Wonderful #DisabilityPrideMonth item from the American Council of the Blind.
RantWoman will let the podcast for itself. There are a series of links to click to for background and then to start the playback.
(Sort of embarrassing confession: RantWoman does not have a preferred podcast app. RantWoman needs to find one with options to increase playback speed.)
Maybe you’ve heard the buzz… Maybe you’re one of the persons who emailed for the podcast link…
Either way, Tim and Cheryl put together an amazing panel,! I would like to thank them and the panelists for such an insightful conversation.
The participation was robust… The questions and theories to ponder were insightful and left many of us with lots more to think about, and potentially talk about in the future.
I have asked the panelists to please consider coming back in early September for part two of the conversation, and to get more Intel The book as well.
In the meantime… This is one show not to be missed so without further ado… Drumroll please…
RantWoman apologizes to any readers hoping RantWoman's content curation practices might help keep abreast of
--Prigozhin, Wagner, and Chechens
--the latest in Putin's nuclear threats and staffing rearrangements
--how close is the Russian army to collapse?
--What up with Belarus?
RantWoman also realizes that falling into the rabbit hole of the internet flap over Jason Aldean's Try that in a Small town not only will not cure current and past racism but allows yet another path for RantWoman just to keep making things messy and complicated.
That said, today's compilation.
First an interview suggesting to RantWoman eerily that the aging Americans consuming a steady diet of Faux Snooze have a lot in common with elderly and frequently nonurban Russians subsisting on a steady diet of Russian state television.
"What was it like to grow up in (name of small town)?
RantWoman needed that question the other day. It only came to her today, thanks partly to the social media storm about the recent release of Jason Aldean's video for a song called "Try that in a small town" played and analyzed in several clips below.
The song has evoked howls of racism. It has been pulled from CMT (Country Music Television) because of fears it could evoke violence. It has evoked yammers from conservatives about leftist silencing. RantWoman is in a Wait Just a Minute mood--IN SPITE of Aldean's history as an anti-vaxer, among other disagreeable advocacy.
RantWoman sadly concurs that elements of the video could absolutely be understood as inviting violence rather than using imagery to make a number of points. RantWoman is also really sorry that the overall national frenzy level is such that violence and outrage are the first places people head when art quite appropriately asks people to look at matters from many angles and to consider matters that involve ambiguity. In other words, RantWoman is sorry the video got pulled from CMT, BUT in the spirit of a versatile God who gets things done all kinds of ways, RantWoman is going to permit the thought that uproar sometimes actually helps people get where we need to be especially about big problems.
(RantWoman also notes that plenty of bad stuff happens in small towns. Cringe about around here we take care of our own. Really?)
RantWoman had to consume several commentary videos both to hear a range of reactions and because the videos included a number of images RantWoman had trouble digesting until others commented.
So watch as many of these clips as you like and then come to RantWoman "on the other side" of the videos.
Content warning: graphic description of images that appear in some videos. Black women talking about how explicit stuff sells but that does not represent all black women
Marky D is a white guy from TX. He talked Cheryl Crow, who he remembers for her position on toilet paper (watch the video). One time he and his family where in his apartment for some kind of riot. Not fun. Goes looking for racism and pro-lynching advocacy and does not find any.
General thread about urban vs "flyover states," interesting comments about film in front of a courthouse; interesting comments about courthouse scene The courthouse is the site of a famous lynching and RantWoman cannot tell whether flames that come along are about destroying a symbol or destroying some warped conception of justice and two-tier justice.
Clips from Inside Edition, comments about filming in front of courthouse where a lynching heard, Youtube demonetization, gun inherited from grandfather
There. Now RantWoman has presented a range of views from both creators of color and white voices.
RantWoman's first fast reactions:
--Listen to the "can we all please get along?" voices
--Who does or does not use the word racism and what other dynamics come up?
--Small town? PLENTY of BAD STUFF happens in small towns.
--Burning the flag? Never has been RantWoman's thing.
