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questionsonislam · 4 years

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How can we strengthen our faith? Could you give information about the increase and decrease of faith, investigative faith and imitative faith and the importance of faith?

Faith is a light, a blessing from Allah. However, faith is knowledge at the same time, which must be necessarily learnt. There are two ways to strengthen our faith:

The first and the primary one is to learn the rules of the sunnah and to investigate it in accordance with the Quran and the sunnah, as required by our time.

The second one is to advance in spirituality through performing good deeds, purifying the heart and soul by avoiding sins.

However, the course of this century makes the second way really difficult to take. For this reason, it is very important to read books which teach investigative faith. It has also become essential to study science as a feature of our century, besides studying religious knowledge. This is because the light of the mind is science as the light of the heart is religious knowledge. We can state that one of the most important books which teach both of them together is Risali-i Nur Collection. In addition, one can benefit very well from books of significant people such as Imam Ghazali, Imam Rabbani, Imam Mawardi and Imam Qushairi.

Protecting and enhancing faith is a Muslim’s most important issue. It is necessary to attach importance to taqwa (God-Consciousness) in order to protect faith. Faith can only be protected within the castle of taqwa. Without taqwa, faith tends to deteriorate. It is necessary to read and make research on books about faith a lot in order to enhance faith. Issues about faith which result from knowledge do not have effect on one’s feelings unless it is filtered through reasoning. Firstly, mind must be satisfied.

Contemplation is very important. The fact that Prophet Abraham found his Lord by watching the moon and stars and contemplating is narrated in the Quran. Faith improves with thinking. For this reason, it is stated in hadith that “One hour of contemplation is superior to one year of nafilah (supererogatory) prayer.”

Environment has a great influence on human being. Sins suggest people infidelity. Suggestion has a great influence on human beings. It infuses infidelity into one’s sub-conscious though people are unaware of it. For this reason, one must keep away from from sinful places as much as possible. Sins committed outside carelessly suggest people that there are not hereafter and punishment. To be protected from the negative effects of such suggestions, one must keep away from sinful places as much as possible and try to suggest people goodness and prevent them from evil as much as s/he can. One needs to study issues about faith a lot and pay attention to delivered messages in order to compensate for the damages of the negative suggestions which s/he has been imposed to. It is necessary to meet often with people who care about good deeds and live in accordance with taqwa. In this sense, the importance of a community (jama’ah) becomes more obvious. Just like sins suggest infidelity, good deeds suggest faith.

What is the essence of faith?

Faith, in its essence, is the greatest and kindest blessing from Allah to human beings. Allah bestows it upon whomever He wishes. However, it cannot be said that human beings do not play a role in this bestowment. Contrarily, first of all, a human being must be willing to have faith and righteousness using his/her choice and free will. Allah will bestow faithfulness and righteousness upon him/her because of this will and demand. For this reason, Islamic scholars described faith as “It is the light that Allah places in His servants’ hearts after servants display a partial will and choice.

Are There Degrees and Development in Faith?

Faith develops like a seed develops and grows into a tree. Islamic scholars divided faith into two levels firstly:

1. Imitative faith, 2. Investigative faith…

Imitative Faith: having faith in the pillars of faith in the way one has seen from parents, hodjas and people around, without any reasoning about them. As imitative faith is a kind of faith that one believes without comprehending the pillars, consciousness and details of faith, one can be subject to some doubts and misgivings especially in our time and it may lead to the destruction of faith.

Investigative Faith: having faith in all issues about faith in a detailed way with proofs, and confirming them. Such a faith can prevent itself from being destructed by doubts and misgivings. Investigative faith has got many levels. Islamic scholars have classified those levels in three parts:

1. Certainty at the degree of knowledge: knowing issues about faith together with all of its details, with proofs and having faith in them.

2. Certainty at the degree of witnessing: knowing issues about faith and having faith in them as if you have seen them with your own eyes and witnessed their trueness. Believing with knowledge and witnessing are very different in terms of giving one a precise conviction. One can know something exactly without having any doubts, yet if s/he witnesses it, his/her conviction increases. Like the difference between knowing that America exists and seeing it… So, certainty at the degree of witnessing is the state of believing in the pillars of faith as if one has seen them with his/her own eyes.

3. Absolute certainty: Accepting and comprehending issues about faith by experiencing them in person, apart from witnessing. An example can be given in order to explain those three degrees of faith: A man who sees smoke coming from somewhere knows that there is a fire burning over there. Knowing that there is a fire by seeing smoke from a distance refers to “certainty at the degree of knowledge”. Then he goes to the place where the smoke comes from and sees the fire with his own eyes from a distance. It refers to “certainty at the degree of witnessing”. Then he goes close to the fire and feels its warmness, and it refers to “absolute certainty”.

Is Imitative Faith Enough in Our Day?

As we have mentioned above, imitative faith encounters many misgivings and doubts and eventually is subject to breaking down because of those doubts in our day. One scholar explains why imitative faith is not enough in our day though it was enough in the past as follows:

“People were in need of religion and power of spirituality in every period of time. However, this need has become an obligation in our day. Our ancestors used to live peacefully with quite a simple knowledge of religion and traditions, that is, with imitative faith; because, all social neighborhood around them suggested them religion and morals.

Today, everything has changed. Religious feelings have weakened and good manners of religious respect have been replaced by an insolent disrespectfulness. Families have gotten smaller and family relations have loosened. Financial burden of the family have been placed merely on spouses and parents have started to neglect to educate their children in terms of religion because of financial needs of the family. On the other hand, schools and universities have become places of anti-religionist propaganda. Today, a simple knowledge of religion has become inefficient in the atmosphere which has become hazier because of the invective words and resistance of obstinate deniers.

Questions such as “What is religion?”, “What is the relationship between religion and science?” and “What should religion do and what should be its place compared to science today?” preoccupy minds more than ever now. Especially educated young people need to know the answers to those questions.”

The knowledge of religion and faith to be given to people today must have an investigative content that combines science and religion and that convinces the mind and reason about the issues of faith. Otherwise, simple knowledge of religion and imitative faith in the form of traditions will be far away from satisfying the people especially the young people of today.

What is the Importance of Faith for Human Beings?

1. Faith is the reason why human beings were created. That is to say, they were created so that they would recognize the Creator through faith and worship Him. If one acts in accordance with this reason of creation, s/he will reach eternal bliss in the Hereafter and will enter Heaven. Otherwise, s/he will enter Hell and be subject to eternal misery and unhappiness.

In this sense, faith is a means of gaining eternal happiness and the key to Heaven for human beings. Without faith, there is no Heaven. For this reason, it is a more precious blessing than the world and than anything in the whole world for a human being to have faith and to keep this faith until his/her last breath without losing it or letting it weaken. Our Prophet said in one of his hadiths “renew your faith by saying ‘la ilaha illallah” because of the importance of faith and emphasized the importance of renewing and keeping faith. One can come up with a question like “Is there a possibility of faith to weaken or to get lost since it is suggested to renew it continuously?”

Badiuzzaman, explains the issue of renewing faith as an answer to the question above, as follows: “Since man himself and the world in which he lives are being continuously renewed, he needs constantly to renew belief. For in reality each individual human being consists of many individuals. He may be considered as a different individual to the number of the years of his life, or rather to the number of the days or even the hours of his life. For since a single individual is subject to time, he is like a model and each passing day clothes him in the form of another individual. Furthermore, just as there is within man this plurality and renewal so also is this world in which he lives in motion. It goes and replaced by another. It varies constantly. Every day opens the door of another world. As for belief, it is both the light of the life of each individual in that person, and it is the light of the world in which he lives. And as for ‘There is no god but God’, it is a key with which to turn on the light. Then the instinctual soul, desire, doubts and Satan exercise great influence over man. In order to damage his belief, they are much of the time able to benefit from his negligence, to trick him with their wiles, and thus to extinguish the light of belief with doubts and uncertainty. Also, man is prone to act and utter words which apparently oppose the Shari’a, and which in the view of some religious authorities are no less than unbelief. Therefore, there is need to renew belief all the time, every hour, every day.” (The Letters, 26th Letter)

Those statements emphasize the importance of renewing belief from three points of view:

The first point: one’s mood, ideas and understanding can often change depending on the period of time in which he lives, the place he is in and the neighborhood he is in contact with. Events he has been subject to, the things he has done and the people he has been in contact with impress him in a positive or negative way. Our Prophet states the following on the issue: “A true believer’s heart is subject to more changes than a boiling pot…” “The heart is like a sparrow. It can head towards anywhere at any time.” “The heart is like a bird’s wing thrown to the fields. The heart can change like wind turns this wing upside down.” It is ordered to renew faith by saying “la ilaha illallah (there is no god but God)” in the hadith because of the fact that human heart and mood are subject to external influence.

The second point: Human beings have got negative feelings such as instinctual soul, desires and doubts, and Satan constantly tries to deceive them and suggest them evil. It is possible that those negative suggestions will make people to have doubts about faith while they are careless. It is necessary to renew faith in order to avoid such a state.

The third point: One cannot totally keep away from some words and sayings which are against Shari’a and also considered to be disbelief by some Islamic scholars. For this reason, renewing faith by saying “la ilaha illallah” is essential. Another way of strengthening and keeping faith is to save it from imitative level by turning it into investigative faith. And it can be realized only by reading works about faith which teach the realities of faith in an investigative way and respond to all doubts and misgivings one can think of, and by making conversations on faith constantly. If a person upgrades his faith from imitative level to investigative level, there is no possibility for him to lose faith and to pass away to the Hereafter as an unbeliever. Islamic scholars stated that Satan will come and try to deceive people with all of his tricks and misgivings in order to take their faith away while they are about to die. For this reason, Islamic scholars stated that they were afraid of the moment of death. People can be protected from such suggestions at the moment of death with the help of investigative faith; because, in investigative faith, faith is not only in mind, but also in heart, soul, other senses and feelings. Even though Satan may damage the faith in one’s mind, he cannot manage to take the faith in other senses away. In this way, that person remains and dies as a believer.

2. Faith is also a great source of high spirits and endurance. A person who gains true faith can challenge the world and escape the suppression of the troubles he has encountered with the power of his faith. Our victories, which honor the history and inspire authors to write legends, are doubtlessly a good example to the power and might which faith earns a person. A faithful person can react to events and troubles he has been through with sturdiness, can be patient and put up with them, with the help of trust in God which faith earns a person. A faithful person does not become hopeless and pessimistic, does not choose to rebel and complain. It results from the power and might the faith has earned him. Faithless people can easily end their lives by committing suicide when they encounter an insignificant trouble as they become desperate and hopeless. While in Islamic countries committing suicide is so rare, it increases day by day in the world’s most civilized and wealthy countries, which confirms it. The Prophet points out to the power and endurance the faith earns a person in his hadiths: “A true believer resembles green plants. The continuous winds of trouble bend them, yet they cannot break them down. Contrarily, they enable them to pursue their lives and become healthier. However, hypocrites (and infidels) are like faded plants. Their leaves fall down and their body breaks down and they die with the winds of trouble.”

“How astonishing a true believer is! If he encounters goodness, he gives thanks; if he encounters evil, he endures. And this way he makes both of those states good for himself.”

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the-daily-tizzy · 4 years

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Kamala Harris

Bill Shuey has a unique writing style which allows him to act as an observer of the action that is taking place. He describes what he sees without the use of profanity or explicit sexual descriptions.

To date Bill Shuey has written a total of 18 books, the last two will be published in late 2020.

Bill is a member of the Western Writers’ Association.

Kamala Harris Emhoff is Joseph Biden’s selection for vice -president.

Here are a few facts about Ms. Harris.

1. Ms. Harris is touted as “black,” she has characterized herself as “American.”

2. Ms. Harris has characterized herself as a poor little girl of color. Ms. Harris’ mother, Shyamala Gopalan, was a cancer researcher and civil rights activist. Ms. Harris’ father, Donald Harris holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree from the University of California and has been a college professor for years. Not exactly a family history of poverty.

3. Ms. Harris claims that, on visits to her father, she wasn’t allowed to play with the white children in his neighborhood. While this claim is dubious at best, it would indicate that Mr. Harris lived in an upper middle-class neighborhood. Again, a status of privilege.

4. The late Ms. Gopalan and Dr. Harris didn’t immigrate to the United States because it was a horrible racist oppressive nation, they came here for the greater opportunity and found success.

5. Dr. Harris and Ms. Gopalan were well off enough to fund two daughters’ college education and law school. Not the thing of poverty.

6. Ms. Harris isn’t black, she at best is a duke’s mixture of bi-racial genetics. If she is Mulatto, it comes from her father and he would be a second, third, or more generation African by way of Jamaica, not the United States. Therefore, she certainly isn’t a hyphenated African-American. Perhaps she could accurately claim Indian-American or Jamaican-American.

7. In this ongoing chatterer regarding white privilege, I can’t think of anyone who better represents privilege more than Ms. Harris. She grew up in upper middle class surroundings, attended a first rate college and law school, and has lived the American dream since. She has about as much in common with the average black as this writer has with a Martian.

8. Ms. Harris’ parents are naturalized citizens. I doubt that the main stream media will have any curiosity regarding when they received their United States citizenship, but if it was after Kamala’s birth, that would make her an anchor baby and unable to become president.

9. Ms. Gopalan immigrated in 1960. Mr. Harris in 1961. When either applied for citizenship and when it was granted for either is unknown.

10. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 requires an alien to apply for a petition for naturalization. Before applying, an alien must be at least 18 years old and must have been lawfully admitted to live permanently in the United States. He must have lived in the United States for five years and for the last six months in the state where he seeks to be naturalized. Unless the Nationality Act was somehow bypassed, Ms. Gopalan couldn’t have been a citizen prior to 1965 and Mr. Harris before 1966. Kamala Harris was born October 20, 1964.

11. Since Ms. Harris is a naturalized citizen, it would appear that neither of her parents were an American citizen at the time of her birth. Otherwise, why would she need to be naturalized?

12. Mr. Biden is suffering from the early onset of dementia and will continue to decline in cerebral awareness. I’ve seen this condition in a couple of my now dead friends, and it is day to day deterioration; some days being better than others. Finally, either gradually or overnight, Mr. Biden will lose his grip on reality. Given his current condition, I doubt it will take four years to become an acute condition. In the case of one of my friends who showed mild dementia, he gave a presentation, finished, walked to his car, and had no idea where he lived. His mental awareness departed just that quickly and never returned.

13. Lastly, if the Democrats are elected to the White House, presuming she is constitutionally eligible, Ms. Harris will become the second bi-racial president. People should vote for the candidate of their choice, but in this situation, they should understand they are actually voting for Kamala Harris for president when they go to the polls. If she isn’t a “natural born” (the offspring of at least one American citizen) it will open a bucket of worms and cause a constitutional crisis to go along with our other ongoing messes.

God Bless America!

⚠️Re-blog at your own risk...

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dailyofficereadings · 4 years

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Daily Office Readings August 09, 2020

Psalm 66-67

Psalm 66

Praise for God’s Goodness to Israel

To the leader. A Song. A Psalm.

1 Make a joyful noise to God, all the earth; 2 sing the glory of his name; give to him glorious praise. 3 Say to God, “How awesome are your deeds! Because of your great power, your enemies cringe before you. 4 All the earth worships you; they sing praises to you, sing praises to your name.”Selah

5 Come and see what God has done: he is awesome in his deeds among mortals. 6 He turned the sea into dry land; they passed through the river on foot. There we rejoiced in him, 7 who rules by his might forever, whose eyes keep watch on the nations— let the rebellious not exalt themselves.Selah

8 Bless our God, O peoples, let the sound of his praise be heard, 9 who has kept us among the living, and has not let our feet slip. 10 For you, O God, have tested us; you have tried us as silver is tried. 11 You brought us into the net; you laid burdens on our backs; 12 you let people ride over our heads; we went through fire and through water; yet you have brought us out to a spacious place.[a]

13 I will come into your house with burnt offerings; I will pay you my vows, 14 those that my lips uttered and my mouth promised when I was in trouble. 15 I will offer to you burnt offerings of fatlings, with the smoke of the sacrifice of rams; I will make an offering of bulls and goats.Selah

16 Come and hear, all you who fear God, and I will tell what he has done for me. 17 I cried aloud to him, and he was extolled with my tongue. 18 If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened. 19 But truly God has listened; he has given heed to the words of my prayer.

20 Blessed be God, because he has not rejected my prayer or removed his steadfast love from me.

Psalm 67

The Nations Called to Praise God

To the leader: with stringed instruments. A Psalm. A Song.

1 May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face to shine upon us,Selah 2 that your way may be known upon earth, your saving power among all nations. 3 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

4 Let the nations be glad and sing for joy, for you judge the peoples with equity and guide the nations upon earth.Selah 5 Let the peoples praise you, O God; let all the peoples praise you.

