Category: Politics
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We gotta find joy, people. Even in the struggle.
The sense of community, of joy, of celebration, and of suffering was palpable. Last week I attended a conference on race in Detroit. My first conference of this type. And despite many years of personal work along with anti-racism trainings and workshops, I realize that I still know very little. I see and hold the…
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Three-Month Media Blackout
I’m planning on doing a 3-month media blackout during my already-established sangha sabbatical (July-September). It will be an experiment on my need to know (probably why I became a librarian and also something that’s been present in me for as long as I can remember). The experiment may allow me to open up some internal…
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Transcending White Nationalism and Developing White Racial Literacy
In over 15-years of teaching information literacy classes, I often used the Stormfront website as a teaching tool because they own an MLK domain. Most students didn’t even know about David Duke, prominently quoted on the MLK site, and now he’s front and center thanks to President Trump. On some level this is okay, because…
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Support Local Businesses, No Chains in Ojai
Back in mid-2006 I created a wiki to document a community effort to restrict formula businesses (aka-chains) in Ojai, California. We were ultimately successful on November 27, 2007 with the passage of Ordinance #798. A few years later I shut down the wiki because it was requiring too much effort on my part to maintain and…
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Hope or Fear? I Choose Hope
Compare and contrast a political campaign. Here we have two grassroots efforts that are starkly different. One portrays hope and the other generates fear. Where do you really want to put your effort and resources? I’m not being Pollyanna when I say that positive thinking brings about positive change. If we surround ourselves with hope,…
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Fall Beginnings and Time to Breathe
Students, thousands of them, fill all spaces in the library. Lines form to use computers and textbooks. All library staff are on their feet every moment the library is open to direct and support any need. Students come and go with alacrity, which is a joy to experience, and I smile to our role as…
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A Bitter Harvest: California, Marijuana, and the New Jim Crow
I highly recommend listening to this radio show exploring themes of racism, drugs and legal disenfranchisement. The discussion centers around California marijuana growing and the apparent inequities between white pot farmers and and widespread incarceration of African-American men throughout America. It’s a thoughtful discussion and one worthy of hearing and considering, particularly for white Americans. The…