--Spitting on cops: also disagreeable with a bonus of "you talking about #J6, the biggest single day crime wave sine 9/11? No mention but what came to mind.
--The courthouse with clouds of smoke in front of it? Is this pro-lynching or just a call to acknowledge history?
--Riot scenes: WHERE in the US do police have white riot helmets? RantWoman has never seen this; that does not mean this does not exist. However, RantWoman's first reaction was "don't we have enough riot footage in the US without having to import some from abroad.
--We take care of our own?" WHO ARE our neighbors these days??
And finally, from the Twitterverse, a 100%unauthorized effort at humor.
NOT the official album cover: Jason Aldean. Try that in a ball gown
For the record: RantWoman has two yankee friends, a longtime couple, who teach at a university in KY. They are contra dancers. When they first moved to KY, the husband caused great consternation by showing up to dances in a nice gauzy flowy skirt.
One time the wife was visiting Seattle, RantWoman asked whether she might like to visit a famous local kilt emporium. No, she said, (her husband) thinks kilts are for men who can't handle real skirts. The South has survived this.
RantWoman does not exactly apologize but does offer to set context. In the runup to Annual session RantWoman was too busy propagating accessibility in bigger ponds than Quakerdom, so RantWoman just decided to live with whatever hacked up, reference to cat hairballs, out of preparations done by others.
Now though, RantWoman is going to TRY to pick through details of her experience while dragging out the inner blowtorch and trying to hold a WHOLE bunch of people in the Light, perhaps OCCASIONALLY with a teeny bit of gratitude for fortifying RantWoman's spine and soul for realms beyond Quakerdom, realms frequently populated by younger adults who find it MUCH easier to interact with some concerns than do Quakers.
Here for instance, RantWoman, NOT very humbly, would like to suggest some annotations to the final handout which people in an number of categories received before Annual Session. RantWoman will separately post annotations to minutes and if RantWoman is feeling completely insufferable to other documents. Please note: this document includes suggested scenarios. RantWoman, being both verbose and to open paths for Friends to learn will be offereing separate posts about some of the scenarios.
So buckle up everyone.
Interrupting Racial and Transphobic Harms at NPYM Annual Session
Introduction
In the last two years, we have used the Ouch/Whoa/Oops (OWO) process to interrupt racial and transphobic harms (sometimes called microaggressions) that occur during Annual Session.
[RantWoman in an email "Racial and transphobic harms are not the only harms that occur. Sexism anyone? Ableism? Ageism? Classism?]
OWO is a tool that has been used with some success in some Quaker groups like FCNL. This year we are moving away from OWO because of feedback we have received that it is too formulaic or mechanistic.
Still, we remain committed to Interrupting these harms immediately when they happen. These interruptions, even though they seem difficult at the time, are crucially important to the healing work that leads to formation of the Blessed Community. When we let one of these microaggressions occur without responding, we, by our silence, essentially approve of, or agree with, the harm done. We let the “elephant” stay in the room, even though most everyone knows it is there and that it is seriously out of place.
[HELLO: not everyone experiences a given action the same way. RantWoman is cautious about using the term "snowflake," but some people melt down way more easily than others in the same or similar situations. Plus, RantWoman is the sort of person who might say :"well I just need to have a meltdown but please don't take it personally!"
[Sometimes the urge to "help" without asking what would help is a worse intrusion than the original behavior. Sometime the urge to help comes across as virtue signalling or saviorism. We also will not talk about gaslighting, minimizing, and silencing when help IS asked for. RantWoman is grateful for a few voices in a training video from a session RantWoman missed for getting at least PART of RantWoman's point]
[Worse yet, since RantWoman very much has many strands of war, human rights atrocity, and quest for political integrity on her mind, RantWoman is called to now that some conflicts are probably NOT going to get solved in the span of one Quaker gathering. And the world is probably not going to stop even if conflicts persist.]
