Video for Pride Month

Sometimes in RantWoman's world of Blog as Quaker Journal, there are things to post out of pure interest without any additional piquant (or otherwise) RantWoman commentary.

Happy #Pride

Before Stonewall

FAN Seeks Policy Engagement Director: another awesome public ministry job posting.

 Posted vebatim with some RantWoman commentary at the bottom

 FAITH ACTION NETWORK — POLICY ENGAGEMENT DIRECTOR

Open until filled. Application review begins August 1, 2021

 

Faith Action Network (FAN) is a statewide, multi-faith 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization through which thousands of people and over 160 faith communities across Washington State build partnerships for the common good. Our network today includes Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Unitarian, Sikh, Quaker and non-denominational communities and individuals, and we actively welcome all. FAN’s team has worked in our first 10 years to build a movement for social justice: educating on issues, organizing advocates, and raising voices of faith and conscience in the state legislature and at local and federal levels.

 

The Policy Engagement Director is a new position for FAN designed to build on strong foundations and deepen policy knowledge and engagement within our network. Embedded in this leadership role are these assumptions:

• FAN is committed to impacting public policy on a state level as central to its mission.
• FAN’s particular contribution in the public policy arena is twofold: advocating on the basis of the deepest values in our faith traditions for justice and compassion; and having a statewide, multi-faith network that can be engaged and mobilized in this work.
• Moving forward, FAN will engage its growing network in the leadership of FAN’s advocacy agenda and bringing faith voices to the table in advocacy coalitions/groups.
• FAN is committed to becoming a more diverse, equitable, inclusive, and anti-racist organization.

 

The FAN Policy Engagement Director will provide leadership in developing FAN’s policy agenda and strategies, with the goal of expanding the role of our growing network in the process of advocacy and policy change.

 

Characteristics, Skills and Experience that will lead to success:

• You have demonstrated knowledge and passion for progressive public policy issues. Two years of Washington State public policy experience preferred. Respect for and ability to communicate along a continuum of policy positions is essential.
• Experience with community/issue organizing will be helpful. Two years’ experience preferred.
• You enthusiastically accept, embrace, and relate to diverse faith traditions, BIPOC/multicultural communities, and secular groups on social justice issues.
• The work of amplifying faith-based voices for social justice energizes you.
• You have a commitment to teamwork and collaboration that is grounded in your capacity for empathy.
• Understanding that FAN is on a journey toward racial equity and undoing white supremacy, you have a willingness to deepen personal and professional knowledge of how these operate internally and externally in public policy and organizations.
• Excellent organizational, written, and verbal communications skills.
• Experience and skill working to recruit, train and engage volunteers.
• Ability to use technology in carrying out our statewide work. Comfort and proficiency with database use/tracking, social networking tools, and MS Office.
• Bilingual ability is desirable.
• Ability to work evenings and weekends as needed.
• Valid Washington State Driver’s License and use of an insured personal vehicle as necessary for required travel (with usage reimbursement).
• Flexibility and adaptability! FAN’s work is always evolving in response to the needs of our time, and our success has been in being nimble enough to adapt.
• All relevant education and experience will be considered.

 

Key Responsibilities for the Policy Engagement Director:

• Provide leadership in identifying and developing a core group to work on behalf of FAN to set and evaluate policy goals.
• Identify, train, equip, and supervise network leaders for each of FAN’s policy categories, with the goal of involving them in shaping FAN’s policy agenda, representing FAN with our coalition partners, and directly advocating with legislators and other policymakers.
• Take lead in FAN interfaith advocacy day(s) planning with staff and volunteers to help advance our network’s engagement with FAN’s policy agenda.
• Coordinate closely with any lobbyist that FAN may contract with during the legislative session.
• Build relationships with elected officials and coalition partners.
• Work closely with FAN regional organizers and volunteers to expand FAN network and further FAN’s policy agenda.
• Report policy developments regularly to FAN staff and Governing Board and prepare policy updates for FAN communications.
• Represent FAN at public events, and update FAN staff/volunteers on policy issues in advance of events, as needed.
• Work with FAN staff and volunteers to strengthen the annual cycle of events, FAN’s Annual Dinner, and other convenings.
• Work in collaboration with Governing Board and staff to further FAN’s goal to be an anti-racist organization.
• Be an active team player, doing whatever it takes to move forward FAN’s mission.

 

Salary range: $60,000-$70,000 plus health/dental insurance and paid vacation and sick leave.

This is a full-time, overtime-exempt position. FAN offices are located in Seattle, with regional organizers throughout WA; for this position, you will need to have easy access to Puget Sound region and Olympia. Policy Engagement Director will report to and be supervised by the Executive Director. We anticipate this position will begin early Fall 2021.

