family's land was? Wherever we may be, we are alongside the Coloradans.
Granddad bought land as an investment near Rifle CO in the 1930s or 40s, I believe. We visited once on vacation but none of us lived there or derived benefits; it caused bitter quarrels among our elders til they sold it in 1980s, retaining underground mineral rights (still nothing). Family land and Rep Boebert both in/near Rifle = never worth the trouble!
CO has its own tragically distinctive history of hatred and violence.
Sand Creek Massacre 1864
Washita Massacre 1868
Ludlow Massacre 1913
Columbine, Aurora, Boulder Massacres
These are just from memory. Undoubtedly there are more, but I cannot bear to think about or look up others. It's time to write in sympathy to my cousin in Littleton.
Sorry to have taken you to the unfortunate investment and the differences that ensued. Communication with my friend in CO included that Boulder had enacted bans on assault-style weapons and large-capacity magazines after the school shooting in Parkland, Fla. A state district court judge ruled this month that Boulder could not enforce the bans. The country's addiction to guns assaults us without end. TPJ, your mind and heart always seem full. I wish that good thoughts and rich experiences outweigh the sorrow. Thank you for your generosity.
Thanks so much, Fern. It's really no big deal now for us and our cousins.
In 2018 there was a 30-second photo op with Eliz Warren and Ayanna Pressley. I said that, if they ever were in position to form a cabinet, go with the Parkland FL students, who are ready RIGHT NOW. Sen Warren said "You are so right! They are great!" Several weeks later she declared for president. Whoops!
In late 2019 I had the privilege of meeting one of my heroes: Jaclyn Corin, MSDHS '19, in her freshman college year. I asked and she agreed to speak to my class, but then the pandemic engulfed all ... the rest is history.
Those are my recent brushes with greatness, I suppose. We are but plankton borne on the tides of fate.
...human rights issues, including the right to freedom from gun violence--as we were so painfully reminded once again by the mass shooting in Boulder, CO.
If we want to end armed violence, what will the gun owners do with all those guns ? Can you picture something happening that would convince them to recycle them into something usefull? This requires a lot of creative imagination. What new behavior can replace their insecure behavior? If I were a teacher in a room full of kindergarteners, how would I divert their attention to something productive? And meanwhile the mafias and gangs don’t know another way to exist. How do we teach them, teach them another way?
Maybe we can ask Jill Biden if she has some ideas?
Several countries and US states have had successful gun buyback initiatives. Australia had two very effective buyback campaigns, with destruction of surrendered firearms. Scrap metal has many worthwhile uses. Let's get "scrappy," folks!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun_buyback_program
I don't even remember which buyback campaign here in the US started it, but I posted an article on Facebook lauding one such effort - and that was the beginning of the dissolution of my family ties on Facebook. You'd think I was trying to walk into their houses and confiscate all their toys the way my sibs and sibs-in-law reacted, when all I was saying was that this was a good way to encourage people to get rid of firearms they didn't want or need.
The mafias, gangs and nazis have managed to get elected.
Like TPJ writes, gun buybacks. Southern California law enforcement agencies have had periodic gun buyback campaigns.
Swords into plowshares. I think of that when I watch colorguard members of drum & bugle corps and high school/college marching bands spin that wooden rifle facsimile high up into the air and catch it--without getting any heads cracked!
This is not the answer for present day owners of gun arsenals. The change will require gun safety laws with enforcement in the short term, and educating our young in the long term.
Plowshares.
THE RIGHT TO FREEDOM FROM GUN VIOLENCE. Which amendment # will this be?
And Freedom from Fear of Gun Violence!
YES
TPJ, you have highlighted for me one of the issues that has dogged the reformist movements for more than 50 years: the problem of one reformist group (such as the 1960s version of the Black Panthers) not being willing to join up with other reformist groups (such as the Women's Movement--which had its own huge problems in the 1960s and 1970s with racism and homophobia). The push these days toward an understanding of the impact of intersectionality on the human condition--that it is not enough to locate the forms of oppression within one state of being but in the combination of lived realities--is a relief to me and has to continue and be a lot more publicly acknowledged and discussed.
It's highly significant that women's-rights activism emerged partly in response to sexism and marginalization in the 1960s antiwar and Civil Rights movements. There was a rallying cry then: "Chicks up front!" So the roosters shoved the "chicks" to the forefront of crowds -- often without informed or any consent -- believing (falsely) that police and Natl Guard were less likely to shoot women. With such disregard, it'd be more surprising if a revitalized women's movement did NOT arise.
Sara Evans, Personal Politics
Robin Morgan, Sisterhood is Powerful
_____, Sisterhood is Forever
Deborah Tannen, You Just Don't Understand
You GO, brother!
you totally rock, IMHO
Same here—I get my second vaccine today and I’m ready to march with real crowds.
With you, TPJ!
We The People, All Of Us This Time, Every Time, For All Time!