[Here RantWoman wishes to thank members of her worship group. The group was well held on many grounds. If anyone wants to argue that not wanting to talk about cluster bombs, a hot topic at the time, somehow constitutes racism, bring it on. Leave a comment. RantWoman herself has WAY more to say about a certain "special military operation and multiple strands of lies, disinformation, and warmongering than would fit into the worship group. But feel free to leave a comment....]
For a full discussion of why we are continuing this work and of how interrupting racial and transphobic harms might happen during Annual Session, please take some time to read carefully the attached information sheet that we are including in all the registration packets. This same information will be discussed at the first Plenary of Annual Session as well.
What this means for you as a Worship Sharing Group leader or Interest Group facilitator is that someone in the group you are hosting may end up using some of the less formulaic language that we point out in the information sheet. Or, they may say Ouch, because they are familiar with it from last year. And you will be faced with dealing with a microaggression in the middle of your group’s time.
First
It is first useful to review what a microagression is. It is defined as a brief, commonplace, verbal, behavioral, or environmental indignity, whether intentional or unintentional, that communicates hostile, derogatory, or negative slights and insults toward a member of an oppressed group. Sometimes referred to as “death by paper cuts.” These smaller instances of insult accumulate and have significant impacts on members of an oppressed group.
Examples: constantly misgendering trans people
[Guess what! cisgender people ALSO get misgendered, though thankfully usually not deadnamed];
asking of Black Friends “I love your hair. Can I touch it?” Asking of a dark-skinned person: “Where are you from?” implying that Black people are an anomaly at a Quaker Gathering. Or, commenting that “Black people really like a religious service with more singing and emotion,” implying that no Black person could be drawn to an unprogrammed silent worship.
When you have the time you might view the following two videos which are short and give more examples of what a microaggression looks like and feels like to those on the receiving end:
How microaggressions are like mosquito bites – Fusion Comedy
It is likely that you will have no experience of a microaggression in your group. [REALLY???? This entire statement is a microaggression--or maybe even a macroaggression! What if the sentence read something like "We are working on this process because we are aware that microaggressions occur all the time among us and that the weight of this oppression falls more heavily on some among use than on others?"]
But, if someone in a group you are clerking or facilitating, does indicate a microaggression has occurred, no matter what language they choose to use, here are some tips about what to do:
Don’t panic. Your main role is to listen in the moment – you are not there to resolve the situation if there is conflict. To the extent the situation requires further listening and resolution, that can happen when the parties involved visit with a Listener (see below) after the worship sharing or interest group is over.
[WTAF??? I thought we are all ministers of God and referring a situation to a listener may or may not be what is most needed.]
If the person harmed is a member of an oppressed group, allow them to tell what they have experienced, if they choose to do so.
[WTAF??? What happened to the testimony on equality??? Shouldn't we care whether ANYONE experiences harm? Also, whether or not a person is a member of an oppressed group may or may not be obvious.]
If the person is not the focus of the microagression but realizes that a microaggression has occurred, again, allow the person to explain what has happened and why it is a problem.
Allow the person who made the offending remark to respond, hopefully to say they are sorry, possibly to say they don’t understand what they did wrong.
Encourage both the person calling out the harm and the person who did the harm to talk with a Listener after the session. Listeners are folks who are going to be located at designated dining room tables, or other areas, or online. You can learn more about them from the information sheet. This way both parties can seek further clearness in a more private setting.Let everyone in the group know that these same Listeners are happy to talk with them about the incident if they didn’t understand what happened.
[What if a listener or a clerk or a recording clerk or... is the one committing the microaggression? RantWoman loves y'all, and ...]
Take your time with all of this. If appropriate, call for a moment of silent worship. It may seem like your worship group has lost focus or your interest group is going off the rails. But really, what is happening is a form of worship and ministry. It is an opportunity to bring your group closer to the Beloved Community by listening and trying to understand.
If time remains and it is appropriate to do so, continue worship sharing or continue the interest group.
