Recently, lots of comments and conversations have occurred about Sara
Bridgesong. NO! RantWoman and Sarah Bridgesong are NOT the same person. Anyone
who thinks they are is certainly invited to get in touch with RantWoman and
ask. RantWoman receives incoming conversations by phone or email. Maybe though
try to ease into the conversation and try to elicit a little socially
lubricating chat from RantWoman, not just fill the space with yours… On the off
chance that there might be a long-standing pattern or that Sarah could
communicate independently and would be willing to try again despite past
experience of exhaustion to reach out directly, offering contact info would not
hurt.
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| From a Twitter request: your sexuality is the seventh most recent photo...? |
Sarah Bridgesong is another of
RantWoman’s literary personae, kind of like Sensible Auntie, Bad Auntie, Worse
Auntie, and lately Horrible Judgmental Auntie ruthlessly holding in Light
Irrepressible Nephew’s transition to adulthood and progress about successful
interaction with traffic laws. Let us also not forget the Service Python and
the flock of emotional support chickens.
Sara Bridgesong is also a technological persona who helps RantWoman
test a whole bunch of things about different platforms, screen reader and
browser issues. RantWoman will spare readers further details except for one
comment: it is MUCH nicer when comments about screen readers invite and draw
out others with vision issues than a lot of mockery from one Friend, about whom
RantWoman may go off later.
RantWoman has hoped to better comb out tangles from these many
conversations and post something easily
digestible, but that has not occurred. So RantWoman will just be doing short
digests with suggestions for further conversations. RantWoman is also seeding
the post with terms that MIGHT help find previous blog entries to explain some
of what is on RantWoman’s mind. RantWoman just did a word count with still more
words to add: RantWoman will be posting a link to this post in the chat for one
online worship. RantWoman invites comments. RantWoman moderates comments so
please indicate whether you want your comment posted for the sake of public conversation.
Last week Sarah went to FLGBTQC worship. But RantWoman did not explain
to the person making breakout groups that Sarah has to borrow RantWoman’s
fingers because she only communicates in the chat. So RantWoman got sent off to one breakout
group and Sarah got sent to another. RantWoman noticed this and helped Sarah
get to her assigned breakout group but did not explain anything to the breakout
group. RantWoman apologizes for this because at the end when the breakout
groups were going poof, RantWoman realized she needed to listen to the end of
Sarah’s group but she was not able to say anything helpful before the breakout
group ended.
RantWoman appreciates comments shared by one of the FLGBTQC group’s
convenors indicating that people noticed
and are concerned about Sarah. RantWoman does not always immediately pick up things
Sarah is concerned about so if anything occurred that might have upset Sarah besides
the getting left alone without being able much to communicate, RantWoman would be glad to listen. This kind of
experience is not unusual for Sarah and she has a variety of ways to cope.
RantWoman also does the best she can to keep such problems to a minimum but
they happen more than RantWoman would prefer.
This week, Sarah has been reading over RantWoman’s shoulder in email
and on Twitter. Sarah’s heart is full of one conversation about space and
disability and who needs to be heard in a conversation and what makes for good
conversation. That whole topic is TOO MUCH for this post and likely will get
its own. Sarah’s heart is also full of news
that about 10 people across the country have lost an eye as a result of being
shot in the face at protests by supposedly non-lethal rubber bullets. Oh, and
then there is the intersection of braille transcription and prison labor. And
Sarah and RantWoman are wrestling with ideas about bubbles and people who will
not come visit their disabled relatives or think about how to do it safely
outside with social distancing.
One week, Sarah went to Quaker Bible Study with Joe Snyder. Aside: the
book of Mark offers fascinating opportunities to meditate about disability.
RantWoman blesses others in the group for also going places RantWoman’s mind
goes. Anyway, Sarah attended the group but was happy enough just letting RantWoman
introduce her out loud. Alas, at least one Friend was not listening to what
RantWoman said. RantWoman thanks others for helping cope with that problem.
Sarah also went to RantWoman’s worship group, but she just let
RantWoman speak for her. One friend asked RantWoman about events in Seattle.
RantWoma demurred. RantWoman has many opinions but suggested we see what came
out of worship. What came out of worship was a whole line of thought about
people who think they MUST know the identity of everyone they are in worship with!