To apply, send a resume with a cover letter explaining your interest in the position and your relevant experience and skills to apply@fanwa.org.

 

Faith Action Network is committed to hiring a diverse workforce and all qualified applicants are encouraged to apply. FAN is an equal opportunity employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender expression, relevant disability, marital status, veteran status or national origin.

3720 Airport Way S, Seattle, WA 98134 • (206) 625-9790 • fan@fanwa.org • www.fanwa.org

 

RantWoman comments:

--Much as RantWoman respects and values Faith Action Network RantWoman is WAY too charm-challenged to do what is needed. That will not stop RantWoman from trying to contribute as she is led / as she is able. By "contribute," RantWoman means encourage members of faith communities to widen their horizons to include transportation and environmental considerations. A tough stretch.

--Speaking of transportation, another "driver's license required" posting. Question at the interview: "What would be the mileage reimbursement budget. Here's how I propose to make it work..."

Seriously, the looks like an important position so Go For it!

Purple Chicken Presente: preparations for summer Zoomathons

other desk clutter

Meet The Fluffy Lavender Chicken. 

This fluffy lavender chicken has now been designated RantWoman's official emotional support chicken and visual motif as RantWoman prepares for this summer's various upcoming Zoomathnons. 

RantWoman is happy to know a couple homes where live chickens are part of the household. RantWoman is especially happy occasionally to receive fresh eggs from a flock with several different breeds of hens. Still  a flock of actual live emotional support chickens sounds like too much for the computer lab. 

This chicken, though, is a present from someone in an "I want to give you a present and I really don't care whether a fluffy purple chicken is a present you would think to ask for. But Enjoy!" In the realm of curious help that may or may not be totally helpful, RantWoman is just going to run with that, especially since the chicken is now one less thing to trip over in RantWoman's apartment. 

The chicken share's RantWoman's certainty the world is entitled to RantWoman's opinion and is likely aid and abet TantWoman as she  composes a number of posts which may or may not get posted before the actual events to which they refer.

Consider for instance this list of NPYM Annual Session Interest Groups

Other readers who do not use screen readers may not even notice headings. RantWoman nowever is extremely grateful there are two layers of headings so that RantWoman can skip to a specific item.

 RantWoman is also grateful to see both themes about taking care of community AND about Quakers doing good in the world.

Beyond that, RantWoman is going to save some all disabilities all the time meditations and let the season at least until after even events inflaming RantWoman's opinions have occurred. Stay tuned!

Fourth Saturday Worship JUNE

Fireworks.
How is Way opening?
What of faith Hope Love?

Invitation to Beat the Heat and join Fourth Saturday Worship at the Zoom coordinates at the end of this post.

 Fourth Saturday worship is intended to begin with silent worship with an invitation to consider the muddle below.

June is about travel or not travel and gatherings and different flavors or Pride. July for RantWoman also features Independence Day, several death anniversaries and, this year, a major birthday RantWoman is still not sure how to handle. 

Zoom makes possible all sorts of conundrums about eldering. One's nostrils may or may not be one's best feature. If your Zoom image were dominated by nostrils or random body parts or peculiar motions, would you want someone to let you know OR are Friends simply supposed to accept that God is glad to have people in worship however they arrive and maybe people should fuss less about nostrils? 

Are there special things one does at Gatherings that can be replicated at home to make the Zoom experience more like in-person just without lengthy travel.

What matters most in a worship group where Friends are expected to wade into many dimension  of anii-racism?

There is definitely still time to join evening events for the Friends General Conference Gathering; RantWoman thinks most readers with eyes that function better than RantWoman's are going to be able , faster than RantWoman can what other participation options they might want to grab onto. 

There is still time to register for North Pacific Yearly Meeting Annual Session

RantWoman particularly recommends the numerous Interest Groups, with special thanks to the webkeeper for headings to make it easy for RantWoman and her screen reader to navigate without having to read the whole page. 

Join Zoom Meeting Fourth Saturday Worship

In Light and Faithfulness

RantWoman

Evangelicalism Meet Critical Race Theory?

As part of RantWoman's quixotic quest both to maintain high standards of Quaker heresy and to make even tiny chinks in the wall of electronic bilge that is Rep. Lauren Boebert's Twitter feed, today's #CivisFor Lauren commentary is about Critical Race Theory.

Rep. Boebert: "Critical Race Theory should be renamed to be more honest - Self-Hate 101: Introduction to Racism."

RantWoman thinks Rep. Boebert might want to  consider some comments from people of faith.

