In the heat of the Northern Hemisphere summer, and particularly the Midwest humidity, I want to call attention to this situation from last week. In the 108 degree record-breaking heat, the men and women in this un-air conditioned Medium Security jail, or Workhouse (as it’s commonly called) were caught on camera calling for help.
Tag: Social Justice
A Summer Bummer
I am sitting in a coffee shop in Old Dublin, Ohio, the original part of town now built up and littered with hipster twee shops and restaurants. This Tehku Tea Shop, I was pleased to find, is owned and run by a woman and an immigrant. It is a small little shop only one block behind a Starbuck’s, and I was pleased to help keep it going.
It’s Nice To Be Nice To The Nice, But It’s Better To Be Kind To The Kind
I think of my mom saying, “It’s nice to be nice to the nice,” and telling me, when I was a child, to “Be nice.” Be a nice girl. Do things that nice girls do, like brush their hair, keep their legs together, smile. (You guessed it: sometimes I don’t do these things.)
Continue reading “It’s Nice To Be Nice To The Nice, But It’s Better To Be Kind To The Kind”
Day 14 – N
Number of States Visited in the United States
Thanks to educational road trips as a child, I have been lucky enough to visit many of the states in the United States, I daresay more than half. This is the first time I’ve counted all 50. (So I am excluding the territories. Just like our constitution does during election time.)
Weekend Coffee Share #43
If we were having coffee, we would be here for a long time since its been awhile since we met! We had birthday parties, both in Ohio and in St. Louis. (Oh yeah, Wee One is two. What did you do that she has to be two? 🙂
#rawrlove
Last May, I wrote a post about a fellow blogger, Rarasaur. She was about to be put into prison for a crime she didn’t commit, (here’s her story here) and I was moved by the wickedness of a criminal “justice” system that essentially bullied an innocent person.
I saw an update on her today – she’s getting out of prison after 15 months. 15 months. The Wee One wasn’t even a twinkle in my eye, I was still living in St. Louis, I was still working, but I wasn’t a rennie yet.
I’d thought about her several times over the past few months, and I was glad to learn that she’s getting out (hence this post passing the good news on.)
How Can I Be A White Ally?
I have talked a little bit about Ferguson about this blog, and I’ve talked about social justice and privilege as well. I want to be an ally in the effort to change the system that eradicates these privileges, but I’m not too sure how to do that, or how to do it effectively. Really be an ally and not “a great white savior,” ’cause I’m not.
The Art in Protest / The Protest in Art
As I have written several times lately, I was raised in St. Louis. Police action in one of our suburbs, Ferguson (yes, legally it’s a small town, but it’s really a suburb of St. Louis), has been the center of protests around the world over the past week, but especially in the U.S. The night it was announced the officer would not face criminal charges for killing a young man, different parts of the city – literally – burned. Cars and buildings were on fire and in other ways destroyed and fire crews couldn’t get to them for the force and crush of people on the streets.
A Global Sisterhood
It is, of course, always flattering to be nominated for any kind of award, It is especially flattering to receive a nomination for an award such as the “Sisterhood of the World.” It appears as though this Sisterhood is shared by bloggers worldwide who share a commitment to the pursuit of human rights and social justice. It is all the more flattering to be considered one of this company with the nomination from a blogger as social aware and socially/politically engaged as nida, from on the road to inkrichment.
After The Decision
They’re not going to indict the police officer who shot and killed an unarmed 18 year old, and there are a lot of strong reactions.
I Didn't Just Wake Up This Morning With A Craving 