IWSG
Many thanks to Alex J. Cavanaugh and all of the awesome co-hosts this month!
THE NEED TO STAND UP
Given the events of the past week, I feel a need to revise this pre-written post, but I am struggling.
I realize I have been ridiculously blessed by the way God created a multicultural, multi-racial extended family for me before I was born.
I have experienced racism as a cousin, as a friend, as a neighbor - but the reality is, I'm Caucasian. My experiences - being called names, having trash thrown on my lawn, not getting mentored by the solo coach in high school because I wasn't "white enough" and getting put down by the hypocritically named Rainbow Girls (Masonic Lodge Teen Girl club with racist policies well into the 80s) - don't compare to the day to day reality of someone living in our country who isn't white.
One of my cousins was stopped in his own neighborhood because he was walking "suspiciously." What does walking suspiciously look like? Well, it appeared to have something to do with the color of his skin (not white) and nothing else.
We cannot allow ourselves to be blind to the reality of our nation and world. We need to stand up for equality and decency.
Here is my statement. It might not have all the right words yet. I'm working on it.
We are all loved by God. Each and every person has the right to fair, equitable, and decent treatment in every place and situation.
OPTIONAL QUESTION: Writers have secrets! What are one or two of yours, something readers would never know from your work?
Here's something I have never used in my writing:
On a dare at the age of six, I walked through glass and had to have a curved piece removed from my big toe, with a "quick" repair done with skin cut/peeled from my leg, and it was all done with no anesthesia because the nurse and doctor thought "it couldn't hurt that much." It took three-four people to hold me down while I screamed and fought them. I still have the scars. I never believe people when they say, "it won't hurt."
I don't like dares, but I know how powerful they can feel when you're the youngest kid, or the least popular kid, or you perceive yourself as the underdog in some way. And so many dares come with painful consequences. Maybe someday I will use that "truth" in my writing, with different circumstances involved.
WRITER SECRETS FOR WRITING?
This isn't a secret, but it is an overlooked reality.
Writing takes time and tenacity.
I've met talented writers who have never published or been published.
How is this possible?
They don't send anything out.
No publisher is going to show up at your door demanding your brilliant work if no one knows you write.
Write. Finish. Send it.
Even if you give up for a while, you can pick up your pen again. Write. Finish. Send. Repeat.
Even if you struggle with health issues, family stuff, and life, you can pick up your pen again. Write. Finish. Send it. Repeat.
Write. Finish. Send it. Repeat.
Writing takes time and tenacity.
I've met talented writers who have never published or been published.
How is this possible?
They don't send anything out.
No publisher is going to show up at your door demanding your brilliant work if no one knows you write.
Write. Finish. Send it.
Even if you give up for a while, you can pick up your pen again. Write. Finish. Send. Repeat.
Even if you struggle with health issues, family stuff, and life, you can pick up your pen again. Write. Finish. Send it. Repeat.
Write. Finish. Send it. Repeat.
I have this on my wall.
CELEBRATIONS
The SpaceX and NASA joint launch made me cheer wildly with hope for humanity and the possibilities created when we are willing to work together.
I'm thankful for the IWSG newsletter shout-out for Walking with Jesus: Stories from One Hope Church. Fourteen Authors answered the call for faith stories from their real, walking-around, daily lives. Real people. Real life. Real Jesus.
Proceeds go to One Hope Church and OHC gives benevolence to Coffee Oasis (local outreach to homeless teens), Peace Lutheran Community Center (outreach to at-risk teens, and meals for homeless people), Global Seed Planters, and Go Missions International. Our Pastors are committed to making sure our benevolence is given at full capacity regardless of the rest of the church budget during COVID.
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24 comments:
Amen - well said, Tyrean.
What were they thinking when they said that wouldn't hurt much?
The world is a mess in so many ways. I feel heart sore and weary - and I'm a white Canadian. I can't imagine the world some others experience. Humans need to do better and be better.
Very well said. Unity needed more than ever now. :)
Hi Tyrean - we are not living in easy times ... and that is a simplistic comment as I don't want to go further. Your toe - that's extraordinary in this day and age - not as long ago as my day ... but really that's dreadful - it must have really scarred you ... let alone all the other things that happened in the family. Do the things that help ... and to you and the family and your friends: all take care - Hilary
Thank you for reminding me it is time to send out another query.
Your statement is perfect, but it's hard to believe it still needs to be said in 2020.