Johan Maurer on Why Evangelicals should embrace Critical Race Theory

Ed Litton Addresses the Southern Baptist Convention

For people who follow issues in the Southern Baptist Convention even  a little, Rev. Litton was also just elected President of that body.

RantWoman can't tell from Rep. Boebert's Twitter feed whether she has any kind of religious practice. Her Congressional website bio has a lot about water rights and land management in the western US but the site mentions nothing about religion. Wikipedia says she became a born-again Christian in 2009. In short, RantWoman has no idea whether the two items shared here might speak to Rep. Boebert on religious grounds but RantWoman is being faithful to her call to offer them.

And for insights from mainstream media Chris Hayes of CNBC on Critical Race Theory and electoral strateties

As for Quixotic quests and Quaker heresy, start with the clearly prepared message in the video.

Yes, well, probably too much both for Quaker worship and for Twitter but still

QuEST seeks Housing Justice Fellow

 Nonprofit Fellowship and Community Living for Young Adults with QuEST in Seattle

QuEST is a Quaker-sponsored service year fellowship in Seattle providing recent college graduates with professional nonprofit experience, an intentional residential community, and opportunities for training and reflection. QuEST Fellows are matched with one of our partner agencies in full-time year-long positions. The six Fellows live together in a shared house in Seattle's University District and they receive room and board, a small personal stipend, transportation and health care funds, mentorship and training, and student loan support.

QuEST is seeking a Community Organizing Fellow to serve at the Washington Housing Alliance Action Fund. This Fellow supports all levels of the Action Fund's voter engagement program including mobilizing volunteers for Get-Out-The-Vote canvasses (field and phone) in support of housing champions, leading voter registration activities, and advancing the Housing Voter campaign. The Community Organizing Fellow also engages residents of low-income housing in organizing, issue education, state and local public policy advocacy, civic engagement, and leadership development.

Applications will be considered on a rolling basis until the placement is filled, with a priority deadline of July 10. The program year begins August 26. More information about QuEST admissions, including the application, is on this website. A full job description for the Community Organizing Fellow role can be downloaded from here.

2020-21 QuEST Fellows Mary, Liana, Jenni, Lorena, Elsie, and Christine on retreat in May

Kamala Harris Tells Guatemalans to Not Immigrate to America & Amber Expl...

RantWoman should probably find some way to connect this item with her #CivicsForLauren engagement with @LaurenBoBert 's twitter feed. Today the illustrious Ms. Boebert wants to censure Joe Biden over the border situation. Readers dying to view the video get to go find it their own selves. 

Points that stand out to RantWoman:

--known murders INTERCEPTED

--Fentanyl INTERCEPTED

Sounds to RantWoman like SOMETHING IS WORKING and censure shouldn't apply.

--Women being sexually assaulted? Does Ms. Boebert mean at the border or as reasons they might be fleeing TO the border?

--Babies wrapped in Mylar blankets AND handed over to the cartels. Sure, for heaven's sakes find the kids some better blankets but RantWoman is definitely missing something besides twitted disinformation about the cartels.

--Relentlessly mispronouncing VP Harris' first name? Ummm...

Or readers can just delegate commentary about the border issues and VP Harris trip to Guatemala to Amber Ruffin.

Very Exciting Job Postings at the Church Council of Greater Seattle

VERY Cool job postings after a big of RantWoman ramble!

RantWoman knows someone who would be dynamite for the first opening; alas RantWoman thinks this person moved out of state back closer to family.

Can anyone imagine why RantWoman would be THRILLED to know the second position exists? Should someone like RantWoman who on a good day just about achieves the interpersonal finesse of a Brillo pad even try to pull of the social astuteness needed?

2 positions now accepting applications at the Church Council of Greater Seattle

NOW HIRING: Development Lead The Church Council of Greater Seattle seeks a highly-relational, collaborative, community-centered team player to carry out the resource organization plan for the Church Council. The position contributes to our role in building collective power with and between congregations and impacted communities, through an anti-racist, faith-rooted community organizing lens. The position entails a combination of strategic thinking and detail-oriented follow through to broaden and strengthen existing relationships among Church Council stakeholders and maximize potential for expansion of active contributors. The position is full-time.