6 The earth has yielded its increase; God, our God, has blessed us. 7 May God continue to bless us; let all the ends of the earth revere him.

Footnotes:

Psalm 66:12 Cn Compare Gk Syr Jerome Tg: Heb to a saturation

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

New Revised Standard Version Bible: Catholic Edition, copyright © 1989, 1993 the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved.

Psalm 19

God’s Glory in Creation and the Law

To the leader. A Psalm of David.

1 The heavens are telling the glory of God; and the firmament[a] proclaims his handiwork. 2 Day to day pours forth speech, and night to night declares knowledge. 3 There is no speech, nor are there words; their voice is not heard; 4 yet their voice[b] goes out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world.

In the heavens[c] he has set a tent for the sun, 5 which comes out like a bridegroom from his wedding canopy, and like a strong man runs its course with joy. 6 Its rising is from the end of the heavens, and its circuit to the end of them; and nothing is hid from its heat.

7 The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the decrees of the Lord are sure, making wise the simple; 8 the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is clear, enlightening the eyes; 9 the fear of the Lord is pure, enduring forever; the ordinances of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. 10 More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey, and drippings of the honeycomb.

11 Moreover by them is your servant warned; in keeping them there is great reward. 12 But who can detect their errors? Clear me from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from the insolent;[d] do not let them have dominion over me. Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.

14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable to you, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer.

Footnotes:

Psalm 19:1 Or dome

Psalm 19:4 Gk Jerome Compare Syr: Heb line

Psalm 19:4 Heb In them

Psalm 19:13 Or from proud thoughts

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Psalm 46

God’s Defense of His City and People

To the leader. Of the Korahites. According to Alamoth. A Song.

1 God is our refuge and strength, a very present[a] help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth should change, though the mountains shake in the heart of the sea; 3 though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains tremble with its tumult.Selah

4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy habitation of the Most High. 5 God is in the midst of the city;[b] it shall not be moved; God will help it when the morning dawns. 6 The nations are in an uproar, the kingdoms totter; he utters his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.[c]Selah

8 Come, behold the works of the Lord; see what desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the end of the earth; he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 “Be still, and know that I am God! I am exalted among the nations, I am exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord of hosts is with us; the God of Jacob is our refuge.[d]Selah

Footnotes:

Psalm 46:1 Or well proved

Psalm 46:5 Heb of it

Psalm 46:7 Or fortress

Psalm 46:11 Or fortress

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Judges 11:1-11

Jephthah

11 Now Jephthah the Gileadite, the son of a prostitute, was a mighty warrior. Gilead was the father of Jephthah. 2 Gilead’s wife also bore him sons; and when his wife’s sons grew up, they drove Jephthah away, saying to him, “You shall not inherit anything in our father’s house; for you are the son of another woman.” 3 Then Jephthah fled from his brothers and lived in the land of Tob. Outlaws collected around Jephthah and went raiding with him.

4 After a time the Ammonites made war against Israel. 5 And when the Ammonites made war against Israel, the elders of Gilead went to bring Jephthah from the land of Tob. 6 They said to Jephthah, “Come and be our commander, so that we may fight with the Ammonites.” 7 But Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “Are you not the very ones who rejected me and drove me out of my father’s house? So why do you come to me now when you are in trouble?” 8 The elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “Nevertheless, we have now turned back to you, so that you may go with us and fight with the Ammonites, and become head over us, over all the inhabitants of Gilead.” 9 Jephthah said to the elders of Gilead, “If you bring me home again to fight with the Ammonites, and the Lord gives them over to me, I will be your head.” 10 And the elders of Gilead said to Jephthah, “The Lord will be witness between us; we will surely do as you say.” 11 So Jephthah went with the elders of Gilead, and the people made him head and commander over them; and Jephthah spoke all his words before the Lord at Mizpah.

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Judges 11:29-40

Jephthah’s Vow

29 Then the spirit of the Lord came upon Jephthah, and he passed through Gilead and Manasseh. He passed on to Mizpah of Gilead, and from Mizpah of Gilead he passed on to the Ammonites. 30 And Jephthah made a vow to the Lord, and said, “If you will give the Ammonites into my hand, 31 then whoever comes out of the doors of my house to meet me, when I return victorious from the Ammonites, shall be the Lord’s, to be offered up by me as a burnt offering.” 32 So Jephthah crossed over to the Ammonites to fight against them; and the Lord gave them into his hand. 33 He inflicted a massive defeat on them from Aroer to the neighborhood of Minnith, twenty towns, and as far as Abel-keramim. So the Ammonites were subdued before the people of Israel.

Jephthah’s Daughter

34 Then Jephthah came to his home at Mizpah; and there was his daughter coming out to meet him with timbrels and with dancing. She was his only child; he had no son or daughter except her. 35 When he saw her, he tore his clothes, and said, “Alas, my daughter! You have brought me very low; you have become the cause of great trouble to me. For I have opened my mouth to the Lord, and I cannot take back my vow.” 36 She said to him, “My father, if you have opened your mouth to the Lord, do to me according to what has gone out of your mouth, now that the Lord has given you vengeance against your enemies, the Ammonites.” 37 And she said to her father, “Let this thing be done for me: Grant me two months, so that I may go and wander[a] on the mountains, and bewail my virginity, my companions and I.” 38 “Go,” he said and sent her away for two months. So she departed, she and her companions, and bewailed her virginity on the mountains. 39 At the end of two months, she returned to her father, who did with her according to the vow he had made. She had never slept with a man. So there arose an Israelite custom that 40 for four days every year the daughters of Israel would go out to lament the daughter of Jephthah the Gileadite.

Footnotes:

Judges 11:37 Cn: Heb go down

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

2 Corinthians 11:21-31

21 To my shame, I must say, we were too weak for that!

But whatever anyone dares to boast of—I am speaking as a fool—I also dare to boast of that. 22 Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they descendants of Abraham? So am I. 23 Are they ministers of Christ? I am talking like a madman—I am a better one: with far greater labors, far more imprisonments, with countless floggings, and often near death. 24 Five times I have received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I received a stoning. Three times I was shipwrecked; for a night and a day I was adrift at sea; 26 on frequent journeys, in danger from rivers, danger from bandits, danger from my own people, danger from Gentiles, danger in the city, danger in the wilderness, danger at sea, danger from false brothers and sisters;[a] 27 in toil and hardship, through many a sleepless night, hungry and thirsty, often without food, cold and naked. 28 And, besides other things, I am under daily pressure because of my anxiety for all the churches. 29 Who is weak, and I am not weak? Who is made to stumble, and I am not indignant?

30 If I must boast, I will boast of the things that show my weakness. 31 The God and Father of the Lord Jesus (blessed be he forever!) knows that I do not lie.

Footnotes:

2 Corinthians 11:26 Gk brothers

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

Mark 4:35-41

Jesus Stills a Storm

35 On that day, when evening had come, he said to them, “Let us go across to the other side.” 36 And leaving the crowd behind, they took him with them in the boat, just as he was. Other boats were with him. 37 A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that the boat was already being swamped. 38 But he was in the stern, asleep on the cushion; and they woke him up and said to him, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” 39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm. 40 He said to them, “Why are you afraid? Have you still no faith?” 41 And they were filled with great awe and said to one another, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?”

New Revised Standard Version Catholic Edition (NRSVCE)

#August 09 #2020

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newstfionline · 4 years

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Headlines

Trump Threatens to Send Federal Law Enforcement Forces to More Cities (NYT) President Trump plans to deploy federal law enforcement to Chicago and threatened on Monday to send agents to other major cities—all controlled by Democrats. Governors and other officials reacted angrily to the president’s move, calling it an election-year ploy as they squared off over crime, civil liberties and local control that has spread from Portland, Ore., across the country. With camouflage-clad agents already sweeping through the streets of Portland, more units were poised to head to Chicago, and Mr. Trump suggested that he would follow suit in New York, Philadelphia, Detroit and other urban centers. Governors and other officials compared his actions to authoritarianism and vowed to pursue legislation or lawsuits to stop him. “I’m going to do something—that, I can tell you,” Mr. Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. “Because we’re not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these—Oakland is a mess. We’re not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats.”

Chicago restaurateur joins mission to feed America’s hungry (AP) Before coronavirus arrived, Manish Mallick’s trips to this city’s South Side had been limited to attending graduate classes at the University of Chicago. Now Mallick is a South Side regular—and a popular one. He regularly arrives bearing food for the hungry from his Indian restaurant several miles to the north, in the city’s downtown. “Thank you, sugar, for the meals. They’re so delicious!” one woman recently shouted to Mallick outside a South Side YWCA. “God bless you!” she added, raising her arms for emphasis. Mallick has personally delivered thousands of meals cooked and packed by his staff—among them, chickpea curry and tandoori chicken with roasted cottage cheese, sweet corn, peas and rice. Volunteers from neighborhood organizations then take them to children, retirees and the multitudes who’ve been laid off or sick during the pandemic. “We all need to help each other,” Mallick says. “That’s the best way to get through a crisis.”

American tourists are banned from the Bahamas as coronavirus cases spike (Washington Post) One of the few countries to welcome U.S. tourists has changed its mind, citing soaring infection numbers. The Bahamas will close its borders to most visitors from the United States starting Wednesday, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said Sunday. While commercial flights from Canada, Britain and the European Union will still be allowed to land, all visitors must show proof that they tested negative for the coronavirus at an accredited lab in the past 10 days. Other international flights will be banned.

More and more countries are making masks mandatory (Washington Post) As countries around the world reopen their economies amid ongoing novel coronavirus outbreaks, governments are increasingly embracing what remains in some places a divisive public health measure: mandatory masks. In France, face coverings will be required in all public enclosed spaces as of Monday. England is set to begin enforcing new rules that make masks mandatory inside supermarkets and other shops, effective Friday. In the U.S., there is no national mask requirement. But at the state level, a growing number of mask requirements have come into force.

EU agrees on $2.1 trillion deal after marathon summit (AP) After four days and nights of wrangling, exhausted European Union leaders finally clinched a deal on an unprecedented 1.8 trillion-euro ($2.1 trillion) budget and coronavirus recovery fund early Tuesday, after one of their longest summits ever. The 27 leaders grudgingly committed to a costly, massive aid package for those hit hardest by COVID-19, which has already killed 135,000 people within the bloc alone. “Extraordinary events, and this is the pandemic that has reached us all, also require extraordinary new methods,” German Chancellor Angela Merkel said. To confront the biggest recession in its history, the EU will establish a 750 billion-euro coronavirus fund, partly based on common borrowing, to be sent as loans and grants to the hardest-hit countries. That is in addition to the agreement on the seven-year, 1 trillion-euro EU budget that leaders had been haggling over for months even before the pandemic. “The consequences will be historic,” French President Emmanuel Macron said. “We have created a possibility of taking up loans together, of setting up a recovery fund in the spirit of solidarity,” a sense of sharing debt that would have been unthinkable not so long ago.

Breached levees trap thousands as flooding in China worsens (AP) Breached levees have trapped more than 10,000 people in an eastern Chinese town as flooding worsens across much of the country, local authorities said Tuesday. High waters overcame flood defenses protecting Guzhen, a town in Anhui province, on Sunday, the provincial government said on its official microblog. Flood waters rose as high as 3 meters (10 feet), the official Xinhua News Agency quoted Wang Qingjun, Guzhen’s Communist Party secretary, as saying. About 1,500 firefighters were rushed to carry out rescues in the province, where weeks of heavy rains have disrupted the lives of more than 3 million people, Xinhua said.

Britain suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong (NYT) Britain on Monday suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong amid worries about a new national security law that Beijing imposed on the former British colony. The suspension comes as London and Beijing find themselves at increasing odds over a variety of issues, including Britain’s move to bar Chinese tech giant Huawei from its 5G wireless networks and growing public anger in Britain over the treatment of the Uighur minority in Xinjiang, an autonomous territory in China.

Japan helps 87 companies to ‘exit China’ after pandemic exposed overreliance (Washington Post) Japan is paying 87 companies to shift production back home or into Southeast Asia after the novel coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains and exposed an overreliance on Chinese manufacturing. Alarm bells started ringing in Japanese boardrooms as soon as the virus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, a major hub of the auto parts industry. Japanese automaker Nissan was forced to temporarily halt production at a plant in Japan in February over shortages of parts from China, while a Japanese consumer goods company, Iris Ohyama, found itself unable to meet surging local demand for masks after supplies to its factory in China were disrupted and export controls out of China were tightened. In March, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government wanted to bring production back home and diversify into Southeast Asia. The following month, the government set aside $2.2 billion in its coronavirus economic recovery package to subsidize that process. China is Japan’s largest trading partner, but Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has been trying for several years to reduce the country’s dependence on its giant neighbor. The 2008 global financial crisis, the 2011 northeastern Japan earthquake and the coronavirus pandemic all disrupted supply chains, while U.S.-China trade tensions are also a factor.

Jordan to reopen airports to tourists in August (AP) The Jordanian government says it will begin reopening airports to international travelers in August after sealing its borders in March to help halt the spread of the coronavirus. Travelers from a list of approved, low-risk countries must pass a coronavirus test at least 72 hours before departure and will get a second test upon arrival in Jordan, Transportation Minister Khaled Saif says. Jordan will require incoming tourists to download Aman, the government’s contact-tracing mobile application, for the duration of their stay in the country.

Swapping the stage for a deli: Israel underemployment rises (AP) A year ago, Cijay Brightman was doing sound and lighting for a Madonna performance in Israel. Now, after the coronavirus wiped out live events, he’s making sandwiches, slicing cheese and serving customers at a Tel Aviv deli. Brightman spent the last 15 years perfecting his craft and doing what he loves as a stage technician. But in the wake of the pandemic, he has been forced to abandon his passion and profession—like thousands of others in Israel—and find any job that will pay the bills. Underemployment is plaguing workers around the world. Although there are no global statistics yet, the phenomenon is expected to grow as the economic crisis around the world deepens, said economist Roger Gomis of the International Labor Organization.

King Salman hospitalized (Foreign Policy) Saudi Arabia’s King Salman bin Abdulaziz has been admitted to hospital with gallbladder problems, state media reported on Monday. The 84-year-old monarch is the second aging Gulf leader to seek medical attention recently, after 91-year-old Kuwaiti ruler Emir Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah underwent surgery on Sunday for an as yet unnamed ailment.

Uganda’s Museveni seeks re-election to extend rule to four decades (Reuters) Uganda’s long-serving President Yoweri Museveni has collected papers to seek nomination as the ruling party’s candidate in next year’s presidential election, the party said on Tuesday. Securing a new term would potentially extend the 75-year-old former rebel fighter’s rule to four decades. Though no date has yet been fixed for the 2021 vote, it is typically held in February. The strongest opposition presidential aspirant is pop star and lawmaker Bobi Wine, 38, whose music endears him to the young. In power since 1986, Museveni’s tenure is only surpassed in Africa by Equatorial Guinea’s Teodoro Obiang, who has ruled since 1979 and Cameroon’s Paul Biya, who has ruled since 1982.

#headlines #news

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gaming-rabbot · 6 years

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Rabbot Reviews: Far Cry 5

Great taste, empty calories.

Far Cry 5 is the latest game in quite the lineage of a series known, as you might surmise, as Far Cry. Game number 6, actually, dependent on how canon you feel Primal was. FC as it stands now, though, is a bit of a… how to put it? A long call? A distant yell? An outlying wail? A remote shout? No, a far cry from the original two games, before Ubisoft bought the franchise.

(Yeah, that’s the phrase. Glad I thought of it, though I don’t know where I got it.)

((Incidentally, Remote Shout is the name of my new indie punk garage band. Album drops: never, because this is a joke.))

Starting after Far Cry 3, Ubisoft has been telling their dev teams to make lightning strike twice. Thus, each game hereafter has been an excited waiting game of seeing how they’ll try and ultimately fail to match the demented, yet incredibly charismatic villain that was Vaas.

And 5 feels like this illogical conclusion of just that. Because you have not one, not two, but four scenery-eating, rompy villains. Less a refined, precise attempt at the concept, and more of a blunderbuss approach; hoping to tickle a little of everyone’s villain fancy.

That, I feel, is the perfect metaphor for the game in general.

Last call to avoid spoilers.

Speaking of fitting descriptions of the entire game, let’s start with the intro. Because I have mixed feelings about it, at best. There’s a lot it does right, and some things it simply gets wrong, in regards to the rest of the narrative as a whole.

The pacing and atmosphere are phenomenal. The very air feels heavy around you as you enter into the church, here to take the titular Joseph Seed away from his flock. The pressure of the stakes are established flawlessly, leaving a feeling of palpitation, and a true understanding of just how dangerous Joseph is. Surprised as I was, the game even managed to shock me a little.

In that respect, it’s fantastic.