Peeling off skin won't hurt? Er, OK.
Well said, it's a horrific time, but it's a time that needs to be! The truth of it is painful but the solution can't be found without that pain. Change is coming...
Alex - thanks! And, I really don't know.
Jemi- Yes, we do.
David - it is needed. We need to speak up and stand strong for humanity.
Hilary - yes, we need to do the things that help.
Liza - you're welcome!
Nick - I know, I know. To both. It shouldn't have to be said, and what were they thinking?
Yolanda - it is, but it's taking a while.
Patricia - it still makes me cringe, too. And, thank you!
Hi,
Thank you for sharing a small part of your own story. Thanks for speaking out.
Wishing you all the best and thanks for being a part of IWSG.
Shalom aleichem,
Pat G @ EverythingMustChange
Pat - Thank you!
Wise and thoughtful words. I know I am blessed and privileged. It's depressing that the world still get it right, this humanity thing.
It's a hot mess. It breaks my heart because I don't know what to do about it.
Anna from elements of emaginette
Well said, Tyrean. Good Post. We are all made in God's image. We are all human with different skin color. And we all bleed red.
I know people who are racist, which breaks my heart. We shouldn't have to see this in 2020. We are friends with someone who wasn't racist a a teen, in fact, he worked with the Buffalo Bills football team and he idolized and friended all of them. Then he became a CO in a prison, and he drastically changed.
My daughter dated a black man for years. We loved him and thought they'd get married. Even then, my daughter told me how her boyfriend had gotten racial slurs thrown at him. I don't know what it's like to be black and I can't pretend to know.
Love your statement. It is so true.
Walking suspiciously? I don't know what that looks like either. But we are such a melting pot of people now that there is no place for racism. We are all people.
It's heartbreaking. My family is multi-racial, too. My half brother is half Hawaiian but with a darker skin tone, so he received a lot of name-calling and hate by others while I was growing up. My second-oldest sister was adopted from the Philippines. Her husband is black, so my nephews are half-black and half-Asian. I've never had their experiences because I'm white, but they're my family and I stand with them.
Thanks for sharing your story!
Susan - agreed
Emaginette - I know how you feel.
Cathrina - the only thing we can do is to try and be a positive and loving influence on people's lives, so hopefully, the people we know will treat others with decency.
Natalie - thanks
Diane - yes, we are
Chrys - Yes, we need to stand with our families and with our communities, so things change.
We are all loved by God. So very true!!
So much truth in this post! I think it has all the right words.
I, too, had a childhood medical experience that left me with a complete distrust of anyone who says, "this won't hurt." And I let them know it.
And even though I'm "white enough," I had my own run in with the Rainbow Girls in the "not good enough" category. One of the many reasons I declined my mother-in-law's (the most gracious, Christian woman I've ever known) gentle encouragement to consider Eastern Star as an adult.
Scars come in many different forms.
I am so sorry your cousin went through that. (And I'm sure a lot more you didn't mention.) I've lived in the North-Northeast my entire life. Like with more deer and moose around us than people. Whenever new people show up here, we're all like, "Let's invite them to dinner or bring them a fruit basket." It's never occurred to me what they look like. It just doesn't, so some of this is so hard for me to relate to. That does not mean I don't believe that it happens. I do, and the fact that this happens to my fellow Americans (to any person) breaks my heart. Prayer is so important. That's what I've been doing. <3
I'm glad you were blessed with such an amazing family.
Dares have gotten me into a lot of trouble ~ LOL Your six-year-old story was gruesome, Tyrean. I had to carry my five-year-old sister home once when she cut her foot on glass in an underwater sandbar many years ago. I still remember how badly it bled. She was treated humanely though. Thanks for standing up. I am hopeful that killing of George Floyd will result in real changes. We might have actually reached a tipping point. I pray so.
I've always avoided dares...and now, I know why. Ouch.
The world is a scary place right now.
Dares were never cool to me and often I never participated, much to the disappointment of whoever dared me. I've seen some pretty terrible stuff go down because of dares.
I have never understood how someone could judge another person by the color of their skin. Or their gender or sexual orientation or religious beliefs or anything else. We are all humans, created and loved by God, and should be accepted as we are. What happened to treating others as you yourself would like to be treated? Inhumanity is spiraling out of control. I can only hope that we've reached rock bottom and that the outpouring of outrage will start us on the road back upward.
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