Full job description: Development Lead

NOW HIRING: Faith Land Organizer The Church Council of Greater Seattle seeks someone to join our Faith Land Initiative team. The Faith Land Organizer is committed to accompanying congregations toward the realization of our goal: equipping and organizing faith communities toward faithful and equitable community stewardship of faith-owned land. At The Church Council, we see our role in building collective power with and between congregations and impacted communities, through an anti-racist, faith-rooted community organizing lens. We are searching for someone to join our team who would be committed to our goals of equipping and organizing faith communities toward faithful and equitable community stewardship of faith-owned land. The Church Council seeks someone who will work with the Faith Land Initiative design team to accompany congregations toward this goal. The Faith Land Organizer is committed to abiding by anti-racist principles, is a strong community organizer, believes in liberating the people and the land, and has a solid understanding of the political landscape in Seattle and King County. The Faith Land Initiative of the Church Council of Greater Seattle is a network of congregations and faith leaders building collective power around faithful land use and equitable development. Our core is the Faith Land Discernment Cohort, a cohort program based in faith-rooted organizing and anti-racism values that supports faith leaders in creating discernment processes towards decision-making aligned rooted in equitable community stewardship of land. In addition to the discernment cohort, we are also organizing with faith communities around advocacy on the local level (Seattle), and cultivating a space for technical expertise within the Initiative, with our Technical Brain Trust.

Full job description: Faith Land Organizer

STAY CONNECTED  ‌  ‌ This is a specific email list. If you wish to be subscribed or unsubscribed from this particular list please email imuller@thechurchcouncil.org.  Clicking "Unsubscribe" below will remove you from ALL future Church Council communications.

Disability, Words, Interest Group NPYM AS 2021

Courage in the face of Fear: 

Faith, hope, love--and a Disability words Grab Bag

A really bright Sunset in orange over rippled water with plant shaoows in the forground
This post needs a visual motif!
Readers left too breathless by comments below are  invited
to come back to the picture and breathe
or to consider how to express
what is meaningful to a totally blind person

This post is RantWoman's official discernment sandbox in preparation for NPYM Annual Session 2021. RantWoman is still seeking Light as to which topics need to be tended in this year's interest groups. After some introductory details, RantWoman present several ideas. This post will be subject to updates

Join the Interest Group at the scheduled times 

Disability Words Interest Group

Meeting ID: 914 8873 3885  Passcode: 7151961

If you have access needs, please leave a comment. RantWoman will do the best she and .. can do to tend to them.

RantWoman is also seeking one or two Friends willing to serve as elder for each session. For anyone unfamiliar with the concept please leave a comment and RantWoman will offer additional information.

RantWoman invites Friends to attend one of three interest groups at NPYM Annual Session that will have something to do with disability: Also if Friends see a topic you consider important but think there is no way ...you would ever discuss it in an interest group led by RantWoman, please consider asking Ministry and Counsel for options.

Topics RantWoman is trying to choose among

Modern lingo in the workplace and beyond

Disability and Parenting

What would YOU want to know about the White Cane Law

If you were going to teach a law school course on disability law what would you include and why? This is a serious question a blind law professor posed recently in one of RantWoman's weekly Zoom hangouts

Accessibility quest for world domination: why fixing sidewalks might be as important in fighting climate change as worrying too much about...

Ripped from the headlines

#FreeBritney

Naomi Osaka and the press

#AccessiBe and why you shouldn't leave website accessibility up to one blind guy and some AI voodoo

Voting and accessibility

Digesting the indigestible: 

both RantWoman blogs have numerous items that talk about accessibility. Use the search bar. If something catches your fancy...

Accessibility, Inclusion, publishing and the Internet age

The importance of International law including CRPD, the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, The Marrakech treaty...

Association of Bad Friends Options

(The Association of Bad Friends is a Facebook group. If it were a Yearly Meeting, it would be one of the largest in North America)

For Friends discerning about whether to throw up their hands and join the Association of Bad Friends, or just to go take a nap or stare into something beautiful in nature, brave space where Friends are willing to risk vulnerability, eldering, and being offended.

Ableism Bananagrams

Microaggression Bingo

Oppression Olympics

Word-choice apoplexy for the metaphor-challenged as well as anyone who can't make up their mind whether it should be for instance "person with deafness" or "Deaf person," "disAbility" or "diffAbility." Special sections for "Not Blind Enough," "Not deaf Enough..."

Prison Heat: Last Week Tonight with John Oliver (HBO)

RantWoman, What on earth possesses thee to post this on a day when temperatures in the Puget Sound are expected to reach the 90's?       

 

And NO, RantWoman, you do NOT just get to declare Texas a giant festering human rights violation and be done with it. No, you do NOT.

Conservatives Boo Pence And Cheer Trump At Religious Conference

RantWoman freely admits this is an eccentric post for Father's Day.

"I'm a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, IN THAT ORDER." Delivery style evocative of rantDad even though Rant dad would never have summoned quite the same level of terse punchiness as the formaer Vice President displays in this video.

        

Intermountain Yearly Meeting Interest group Schedule May 16-20. Get 'em while they're hot.