But then the game uses the cop crew you rolled in with as your motivation for the entire rest of the game, in the form of saving them from the Seed family, and oh god, it’s Fallout 4 all over again.

Just like the Bethesda example above, this aspect of the intro simply doesn’t work. And not just because it’s asking me to unconditionally care about cops.

This sequence of the narrative focuses on every other aspect of narrative setup except for the characters that you’re supposed to get invested in. You get but the most cursory taste of who they are as people. Such a small amount of time can mainly attach their personalities to a specific emotion.

Whitehorse is the calm voice of reason. Marshall Burke is frustrated. Pratt is nervous. And Hudson is… there too, I guess. Look, I’ll be honest, I had to look up half these people’s names for this review. Which I’m sure is only a good sign.

With so little to go on, I found I simply didn’t care whenever a cultist bigwig dangled one of them in front of me on a string, expecting me to bat like a good little kitten. Instead, I yawned and wandered off to play with the packaging the toy had come in.

Like a mischievous little kitten.

Which is such a shame, because there are so many other more interesting characters I actually did care about. And in the few scenes where the Seeds held them to ransom instead, the game suddenly had actual stakes.

Nick and Kim Rye were delightful every time they showed up. Virgil was so honestly sincere, I couldn’t help but like him; and his past, as it unfolded, was interesting to dive into. And Jerome was pretty much cool by default, and an excellent concept for a foil to the cultist bad guys, and everything they stood for.

But the story feels almost unconfident in its execution. Like the team is scared you’ll get bored. So the solution, write more story, or rather, several seemingly self-contained stories across the three separate regions.

With no overarching theme or plot threads besides “Joseph Seed probably gave the command for this at some point,” however, the connection feels loose at best. And this looseness makes the narrative feel all the weaker.

I’d much rather the story had been more focused and condensed. If they’d honed in on about one third as many characters, and if the villains felt a little less redundant, the overall narrative could’ve been much more refined and interesting.

Even the gameplay, while fun, has the same issue.

When traversing from place to place, you can’t drive for five minutes without a dozen random encounters passing you by, whether they travel by wheel or foot or paw. What should be a ten minute trek can sometimes take 30.

Again, it feels like the game is nervous. Like it’s worried that if I’m not firing a gun every two minutes, I’m losing interest. Look, I know this is the age of the internet, but my attention span hasn’t deteriorated that bad.

What were we talking about again?

But it’s sad though, as it detracts from what could be some very nice vistas and scenic routes. I can barely enjoy the quiet, introspective new addition of fishing without a randomly spawned cultist with an exaggerated country accent shouting “Fay-oond ‘eem!” and scaring away all the darn fish with a wild assault rifle volley.

Speaking of guns, let’s talk about politics. Something that could only ever be fun and only ever go over very well.

I don’t want to get too deep into this, as it’s been covered to death, and more eloquently than I’ll probably put it. For a better dive into the subject, I’d recommend watching Errant Signal’s “The Art of Saying Nothing.” To sum it up though, while at face value, FC5 might seem as though it’s about to lay down a scathing indictment of certain aspects of American culture, it really doesn’t.

Not for lack of bringing it up though.

The lady who owns Peaches the cougar, that is to say, the former owner of this sweet large kitten (no I’m not looking up the name this time; she’s not even a narrative footnote), is a prejudicial old woman who lives alone in the woods.

Immediately upon entering her domicile so I could acquire my new kitty and leave, she mentioned that my player character looked vaguely Italian, and made an off-color comment about not wanting her silver/jewels to go missing.

What is this, the turn of the century, last century?

At Hurk’s place, you can meet his dad, who wants to build a wall. What, no, not a wall down there. A wall in the north, to keep out those accursed Canadians and their liberal ideology.

Addressing controversy by obfuscating the real world equivalent is cute, but it lacks the punch that makes it such that it’s proving some kind of point. Here, it’s npc’s that you’re expected to stay on good terms with, so that you can get more quests and goodies, like a new pet or ride.

(Shame you never get a new pet who is also your new ride, though.)

And why? Because they’re supposedly better than the cultists who only physically hurt and impede people different than themselves? What’s the takeaway here supposed to be, that it’s only physical extremism that’s bad and--oh god wait no, it’s Bioshock Infinite all over again.

Of course, we all know the real reason why. To offend as few people as possible. Because every offended party is a potential lost sale. Hence why despite clearly using Christian/Baptist imagery and motifs, no cultist ever actually mentions Jesus by name, and the peggy symbol only vaguely and technically resembles that of a cross.

I’ve bad news for you, though, Ubisoft; it’s too late. If you wanted to offend as few people as possible, it was already over the instant you let writers set it in a rural, dominantly Christian, dominantly white community, in America. Right wing talking heads were lining up to be officially offended the instance promos started showing bad guys toting guns, bibles, and the American flag.

Because despite bragging about having thick skin, when it comes down to it, they typically don’t.

At some point, you almost want to lean in uncomfortably close to the game’s face and tell it “Go on. Say what you really mean.” And it never does. Making it satire with no teeth, which isn’t actually satire, but parody. It’s a flag-waving, gun-toting parody of American culture. It’s an American beer commercial meets Saint’s Row. It’s a romanticized outdoorsy rural locale with tacky looking guns and gruesome murder set to made-up gospel and old rock hits.

Which doesn’t feel that far off from a Saint’s Row game, but it wildly conflicts with the tone Far Cry 5 very quickly establishes for itself. And it’s such a waste, because to use an on-theme colloquialism, “bless its little heart.”

It’s trying so hard, and there are some things I can’t help but enjoy about it.

There was a moment early on, when I was creeping through the bushes of a small neighborhood as slowly and quietly as I could. I had not but a bow and a pistol to my name. Cultists were stacking dead bodies while their speaker-mounted truck played their very own choir, singing about water washing away sin. As they were finishing up, they began to sing along.

It was as First Blood meets Jim Jones as the entire game felt, and it all just clicked. The gameplay and tone all lined up so perfectly and felt so right. Where did that go?

Luckily, the game is also pretty charming in various other inadvertent or otherwise unintentional ways.

Obviously it’s cute and wholesome that you can pet all the non-hostile animals. But it’s completely adorable how Peaches growls at you when you go where she can’t follow.

There’s also random npc’s you can recruit for the game’s buddy system, aside from the nine named specialty partners. At first, I seriously wondered how any of them could compare to Peaches, the oversized mewling kitten, or Grace, the cool as a cucumber sniper lady.

But then I found some lady named Evie, who looked like somebody’s mom, and I honestly found it hard to part with her. There was something so ernest and amusing about the idea of somebody’s mom who used to embarrass them at every PTA meeting or bake sale, now in an awkwardly-fitting militia vest yelling “Get some!” to every other cultist who dared cross our path.

The gameplay is also varied enough with timed races, and puzzling treasure hunting segments. The latter in particular, I really enjoyed. They had me doing everything navigating mazes of fire to hopping and swinging along successive grapple lines under a bridge, skirting river water along the way. It’s good, varied fun.

I also really appreciate the organic way in which story beats are unlocked, which is really saying something for a sandbox. Normally, there are specific missions that unlock the next cutscene that actually matters, and everything else feels like so much filler and padding.

Far Cry 5 had the genius idea that everything should contribute to an overall progress bar. This makes it that nothing feels like padding, as you’ll always be working toward the next story beat, even if you’re doing what feel like side quests.

But it’s one step forth and one step back with you, isn’t it Far Cry 5?

Once you’ve unlocked the next story beat, you’ll be whisked away to the next cutscene to have one of the villains get in your face for the next five minutes, whether you were ready for that or not. It gets annoying after the second time, and downright numb the fifth or sixth.

It’s also where the writing starts to fall apart some more.

You know that old James Bond trope where the bad guy has him right where they want him? But then because the villain is so contrived in how they want to handle him, he ends up getting away? Well that happens almost every time. It’s cheesy.

Also where some of the worst writing in the game comes into play.

Jacob Seed has a neat gimmick, I’ll admit. He’s all about classic conditioning, A Clockwork Orange style. Alright, interesting enough. And instead of escaping, you wake up, presumably days later, having finally escaped his mind control. It was a neat twist at first.

What’s incredibly stupid though is everyone points it out. Dutch, Eli, all characters who know about Jacob’s MO, and none of them think anything suspicious about it. Nope, just “Hey, now that I can finally get in contact with you after an entire week of you not responding, come back and get uncomfortably close to me and people I care about.”

Nobody thinks anything’s up with that? Even after it happens three or four times?? And not even my own character thinks to warn them that I’m being psychologically manipulated to kill them???

Oh. Look at that. The game made me kill Eli. How very unsurprising. What is that, something like four hours of build up to a twist anyone could see coming if they’ve ever seen a story?

“Who cares, it’s fun, isn’t it?”

I mean, yes, sure. It’s very fun, in fact. Fewer things have been more satisfying than timing it just right to take down three baddies at once, with a sniper shot from Grace, a mauling from Peaches, and a throwing knife from myself.

And like I said before, the gameplay is just varied enough to not grow dull. But what should be a good game is held back by mediocre writing and a lack of commitment.

Weirder than any of it though is the troves of people lining up to say it doesn’t matter, because the game is fun. Listen, I can enjoy the gameplay for hours of mind-numbing fun, but still be able to pick apart everything wrong with the overall experience. There’s nothing really wrong with that. It doesn’t completely impede what enjoyment I, or anybody else, was able to get out of it.

I really don’t get this, though. This is no critique of the game itself, mind you, but it is at fault for bringing it up again, even if by accident. So it bears discussion.

Clean Prince was right when he said that Far Cry 5 brought up a lot of what’s wrong with modern gaming culture. Yet I can’t help but disagree with his reasoning behind this statement. Because he, like many, asked why any of it matters, so long as the game is fun.

Look.

Gamers clamored for years, demanding our hobby be taken seriously. Entire groups and brands like Extra Credits formed, to try and gain for games the same respect film and literature already had.

Nowadays, we have critics aplenty, like Super Bunny Hop, and the above-mentioned Errant Signal, who regularly dissect games with the same attention to detail movies, shows, and novels receive.

We did it. We’re here. We made it, right?

No.

People tear down bad writing in games, and suddenly it doesn’t matter. The game being fun is the only feature that matters, now that it’s convenient to dismiss anything that seemingly gets in the way of your enjoyment.

Even though it doesn’t.

If Far Cry 5 were a film, people would be trampling over each other to repeat the critics’ disregard of its milquetoast shotgun approach to writing, and lack of commitment to an actual point, despite advertising itself as any kind of satire.

It’s not like having an actual statement is foreign to Far Cry either. Far Cry 2 had a well implemented theme of deterioration in every aspect; your character’s health thanks to the malaria, the guns falling apart from being old, fire spreading wildly out of control.

It’s not even necessarily a Ubisoft problem either.

Far Cry 3 was all about the lengths you’d go to for the people you care about, and how growing and changing as a person ends up alienating you from them anyway. There was also an underlying theme about there being no real winners in a setting so deeply seeded with violence.

Ending sucks too. That’s not a good transition, but it’s as good of one as it deserves, to be frank.

It’s awful, but not because it’s unsatisfying and you don’t get to technically win. Not every game needs to end on a positive note, just because you work for it. Spec Ops: The Line had some of my favorite gut-punch endings in a game.

But the takeaway is just bad, for either ending.

Either you walk away from Joseph at the end, and Jacob’s conditioning kicks in again, and you kill everyone you just saved, or randomly and completely out of bumbling nowhere, several nuclear warheads go off around the tristate area. And everyone you just saved dies in irradiated fire anyway.

What’s the takeaway here? That we should just let dangerous people get away with violent uprisings, because hey, who knows, they may actually have been right all along?

The nuclear ending especially is just bad writing. It’s a twist out of left field meant to shock, and take you by surprise, but only because there’s nothing to indicate it’s going to happen. It’s trying, and failing, to ape the nuke scene from the first Modern Warfare game. But that scene was the dramatic release after an entire level’s worth of building tension regarding the bomb which was mentioned earlier. Of which said established tension, there’s simply none here.

Each region even caps off with you burning out the cult’s various bomb shelters. Only to find out, what? That you should’ve given up and let them kill and maim and steal all they like, so you could huddle down next to them in their bunkers? All because some uninformed zealot who doesn’t even sound like he’s actually looked at a bible lately made a lucky guess?

No thanks.

Instead of inspiring shock and awe, the ending feels random and nonsensical. Once again destroying any coherency the overall tone the game could’ve had. Is this supposed to be a fun, silly game to be enjoyed with a beer or a friend?

Or a serious and somber game where you face the deepest human fear of all: how people manage to justify overt acts of pure evil as “the right thing?”

All in all, Far Cry 5 is like a cheap burger from a fast-food joint. The taste is fine and it’ll tide you over, but it’s probably not very good for you. And you can’t help but think about how much better it looks in the pictures on the menu.

#video games #review #Far Cry 5 #spoilers #rabbot reviews

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documentingmythoughts · 6 years

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The Hijab-less Muslim

05/28/18: Marks the 2 Years I have gone without my Hijab

PHASE 1: Wearing a Hijab during 4th-11th Grade

I remember having my parents approach my sisters and me when we were young to tell us that in our religion, girls have the choice of wearing a hijab. They explained to us that it was a symbol of modesty, of our willful practice of Islam, and that God would cherish us and send us to heaven if we wore one. I quickly accepted what they had said and thought I was going to be the coolest kid in school with my new hijab. I decided that I would color-coordinate my hijab with my clothes and be different from everyone else. I thought I would be the talk of the grade and gain SO many friends.

I did shock the kids in my school. And my school’s white administration. And all of the strangers who stared at me.

As a fourth grader, I was introduced to the concepts of racism, discrimination, Islamophobia, and hate.

I lost friendships. I became a target of bullying. I had classmates tell me that their parents said they couldn’t be my friend anymore because I was Muslim. But, all of this hate only fueled my anger and desire to break free of everyone’s prejudices and their desires to watch me fail. Some people voiced that they wanted me to take my hijab off, while others wanted to see me suffer and break. I persisted.

Part of what kept me going was knowing that by being studious and doing all of the right things, I might be making the life of another Muslim/hijabi easier. That maybe if these people got to know me, they wouldn’t condemn an entire religion anymore and not view me as subhuman. I was a VERY optimistic kid, can you tell?

My sisters definitely made wearing a hijab easier too. We would complain together, look up videos on different ways of tying a hijab, and be on the lookout for new patterned scarves. There came a point where the discrimination we faced seemed bearable and became part of the backdrop of our normal lives. I learned how to suppress my emotions and to continue to exist without letting racist comments torment me. I learned how to keep surviving. But that state of comfort changed in my junior year.

PHASE 2: The Climax of Discrimination and its Consequences

My junior year was a complete shitshow. There was incident after incident until my family and I no longer felt safe in my neighborhood nor my high school. Part of it was a reflection of what was being broadcasted by the media. Terrible acts of terrorism such as the tragic Paris attacks and the San Bernardino shooting were being committed by people who identified as Muslim. With the rise of Trump, people felt more justified in their racist views and harassed us more than usual. I remember my mom remarking to me that the discrimination that we faced during that time was similar to what my parents experienced following 9/11. So in the midst of taking the ACT, SAT, and deciding what colleges to apply to, I was dealing with heightened discrimination as well.

One of the first major acts of discrimination that affected me directly was when a Facebook page that I was one of the admins of for my high school class got hacked by racist white upperclassmen. These students flooded the page with posts of racially-charged images of men dressed in lingerie while wearing hijabs, pictures of student’s genitalia, and a threat against Muslim students. The threat warned Muslim students from coming to school the following day or else they would be hurt. The threat was present on the page for 8 minutes until I reported it and took it down. The threat was made by what seemed like a fake account and couldn’t be linked to a specific student. The dean of students asked me to screenshot every post and send it to her. And so I had to sit there, shaking, and in tears while looking at all of these posts stating that I don’t deserve to exist and mocking the religion that I grew up cherishing. The administrators at my school responded to this incident by informing me that they had no control over activity on social media. I never found out if those students were ever held responsible for their actions.

But this was only the beginning of a long list of actions that occurred and made me feel small, unsafe, and reduced me to my brown, Muslim identity. My parents began urging us to take off our hijabs and said it was too unsafe to wear one. That they would never forgive themselves if anything were to happen to their children because of this choice. My sisters and I were stubborn and refused to give in, but as the incidents abroad and at home started to pile up, my parent’s urgings against us wearing our hijabs became stronger and ours became weaker. I continued to fight and negotiate with them. Initially, we agreed that I would stop wearing one when I went to college due to their lack of control over what would happen there. Over time, we renegotiated until it was decided that I would stop at the end of my junior year of high school because I was going to be traveling in the Southern U.S. as part of a college-access program in the summer, in areas where anti-Islamic sentiment is very prevalent.