Let a Listener know what happened as soon as you canafter your group concludes,even if the matter seems resolved. This way if it should come back to us we will be prepared. Also, it is good just to keep track of how often microaggressions arise during Annual Session.
And, finally, feel free to talk with a Listener too, as you might need to communicate your own feelings about what happened.
Role Plays (There are no “right” answers. Feel into the moment. Take your time. Reach for Divine. Hold all Friends present in the Light. Call for silent worship together first.)
1.
Attender A: I don’t see the big deal about pronouns. I don’t want to hear it.
Attender B: Friends, I hear a lack of clarity about transphobia.
Facilitator:
2.
Attender C: I just don’t see “color.” We are all children of God, Black or white or purple.
Attender D: I feel uncomfortable with Friend C’s comment about race.
Facilitator:
3.
Attender E: I just love Black culture. Watermelon is my favorite fruit!
Attender F: Ouch!
Facilitator:
4.
Attender G: I was recently called the N word when I was crossing the street.
(white) Attender H: That’s awful! I can’t believe that would happen nowadays! Seriously, I am so angry to hear that! I wish I’d been there. (Straying into territory of making it all about themselves, rather than Friend G.)
Attender I: Sadly, “not believing” a Friend of color can feel like denial. Thank you for sharing your painful experience, Friend G. (ID’ing the microaggression and steering conversation back to Friend G’s experience.)
4 months ago I was being admitted to the hospital for a life saving emergency surgery. This was after being turned away from an ER twice because “nothing was wrong with me” I share why this often happens to disabled and/or POC in my forthcoming now book available for preorder. pic.twitter.com/3mLbslKDdo
— Lamar Hardwick (D.Min.) (@autismpastor) July 9, 2023
One of the replies to this Tweet mentions respectability politics where a lot of blind jazz musicians got kicked out of black churches.
RantWoman is trying to observe a No Email after 10 pm rule. Sometimes that means no incendiary blog posts after 10 pm. Sometimes it just means RantWoman HAS to sleep
Fred Wellman and Ben Hodges discuss Ukraine, weapons, military readiness, GOP politics.
Worth a listen even if "How we learned to have a better war after Iraq and Afghanistan is a line of thinking one might be ambivalent about.
Clearly one part of any after-war scenario will be a bunch of countries needing to replace all the weapons they have been using.
Also, RantWoman does not have any precise material about the US decision to send cluster bombs to Ukraine. The NPR line: Russia has distributed so many mines that Ukraine is going to need help about demining anyway. A very high percentage of Russian mines are duds; a much lower percentage of US cluster bombs are duds. So somehow... At the same time, RantWoman has ZERO inclination to tell Ukraine what they do or don't need.
RantWoman is not into opining about the politics of which countries give Ukraine what.
PS. RantWoman also definitely means to check out forgottendemocrats.org/ which according to the website is committed to ensure that no Republican runs for office uncontested.
PPS RantWoman is amused or something by two things: first Meidas Touch Network videos have ads usually for some upscale mostly guy themed products. Second, Youtube tends to run ads in the middle of the already imbedded ads. Too much of something...
RantWoman is happily holding in the Light numerous Quaker events this week.
RantWoman is also slightly bummed not to feel called to attend Friends General Conference in person since it has come to OR and definitely falls within RantWoman's "will only attend FGC Gathering west of the Mississippi" rule. Zoom offers the seductive temptation to try to do two geographically dispersed events the same week and RantWoman has a clear call to succumb realistically to that temptation.
Further, RantWoman is enthusiastically celebrating #DisabilityPrideMonth. Did Friends know that #DisabilityPrideMonth is even a thing? RantWoman herself does not know how long it has been a thing. However, the Americans with Disabilities Act #ADA was signed into law in July 1990 and somewhere along the way July has been declared #DisabilityPrideMonth. Chalk one up for Continuing Revelation.