 RantWoman is VERY impressed with the interest groups scheduled for the Intermountain Yearly Meeting annual Session June 16-20. RantWoman's schedule is already clogged during this timeframe but she is here posting the text of the Interest group schedule as well as a link for the session--and this in spite of the fact that the website wants people to have registered by June 12.

IMYM list of interest Groups

Main IMYM site Main IMYM site

PS: Readers curious about RantWoman's so far one-woman #CivicsForLauren social media effort are invited to use the word Boebert in the search bar or on RantWoman's Adventures of RantWoman platform findable in the blog roll.

Meditations For Meeting For Business: Communications Committee

 

Proposed Minute to Establish a Communications Committee:

text below the intro and followed by questions:

 

RanWoman Intro

RantWoman is called to continue to be faithful to her Light. RantWoman assumes that a number of people still need help finding their better selves, communicating what is positive, cutting down on negative and frankly embarrassing messaging, and tending to why RantWoman continues to care  

 

RantWoman suggests that people whose feelings are hurt about this consider the negative messages being sent by what RantWoman hears is RantWoman causing problems merely by existing. Maybe start by taking a good read at the recent Disability Pride piece in Gleamings. Despite RantWoman’s quibbles it’s not a terrible place to start.  

 

RantWoman reminds everyone with hurt feelings that clearness committees are an option either through UFM or through Quarterly Meeting. RantWoman’s only requirement: rantWoman is severely allergic to sloppy use of the term “couples counseling.” On good days RantWoman gets that she is reacting badly to professionals just using the jargon of their field. Still, it’s the pandemic, good days should not be either taken for granted or wasted.

 

RantWoman’s understanding of the testimony on equality is that people in some kind of a couple relationship are by far not the only people who are ever parties to a conflict. RantWoman keeps praying that maybe she can let her allergy go and find some pastoral care equivalent of Xyrtec to help her cope. About that time RantWoman gets a severe quaking Speak Truth to Power spasm telling her she really is not going to be able to drug away the depth of her professional, contextual, and personal allergies.

 

RantWoman is also pretty sure there are resources AND resources available in ways that meet a variety of accessibility needs for describing needed conflict resolution processes without making RantWoman want to scream and go delve into professional codes of ethics. Let us hold that problem in the Light. For one thing, no matter how much about “disability pride” gets printed in Gleamings, merely ACKNOWLEDGING this need in concrete actionable terms still gets scrubbed out of commitments about work on disability issues.

 

RantWoman sees in this proposal great opportunity and AGAIN, as she has done MULTIPLE TIMES dating back to the original Communications task force offers her service, HOPEFULLY in more congenial MAYBE interpersonally nuanced form than this blog.

 

Text to be presented in Meeting for Business

University Friends Meeting approves establishing a Communications Committee and directs Nominating Committee to bring nominations for this new committee to either the summer 2021 or September 2021 Business Meeting.

 

Background

 

In 2007-2008, UFM participated in a year of Discernment.  At the end of  that 18-month year, the Meeting approved establishing a Communications Task Force to develop and support the communication need of the Meeting and individuals in the Meeting.  The Task Force was not able to complete its job, and we have worked without reliable oversight of our communications even as the world of communications has evolved rapidly.

 

Recently an ad hoc IT committee has been reworking our use of electronic communications, Zoom, the website, and information storage and sharing, but there is no group charged with establishing policy or methods.  Gleamings is a stand-along (sic) enterprise.  There is no one responsible for the Announcements listserv, the website has a webkeeper but no oversight group, and our Office Coordinator, with help from individuals is responsible for vetting people who want to be included in our mailing lists.

 

This proposal is for a Communications Committee that becomes the home of IT, Gleamings, the website, announcements and mailing lists, and the Google Drive. 

 

Given normal Quaker process, the committee will be charged with filling out its charter so that it incorporates anything that this proposal missed or new things that need to be included.

 

June 2021 

 

RantWoman comments:

--Even though RantWoman thoroughly approves the idea of creating such a committee RantWoman STRONGLY recommends holding over approval of the minute until Friends have had the opportunity to season what instructions they want to convey to Nominating Committee and what they expect of the committee going forward.

 

--Considering LONGSTANDING patterns of ignoring RantWoman’s concerns about accessibility, recent repetitions of that pattern, and in particular the current Clerk of Nominating Committee’s individual patterns which RantWoman is happy to elaborate, RantWoman has ZIP confidence that simply sending this minute off to Nominating Committee without clear instructions from Meeting for Business will speak to all the needs on RantWoman’s mind.

 

--Some things RantWoman would like to expect:

 

            Recognition that RantWoman really WANTS to hear the voices of other Friends and to work toward a blessed community, even on days when a “bless your hearts” community is where people are resolutely mired.