RantWoman finds this view SEVERELY metaphor-challenged! RantWoman pointed out that she often comes to
worship with both memories of people who have passed on and cares about very
much alive people. All of this is
certainly in the space when RantWoman worships. RantWoman is pretty sure
though, if some people cannot even handle RantWoman, they probably will also
find it more than they can bear even to think about all of this.
Then Sarah expressed concern about whether the term “metaphor
challenged” might be the least bit ableist. U,mmm what if the term is just
better Quakerese than what first comes to mind for RantWoman. Sarah also reminded
RantWoman of an ongoing social media thread about the president and all his
manifestations of infirmity and the call to TRY to avoid ableist language while
naming obvious truth.
Other than that, Sarah collected another NO and will be called to elder
the source of the No, not only on Meeting terms but also on #PWD (person with a
disability) in faith communities terms.
RantWoman and Sarah would very much like to get to some yes’es and
RantWoman oddly sees some paths.
Sarah has not explained to RantWoman why she does not talk; RantWoman
just knows she does not talk. Likewise, come on. RantWoman has, um crappy
vision and a lot of the time Sarah is just peering over her shoulder. So,
beyond the thought that everyone is beautiful, RantWoman has no capacity to opine
about Sara and being camera-shy
RantWoman and Sarah argue all the time. For one thing, Sara is not unaware
that her presence sometimes causes consternation. She would not mind trying to
address that, but right now she relies on RantWoman’s fingers and RantWoman’s
fingers are still stuck at #OFFS, and literally stuck as in “You thought ‘Idiot’
was a bad way to underestimate a room’s capacity for linguistic nuance. Wait
until they have to unpack that acronym!”
Now RantWoman will go prepare for worship.
In Light and Faithfulness
RantWoman (and Sarah)
PS, just now from RantWoman’s email,
in appreciation for #Juneteenth, #Coronapalooza, and World Refugee day:
Friends,
A little less than seven years ago, I came to this country as a 17-year-old gay, blind, Syrian refugee male, not speaking a word of English!
Six years later, I graduated from high school, worked for an international language school for two years as an International Admissions Representative, founded a nonprofit organization in San Francisco to provide housing to homeless youth influenced by my own personal experience with homelessness, And now, I work on Capitol Hill as a Research Assistant.
In that spirit, let’s honour the Resilience and courage of more than 65 million people who have been forced to flee war, persecution and violence. But it’s also a moment to recognise those communities and people around the world who receive refugees and the internally displaced in their midst, offering them a safe place, and welcoming them in their schools, their workplaces and their societies.
Today we live in a world in which uncertainty often abounds; economic instability, political upheaval and violence close to home can make us want to shut our eyes or close our doors. But fear and exclusion will not lead us to a better place - they can only lead to barriers, alienation and despair. It’s time to change this trajectory. And for the better.
So on World Refugee Day, when we pause to contemplate the fate of the millions of people who cannot return to their homes tonight because of war or persecution – it’s also a moment to ask ourselves what each of us can do to overcome indifference or fear and embrace the idea of inclusion, to welcome refugees to our own communities, and to counter narratives that would seek to exclude and marginalize refugees and other uprooted people. Because, when we stand together #WithRefugees, we also stand for respect and diversity for all.
Laurel
A little less than seven years ago, I came to this country as a 17-year-old gay, blind, Syrian refugee male, not speaking a word of English!
Six years later, I graduated from high school, worked for an international language school for two years as an International Admissions Representative, founded a nonprofit organization in San Francisco to provide housing to homeless youth influenced by my own personal experience with homelessness, And now, I work on Capitol Hill as a Research Assistant.
In that spirit, let’s honour the Resilience and courage of more than 65 million people who have been forced to flee war, persecution and violence. But it’s also a moment to recognise those communities and people around the world who receive refugees and the internally displaced in their midst, offering them a safe place, and welcoming them in their schools, their workplaces and their societies.
Today we live in a world in which uncertainty often abounds; economic instability, political upheaval and violence close to home can make us want to shut our eyes or close our doors. But fear and exclusion will not lead us to a better place - they can only lead to barriers, alienation and despair. It’s time to change this trajectory. And for the better.
So on World Refugee Day, when we pause to contemplate the fate of the millions of people who cannot return to their homes tonight because of war or persecution – it’s also a moment to ask ourselves what each of us can do to overcome indifference or fear and embrace the idea of inclusion, to welcome refugees to our own communities, and to counter narratives that would seek to exclude and marginalize refugees and other uprooted people. Because, when we stand together #WithRefugees, we also stand for respect and diversity for all.
Laurel
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