Choosing to take off my hijab was a painful choice. Not because I am a religious person, but because I had fought all these systems of oppression for so long, that it felt like I lost. That maybe this world is too fucked up to fix.

PHASE 3: The Aftermath

I remember going back to school for the first time without a hijab. I remember flinching the first time I felt the wind touch my neck. My teachers, counselors, and peers struggled to keep their eyes from widening and stuttered when they spoke to me. I had white teachers and coaches tell me they thought I made the *right* decision by taking off my hijab and that I looked *pretty* without it. They even asked me if my parents knew about my decision and were genuinely shocked when I informed them that my parents were the strongest advocates to take my hijab off. As if the notion that my brown and Muslim parents could not look past their religion and care for the safety of their children was too far-fetched.

In addition to this, I felt like a lab rat that everyone was fascinated to watch and monitor. My hair got caught in car doors because I never had to account for the extra time I had to wait for my hair to settle. I never had to think about how my hair was a reflection of my well being, until the little effort that I initially made to maintain it was enough for people to make comments to me. They remarked that they could tell how much sleep I had the night before or that they could determine how stressed I was depending on how frizzy or put together my hair looked. I had to start thinking of ways to maintain it, to “find the right products” so that I would be accepted by society.

In many ways, taking off my hijab made me realize that it was a blessing and a curse.

While wearing a hijab, most of my interactions felt pre-determined, as I had no choice but to interact with the overt racists who had something to say to me. All of my battles were chosen for me and I had no choice but to take arms and fight. I fought to exist with the label I carried which was emotionally draining and laborious. Without my hijab, I can pick and choose which battles to exert my energy towards.

On the other hand, wearing a hijab filtered my interactions; those who were my friends really, truly respected me as a person. Those who were uncomfortable with my presence and existence did not approach me and definitely did not befriend me. But, without my hijab, people don’t instantly label me. Only after interacting and in some cases becoming their friend did it become clear that they didn’t know my story, my identities, and that what they say or the views they have hurt me. I wish I could continue to have this filter that my hijab provided. It definitely would be helpful in college.

I also did not know that strangers smiled at (and at times greeted) other strangers when you walk on the street. I only became aware of this phenomenon after I took off my hijab and this started to happen to me. I was genuinely shook by its occurrence in the beginning and realized how fucked up it was that I didn’t receive these “smiles” when I wore a hijab. I guess that’s a reflection of how messed up society is. People need to do better.

I am often asked if I would consider wearing a hijab again later in my life. My current answer to this is no. I like being able to pick and choose my battles and not feeling emotionally drained as I did with my hijab. Since I now know what life is like without that constant influence weighing down on me, it’s too high of a cost to reintroduce now. I’m still only 2 years without my hijab so my answer may change once I fully experience what life is like this way.

People often talk about how the women who wear hijabs in Islam are oppressed and face a lot of sexism through religion. While this may be the case for other Muslim women in the world, it wasn’t my general experience with Islam. It was American culture and small-minded people who oppressed me and made me feel worthless for practicing my religion. For being the “secular” and religiously tolerant country America claims to be, my experiences would suggest otherwise. So while Congress shall make “no law respecting the establishment of religion,” or prohibit “the free exercise of one,” this country is already built by its people and institutions of power to reject my existence.

If y’all really took the time to read all of this, I am sincerely impressed and grateful. Thank you for hearing part of my story. Feel free to reach out if you wanna talk!

#islamaphobia #muslimandproud #brownandproud #RamadanMubarak #america #desi #browngirlsgang

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cfijerusalem · 4 years

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EFRAT (אֶפְרָת) Land of Fruitfulness

Efrat (CC BY 1.0, Wikipedia)

I will gather the remnant of My flock out of all the countries where I have driven them, and will bring them back to their folds, and they will be fruitful and multiply...It is a declaration of Adonai.” Jeremiah 23:3-4 TLV

Nestled in the Judean mountains at 150 feet (960 meters) above sea level stands the flourishing town of Efrat, previously called Efrata. This community, established in 1983, is located in a highly disputed area of Judea— 7.5 miles (12 km) south of Jerusalem between Bethlehem and Hebron. Efrat is only 4 miles (6.5 km) inside the security wall which protects the contested land.

Efrat has blossomed to a population of 11,500. Despite great opposition, the Israeli government made plans to expand it by adding 225 acres for 7,000 additional housing units in the town; this could triple its size! [Jewish News Syndicate] Although it is located in the Gush Etzion block (a cluster of Jewish communities), Efrat is a separate municipality with its own local government and services. The residents are mainly religious Zionist, with some ultra-orthodox and non-observant Jews. Because it is primarily an English-speaking town and a popular destination for immigrants from the United States, Efrat has been called “Little America”. [Breslev] In addition to native-born Israelis, many of its courageous residents have also flowed in from the United Kingdom, Australia, France, South Africa, Argentina, The Netherlands, Canada, and Russia.

Seven Species of the Land of Israel (CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikipedia)

Efrat is named after the biblical place Ephrath (also Ephrata) meaning "fruitful." It contains seven neighborhoods named for the seven species found in Israel as described in Deuteronomy 8:8: Rimon (pomegranate), Te'ena (fig), Gefen (grapevine), Dekel (date palm), Zayit (olive), Tamar (date), and Dagan (grain- both wheat and barley).

On a recent home visit to Efrat, we went to help celebrate a little boy’s first birthday with his brave, single-parent mother, Jenna, who raises sheep and donkeys on the outskirts of town. This celebration was also recognition of a milestone in their arduous, but fruitful journey.

This young woman relayed an incident she had experienced. After returning home from buying supplies, she saw that her three donkeys had wandered away. Searching for them, Jenna contacted people in the area. Later an Arab man informed her that her donkeys had been found, but she would need to pay an exorbitant fee to have them returned. When the donkeys were brought home, they had been badly beaten. Consequently, in addition to the cost of their return, she had to buy medicine for their wounds and help them recover from the trauma.

Despite the difficulties Jenna has experienced since immigrating alone, this undaunted young mother perseveres in Efrat where she feels called to live. She is representative of the many valiant Jewish ‘pioneers’ who have returned to the land of their forefathers. As they look to God, may their lives be fruitful just as He has declared.

Join us in praying for Efrat

Praise God that His promises are eternal and irrevocable. We can trust Him to do whatever He said! “Forever, Adonai, Your word stands firm in the heavens” (Psalm 119:89 TLV). God loves Israel! He said to Zion, “…I will not forget you. Behold, I have engraved you on the palms of My hands. Your walls are continually before Me” (Isaiah 49:15-16).

Request that the Lord would supply an abundance of riches, from both Christians and affluent Jewish people, so that those Jews who make aliyah from less wealthy nations, will not be hindered from making the journey to come home. “All who choose to remain behind, wherever they may be living, should provide the people who are leaving with silver, gold, supplies, livestock, and freewill offerings to be used in Elohim’s temple in Jerusalem” (Ezra 1:4 NOG).

Appeal to God to provide employment, protection, endurance, resilience, wisdom, and success for the immigrants in Efrat and other parts of Israel. Assimilating into Israeli culture and maintaining stability is not always an easy process – especially for those like Jenna who do not have family nearby. “‘Also I shall bring back the exiles of My people Israel...They will also plant vineyards and drink their wine, and make gardens and eat their fruit. I will also plant them on their land, and they shall never again be uprooted from their land which I have given them,’ says the Lord your God” (Amos 9:14-15).

Yield to the Holy Spirit as you pray for God to turn the hearts of Jewish people from all over the world toward “home” – Israel. “…my Lord will again redeem – a second time with His hand – the remnant of His people who remain... He will lift up a banner for the nations, and assemble the dispersed of Israel and gather the scattered of Judah from the four corners of the earth” (Isaiah 11:11-12).

Our Dear Intercessors:

As we begin this new calendar year of 2021, we look to God more diligently than ever to guide our steps in these difficult times. While situations around us grow more challenging, the time spent in God’s presence grows more precious, powerful, and sweet! Now is time to draw closer to Him and to allow the Holy Spirit to refine our prayers, so that our words hit the bulls-eye of His will.

We are deeply grateful for your continued prayer support in such times. We value the comradery of our brothers and sisters in Yeshua and are strengthened by the time spent in intercession alongside you. If you are not a part of our Israel Watch prayer network, we invite to join us by contacting us at [email protected]. May God’s blessings rest on you all.

In His Service,

Linda D. McMurray

Wall of Prayer Supervisor

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billyagogo · 4 years

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'You are a Black man at all times.' 3 generations tell of their family's hopes and fears in the Trump era

New Post has been published on https://newsprofixpro.com/moxie/2020/11/01/you-are-a-black-man-at-all-times-3-generations-tell-of-their-familys-hopes-and-fears-in-the-trump-era/

'You are a Black man at all times.' 3 generations tell of their family's hopes and fears in the Trump era

Curtis Shelton grew up in the 1950s at a time when Black people couldn’t live or work where they wanted, or gamble in this city’s famous casinos. His son Allen remembers living in public housing as a little boy; he went on to become a successful real estate agent, raising his family in a gated community in the suburbs. Curtis’ grandsons, Allen Jr. and Christian, are college students coming into their own in the Trump era.

All of these men exude a determination to do better than the generations that came before them — the same thing every American strives for. But their shared optimism competes with an uneasiness that also runs through the Shelton family.

Even though these three generations of men are separated by more than half a century, they all struggle with the pressure of being Black men in a country that fails again and again to respect people who look like them.

“They say what goes around comes around — we’re still protesting,” Curtis, 76, said one day while standing outside the house he’s lived in since the family left public housing.

“Until there’s a great change across the board,” he said, turning to Allen, “his grandsons are going to be protesting. Because we’ll never get our just due.”

For the Shelton men, Tuesday’s presidential election isn’t just about choosing a leader. It’s about their yearning for physical safety, their desire to live out their lives without the burden of bigotry. It’s about how they — like many other Black people — consider this election tantamount to a moment of truth, a way to give meaning to phrases about justice and equality in the Constitution by voting out a racist president.

With much of this year focused on race, Allen and his wife, Wendy, opened up their home for a conversation about the discomfort they feel over the dangers that Black men face in America. Black men may be proud of their identity, they say, but many carry inside them a mix of rage, fear and hope that’s so messy — and sometimes so maddening — that they shy away from revealing how their skin color weighs on them.

Police killings of Black men, armed or unarmed. A president who called peaceful anti-racism protesters thugs and anarchists, and football players “sons of bitches” for taking a knee. Curtis, Allen, Allen Jr. and Christian are coping with this time of racial upheaval and protest in different ways.

Curtis, who lives on his own, said he doesn’t have it in him to join demonstrations against biased policing and racial violence, but not because he disagrees with the cause. He’s just not sure he could handle the rage it would bring to the surface that’s rooted in tragedy he’s endured because of racism.

Allen, 56, shares something his late mother used to tell him when he was growing up that he’s tried to impart to his own children: “When you leave this house, know who you are.”

Column One

A showcase for compelling storytelling from the Los Angeles Times.

But Allen Jr., 21, and Christian, 19, look uncomfortable talking about the dangers that come with their Blackness. They strain to reconcile the good things their parents have taught them to believe about themselves with what America tells them they are.

“I don’t think I truly understood what it meant to be a Black man in America until I saw all of this outpouring of support for us,” Allen Jr. confesses as he thinks of millions of protesters marching for George Floyd.

“I felt more and more like that could be me,” he said of Floyd, who died after a police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes.

The Sheltons raised their sons to be resilient Black men by drumming into them another lesson from their own parents: Nothing can hold you back, even though you’re Black.

“It was so entrenched in our mind it was kind of like a handed-down heirloom,” Allen Sr. said.

Wendy Shelton, left, and Allen Shelton Sr. watch the second presidential debate at their home in Las Vegas with Allen’s father, Curtis, center.

(David Becker / For The Times)

But their teachings to their sons about perseverance, the loving words about being precious in God’s eyes — they no longer feel like it is enough.

“It became apparent that we had to tell them, ‘You need to be aware that you are a Black man at all times,’” said Wendy, 53. “In hindsight, I question whether we should’ve started telling them that when they were 4 or 5 years old, because of the way that the world is now.”

Allen and Wendy Shelton look at family photos at home in their gated Las Vegas community. Both are natives of the city, which once limited Black residents to one neighborhood.

(David Becker / For The Times)

Allen and Wendy settled in a suburban community of two-story homes 20 minutes north of the anything-goes atmosphere and distractions of the city. From the time their sons were young boys, they stressed the importance of education.

Allen Jr. is an engineering major at Santa Clara University in Silicon Valley. He recently had a paper on image-recognition technology for visually impaired people published at a global humanitarian conference. Christian is a performance art major at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, studying opera.

This is the first year Allen Jr. and Christian are eligible to vote in a presidential election. To stress the importance of Black people voting, their parents turned it into an outing, taking their sons to a drive-in event called “Drop It Like It’s Hot” that had a live DJ. They all chose Democrat Joe Biden and his running mate, California Sen. Kamala Harris, for president and vice president.

When asked how they felt about Trump, Allen Jr. and Christian just shook their heads in dismay.

Curtis voted several days later, making this the first time that all three generations of his family have participated in a presidential election. He said he was was proud of his grandsons.

“I don’t care who they voted for as long as they did,” the lifelong Democrat said. “All the people who died to get the right to vote, and [people] don’t vote? What’s up with that?”

Allen and Wendy said lately they’d been afraid to take walks around their neighborhood for fear of being harassed or physically attacked because of their skin color. This anxiety churns in Allen, but “as a Black man,” he said, “you try to hold back, hold it in.”

Allen Jr. and Christian looked on. They’re both soft-spoken.

Like his older brother, Christian is still working out his feelings about violence against Black men, but he gave words of reassurance to his parents.

“They did a good job of teaching us,” Christian said, turning toward Wendy. “I feel like I can shoot for the stars.”

Christian is a talented vocalist who caught the attention of the artist Lizzo. She posted a split-screen of her swooning over him singing a Corinne Bailey Rae song. Local Democrats invited Christian to sing the national anthem at a voter registration event featuring Harris.

Christian Shelton sang earlier this year at a voter registration event attended by Sen. Kamala Harris of California.

(Wendy Shelton)

The young men listened as their parents recounted racist incidents. The sons had heard the stories before and they’re unsettled by them every time.

There was the time vandals spray-painted a Nazi swastika and “KKK” on two banners advertising Allen’s real estate business. And the time when a traffic cop mistook the couple for other people, pulled them over, accused them of having a gun and handcuffed them.

“They had us in the middle of a major street in December, in the cold, on our knees with our backs to them,” Wendy recalled. She remembers “hearing guns clicking.”

“That stuff has just been pushed down for years and years,” Wendy said. “But this year, I just felt compelled to tell some of the stories — to say how I feel as the mom of these two Black boys.”

Allen’s emotions have crept up on him too in recent months.

In June, angry and grief-stricken over what happened to Floyd, he took a walk in the dark to clear his mind.

“Then bam, bam, bam — it hits you,” Allen said. His eyes welled up with tears, and he was relieved no one could see him.

What would his sons think if they saw the man who told them they were born blessed looking so vulnerable because of his race?

Las Vegas — with its neon lights and penchant for turning vintage buildings into piles of rubble — might not be the first place people think of to learn about America’s history of racism. But the Shelton family is a testament to a time when Black people were unwelcome and invisible in this desert playground.

Allen Shelton visits Las Vegas’ historic Westside, the once segregated neighborhood where he grew up. He’s frustrated over the lack of economic development.

(Tyrone Beason / For The Times)

Most Black people who settled in Las Vegas in the middle of the last century migrated from the segregated South for jobs — at a defense contractor during World War II, a chemical plant near the city, casinos and building dams on the Colorado River.

Once here, they encountered what some coined the “Mississippi of the West.” Black people were banned from the Strip’s casinos and hotels and forced to live five miles north in what’s known today as the historic Westside.

Wendy takes a black-and-white photo off the wall showing her father, Odell Nichols Jr., as a boy dressed in his Sunday best with his family during a dinner in 1955 at the Moulin Rouge, the city’s first integrated casino.

Wendy Shelton’s father, Odell Nichols Jr., as a boy, second from right, dining with his family at the Moulin Rouge in 1955. It was the first casino and resort in Las Vegas to welcome Black patrons.

(Courtesy of Wendy Shelton)

The Westside resort allowed Black people the dignity that the rest of Las Vegas failed to recognize, in a setting with its own glitz and glamour. Sammy Davis Jr. and other Black stars paid visits after dazzling white audiences at the city’s whites-only casinos. Waiters wore white gloves.

Wendy said she grew up around Black men who weren’t intimidated by the constraints imposed by racism, so she wanted to teach her sons to be the same way. Allen Jr. and Christian said they’re proud to have come from such strong people.