 

  Articulation of clear policies, inclusiveness in creating the policies, and transparency about what they are.  NOTHING ABOUT US WITHOUT US. People do NOT get just to blabber in email about “you are not welcome here.”  NO ONE welcomes life-changing medical events in midlife or frankly any other time.  RantWoman has NO patience with all the different forms she hears of “It’s not good for the community…” or “maybe the community can’t handle…,” this latter from a person with a disability who sounds like the community is supposed to handle that Friends disability but not RantWoman’s.

 

 

Inclusion in the policies explicit commitment to some standards of accessibility that meeting the varying needs, communications patterns among Friends, and evolving technologies. RantWoman here applies the same single standard of truth she is applying in a much bigger forum: people are not born knowing basic accessibility standandards but if they are standards, people learn them in the course of ongoing work. AND if people are open to continuing revelation, there is also room for programs like QuEST to nurture awareness of disabilities issues in the course of regular activities.

 

            Space to lament the laying down of weekly First Day School. RantWoman meant to go on separately about that but maybe needs to leave room for Friends to digest these comments, partly in hopes that if adults practice communicating better that will create space to foster spiritual grown for more young families and evenMAYBE possibly create a less ableist world for some young Friends RantWoman has noticed.

 

In Light and faithfulness.

 

RantWoman.

The Principles of Disability Justice Part 1--with commentary!

RantWoman here presents an item from the UFM newsletter, unedited except for imperfect format adjustments to enhance readability. The article text is followed by unabashed in your face RantWoman commentary. RantWoman hopes readers will embrace the commentary with enthusiasm, gusto, and invitation to venture more deeply into the full range of experience and spiritual framing among both Quakers and people with different disabilities. It is not RantWoman's intent to make people's heads explode though RantWoman acknowledges that may occur and holds readers in the Light as they tread along the frontiers of that possibility.

The Principles of Disability Justice

(Part 1 of 3)

Mackenzie Barton-Rowledge

On the UFM disability survey conducted last year, several  people asked UFM to look into Disability Justice. Learning  about Disability Justice has totally transformed my worldview,  and it directly led to me claiming my disabled identity with pride, so I’m excited to share it with UFM!

I’ll start with the 10 Principles of Disability Justice. This month I’ll touch on the first four principles, and leave the other six for later issues of Gleamings. These principles were first articulated in 2005 by several queer disabled women of color. Variations of the description of each principle exist—I’ll  quote here from the most recent version by Sins Invalid, a disabled performance troupe directed by Patty Berne, one of the founders of Disability Justice.

Intersectionality:

Simply put, this principle says that we are many things, and they all impact us. We are not only disabled, we are also each coming from a specific experience of race, class, sexuality, age, religious background, geographical location, immigration status, and more. Depending on context, we all have areas where we experience privilege, as well as areas of oppression. The term ‘intersectionality’ was first introduced by feminist theorist Kimberlé Crenshaw in 1989 to describe the experiences of Black women, who experience both racism and sexism in specific ways. We gratefully embrace the nuance that this principle brings to our lived experiences, and the ways it shapes the perspectives we offer. Before Disability Justice, the disability rights movement  fought for basic access and rights in the second half of the 20th century. Their work continues to be essential to survival  for many of us: the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) happened because of these protests. And yet, like every civil rights movement, many other kinds of oppression were ignored as people tried to address one issue at a time. The disability rights movement focused on talking about disability, but not race, gender, etc. Disability Justice, on the other hand, makes space for each of us to bring our whole selves  and explicitly acknowledges that our experience of disability depends on our other identities.

Leadership by those most impacted:

When we talk about ableism, racism, sexism & transmisogyny, colonization, police violence, etc., we are not looking to academics and experts to tell us what’s what — we are lifting up, listening to, reading, following, and highlighting the perspectives of those who are most impacted by the systems we fight against. By centering the leadership of those most impacted, we keep ourselves grounded in real-world problems and find creative strategies for resistance.

There is a beautiful disability protest chant: “nothing about us without us.” Disability Justice applies this slogan to every aspect of identity, and gives particular attention to opposing larger social power dynamics.

Anti-Capitalist Politics:

Capitalism depends on wealth accumulation for some (the white ruling class), at the expense of others, and encourages competition as a means of survival. The nature of our disabled bodyminds means that we resist conforming to ‘normative’ levels of productivity in a capitalist culture, and our labor is often invisible to a system that defines labor by able-bodied, white supremacist, gender normative standards. Our worth is not dependent on what and how much we can produce.

This point bears repeating: our worth is not dependent  on how much we can produce. Despite how much my conscious politics are anti-capitalist, feeling ashamed of being unproductive is a long-standing reflex of mine. Quaker values align clearly with Disability Justice here.

