“We Stand With Black and Brown People”

May 31

Racism is prejudice, bias, discrimination, unfairness, injustice, intolerance, xenophobia, jingoism, stupid, insidious, ignorant, foolish, idiotic, moronic, obtuse, cruel, evil, immoral, cretinous, sinful, ungodly, bad, wrong, foul, has no basis in science and is just plain not nice.  But then, you knew all that.  So, what’s problem?  Apparently we all don’t know it is a problem that has afflicted mankind since time immemorial.  I’m certainly not going to solve it here.  But it seems its basis may now be found in what appears to be a recently coined term called “alternate facts.”  If there are “alternate facts” you have no basis for discussion.  If you say something is a Buick and are rebutted with it’s a pine tree, you have hit a wall from which there is no detour.  In this day, if you say someone or some organization is racist, you will be countered with such as 1st or 2nd amendment or Constitutional rights in general, or with the “what abouts?”  You may as well just go home and sip a Drambuie.  Is there now light at the end of the underground railroad?  Dare I say maybe?  There seems to be possibilities within Generation Z.  For among other things, they by large majorities recognize the need to combat climate change, for gun control, for health care for all, and that “equal justice for all” means exactly that.  Our morning of “silent witness in solidarity” was heartening in that locally 125 people participated and the public response was universally (almost) positive.

[The gathering at 3rd and Broadway, 9:30 am, Sunday, May 31 . . . ]

[This gathering point is where a new business and residential facility will be built consuming the entire block . . . ]

[It was a beautiful morning . . . ]

[The why . . . ]

[In the era of COVID masking, I could only identify most folks by their voice . . . ]

[The liquor store kitty-corner would ultimately sate the Super’s thirst desires . . . ]

[Father Steve has joined the group.  That’s the armory across the street . . . ]

[I don’t care what you say, we aren’t crossing the street!]

[Jay and Gail have tried mightily to bring civility to the local political discourse . . . ]

[The rest of us are beginning to join Jay and Gail as we will stretch out along the north side of 3rd Avenue . . . ]

[Head ’em up, move ’em out . . . ]

[With final words of advice from our fearless leader, Jon Koll . . . ]

[Mr. Koll’s protocol . . . ]

[The Supervisor pitched in to help hold up the banner – except from her middle position she couldn’t see over it . . . ]

[Father Steve, in the anchor position, in discussion with Rita Koll, the power behind the throne . . . ]

[To maintain proper distancing, I walked up the parking lots behind to get an idea on the length of our congregation . . . ]

[That may be the Echo Press shooting photos from across the street . . . ]

[A plug to our realtor, as Preeti (backpack), an organizer, heads down the hill . . . ]

[Still going . . . ]

[I crossed the street for some full frontals (the previous day I binge watched “Full Frontal with Samantha Bee”).  They seemed to be spaced quite nicely . . . ]

[Crossing back, the photo on the run was a bit fuzzy . . . ]

[President-for-Life of the Nonfiction Book Club . . . ]

[New arrivals on the far side . . . ]

[Well, we were standing together (someone has to keep an eye on them . . . ]

[Media coverage by Al Roepke TV . . . ]

[Rita and Sylvia in discussion . . . ]

[I believe that to be Tommy Lee, media coverage from radio . . . ]

[Shooting back up 3rd . . . ]

[Rita says it all . . . ]

[After 2 1/2 hours on the line, we retreated to Big Ole Park to discuss the day . . . ]

[Led by Jon and Preeti . . . ]

[This is just the start . . . ]

[We have to keep this going . . . ]

[All-in-all, it went quite well . . . ]

[Many thanks to the organizers.]

[Kids’ ornaments on the Big Ole tree . . . ]

The reason people think it’s important to be white is that they think it’s important not to be black.  ~  James Baldwin

As the entire world is now demonstrating on behalf of George Floyd, it may be useful for the United States to consider that nine out of 10 people on this planet are people of color and that only two out of seven people are Christians.