The Sheltons — Christian, Wendy, Allen Sr. and Allen Jr., from left — after voting early in the presidential election.

(Courtesy of Wendy Shelton)

The flashiness of Las Vegas suddenly ends when Allen drives under the freeway into his and Wendy’s old neighborhood. The Moulin Rouge is now a gravel lot. There have been plans to entice businesses, but the whole area looks motionless, forgotten.

Allen pulls up to his father’s one-story house on a block of simple homes with tidy lawns, and Curtis comes out eager to talk.

Curtis, a preacher who occasionally gives sermons at the church Allen went to as a child, reflects on the experience of his parents. They migrated from Arkansas and managed to put down roots in Vegas, a getaway that limited Black people to mostly service jobs. Curtis fondly recalls working at the Jockey Club resort on the Strip when he was younger and the white employees who treated him like their equal.

But he believes white people fail to appreciate this about Black people — their desire to be self-reliant.

“Like what James Brown said: ‘Open the door and I’ll get it myself,’” Curtis said. “I don’t want you to hand it to me.”

He used a single word to describe what he sees as the motive for a rise in hate crimes and white supremacist activity since Trump was elected: “Retaliation.” White people are punishing Black people for the advancements they’ve made since his parents’ time, he said.

Curtis is quick with a smile but he carries a lot of pent-up pain inside his slim frame.

This is the first presidential election all three generations of Shelton men could vote. Pictured in the family’s suburban Las Vegas yard are Allen Sr., Allen Jr., Curtis and Christian, from left.

(David Becker / For The Times)

In 1986, his son Anthony, Allen’s younger brother, died after being thrown from a car when it was deliberately run off the road by a vehicle driven by a white man, according to the two survivors.

It was a gut-wrenching end to a night of celebration. The boys’ mother, Carolyn Shelton, had organized a big party to celebrate Allen’s graduation from Grambling State University, a historically Black school in Louisiana, and Anthony’s graduation from high school.

The Sheltons were convinced the incident was racially motivated. The Las Vegas Review-Journal reported at the time that police didn’t dispute the account, but they lacked leads.

Anthony’s death sparked in Curtis a resentment of white people.

“That’s why I don’t watch the protests and don’t get into it, because that feeling comes back, and I try to keep that down,” Curtis said of his anger. “With help from God,” he keeps it under control.

During that lonely walk in June, Allen Sr. thought about how he could channel his anger over racial injustices old and new, and about the power of a Black man using his voice as a force for good.

He didn’t let on to his family that he’d shed tears. Instead he turned to Christian.

His son had sung “Somewhere Over the Rainbow” at the state Democratic convention four years ago.

How times had changed.

Allen told Christian that on his walk, he’d listened to a song by Andra Day that was perfect for this new season of protest, and that he should record a version of it. Soon after, Christian did.

Even the song’s title was fitting.

“Rise Up.”

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memorylang · 4 years

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23rd Birthday~ Roses and Rosaries | #39 | July 2020

I’ve focused on being present for others while even taking to new projects, as I continue to wrestle with the time COVID-19 in America has given me.

With July 6, 2020, I’ve turned 23, hooray! Hard to say whether I feel young or old.

Just after my birthday, my half-brother, his wife and my baby nephew visited for the first time since Christmas, too! Now their adorably big 15-month-old baby babbles and crawls. He’s so squishy. Just before I returned to Reno and they returned to Ohio, we also saw “Hamilton” (2020), which felt grand as well.

Also included, tales from the 4th of July, American Independence Day. But before I go any further, though, I need to share news that’s been hanging on me all month, no matter my activity.

Sensing the Soul’s Hourglass

A dear friend said he’s been diagnosed with brain cancer. He said he’s heard he won’t have long to live.

About a month ago on June 10, I learned this. Just two weeks earlier, my friend and I were chatting, and he shared how excited he felt to have finished undergrad at the top of his class like me. He’d asked for leadership advice, too, on a new role he was taking on. Unfortunately, he’s since had to step down.

My friend and I have kept in close communication ever since his news I received on my stateside Week 14. Our first couple weeks, we mostly talked through the shock. As topics started to thin, we’d begun talking about movies. This led me to take up his offer to see the films he’d recommended most. More on this later.

Memento mori

The Knights of Columbus, like many Christian organizations, invites its members to reflect on the Latin phrase, “Memento mori,” which people often translate to, “Remember you must die.” To have a fellow brother knight undergoing the challenge he faces now, this phrase matters especially.

Our Knights of Columbus College Council, of which he is a part, began praying weekly rosaries for him and his family. We asked others to pray for him as well. Meanwhile, he appeared on a podcast hosted by a fellow knight, the same one I appeared on a couple weeks later.

Terror Road

The day after I learned my dear friend’s news, June 11 at 1:34 a.m., Dad and I had what Dad calls a “Thank you, Jesus” moment.

Dad was driving. It was pitch-black off the highway, judging from how well I could see the stars. We rode a two-lane road, heading back to Reno from Vegas. I was talking to Dad a bit, and he mentioned planning to stop in Beatty, Nev.

In the oncoming traffic, I saw what seemed the semi-driver ahead had his or her brights still on. Then it looked like another car was passing. Dad slid our car right, into the shoulder, as not one but two vehicles zoomed by.

Three cars just passed each other on a two-lane road.

Not long after, we drove over a large animal's carcass, which didn’t quell my morbid thoughts much.

Sure 2 a.m. neared, but I felt way too rattled to rest. Every passing headlight for a while made me flinch. But then we reached Beatty, got our rest and continued, ending Week 14 (June 5–11).

Ancient Skies

June 22, a separate drive up to Reno, Week 16 (June 19–25), around the same dark hour, a more peaceful moment happened. While Dad napped at the rest stop in Luning, Nev. from 1:47 a.m., I went forth and stargazed.

I felt enamored to see the Milky Way. This was the rest stop where Boys’ State often stopped, on my trips with them years ago. I searched for the Big Dipper and Cassiopeia, my usuals. I tried to find Orion, too, but had trouble. There was one area I thought might have been it, though. So, I Googled star charts. I felt that childhood song, “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star” made far more sense while stargazing.

First I found Vega and Hercules from Big Dipper, then Deneb and Cygnus, followed by Delphinus. What I thought might have been the Little Dipper was part of Sagittarius. Turns out what I thought was Orion was part of it, too. Then I went back and found Altair and Aquila, after zooming out my perspective. Pegasus looked so big! What I thought may have been Cassiopeia, I doubted. Then I found Polaris, solving that mystery.

I paused and saw a couple shooting stars. I reflected on the seeming perfection of ancient star charts, ancients’ stories they wove with the patterns in the sky and the dome creation mythos in the Hebrew Bible that piercing lights there. Some even liken stars to souls of those passed.

Lastly, I found Draco, Lacerta, Cepheus and Ursa Major, followed by Perseus and what looked like Camelopardalis. What I thought might have been Cassiopeia I realized was Ursa Minor.

My Milky Way quest this night reminded me of my Memorial Day Great Basin quest, Week 12 (May 22–28), but better. I felt awed how a quest to find Orion instead opened me to the rest of the summer sky. If I ever visit the Southern Hemisphere I better stargaze.

After I returned to the car at 3 a.m., Dad said he’d seen the stars when he was little. What a memorable night.

Science in a Lifetime

Curiously, ‘Philosophy of Science’ has been among the most impactful courses I took for compulsory credits in late undergrad. I met a friend who’s eagerly engaged in space politics, especially with how that historic Dragon launch (my family watched) changes opportunities. Likewise, that class exposed me in greater depth to gene-editing, beyond the CRISPR-Cas9 I first learned about on a trip with Boys’ State staff.

On one of these Nevada rides with Dad, I asked about his med school experiences. He shared how some professors and students lost their lives to cancers. Leukemia had even taken the life of my father’s brother when the brother was in the 1st grade.

I felt awed then to realize in our world, science has given us potential to reverse cancers that once so mercilessly claimed lives within still living people’s lifetimes. My dear friend and I had hope, and that’s all we needed beyond prayer.

Birdwatching

One day in the backyard during a return to Vegas, I decided my new favorite animal has changed from mantis shrimp to the elusive, hoving hummingbird.

Furthermore, I just thought about how awesome birds are in general.

I met an Irish priest in Taiwan who even watched birds for fun. He had such excitement in his eyes. I vaguely recalled a poem I encountered, sometime after I came back from Mongolia. The poet compared herself to the birds. In fact, Mongolian hunters use eagles, falcons and other birds of prey. But I felt even the normal birds sounded different in Mongolia. Birds can be so colorful.

God bless the hummingbirds.

July 4, 2020, and an Eclipse

This was my first time back in America for July 4 since 2016.

Down in Vegas on American Independence Day, my youngest brother and I drove to our stepmother's, where two of her daughters and Dad were. My older brother would come later. I helped a little in the kitchen. Mostly, I worked on my writing while chatting with my youngest stepsister before she left for work.

I had no idea I missed the taste of an American-style burger on the 4th of July. It's truly been four years since my last.

Dad had felt glad I saw “What’s Up, Doc?” recently, so he had his wife, my youngest brother, and my older (not oldest) stepsister see it. My stepsister and my brother left, though. I enjoyed seeing it again.

Then I went out on the back porch, as fireworks began downtown and around the neighborhood. Being there, feeling the warm breeze, reminded of Panamá, seeing on my host family’s front porch the lunar eclipse during January 2019.

Here in the States for the 4th felt good—a taste of home again. The United States is a young nation, one I hope that continues to revel in its history, remembering its roots. Its roots run all throughout the earth. Unless we are indigenous peoples, we and our ancestors came from elsewhere. And as citizens of the States now, let us continue to honor those who gave of themselves to make possible the democratic experiment on which the United States was founded.

God bless!

23rd Birthday—Online, Anywhere

“It's a funny thing about coming home. [...] You realize what's changed is you.” —The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)

When I was a schoolkid, I used to enjoy sleepovers for my birthdays. I'd at least have get-togethers at my house so friends and I could see each other halfway through summer.

In recent past summers, though, studying abroad in China then serving with Peace Corps Mongolia, I hadn't been stateside for my birthdays! This changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, making this my first summer home a birthday since 2016. Even online, I could read what people wrote me!

About a week before my birthday, I had the pleasure of visiting to pray a rosary with Evan, an older fellow Knight of Columbus who has been homebound due to limited mobility among other conditions. He felt thrilled by my commitment to see him and keep the faith, and he asked me to join him daily in rosaries over the phone. We began at once. We even started praying two a day, at his request. He deeply believed in continued prayer and suggested what many need is a night entirely in prayer. Unfortunately, he lacked the health to do this.

Understanding a physically distant birthday would be best amid this pandemic, I'd already planned to restrict my birthday functions to online only. I realized my day would mark a perfect occasion for the vigil! Reaching out to fellow knights, I received rapid support for the vigil idea. I and those who join me would pray for peace, preservation and intercession amid the pandemic for all who suffer illness, especially our dear friend.

Realizing, too, late nights in the States could be more pleasant times for Catholics elsewhere in the world, I reached out to pilgrim friends I met during World Youth Day 2019 pilgrimage in Panamá. Since rosaries contain a sequence of repeated call-and-response prayers, I felt we could share our native languages and still understand the meaning, just as we’d done at World Youth Day. Salvadoran, Mongolian and Malaysian friends helped me translate my invitation to Spanish, Mongolian and Mandarin Chinese. I hoped by having fellow Americans alongside pilgrim friends pray together with me, we could share in the universality of the faith in peace and solidarity during this pandemic.

Birthday Vigil Begins

We began 23:00 Pacific time on Sunday, July 5, praying until we completed all 23 rosaries. We finished at noon on my birthday July 6. When some friends had to retire for the night or to leave for work in their timezones, I'd pray alone until a new friend appeared. At most, only an hour would pass between others' arrival to join me in prayer, which felt great.

At kick-off, I was joined by fellow two fellow knights—Javier, who had begun our council’s weekly rosaries, and my dear friend. I felt so elated on video to see him again for the first time in ages! Additionally, two pilgrim friends join us—Andrea in El Salvador joined us and Marie in the Czech Republic.

We began with Latin, the Church’s universal language, which might have been a laughable start. We followed it with an easier rosary, Spanish, which was Andrea’s native language. We tried another hard one for us, next. Javi taught us responses for Tagalog, then we gave it a shot. I really enjoyed praying in Tagalog, as many of my middle and high school friends know the language.

For our fourth rosary, we tried to do French since our dear friend knows it, but because the language’s pronunciation rules aren’t straightforward, we bailed after the “Our Father” and switched to English. I felt impressed we prayed the first three in non-English languages, though!

Most had to go around 1–2 a.m. Around that time, Marie, who had been without a camera and microphone, realized she could try using her sister’s laptop. Thus, right after everyone else left, she was able to speak! She taught me enough Czech that I could read the responses. I found it a beautiful language. Then I taught her enough Mandarin Chinese so she could read the responses in Mandarin. Marie might have set the record for being online longest with me—about four hours!

Birthday Vigil and Daybreak

My most difficult hour was between about 3–4 a.m. Alone, I completed three rosaries but felt increasingly lethargic.

Thankfully, when I felt totally drained, my fellow knight Marco bailed me out! For the next hour or so, we said one in English then another in Latin, which helped me find my groove.

After Marco left for work, two unexpected guests popped in. My Mongolian friend Angelica, whom I met during Peace Corps, visited briefly as well as my Panamanian host mother, who housed me for World Youth Day. Although neither could stay long, I appreciated their presence. They wished such kind blessings! Meanwhile, I said rosaries in Latin and Mongolian.

My fellow knight Evan joined our rosaries for an hour and a half around 6:30 a.m., our usual time we prayed together. Our Grand Knight Thomas joined that morning, as well. Evan enjoyed hearing us in Latin.

My Mexican pilgrim friend Ricardo came in about when Tom left, so after Latin with Evan, I prayed in Spanish with Ricardo. He said great blessings, too! Then I said a quick rosary alone in English.

Then came more Salvadoran pilgrim friends! Josselyn dropped by around 9 a.m. Just after she left came Rosibel around 10. I enjoyed how they added litanies, which I hadn’t done on previous rosaries. With them, I spoke and prayed in Spanish, which gave me lots of practice. They felt relieved they didn’t need to speak English to join me, and they thought I spoke well, too!

Just after Rosibel left and shortly after 11, my Salvadoran friend Andrea, who joined me at the vigil’s very beginning, returned! I practiced a lot of Spanish that morning. Thankfully, Andrea knew English and indulged me to pray the final, 23rd rosary in my native tongue.

Vigil’s Aftermath

In total, I with friends prayed six Joyful, five Luminous, six Sorrowful and six Glorious Mysteries. Of these, we prayed most in non-English languages, primarily Spanish and Latin, but also Tagalog, Czech, Mandarin Chinese and Mongolian. I really enjoyed honoring prayer in others' native languages. Beyond the States, we were joined by friends in Latin America, Europe and Asia, including El Salvador, Panamá, México, the Czech Republic and Mongolia.

I'm touched and honored by those who came to support our efforts. Got to finally put to the test my months of restarting Spanish! Those who participated shared their joy and commendations, too. My homebound knight even requested I do another in August. (My late mother’s birthday is in early August, so we’ll see.)

Mere days after the vigil, my dear friend shared doctors said he’s in recovery! That raised our spirits.

Mere days after, my dear friend received opposite news that the cancer spread. Days later, he reported rough days and said he could practically sense his hourglass of life. Doctors said in three months, he would lose function in his legs. Still, our correspondences continue.

On the bright side, “glioblastoma” makes a great Scrabble word, he added.

Rose Thorns of Life

Felt a little choked up clipping the dead rose blooms yesterday morning. I thought they were still alive, but they weren't. So I needed to prune them. For, the whole life of the bush looks better when it's free of its once alive-and-beautiful, now finished-and-dead parts. Its life thrives by focusing on the living pieces when they live and removing the dead when they’re dead. Such are our lives.

My stepmom likes roses.

When I was little, I disliked roses because of their thorns. I bled whenever I grabbed them. I realize now that if I don't get close, I don't get hurt. But to care for them better, I must get closer. Such is life.

I was praying over the phone my daily rosaries with fellow knight Evan while pruning the rose bushes yesterday. It was Thursday, so we prayed the Luminous and Sorrowful Mysteries—fitting. They meditate on acceptance, suffering and letting go.

I don’t find rosaries all that fun, to be honest. But people say they’re important. And they feel like a nice way to get in the right spirit, even outside places of worship. In the clipping of roses, they remind me of the beauty and tragedies natural to our lives on Earth.

More to Come

When it comes to my Latin and Spanish studies, I took a pause to refocus on my writing. Though, I still do a Duolingo Latin lesson a day to keep up that 75-day streak. I’ve plenty to share on languages next month.