Cross-movement solidarity:

Disability justice can only grow into its potential as a movement by aligning itself with racial justice, reproductive justice, queer and trans liberation, prison abolition, environmental justice, anti-police terror, Deaf activism, fat liberation, and other movements working for justice and liberation. This means challenging white disability communities around racism and challenging other movements to confront ableism. Through cross-movement solidarity, we create a united front. I think of this as the large-scale version of intersectionality.

Just as one individual is impacted by all the identities that they hold, society’s mechanisms of oppression also intersect and overlap. When we team up to fight the many types of oppression, all of our movements become stronger.

For Summer Gleamings, I’ll write about principles 5-9: Wholeness, Sustainability, Cross-Disability Solidarity, Interdependence, and Collective Access. Discussion of the 10th principle, Collective Liberation, will be in September Gleamings.

RantWoman goes off

Please bear with RantWoman as some of this ride may be rocky.

The messenger? One Single Messenger? What about continuing revelation?

Doesn't anyone else in the whole meeting have anything  to say about disability? RantWoman imagines some readers may find the meanings of all this jargon self-evident but RantWoman does not. In fact RantWoman feels harangued at, and in academic terms that obliterate, erase the very distinctives the "leadership by those most impacted" is supposed to reflect.

"align with Quaker values"

WHICH "Quaker Values?"

Just as WE--or at least some of us--don't stim, crochet, do sudoku in Meeting for Worship WE speak for ourselves and our own Light and do not presume to speak for all Quakers.

Anti-capitalist politics?

Believe it or not, take it from RantWoman who no one in RantWoman's undergraduate experience would predict RantWoman would say this, A LOT of Quakers are perfectly fine with capitalism. Equally important, a really important disability justice perspective is behind for instance many elements of some organizations' diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) efforts. People doing the work of expanding the space for fuller inclusion, fuller participation have the same (or greater) life costs and deserve the same compensation as everyone else. This principle is of course unevenly observed in practice, and disability can pose the same workplace challenges for for organizations that would like to abolish capitalism and for those steeped throughout in capitalism framing. 

Please note though: RantWoman does not disagree with the point that people's worth is not measured only by what they produce. That's just another way of saying "that of God in everyone."

There now. Some resources

SinsInvalid Webpage

Sins Invalid No boddy is disposable interview through the Longmore Instittute

Update on HealthOne

This is verbatim from the notes for the June 2 King County Mobility Coalition Access to HealthCare committee  Posted her FYI. RantWoman has a number of opinions which could be helpful in Friends' discernment about how UFM might invest energy.

Health One Unit Update

Jon Ehrenfeld of the Seattle Fire Department shared an update about their Health One Unit. This

program is a partnership between the fire department and human services meant to divert low acuity

calls from emergency services that can be better handled by lower-level response. The program has

been operating since 2019 with two units of weekdays. It is staffed by firefighters and social workers.

While their main geographic focus is downtown Seattle, they can respond to a need anywhere in

Seattle. The service provides ongoing case management to connect individuals in need with services

that can reduce future crisis. It is a connective service that relies on many partners to operate. The

populations it serves most are older adults and people experiencing homelessness. The program is

adding new staff to meet demand.

The program has received positive anecdotal feedback attributed to it’s success. They are currently

doing a quantitative analysis to evaluate the program’s effectivity in diverting people from emergency

services. In regards to scale, Jon shared that he can see the model of this program working well but

through various administering agencies, not all completely owned by the same program (like an

expanding Health One Unit).

COVID-19 impacted the program greatly as many of the community partnerships the program referred

people to shut down, leaving less options for those in need. This included transportation service

providers.

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An attendee asked if this program could assist patients who need to go to the emergency room but

cannot take non-emergency medical transportation. Jon clarified that the program doesn’t operate so

that external partners or people can request their service, but they are referred to when most

appropriate by emergency services.

Draft of minute: getting help for someone in crisis without police

RantWoman is very excited. Well, RantWoman will try to strike a balance about parts of a draft minute on crisis intervention without police and which parts she want to go all RantWoman on.

 

Here is the draft minute and a survey about Friends' Opinions. Even though RantWoman plans to ask annoying questions and cavil about some wording, there are pieces RantWoman really likes and wants to encourage . Friends to work with further. Also RantWoman cannot possibly add another project to her plate so she is very happy to offer encouragement to Friends called to work on this. So do the survey. Your call whether to do the survey before or after reading RantWoman's opinions further.

Google Form Survey based on Draft Minute

Here are direct links to two programs mentioned in the survey. RamntWoman is providing direct links in case the survey for some reasons goes away..

