Gabor Mate has also spoken about how the rise in bullying, ADHD and other mental disorders in American children are the result of current societal conditions e.g. a disconnected society and “the loss of nurturing, non-stressed parenting.” That is, we live in a society where for the first time in history, children are spending most of their time away from nurturing adults. He asserts that nurturing adults are necessary for healthy brain development.
quote from article in clutchmagazine BY TAMI WINFREY HARRIS, MONDAY JAN 9, 2012
“The least we can ask of anti-racist friends is that they be willing to sit with the discomfort of analyzing their own racial privilege. That is like the baseline of race work. Anyone who can only talk about that racism over there, but not the bias in their own heart is less ally than part of the problem.”
Microaggressions is a word coined by psychiatrist Chester M. Pierce, meaning “brief and commonplace daily verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignities, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative racial slights and insults toward people of other races.”
The discussion is hard because it requires good, well-meaning people to admit to and examine their own racial privilege. It requires those who may think of themselves as anti-racist allies to do more than tsk tsk along with black friends about some madness, say, Rick Santorum said, and recall the things they personally (and perhaps innocently) may have done to make friends, family and co-workers of color feel othered. That’s tough. And it’s not just tough for the “white girls” mentioned in Ramsey’s work. It’s hard for everyone who has any kind of privilege, be it educational privilege, sexual privilege, gender privilege, etc.
work by artist Peggy Sexton at Archway Gallery, Houston. Although it’s uber-crafty and Tim Burton-esque, something about it is really lovely to me, esp. the floating stairlines and the walls that jut out into space. the triangular windows, everything rough and spindly in texture.
As a Four, you tend to cope with problems by being emotionally intense and expressing your feelings. Your message to others is: “I feel really hurt and I need to express myself.” Expand your coping skills by being competent, taking practical action, and adopting a positive outlook. (The Wisdom of the Enneagram, 68)
"In a fundamental sense, capital consists of any produced thing that can enhance a person’s power to perform economically useful work - a stone or an arrow is capital for a caveman who can use it as a hunting instrument, and roads are capital for inhabitants of a city"
great article written by UK journalist Amelia Hill in 2003 after she participated in the Landmark Forum. She went in as a journalist to get an insider’s view on what people called a brainwashing cult, and came out with a totally different view.
I’m wondering how to spread information like this without it being just a complaint about corruption. I think that when I post things like this, it’s in an effort to deconstruct faith in one’s government. And to point out for myself that it’s never, ever surprising to see power being abused, and it’s never warranted to feel pride and security in a large-scale global network of government-sanctioned “peacekeepers.” It reminds me of the violent mafia-style terrorist organization in Mexico who go by the name “Peace and Justice.” In another light, I’m excited to see more true information being unearthed by Wikileaks for the protection against sex-exploitation on a local level. This gives me hope in the power of citizens to create their own system of checks and balances— like copwatch projects.
Sex exploitation by UN peacekeepers: A 2010 UN embassy cable released by Wikileaks indicates that U.N. peacekeepers traded food and basic supplies (mobile phones, as well) for sex with destitute underage girls in the Ivory Coast. The cable concerns the actions of Beninese peacekeepers in the…
I’m transforming this blog into a temporary platform for inquiring into and testifying to the parts I have played in creating & maintaining a culture of ignorance, racism, sexism, transphobia, classism, homophobia, nationalism, ageism, ableism, suspicion, and hatred. In seeking to understand my complicity in the harm that has been done to others and myself, and in showing up as fully accountable for my actions and inactions, I commit to creating the grounds for living a life of true integrity for the benefit of all beings. Note: I do not promise that this will be free of bullshit. Here are the rules— Every time I post or reblog some content, I will include a response to at least one of the following questions:
1. Why does this content inspire me? (if I perceive content as positive) —or— (if the content is reacting to an event I perceive as negative)
2. How have my actions contributed to the injustice referred to in said content? 3. How can I address this particular injustice through action?
This project will continue until November 24th, 2011, after which I will continue blogging with or without the above constraints.
Any company can print these words on their product without independent verification. Without quality control, those words are a bunch of hoo ha (source)