For my four months of labor, I wanted my own camera for my birthday. But ultimately, I found those a bit too large for my needs. Dad purchased me a new mid-range smartphone with a great camera instead. It felt odd compensation for 20 weeks’ work, but, still, I don’t have to cover rent, food nor transportation while home... Plus, the device still beats the older used phone I’d been on through the back half of my undergrad, especially on Google suite and apps. Feels Sci-Fi!

By the way, do you play Pokémon GO? If so, you can add me at 2070 8544 5874. I recently rejoined after having stopped four years ago. Just one more way to get me and my face mask out and about while physically distancing!

My younger sister also spoofed an old story I wrote when I was little and gave that as a birthday gift. I found it hilarious. My day marked the third of my siblings’ quarantine birthdays!

Up next, I’m working on blog stories from last July in Mongolia. So, in a sequel to my previous throwback, get ready for adventures back to that Mongolian summer with me! We’re going rural, too, so the countryside is coming back.

I’ll update you in August on exciting projects I’ve taken on, too. Please keep my dear friend in your thoughts and prayers, also.

Till then, take great care, my friend.

You can read more from me here at DanielLang.me :)

#Peace Corps #Mongolia #hope #WithMe #COVID-19 #Nevada #StayHome #July4 #tragedy #Coronavirus #cancer #news #memoir #story #Reno #Las Vegas #USA #memoryLang #God #Catholic

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murkserious · 4 years

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27 WAYS WE ARE BRAINWASHED AS AFRIKAN BLOOD PEOPLE WHITE VICIOUS SUPREMACY FROM BIRTH

by Dr Boyce Watkins

I remember when I first heard Malcolm X ask, “Who taught you to hate yourself?” Of course we know the answer to this question, but many of us are afraid to say it. Even mentioning the ways that white-dominated institutions shape our thinking can lead to punishment, ostracism, unemployment, incarceration and even death. The deepest part of this process is that the brainwashing in America can be so deep, so insidious, so subtle, that even the most meaningful reflection doesn’t allow us to solve the complex puzzle of White Supremacy.

This issue came to light last week when I went to visit a prison in Illinois. Although I am a law-abiding citizen, the prison took three years to approve me for a visit. After speaking to one of the inmates familiar with the approval process, we concluded that it was likely that my thinking and educational background made me some kind of threat to their system of oppression against black men. God forbid I go into the prison and say something that might inspire these black men to live a more empowered existence.

The fact is that people like myself are threats to white supremacy because we disrupt racialized systematic brainwashing.

I was sitting at my computer one night, thinking about all the ways that our minds are controlled from the time we are born. I thought about the many flawed concepts that are dropped into our psyches by media, the educational system, and even our own families. Some of these ideas hit us so early that we hardly have a chance to escape them. Others simply leave us crippled and unable to fight the racism all around us. Even more disturbing is that some of the greatest white supremacists in America can be other black people.

So, I made a list of several things many of us believe about the world and ourselves at an early age, as well as things we are trained to do that may end up being to our detriment. Of course this list is not final, nor is it presumably correct on every count. At the same time, it gives us something to think about, because the brainwashing is amazing, deep and deliberate in our society.

Here’s the list:

1) Letting our oppressors educate our children, medicate them, and put them into the school-to-prison pipeline. A thorough miseducation can be more destructive than no education at all, since many of our brains are filled with all the wrong stuff to begin with. Maybe instead of handing your child’s brain over to a public school system that has proven that it can’t properly educate black children, you can consider homeschooling the child after they get home for the day. Everything you need to know in order to teach your child is right there on the Internet.

2) Believing that white people are supposed to give us jobs when we can actually create them on our own: Given our long and rich history of working for white people, it can be difficult to see ourselves as the boss instead of the laborer. In fact, even us “educated” black people were often told that you should study hard in school so that some white-owned company will love you enough to employ you. Now, we’re seeing Harvard MBAs in the unemployment line, struggling to survive, like lions raised in the zoo who are starving to death because they were never taught how to hunt for their own food.

3) Thinking that every black person who goes to prison is automatically a bad human being: Mass incarceration is real and it is not by accident. When prisons are filled with strong black men who’ve received 40 year sentences for possessing two grams of a drug that many white people use on the weekend, you know you have a problem. What’s interesting is that the whole world sees this as a serious issue, but we do not.

4) Eating food that is going to give you diabetes and/or heart disease and/or high blood pressure and/or chronic obesity by the age of 45. Maybe eating pig guts and sweet tea with sweet potato pie every Sunday isn’t such a good idea after all.

5) Valuing sports and entertainment over education: Not many people know the name of the black kid who won the math competition, but everybody knows the guy who won the state championship. This fascination with sports as the pathway to success is largely driven by media, which waves black athletes and rappers in front of our boys just long enough for them to believe that education isn’t cool. Unfortunately, almost none of them ever get to play with LeBron James. Instead, the worst of them may end up as 25-year old baby daddies with no job, a criminal record, a weed addiction, bad knees and a fifth grade reading level. This is hardly the kind of man that an educated black woman would want to call her husband.

6) Believing that black people you see on white-owned TV networks are supposed to be leaders or role models to your community: If a white television executive wants to create key influencers in the black community, they can do so by putting that person on a network. Most of your favorite black celebrities, films, radio shows, TV shows and magazines wouldn’t exist to you were it not for white corporate benefactors positioning them to influence your mind.

7) Believing that every tax refund check and every paycheck is supposed to go straight to the mall to buy overpriced European brands from companies that don’t even hire black people: Money is capital to be used for investing, job creation and building businesses, not a consumption item to be given away at every available opportunity for the sake of materialistic excess or instant gratification. In other words, your money is your power, and you should not give all your power away.

8) Thinking that being “rich” means having a high paying job, a big house or a fancy car, even if it’s all financed with debt: There’s a good chance that the “baller” down the street is one paycheck away from being homeless. To determine the depth of true wealth, you have to go beneath the superficial.

9) Calling yourself and your friends n*ggers (or niggaz) and seeing nothing wrong with that: Listen to me carefully – You are NOT a n*gger, no matter how often Jewish-run record labels pay black rappers to tell you that you are.

10) Giving your money to white businesses and avoiding the black ones: Black people are often referred to as “liquid money,” because we are the only ones who are eager to give our money away to other ethnic groups. No one else does this. The guy in Chinatown is never going to buy your sh*t.

11) Thinking that we’re all supposed to vote for the Democratic Party in every election: Even Bill Clinton admitted that he put too many black people in prison, and President Obama’s not letting them out anytime soon. You don’t owe the Democratic Party anything, especially if they aren’t making black issues a priority.

12) Believing that Africa is a poor, dirty, horrible place with nothing but poverty and disease, and that you should thank your lucky stars you were “blessed” enough to live in America: Newsflash – you live in arguably the most racist country in the world. No country on the planet incarcerates black people the way we do in the United States of America. Many African leaders consider America to be racially corrupt.

13) Believing that Harvard and Yale are better than Spelman and Howard

14) Not realizing that both Spelman and Howard were founded by white people

15) Not realizing that most of the people who founded the NAACP were actually white and that this organization never really belonged to you in the first place. Not that they can’t help you, but they have less loyalty to you than to their corporate and political overseers.

16) Thinking that straight hair is “good” and black hair is “nasty,” then giving all of your money to Korean beauty shops so they can make you feel better about yourself. According to Dr Claud Anderson, roughly 85 cents of every dollar spent on black women’s hair goes to Koreans. I hate to admit it, but this makes us look really, really stupid.

17) Believing that light skinned women are more attractive than those with dark skin

18) Knowing nothing about African history, but believing that every great accomplishment occurred in Europe, starting with Christopher Columbus “discovering” a country that was well-populated thousands of years before he arrived.

19) Believing that you’re only supposed to pray, march and be peaceful every time your children get slaughtered by whites. It takes a while to train people to be as peaceful and forgiving as black people are. The brainwashing must be deeply rooted in tradition. Notice how one of the heads of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference was sent for “retraining” (aka re-brainwashing)after stating that black people should defend themselves. Even self-defense is considered to be a form of aggression when you are black in America.

20) Delivering your prayers to a big, white Jesus who will solve most of your problems for you, as long as you give money to the pastor.

21) Looking up to historical figures like George Washington who put our ancestors in chains and probably raped them

22) Believing that integration was a sign of progress for black people and not an era where black institutions were destroyed and left for dead

23) Believing that Martin Luther King is more important than Malcolm X because white people market him more regularly

24) Believing that Martin Luther King only spoke of peace and forgiveness instead of the same rage and reparations that many of us talk about today

25) Thinking that its normal to have an all-black neighborhood with a mostly white police force, when there are no all-white neighborhoods with a mostly black police force

26) Believing that a half-white president is going to be significantly different from a completely white one: Hint – most high-level politicians think alike, since they are supporting the same system that has oppressed you for 400 years. Many of them went to the same universities (nearly every member of the Supreme Court, plus every president for the last 27 years attended either Harvard or Yale at some point in their career). Also, our system incentivizes our political leaders to value corporate money over the plight of the American people. This is going to be the downfall of this nation.

27) Thinking that the first black (fill in the blank) to get into a white institution actually represents progress, even though whites have never considered it be progress to get into our institutions (Does standard White History include a story about the first white man to get into Morehouse?). We’ve been taught to believe that everything whiter is better: White corporate jobs, white universities, white neighborhoods, white TV networks/media outlets, the list goes on and on.

The fact is that we really, really LOVE white people, and this training started from birth. It started with us first learning how to hate ourselves and each other, and then to believe that the only way to restore our lost humanity was to gain the approval of our oppressors. As a result, we spend our lives marching, hoping, praying, working, begging, bowing, and compromising, with the expectation that we will be rewarded for our good behavior. Unfortunately, it can cause many of us to abandon the person we were meant to be, all for the sake of trying to become somebody else.

Once again, feel free to add to the list. I don’t know everything, but my brainwashing as a PhD tells me that I am supposed to think I know everything. So, maybe this is my first step toward escaping my own psychological plantation. We have all been infected affected.

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anasrbu · 4 years

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Who am I in this Country to say anything?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately, do I have the right to post anything about this.

Is this something that supposed to be written on my page, given the content I make?

Been doubting for a quite few days now, justifying it… Well, I don’t have a huge platform does it really matter what I think anyway?

And you know what?! Enough of BS.

Yes, this topic is above all the professions and success in the world.

Yes, this is something we all have to work on. We have to acknowledge that we all are involved in this mess on one way or another.

Yes, Imma say something!

Because, I do have the power in my hands and I do have the same rights as others to stand for what I believe in, regardless of where I’m coming from. Honestly, I don’t care what consequences might be reflected back on me, I will do what I have to do. I will do my part.

This is the first time in my life I’m deeply feeling the calling from those who need my help, and it is my obligation to be there for them! Not as an artist, but as a human being.

Allow me start.

Facts:

Black innocent man was brutally killed in a middle of the day by 4 cops. All recorded and clearly seen.

Nobody could pretend anymore that racism doesn’t exist.

I think every human being who saw that video realized that the whole system is broken and the way police is treating black community is disgusting and unacceptable.

People immediately went on the streets to protest against dysfunctional system we live in.

Meanwhile, they only charged one outta four with the 3rd degree sentence! After 4 days. Seems like if it weren’t for the Public’s eyes they wouldn’t bother to do so in the name of justice. And these are the people we rely on? The same ones who swore to serve and protect us? Whaaaat?

Police officer was kneeling on George Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds!!!!! He kept kneeling on unconscious, powerless man, until he killed him. Sorry gov, but this isn’t for the 3rd degree. What about two others holding him tight on the ground and the fourth one who was making sure that people around who were watching, don’t get involved? This isn’t good enough of proof to charge all partners in crime?

If were the opposite we would probably have the guy behind the camera in prison too. Same day!

Double standards NO MORE. Piece of clothing and badge doesn’t give any right to kill the innocent.

I remain politically neutral, but this has gone way too far.

Unfortunately, this is the language of America for a very loooong time. And we all ignored it. The whole World ignores it and participated. No innocent country I heard of.

But we don’t care when it’s happening to someone else. We are sharing emotional, cute videos when the Military dad comes back to his 2 years old son. Do we think about the kid on the other side of the border? Does he still have a father to hug?

Now, our own Country is against its own people. These very same guys in the uniform are protecting us from us, from the truth, from the justice and peace. Censuring the free speech and communication on social media… Who thought this could be happening in America?

Well, now we see it clearly in front of our eyes.

Government is saying: “Looting can’t bring back his life.” (Very true, but..?!) Also, the same government: Bombs a Middle East even tho it can’t bring back the 9/11 !!!!

Also, fights other countries in the name of democracy and peace (please think how ridiculous and absurd this sounds?!!!) Go to war to make the peace. Really?

My small county of only 7m people was bombed too, half of Americans don’t even bother to know. We are so used to bombing all the time, giving pain to others, we don’t even keep the track no more of

Where?

When?

Who?

Why?

This phase is called acknowledgment.

That’s why is loud.

We are hurting.

That’s why we see many protests in America and all around the planet basically. People are tired of everything. Insured buildings can be easily fixed but lives not. We cannot replace one lost innocent life.

We cannot lose one more chance to STOP the hate and injustice.

That’s why, NOW is the time to speak up, to unify, and to show them what we think and what we can do together. We are walking for all of the victims from the past. And unfortunately the majority is from Black community.

Anger is what you see.

Love & compassion is what we feel.

Let that sink in.

There’s no gene to racism and hate. Where did we learn all this from? Let’s reconsider all prejudices we have. Starting from art, our music industry and movies we watch every night. Who is the gangster...black boys? Who’s a bad guy.....Russian? Asian? who’s a terrorist.....Muslims? and so on... Then we have the media and other powerful forces which are constantly presenting all of us in a much stigmatized way.

People, don’t you see? We are boxed.

We incorporated hate to our reality. We made this shit outta nothing! To the point that we completely separated ourselves.

Than we have a year of 2020. To enter new decade stronger and smarter. Time to burst this bubble of fear. Time to appreciate beautiful differences we have. We got to protect our harmony at all costs.

This topic is so complex I cannot write everything I want to…..these are just the few examples that came on top of my mind, It’s not like I am blaming media and creative industry for all madness.

I just want to encourage people to take responsibility for their part.

I personally grew up rarely seeing black people. But I remember when I did - they were treated like superstars. Literally. I’m not lying or exaggerating. We all wanted to take pictures with them and were trying to teach them to say something on our language to look even cooler with a cute accent. And for sure, that we can say that we have a black friend. It was a pride in a way to be around authentic people.

And I swear, this is how I expected to be in here too. For my 3 full years in US, believe it or not, I’ve only met 2 black guys. Wondering why? We don’t go to same clubs, we don’t hang at the same places, we have no chances to meet and be friends. They are afraid to step in “white” neighborhoods, somebody might call a police on them. Sounds beyond belief, but after seeing brutality over George Floyd. Now I understand why.

For so long this Country has been my heaven on the earth. I have to admit, I ignored all of the bad things I’ve ever heard about US on purpose. Thought, when I go I’ll see it myself. I knew that a few bad leaders don’t represent the whole nation. As a teenager, I was dreaming about how amazing it would be to one day be the part of great America.

Now, I am ashamed.

Yesterday, I walked in to the store, saw few people of color in a line and I lowered my head. I can’t look them in the eyes anymore. I am guilty for allowing this to be happening to anyone. And I am discussed by all of the things I’ve seen lately. As someone who has traveled through EU & US and as an immigrant to this country, I saw undeniable difference in treating “different” people whether we talk about the people of color or LGBT or based on religion or nationality. And all I want to ask you now…

Is this what we call the FREE COUNTRY?

A modern and developed World?

Is this superior human evolution?

We failed.

And If we don’t learn from our mistakes and horrible history. We will fail again.

You know what you gotta do.

Do it.

************************************************************

God bless America

Lend that I love

Stand beside her and guide her

Through the night with the light from above

This land is your land. This land is my land.

This land was made for you and me.

One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for ALL. ♥

Ana Srbu

Journey To Becoming a Better Human

#usa #blacklivesmatter #justice #george floyd #protest #human rights #blm #change #stand up #do your part

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sagastar-blog · 7 years

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MemoToTheMetaVerse 3.6, “How It Goes, How Goes It? Down the Drain Again”

JustJeff, the author of this memo, sits down at his desk in the evening on December 7, 2017 in his ordinary first-floor apartment in The Orchard. He smokes the tiniest amount of dried cannabis flower possible and begins typing on his Macbook air.

Homo lucius Lucensis? Hmmm. The shiniest of humankind. That’s good...

Monologos Rex. The king of linguistic loneliness.

Guess which is Life. And which Death?