White Bird Clinic CAHOOTS program

RantWoman means to read more about this program.

SFD HealthOne Program

Ooh. Ooh. Ooh. Reference to an existing program and something specific people can go talk to policy makers about. RantWoman is pretty sure Meeting is in CM Pedersen's district, where many Friends also live. RantWoman would say there is more work ahead before the text below is ready to present and talking to CM Pedersen is likely to be an interesting experience. 

RantWoman's understanding is that HealthOne services come into play only after a person has had many calls to 911 or perhaps low level encounters with police. The program is woefully underfunded and. Based on a presentation RantWoman heard at a transportation event awhile ago, RantWoman thinks the program's success is measured mainly in terms of reduced calls to 911 and some kinds of costs . RantWoman has little information about longer term outcomes for the people served through the program.

RantWoman does not think a minute needs to go into too much detail but calling for substantial increase in funding to expand staffing seems on point.

RantWoman is of two minds about routing everything through the 911 system. A barista dealing for the dozenth time with some difficult individual might really really happy just to have police officers shoo the individual away again. On the other hand that creates trackable data and trained social workers could be summoned just as easily as police. Maybe baristas would also feel more comfortable and less burdened by life on society's homelessness frontiers.

 

By coincidence, an update on Health One, from meeting notes for the June 1 King County Mobility Coalition Access to healthcare Committee:

Bluntly, the HealthOne system by itself is nowhere near enough, but it is an interesting starting point.

Here also is a Previous RantWoman effort vaguely relevant

Here are parts of the proposed minute that RantWom`an wants to interact with. RantWoman could perfectly well complete the survey but RantWoman's opinions are too complicated to fit into the survey as framed. This is a common problem for RantWoman around surveys so please bear with

Friends have a history of responding to people in need of spiritual healing. Hundreds of years ago, we pioneered many humane mental health treatment methods. 

Not sure what I would put in a minute here but a note:

Early Friends (Quakers) were familiar with prison issues of the day because many Friends got thrown into prison due to challenging both church and state authority. History shows many early Friends were themselves challenging and difficult personalities. Other Friends have been motivated by genuine if sometimes misguided compassion. Friends in the US contributed to the development of the penitentiary concept. Many modern Friends walk that idea back after realizing how disruptive it can be for people's psyches.

In addition, nonviolent conflict resolution is a longstanding Friends tradition.

For the last 40 years, UFM has offered care to our houseless neighbors, and the housing crisis has dramatically worsened during that time. Lack of housing is disabling and extremely stressful, and many in our community have had direct conflicts with unhoused folks struggling to survive. Members of our community also struggle with mental illness. Currently, the only city-wide all-hours method for connecting people in crisis to existing government resources is the police. We want to expand the choices available to ordinary people trying to support one another.

Hmmm, there's that part about telling a longtime member she is not welcome and calling the police, but okay, 

We envision a Beloved Community that offers solidarity and mutual aid to people who are struggling socially, economically, spiritually, and psychologically. Recognizing that of God in everyone, we hope to rely on non-coercive care, not force, in responding to challenging situations.

Recently RantWoman was at an event about the "Blessed Comunity." RantWoman would be fine if people can just aim for the "Bless Your Heart Community.." Start there.

University Friends Meeting calls on Washington State, King County, and the City of Seattle to make it possible for ordinary people to respond effectively to people in crisis without going through the police.

This means allocating more funding to social welfare programs to allow them to respond promptly to referrals from untrained civilians, and giving 911 operators the option to direct calls to non-police responders who can provide mental health support, family and community mediation, drug-user health, and many other crisis services. This also means funding first responders who are not connected to police. The CAHOOTS program, which has been successfully operating in Eugene for over 30 years, is one model. Another option would be expanding Seattle’s new Health One program so that anyone can request its services with the same ease as calling police.

RantWoman has a few more comments;

--It's great to write a "We call on .." minute, but what else might the UFM community or individuals with strong leadings also be led to do? RantWoman would love to be wrong, but she is pretty sure people who control money flows are not spontaneously going to exclaim "Oh, the Quakers are coming! We MUST do as they ask!" 

  --What do Friends need to be able to talk to neighbors, coworkers, others in circles outside UFM about the extent of the homelessness problem and about specific approaches to address it? 

  --Are there Friends with leadings to follow this particular policy debate in enough detail to alert others when there are important votes or hearings?

--Is there anything topical that could be supported in the immediate area of UFM through the  U District partnership?

--RantWoman notes the total absence of any wording about racial inequity. RantWoman can live with that for now except that RantWoman wants to know that any data collection processes involved collect as much data about race and disability as people are willing to share so that projects can continue to evolve in a data driven way.

What say y'all?