(Digression: religious organizations were originally exempted from the ADA, as if somehow someone who needs a reasonable accommodation in one context such as work or government offices and services or other public accommodations magically would not need the same accommodations in other situations. RantWoman is not interested in suing people: RantWoman IS interested in education, continuing revelation, equitable access. Choose your language. Also the ADA is a minimum and NOTHING should prevent anyone from going beyond what the ADA spells out. RantWoman is not above invoking interstate commerce considerations. too, but the point is RantWoman asks Friends to bear with her inner blowtorch long enough to get to what matters.)
Here RantWoman needs to say a GIANT Ouch about accessibility and the Friends General Conference How to use Zoom handout. RantWoman offers the following comments in sincere "do better next time" consideration for next year. People are not born knowing this stuff and willingness to learn is its own ministry!
The biggest problems:
Everything is a picture with no words or links for people who use screen readers to interact with.
Not only is everything a picture, some parts of the document have terrible contrast so some people will not be able to read print for example blue or green print against a pink background.
The pictures do not include all the many keyboard shortcuts available to people who, for any number of reasons like the keyboard better than a mouse.
RantWoman will separately clean up and post a non-visual access tips list she just wrote for something else. Maybe RantWoman will also find a satisfactory hints page about nonvisual accessibility of documents. However, RantWoman thinks there are plenty of graphic artist resources out that and is happy to talk further with people interested in learning how to make their efforts more visually accessible.
RantWoman has already posted some zoom accessibility tips on this blog. Hopefully RantWoman will have time to fish them out of history with some combination of search bar and eccentric tagging. Stay tuned.
Grab a look at the obituary; the site says it will go away after a year.
Guessing this is a pretty recent picture
RantWoman ventured into Facebookistan to send annual greetings to the family of a very good friend.
Once there...RantWoman visited the page for her high school graduating class and guess whose memorial popped up.
Mr. Nesbit taught 12th grade Humanities. Such was RantWoman's high school that by the time kids in band and orchestra sorted out their days, they wound up having a lot of classes in common. Such also were the realities that 720 kids entered in 10th grade and 620 tgraduated but that is a topic for another day.
High school for RantWoman was such a mix of really great teachers and things RantWoman had no concept of how to work through. In other words, RantWoman had not yet bloomed into her full measure of irascibility.
RantWoman was one of the people Mr. Nesbit coached to NCTE recognition between junior and senior year. He definitely gets credit when something RantWoman
write makes sense. His NCTE essay coaching also gets credit for giving RantWoman the courage to say "No, what you are suggesting is NOT where this piece is going" and that helped RantWoman get clear where it needed to go.
To this day, RantWoman does not know what to make of her senior year research paper. RantWoman wrote about the Muppets. RantWoman researched a good bit. RantWoman did not actually write the whole paper until the night before it was due. And Mr. Nesbit was still reading it aloud as an example 4 years later when Little Sister came through his class.
RantWoman was touched by the obit talking about Mr. Nesbit's life growing up in Poplar MT, a very tiny ber and by all the different steps of his career. RantWoman also listened to part of
the memorial and was touched by his expressions of faith.
Mr. Nesbit and his wife coached the majorette corp at the two cross town rival high schools. RantWoman would NEVER let anyone argue that majorette performances involve no athleticism. RantWoman couldn't care less about majorettes except to the degree that she felt
free to do her own thing without worrying about things RantWoman would have
been humorously ill-suited for.
The obituary does not mention what may be only lore about Mr. Nesbit's career as a drill sergeant at the Sand Point Naval Air Station in Seattle, English teacher and drill sergeant are not necessarily terms RantWoman would think go together; however, drill sergeant and majorette coach definitely make sense.
Rest in Peace, or for those who might rather, so long and thanks for all the fish.
Interests: Digital Inclusion, Languages and language access, walkability, accessibility, disaster preparedness.
When in doubt, laugh about something!
http://rantwoman.blogspot.com
PLEASE NOTE: I use both screen reading and screen enlargement. I would love to say Blogger is screen-reader friendly, but I am in no position to comment!
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