Racism

Awful Feeling! ‘Starving Palestinian Children Are Watching Me Eat Their Food ‘- Can’t Take It Anymore

by jay janson | Op/Ed

Am feeling some slight pangs of hunger as I sit down to my dinner, and the thought automatically arises, ‘how could a starving person take the immeasurably more severe hunger pain caused by the strong contractions of the stomach when it’s empty,’ and that makes me think of the poor desperately hungry children being starved in Gaza. Am still aware of the good taste of the food in my mouth but suddenly am not enjoying eating.

I want to tell the children I feel are watching me eat, to go watch the sky for an American plane dropping meals to them, but I imagine the severely traumatised children (who have their eyes on the food on my plate), have had their homes, playgrounds and schools destroyed, many of their brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers, uncles and aunts, teachers and playmates killed or horribly wounded, some crippled, by bombs dropped by American planes piloted by Israelis dropping American bombs on them day and night for as long as they can seem to remember. I sense they are still watching me and my (their) food.

(America has also been allowing its client state Israel to starve the citizens of Gaza by blocking food and water from entering into Gaza and U.S.A, has used its veto power to vote down demands of the UN Security Council for a ceasefire.)

White Supremacy Culture –  What It Is And What To Do About It

by Woody Bernhard | Activism

Racism often refers to acts of overt, intentional prejudice and a social order that debases people of color while glorifying whiteness. But white supremacy is a systemic and structural phenomenon woven throughout our culture—rather than just the work of racist individuals who intentionally and maliciously discriminate. Our institutions and social practices themselves prop up white advantage and protect white communities, while making communities of color vulnerable to exploitation, domination, and violence.

What actions are needed to repair ourselves in order to identify and dismantle white supremacy culture? This discussion will incorporate the pre-session resources listed below. Click on the link or copy the URL into your search bar to have a look. General discussion will follow Mary’s presentation. Please take part.

Not All Americans Celebrate the Birth of a Racist Slave Owning USA Homicidal at Home Genocidal Abroad

by jay janson | Op/Ed

Prominently placed statues of famous racists are no longer acceptable, just as policemen shooting African Americans has finally become unacceptable. Why not dispense with the far out illusion of a racist colonial capitalist USA being worth celebrating. Meanwhile left undone is the protecting of non-American Black lives from killer American GIs invading and bombing their beloved countries.

Racism is a Tool for Oppression

by spoon | Economics

The other day David Schoales included, in the context of a discussion group, a link to a June 2 statement issued by the Vermont Agency of Education director Daniel French. Following are the first two paragraphs of that statement:

“In light of the killing of George Floyd, another instance of police violence against a person of
color, we write to reaffirm the Agency of Education’s commitment to social justice and equity
literacy statewide. We firmly believe in our collective responsibility to create an anti-racist
education system and commit to supporting districts and schools in Vermont in their own
efforts to confront racism and create learning environments that are just, inclusive and
equitable.

VT AFL-CIO Stands With Black Communities In Resistance

by David Van Deusen | Politics

June 28, 2020, Montpelier, VT – Black Lives Matter. The Vermont AFL-CIO understands and recognizes that the United States of America is a nation which has long been governed by a ruling class whose power (social and economic) is rooted in slavery, racism, inequity, and oppression. We further see with clear eyes that Black people, whose ancestors were brought to this country in chains, have suffered (and continue to suffer) oppression on a massive and inexcusable scale. Such facts are made plain by not only looking at history, but also by looking at contemporary unemployment figures, poverty rates, average household income, incarceration rates, and through policing data. People who are Black are also murdered by American police officers with sickening regularity. George Floyd was not an exception. He, like Breonna Taylor, Michael Brown, Terence Crutcher, Eric Garner, Freddie Gray (to name but a few), was one of the latest in a long line of martyrs going back hundreds of years (and accounting for thousands of taken lives). We must not become numb to these murders. We cannot accept that Black families must educate their children on how to not become the target of unprovoked police violence. We cannot allow systematic racism and police violence against Black people to continue as the regularity that it has always been. Rather, we must resist.