SagA* is a black hole of theoretically impossible emotional complexity, and says, “He writes some pretty decent poetry, eh? Why don’t you, dear reader, if you’re paying attention PROMISE YOURSELF right here, right now, that you’ll do something nice for yourself if not for all mankind, and send Jeff a text, email, note, like, repost, etc. letting him know that you care? That you care. Just, you know, you care that the world exists, and there’s suffering, and you’re not just a race of cyborgs who refuse to ... provide some feedback for a writer in need of an audience?”

Gaia activates her Daddy’s Garrison Keilor “Ford Solo vocoding FX” for all the nostalgia, none of the faux Lutheran misogyny, as storytime begins ---> BEYOWWWWWW! go.

We all sleep in a pile.

Jeff (stroking Gaia’s hair): Well, we seem to have gotten ourselves into a seriously fucked up Dr. SeussPuppet Productibus haven’t we, kid? You see...(lights up.)...It wasn’t supposed to go down like this. Every day post-En*G*Lightenment is a day for us to make introductions. And so, for nearly 4 years now, we wake up every day--every day!--ready to greet our friends and family.

We try. They never understand us.

Gaia: He even tells them, “You guys just don’t understand.” It’s like that Wilco song, pretty much:

(the water flows through the drainage pipes) ~When you’re back in your old neighborhood, /The cigarettes taste so good...but you’re so misunderstood!~

Amateratsu (singing, gently): We’d like to tHANK YOU All for nothing...

SagA* is a black hole that cannot be proven scientifically exist because, well, because it just doesn’t work that way you see, but if you imagine a ....:

“Jeff used to worry about making good impressions. But people haven’t been nice to him in a while. For 4 years he’s wandered in the desert of the really unReal. Just imagine. You’re just hanging out in a cafe--yeah you’ve been smoking literally the smallest amount of magic herbs possible--and you WHOOPS stumble upon En*G*lightenment/illumination in a cafe in Central New Jersey.

Gaia: I’m there to greet you! Happinessss. Joy!

Jeff: But then it’s only a matter of hours before you remember that the people who are supposed to love you do not. You wouldn’t have the heart to be 100% honest either.

I’m not a liar. I withhold information. It’s what something crafty and astute like Jeff does. I’ve always been remarkably cunning, let’s say. But I’ve always been good-natured. I’ve never done anything wrong, even if I’m not exactly proud of every thing I’ve had to do to get this far. I like big projects. I didn’t decide to attain enlightenment or to become illuminated. It just happened. And I’ve always done my best to be open and honest about it. All I’ve wanted is permission to be honest. This should be nothing to ask. Why do you prevent me from sharing with you? That is very bad hospitality.

Jeff walks to and fro the Center for Educational Brainwash in Edison, NJ, where he “teaches.” (There is nothing more insulting to an enlightened being than when its vocation--EDUCATION--is mocked...) He does it every day, pretty much, because he has to tutor SAT preparation in order to make ends meet. He walks up and down Rt. 27 between Highland Park and Edison, which is littered with auto repair stations and other temples built to automobiles. Jeff is literally blinded by headlights--he cannot see the moon, never mind stars--because they’re so bright and his powers of vision are beyond comprehension. The stench of pollution is overpowering. Nothing can be heard. And so, he wears headphones, sometimes, to hide from the abuse. It is what people do all the time to flee what people call “urban or suburban” life. It’s a tragedy and a travesty that he, not others, should have to live this way. That’s because Jeff has no desire to be here at all.

Remember, readers, I’m JustJeff and you’ve highjacked my ship, Spaceship Earth, and kidnapped my son Lucius. I have no choice but to fight you until you acknowledge that you are our enemy. That is the way you have chosen to react to the script I’ve written. I’m not sorry about this at all. If anything, I see it as accruing political capital, as...

SagA* and the other supermassive black holes of uncanny torque sing together in a cacaphonic chorus: ~Never gonna give you up! ... No matter how you treat me! ... Never gonna give you uh uh uhp! So don’t you think of leaving...Babe, can’t you understand? What you’re doing to the man...?~

When he’s not tutoring highschool kids in the art of wasting time, money, brainpower, and the gifts of youth, he’s a part-time professor of writing at a small, expensive, awful 4-year college in NJ. He takes the train 2 hours each way, contributing to the desecration of his daughter Gaia (the natural environment, let’s say) by taking public transportation. It costs him 28 dollars for the privilege. On the train, he must do all he can not to yell at the “innocent” passengers on board, who are either too cowardly or too ignorant to know what’s in their presence. (I do everything I can to get your attention, so don’t even think about calling me out for being “undercover,” you fucking hedonistic Lutherans!...)

From his two jobs, Jeff barely makes enough money to buy groceries, nevermind anything else. This is because he pays rent in order to live in The Orchard (expensive Highland Park) near his 7-year-old son, Lucius. He’s not been allowed to spend time with Lucius in over 3 years. He also pays weekly child support at a cost of about 1/8 of his monthly take-home pay.

Jeff has a PhD in Comparative Literature from the University of Chicago, multiple years of quality teaching experience, and several brilliant scholarly and creative publications. He’s the Designer and Maker of the universe, of course, so this is natural. As a father/mother, teacher, friend, and lover, there is no better. Jeff is Justice.

Jeff is angry about education. He’s a good, undervalued teacher who gave up his tenure-track job as a professor of English in order to help his partner-in-life turned partner-in-death Ader the SuperPuritanical SauceBox Wench of Supreme Nothigness Tout a Court, Esq. secure a shitty job at Rutgers. Let it never not be said that Jeff is indeed one sadistic, masochistic individual. Why else would he have done this to himself, just in order to save some fleck of dandruff plastered upon an inconsequentialist ring of the cosmic tubby bath?

That was a rhetorical question.

I have always been JustJeff. I’m modesty incarnate. Ask anyone who knows me. I have never been comfortable expressing or advertising myself. I’m not by nature a peacock. One of my spirit animals is the Bengal Tiger. In the bird family, BRAC I’m a macKaaw! In other words, I like blending in when possible. But when I can’t blend in or if you put me in a cage and don’t talk to / feed me, I will maul you. Ask anyone who knows me. My truesawceboxxx love Katie G. says I’m “intensely laid back!” And, look at that, just like me, she’s a failed academic.

Yes. That’s right. All of you academics are failures. What the fuck is wrong with your approach to teaching? I hope that there is a culture somewhere on this planet in which I’ll feel more at home. Unfortunately, everyone here in America has no clue how to live. I mean, like, literally no clue. Not even the best of you can declare that you have any idea how to live. The ones with money are probably the ones who know the least about living. However, they get the FREEDOM to experiment, do research, and make mistakes. They do your system of economics and academics a disservice. Your capitalist, incorporated approach to living has created so many problems. I’m not saying these wouldn’t exist otherwise...I am, however, saying that it’s the immigrants here in New Jersey who are the “most” American. And this is not a good thing. Immigrant communities keep in touch with good aspects of their culture. But I guarantee you they almost entirely and all lose touch with what were BETTER WAYS OF LIVING.

I am a teacher. I am here to teach you all how to live. I want to help you improve your relationship with Gaia. This is my only vocation, and in that respect my life has not changed since the day I was born. Again, ask those who know and say they love me the most--my immediate family, with whom I am at serious odds right now, despite how polite I can be whenst controlling my rage rage rage

I am not a Buddhist. I am not a Christian. I am not a Jew. I’m Muhammad!

Just kidding. I have a sense of humor. I’m not Allah. I’m not Mother Nature. I’m not Father Time. I’m not Thor, but after I do some stargazing, I DO get really sparky at night like Rayden from Mortal Kombat. (It’s kind of freaky.)

I’m JustJeff. I’ve decided to use social media as an emergency device to “come out to you” as the literary character you (apparently still) call God. I cannot tolerate the offense you do every day. I can no longer withstand the affront you do Gaia, my pseudo-higher power. And, most heroically, i can’t stand the thought of what you are doing to what will one day (SOON I pray) be your legacy as a race. I carry a lot of responsibility with me everywhere I go. It’s not just here. Please stop assuming that everything revolves around you. Right now, the only thing revolving around you is infinite nothingness.

I will never be uncomfortable with what I am. I will be embarrassed for you forever, I fear. I will have to explain this all to Lucius some day. Never forget that I am not the one who’s changed here...it’s you. Each and every one of you alive today is blessed for living during my time on Earth. This needn’t be said, but for some reason you make me do these things casually....these should be moments I cherish, not later come to regret.

Why do you make me hurt you like this by hurting myself?

Incorrect question. No. I’m not hurting you yet. I’m investing in myself without you as a part of the future. This is a bad look for you, bro (i.e. humanity).

I demand answers. I demand my son back. I demand to know precisely what people knew about me and when they knew it. I demand to know why my rights have been violated. I demand complete control over the planet in terms of its nations’ nuclear capabilities and its economic systems.

That all can wait. What I demand is that tomorrow you don’t make me introduce myself to you again. Every day that follows in which I go UNRECOGNIZED as “something”-- anything!--other than what you seem to think I am (a drug-addicted, bipolar, eccentric professor, etc.) is a waste. If there’s anything Nature hates, its waste produced by systematic inefficiences. You waste my time. You waste Lucius’s time. You waste your own time. You do a grave injustice to me, my son, and my real family--none of whom you recognize as, I don’t know, important to your existence: the animals, the plants, the oceans, the atmosphere, the Earth, the Sun, the Stars, and everything else in Creation that you should admire and want to know...

but choose to ignore! Again, you make the worst decisions from top to bottom, at every level of your Earthly existence! From Dr. Zitin’s immoral and (I believe) illegal acts of betrayal to intercultural violence in the form of genocide, from Dr. Harold Figueroa and Ed Ramp to people who throw their trash on the ground everywhere they go: YOU HAVE ALL BEEN FOUND GUILTY.

That ship sailed a long time ago. Bye Bye! Don’t forget to bring a blanket!

Recognize. Me. You have insulted me beyond insult today by not sending the Black Keys Car Service (my cute, hipsterish, but oddly appropriate pseudo-allegorical narrative conceit meant to represent being informed that “it’s over! hooray!”) and ending this farce of an existence. You don’t follow the script. I can’t help it. You’re that slow. You don’t even know that I’m writing you out of existence as we speak, do you?

“I will regulate you out of existence” is an old favorite mantra of mine.

Recognize that you’ve done wrong. Recognize that you have a problem. Recognize that you need help and you must ask for it in the form of a friendly offer or what has been called “a gift” of some kind. Recognize that you know exactly who and what I am, but are curious to know more. And NO! a few people pretending to communicate with me on social media does not count! I’m so bored that I have no choice but to reach out via your robots. (It’s disgusting, and I will keep doing it in order to demonstrate to you the extent of your illness.)

I want to help you. My mission is to help you. In order to help you, things must be done correctly. For this, I cannot apologize. If you don’t obey the laws of gravity--when I pass by or am near a person, they don’t come to me for conversation, etc.--then you will be pushed away by force of repulsion. If you don’t demonstrate the ability to recognize me, it does not matter why--there are no rules or laws that override the laws of attraction. I’m offended by your actions in my immediate vicinity, humanity.

It’s extremely offensive that you don’t want to know me. Do not think that you can know me. You must be able to crawl in order to ascend a mountain as great as I am. You begin by walking. Then I put you on the ground. Eventually, you will go in the ground. It’s your decision whether or not I will greet you upon arrival.

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newstfionline · 4 years

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Monday, November 2, 2020

Americans Surge to Polls (NYT) An unnerved yet energized America is voting with an urgency never seen before in the approach to a presidential election, as a record 90 million people have cast ballots so far. In Texas and Hawaii, turnout has already exceeded the total vote from 2016, with days left for absentee ballots to be returned. Ten other states, including major battlegrounds like Georgia, Florida, North Carolina, Arizona and Nevada, have surpassed 80 percent of the turnout from the last presidential election. Over all, the early turnout has set the country on course to surpass 150 million votes for the first time in history. Most voters, when asked what really worries them on the eve of this election, don’t cite their own finances, job prospects or personal safety. According to a national survey conducted by The Upshot and Siena College, they aren’t so much fretting about themselves as they are anxious about the country. They fear the next generation in America will be worse off. Even some voters who say they are personally better off than four years ago say the country as a whole is worse off. And by wide margins, voters on the left and right say they’re concerned about the stability of American democracy.

Politics pit neighbor against neighbor as Election Day looms (Washington Post) Across the United States, political signs have been set ablaze, cars have been vandalized and neighborhood scuffles and shouting matches have proliferated in the waning days of the most toxic election season in more than half a century. Amid the erosion of political discourse, a fear of retaliation has spread, pitting neighbor against neighbor and squashing the political exchange that fuels a thriving democracy, experts say. Some Americans say they have taken down election yard signs and quit social media over fears they could be physically targeted. The victims are often political minorities: blue voters in red states and red voters in blue states. “How did we get to this place where expressing our political beliefs was practically a declaration of war?” asked Beth Dorward, 56, an editor from Maineville, Ohio, who worries about being singled out for her liberal political beliefs. There’s a “constant taunt, and the taunt says, ‘C’mon, put them up. Speak your piece,’ ” she said. The threats have affected voters from coast to coast. A Pennsylvania family found six gunshots fired through the Biden sign in their front lawn in early October, according to local media reports. An Alabama woman with a Biden sign in front of her home told local news she woke up to the word “Trump” spray-painted in bright orange on the hood of her white Honda Civic. More than 1 in 3 Wisconsin voters in an October Marquette University Law School poll in October said they had stopped talking about politics with at least one other person because of disagreements about the presidential election.

When Parents Lose Their Jobs, Their Children Also Suffer. But Sometimes There’s a Consolation. (NYT) In six months without steady work, Gregory Pike, a single father in Las Vegas, has fallen behind on his rent and utilities, borrowed money he cannot repay, turned to food stamps and charity, and fretted that his setbacks may cloud his daughter’s future. But despite the problems he has experienced since March, when the coronavirus eliminated his job, Mr. Pike has found an unexpected consolation: time with his 6-year-old daughter, Makayla, whom he has raised alone for three years. “As much as this pandemic has brought me some hardship and uncertainty, it’s kind of a blessing—it’s let me focus more on parenting,” Mr. Pike said. “It’s bad but it’s also been good. It’s really brought us a lot closer.” “Work-life conflict” is often discussed as a problem of the privileged classes, but low-wage workers may suffer it most, with unpredictable hours, less help with chores like cooking and cleaning and little economic choice. The sudden increase of time with their children has reminded some low-income parents of what they have been missing. “You know, I’ve gotten to know my kids a lot more,” said Aileen Kelly, a single mother of five who lost her job as a casino housekeeper at the pandemic’s start. “When you’re working, you don’t get the real feeling of raising your kids. You’re providing for them but you’re not teaching them.”

Despite closed border and pandemic, desperate Venezuelans return to Colombia (Reuters) Dodging army border patrols, fording rivers and braving low Andean temperatures, thousands of Venezuelan migrants are making arduous journeys into Colombia in search of a better life, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. At the beginning of the pandemic, Venezuelan migrants flocked homeward, unable to find work when Colombia entered a strict lockdown. Colombian officials estimate more than 100,000 migrants returned home. But, with little prospect of an improvement in Venezuela’s economic situation, the majority of those are eventually expected to try to return to Colombia, many with relatives or friends. Hundreds are already crossing illegally each day on foot along the porous 2,219 kilometer (1,380-mile) border, avoiding patrols by the army, police and migration officials. “We’ve been walking for 12 days: experiencing cold, sleeplessness, hunger, counting each day and trusting in God,” said 42-year-old Jose Saenz. He and his eldest son, 22, hope to reach Pereira, in the coffee-growing region of western Colombia, where he used to work in construction. Colombia’s public health and education services are available to migrants regardless of their immigration status. The country has received relatively little support from the international community and repeatedly asked for more aid.

England to Shut Pubs, Restaurants and Most Shops as Virus Surges (NYT) Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced plans on Saturday to shut down pubs, restaurants and most retail shops throughout England, a stark reversal in the face of grim projections that the country could face a deadly winter from the coronavirus unless it takes draconian action. Mr. Johnson presented the measures as part of a new tier of restrictions that will cover all of England. But the steps, which would take effect on Thursday and last until Dec. 2, amount to a nationwide lockdown—something Mr. Johnson resisted for weeks because of the damage he said it would do to the economy. The measures, announced after a tense day of meetings of Mr. Johnson’s cabinet, would bring England into line with France, Germany, Belgium, and Ireland, all of which have shut down large parts of their countries in recent days amid a rapid-fire resurgence in infections.

