Forgive me if any of these topics stir up intense feelings. Sometimes I use my blog for myself to let the brainflow brainstorm, and try to understand what is happening in our world today.
I read a few articles this weekend that gave me a glimpse into the structure of our society, why the system works how it works, and why all of us should work together to make it equal for all.
I love definitions, here is the beginning of https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_privilege,
“White privilege (or white skin privilege) is a term for societal privileges that benefit people identified as white inWestern countries, beyond what is commonly experienced by non-white people under the same social, political, or economic circumstances.”
A little bit about my own personal confusion stems from how I was raised and how I look. I have been mistaken for every brown culture, nationality, and race on this planet. Depending on my hair and my outfit people think that I am Indian, Native American, Latina, Persian, Greek, Italian, Lebanese, Israeli, and that is just to name a few. I was born in Moscow, Russia, and although it was during the Soviet Union, it was still the big city and my family has always been open to meeting people from every walk of life. We continued to live in Denver, Colorado and Miami, Florida, where we had neighbors from all over the world, and enjoyed learning about each other. Then I worked on cruise ships, loved learning about every person I met from every corner of the world, and landed in Los Angeles, California, which is one of the most international cities on the planet.
I love culture, race, background, nationality, it is the first question I ask everyone I meet, where are they from, I love details, and if you look at my friends, you will see I literally love everybody.
This article is clear and powerful, it talks about America’s obsession with violence.
“I just think that America is a very, very violent country. It was born in violence. It started with genocide. Then it followed up with the most brutal, dehumanizing kind of slavery, which was enforced strictly through brutality. Then you had the Fugitive Slave Law in 1850, when it really became the job of the police to closely monitor African-Americans, and that became a tradition. And the whole country, of course, was racist — it wasn’t just the South.
So I think that this is a very violent country. We worship violence. We see it everywhere in our advertisements. It’s hard for me to think of a movie star, man or woman, who I haven’t seen on a billboard off Sunset Boulevard holding a gun, holding a .45, wearing a police badge. So I think that we worship violence, we do, and I think that’s a big part of it.”
http://www.jewishjournal.com/rob_eshman/article/changing_three_cultures
The article above is why and how, and the following article is why we have to do something about it.
“We Didn’t Cause It; But We Have to Fix It
It is not for you to complete the task,
but neither are your free to stand aside
from it (M. Avot 2:21).
Each of us was born into a world we did not fashion. We did not invent the social structure that privileges some and marginalizes others, nor did we launch the democratic structures that make progress possible. The problems, the creativity and the institutions all were created by the generations before us. We are their heirs, to both the good and the bad. Regarding the problems, we are not guilty. But we are responsible.”
http://www.jewishjournal.com/cover_story/article/black_and_blue_and_white
This is the Jewish concept and calling of Tikun Olam, repairing the world. We need to lead by example and be a light to everyone around us. On the Jewish calendar today we fast and commemorate sad times in Jewish history,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seventeenth_of_Tammuz
I hope by working it out in my own brain,
Keeping the communication and connection lines open,
Having a dialogue with everyone we meet to hear their side,
I am open to keep learning and growing,
Coach Yulia