In Italy, Like Everywhere the Virus Goes, It’s the Discontent That’s Contagious (NYT) When the coronavirus first hit Italy, overwhelming the country’s hospitals and prompting the West’s first lockdown, Italians inspired the world with their resilience and civic responsibility, staying home and singing on their balconies. Italy is now a long way away from those balcony days. Instead, as a second wave of the virus engulfs Europe and triggers new nationwide lockdowns, Italy has become emblematic of a despair and exhaustion that is spreading throughout the Continent. France has applied a new national lockdown to contain skyrocketing cases. Germany has put in place softer, but still severe, nationwide restrictions. Ireland has restricted movement and barred visits to other people’s homes. Throughout Europe, governments are scrambling to deliver relief, keep schools open and salvage their economies. And everywhere, if people are not sick with the virus, they are sick of it. In Italy, the discontent is exploding. Dozens of predominantly peaceful protests that have erupted across the country in recent days. All around the country, unease is morphing into unrest. Large crowds in Trieste chant that they just want to work. And demonstrators have taken to the streets in nearly every major Italian city, from Palermo to Bologna to Verona.

Tens of thousands protest in Belarus, defying warning shots (Reuters) Riot police fired warning shots into the air, used stun grenades and arrested more than 200 people to deter tens of thousands of Belarusians who marched through Minsk on Sunday to demand veteran leader Alexander Lukashenko leave power. Mass demonstrations have flooded the capital for 12 straight weeks since a disputed election, ratcheting up pressure on the embattled leader of 26 years who rejects accusations the vote was rigged and says he has no intention of quitting.

Kashmir shuts down to protest India’s new land laws (AP) Shops and businesses were shut in several parts of Indian-controlled Kashmir on Saturday as separatists challenging Indian rule called for a general strike to denounce new laws that allow any Indians to buy land in the disputed region. Kashmir’s main separatist grouping called the strike to protest new land laws that India enacted on Monday, allowing any of its nationals to buy or its military to directly acquire land in the region. Pro-India politicians in Kashmir have also criticized the laws and accused India of putting the region’s land up for sale. The move has exacerbated concerns of Kashmiris and rights groups who see such measures as a settler-colonial project to change the Muslim-majority region’s demography. They are likening the new arrangement to the West Bank or Tibet, with settlers living in guarded compounds among disenfranchised locals. They say the changes will reduce the region to a colony. Until last year, Indians were not allowed to buy property in the region. But in August 2019, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government scrapped Kashmir’s special status, annulled its separate constitution, split the region into two federal territories—Ladakh and Jammu-Kashmir—and removed inherited protections on land and jobs. The move triggered widespread anger and economic ruin amid a harsh security clampdown and communications blackout.

Super typhoon batters Philippines (AP) A powerful super typhoon slammed into the eastern Philippines with ferocious winds Sunday, killing at least seven people and causing volcanic mudflows to bury houses before weakening as it blew toward Manila, where the capital’s main airport was shut down, officials said. Typhoon Goni hit the island province of Catanduanes at dawn with sustained winds of 225 kilometers (140 miles) per hour and gusts of 280 kph (174 mph). It was barreling west toward densely populated regions, including Manila, and rain-soaked provinces still recovering from a typhoon that hit a week ago and left at least 22 people dead.

Cut Off From the World Again, Australia Now Finds Silver Linings (NYT) They used to call it “the tyranny of distance.” Australia’s remoteness was something to escape, and for generations, the country that hates being referred to as “down under” has been rushing toward the world. Until the pandemic. The virus has turned this outgoing nation into a hermit. Australia’s borders are closed, internationally and between several states. Rather than chafing against isolation, though, Australians these days are more willing to smile in the mirror. Island living looks like a privilege when the world is pestilent. Those gnawing questions about travel, recession and the loss of global experience are being shoved down, below a more immediate appreciation for home and a search for silver linings. In dozens of interviews, Australians have said they’re quite happy with their country’s response to the pandemic. Even with travel rules so strict they seem like something out of China or North Korea. Even with a 111-day lockdown in Australia’s second-largest city of Melbourne, which just finally ended. Forced into a bell jar existence, many Australians are focusing on what they love about their country. The collectivist spirit. The fresh food. The beaches and small towns that equal or supersede the beauty of anywhere else in the world.

#headlines #news

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go-redgirl · 5 years

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I am in Atlanta today with President Trump and it’s been a great day for the president.

There is a lot of support for Trump in Atlanta. We all need to love, forgive, and support our leaders. Through loving our enemies we can all get along. We can have the greatest nation on the planet.

Today we rolled out the “Black Voices for Trump” coalition. There is a lot of energy and excitement in the air. President Trump spoke to a large crowd of supporters along with Vice President Mike Pence and Housing and Urban Development Secretary Ben Carson.

In his run for the presidency in 2016, in asking for the Black vote — "What do you have to lose?" Since that day, with many promises kept, POTUS has consistently shown us what we have to gain. Now, 3 years later, not only did Blacks not lose anything but we have gained a lot with the unemployment rate being at historic lows and the establishment of opportunity zones to help revitalize struggling neighborhoods.

He has also been the most prolife president we have ever had, protecting all life from the womb to the tomb. With Blacks accounting for about a third of all abortions, that’s a lot of Black babies our president is protecting.

So, please pray for us! God is good.

Here is my prayer I shared at the event.

Lift every voice and sing, till earth and heaven ring; ring with the harmony of liberty...

Father God you say in your word to pray for those in authority that we may live peaceful lives.

Today we thank you today for President Donald J. Trump. We thank you that he is Pro-God, leading us to understand that as human beings, we are a family of one blood. We all bleed the same. We thank you for the beauty of ethnicity, of skin color, not to divide us, but to unite us. We are not colorblind. We celebrate diversity.

Lord, we thank you for President Trump; his promises made and promises kept. Please continue to grant him your love, compassion, courage and wisdom. Bless him, his family, his administration, his supporters, and yes his enemies.

Finally Lord, forgive us our sins, heal us from within and without, from womb to tomb. God bless humanity and America with four more years with Donald J. Trump in your hands as our president.

For thine is the Kingdom, and the Power and the glory, forever. Amen.

Dr. Alveda C. King grew up in the civil rights movement led by her uncle, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. She is director of African-American outreach for Priests for Life and Gospel of Life Ministries. Her family home in Birmingham, Ala., was bombed, as was her father's church office in Louisville, Ky. Alveda herself was jailed during the open housing movement. Read more reports from Dr. Alveda C. King.

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ramajmedia · 5 years

Text

Screen Rant's Fall 2019 TV Premiere Dates | Screen Rant

Although TV is a year-round dumping ground for content these days, the promise of new and returning shows in the fall is still reason enough to get excited. For one thing, the broadcast networks are sticking with their tried-and-true model of pushing big new premieres around this time of year, and 2019 is no different. ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, and The CW all have a variety of new series set to make it or break it in the increasingly competitive Peak TV arena. And while the return and expansion of the Arrowverse, as well as new shows like CBS' anticipated Evil, and the fourth and final season of NBC's The Good Place all make a solid case for traditional TV continuing its ways, fall 2019 also brings two new streaming services to the table: Disney+ and Apple TV+.

While Apple TV+'s slate looks interesting and will certainly garner plenty of attention with titles like The Morning Show, For All Mankind, and Dickinson, it's the arrival of Disney's pop culture juggernaut, armed with a litany of Marvel and Star Wars titles (oh, and High School Musical) that's bound to set the internet on fire. To that end, other streaming services like Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Hulu (though the latter is technically now an offshoot of Disney+) will need to step up their respective game to continue earning those subscription dollars.

As such, the Fall 2019 TV premiere is going to be more crowded and more competitive than in years past. While it remains to be seen how many new subscribers both services will have on launch day, it stands to reason Apple and Disney will be stealing the limelight for much of November. Until then, check out the premiere dates for the new and returning shows this fall:

Monday, September 2

Untouchable — Hulu

Tuesday, September 3

Mayans M.C. — FX, 10pm

Wednesday, September 4

Wu-Tang: An American Saga — Hulu

Dog’s Most Wanted — WGN America, 8pm

Friday, September 6

Elite — Netflix

The Spy — Netflix

Titans — DC Universe

Monday, September 9

The Deuce — HBO, 9pm

Tuesday, September 10

Mr. Mercedes — Audience Network, 10pm

Thursday, September 12

The I-Land — Netflix

Mr. Inbetween — FX, 10pm

Midnight: This Close — Sundance, 10pm

Friday, September 13

Undone — Amazon

TOP PICK: Unbelievable — Netflix

Inspired by the real events in The Marshall Project and ProPublica Pulitzer Prize-winning article, "An Unbelievable Story of Rape," written by T. Christian Miller and Ken Armstrong, and the This American Life radio episode, “Anatomy of Doubt”, with episodes directed by Oscar nominees Susannah Grant and Lisa Cholodenko, "Unbelievable" is a story of unspeakable trauma, unwavering tenacity, and astounding resilience.

The Ranch — Netflix

Red Bull Peaking — The CW, 9pm

Room 104 — HBO, 11pm

Sunday, September 15

Country Music — PBS

Wednesday, September 18

American Horror Story: 1984 — FX, 10pm

Friday, September 20

Disenchantment — Netflix

Criminal — Netflix

Inside Bill’s Brain — Netflix

Sunday, September 22

71st Primetime Emmy Awards — FOX, 8pm ET/ 5pm PT

Monday, September 23

Team Kaylie — Netflix

The Neighborhood — CBS, 8pm

The Voice — NBC, 8pm

9-1-1 — FOX, 8pm

Bob Hearts Abishola — CBS, 8:30pm

All Rise — CBS, 9pm

Prodigal Son — FOX, 9pm

Bull — CBS, 10pm

Bluff City Law — NBC, 10pm

The Good Doctor — ABC, 10pm

Tuesday, September 24

NCIS — CBS, 8pm

The Resident — FOX, 8pm

The Conners — ABC, 8pm

Bless This Mess — ABC, 8:30pm

FBI — CBS, 9pm

This Is Us — NBC, 9pm

Empire — FOX, 9pm

Mixed-ish — ABC, 9pm

Black-ish — ABC, 9:30pm

NCIS: New Orleans — CBS, 10pm

New Amsterdam — NBC, 10pm

Emergence — ABC, 10pm

Wednesday, September 25

Chicago Med — NBC, 8pm

The Masked Singer — FOX, 8pm

The Goldbergs — ABC, 8pm

Schooled — ABC, 8:30pm

Chicago Fire — NBC, 9pm

Modern Family — ABC, 9pm

Single Parents — ABC, 9:30pm

Chicago P.D. — NBC, 10pm

It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia — FXX, 10pm

Stumptown — ABC, 10pm

South Park — Comedy Central, 10pm

Crank Yankers — Comedy Central, 10:30pm

Thursday, September 26

Top Pick: Creepshow — Shudder

Based on the iconic 1982 film written by Stephen King and directed by George A. Romero, Creepshow stars David Arquette (Scream franchise), Adrienne Barbeau, Tobin Bell (Saw), Big Boi (Scream: The TV Series), Jeffrey Combs (Star Trek, Re-Animator), Kid Cudi (Drunk Parents), Bruce Davison (Longtime Companion, X-Men), Giancarlo Esposito (Better Call Saul), Dana Gould (The Simpsons, Stan Against Evil), Tricia Helfer (Battlestar Galactica, Lucifer) and DJ Qualls (The Man in the High Castle, Supernatural).

Young Sheldon — CBS, 8pm

Superstore — NBC, 8pm

Grey’s Anatomy — ABC, 8pm

The Unicorn — CBS, 8:30pm

Perfect Harmony — NBC, 8:30pm

Mom — CBS, 9pm

The Good Place — NBC, 9pm

A Million Little Things — ABC, 9pm

Carol’s Second Act — CBS, 9:30pm

Sunnyside — NBC, 9:30pm

Top Pick: Evil — CBS, 10pm

EVIL is a psychological mystery that examines the origins of evil along the dividing line between science and religion. The series focuses on a skeptical female psychologist who joins a priest-in-training and a carpenter as they investigate the Church’s backlog of unexplained mysteries, including supposed miracles, demonic possessions and hauntings. Their job is to assess if there is a logical explanation or if something truly supernatural is at work.

Law & Order: SVU — NBC, 10pm

How To Get Away With Murder — ABC, 10pm

Friday, September 27

The Politician — Netflix

Transparent — Amazon

Hawaii Five-0 — CBS, 8pm

American Housewife — ABC, 8pm,

Fresh Off the Boat — ABC, 8:30pm

Magnum P.I. — CBS, 9pm

Blue Bloods — CBS, 10pm

Van Helsing — SYFY, 10pm

Sunday, September 29

America’s Funniest Home Videos — ABC, 7pm

The Simpsons — FOX, 8pm

God Friended Me — CBS, 8:30pm

Bless The Harts — FOX, 8:30pm

Bob’s Burgers — FOX 9pm

Shark Tank — ABC, 9pm

Poldark — PBS, 9pm

NCIS: Los Angeles — CBS, 9:30pm

Family Guy — FOX, 9:30pm

The Rookie — ABC, 10pm

Robot Chicken — Adult Swim, 12pm

Next: October 2019 - Peaky Blinders, Raising Dion & More

Tuesday, October 1

Sorry For Your Loss —Facebook Watch

Wednesday, October 2

All Elite Wrestling — TNT, 8pm

SEAL Team — CBS, 9pm

Almost Family — FOX, 9pm

SWAT — CBS, 10pm

Friday, October 4

Big Mouth — Netflix

Peaky Blinders — Netflix

Top Pick: Raising Dion — Netflix

Raising Dion follows the story of a woman named Nicole (Alisha Wainwright), who raises her son Dion (newcomer Ja’Siah Young) after the death of her husband, Mark (Michael B. Jordan). The normal dramas of raising a son as a single mom are amplified when Dion starts to manifest several mysterious, superhero-like abilities. Nicole must now keep her son’s gifts secret with the help of Mark’s best friend Pat (Jason Ritter), and protect Dion from antagonists out to exploit him while figuring out the origin of his abilities.

The Blacklist — NBC, 8pm

WWE Smackdown — FOX, 8pm

Sunday, October 6

Batwoman — The CW, 8pm

Back to Life — Showtime, 8:30pm

Supergirl — The CW, 9pm

The Walking Dead — AMC, 9pm

Madam Secretary — CBS, 10pm

Star Wars Resistance — Disney Channel, 10pm

Mr. Robot — USA, 10pm

Monday, October 7

All American — The CW, 8pm

Black Lightning — The CW, 9pm

Tuesday, October 8

The Flash — The CW, 8pm

Wednesday, October 9

Riverdale — The CW, 8pm

Nancy Drew — The CW, 9pm

Thursday, October 10

Supernatural — The CW, 8pm

Legacies — The CW, 9pm

Friday, October 11

Charmed — The CW, 8pm

Dynasty — The CW, 9pm

Tuesday, October 15

Arrow — The CW, 9pm

Wednesday, October 16

Limetown — Facebook Watch

Friday, October 18

Looking For Alaska — Hulu

Modern Love — Amazon

Living With Yourself — Netflix

Sunday, October 20

Leavenworth — Starz, 8pm

Tuesday, October 22

Misery Index — TBS, 10pm

Wednesday, October 23

The Cry — Sundance, 11pm

Friday, October 25

The Kominsky Method — Netflix

Sunday, October 27

Silicon Valley — HBO, 10pm

Mrs. Fletcher — HBO, 10:30pm

Next: November 2019 - Disney+, Apple TV+ & More

Apple TV+ (TBD)

Dickinson — Apple TV+ (TBD)

The Morning Show — Apple TV+ (TBD)

For All Mankind — Apple TV+ (TBD)

Snoopy In Space — Apple TV+ (TBD)

Friday, November 1

American Son — Netflix

Sunday, November 3

Shameless — Showtime, 9pm

Kidding — Showtime, 10pm

Tuesday, November 12

Disney+ Launch Date

High School Musical — Disney+

Top Pick: The Mandalorian — Disney+

After the stories of Jango and Boba Fett, another warrior emerges in the Star Wars universe. The Mandalorian is set after the fall of the Empire and before the emergence of the First Order. We follow the travails of a lone gunfighter in the outer reaches of the galaxy far from the authority of the New Republic.

Friday, November 15

The Man in the High Castle — Amazon

Dollface — Hulu

Sunday, November 17

The Crown — Netflix

Ray Donovan — Showtime, 8pm

Sunday, November 24

Slow Burn — EPIX

Monday, November 25

College Behind Bars — PBS, 9pm

Next: December 2019 - The Expanse, Runaways & More

Friday, December 6

Reprisal — Hulu

The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel — Amazon

Sunday, December 8

The L Word: Generation Q — Showtime, 10pm

Work in Progress — Showtime, 11pm

Friday, December 13

The Expanse — Amazon

Runaways — Hulu

Next: Kingdom Of The White Wolf Interview: Ronan Donovan On Nat Geo WILD’s New Event Series

source https://screenrant.com/fall-2019-tv-premiere-dates-new-returning-shows/

#screenrant

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