Racial Justice Minute Holding in the Light

 A young Friend made a public request to hold discussion at an upcoming Meeting for Business Meeting in the Light. RantWoman thanks that young Friend for the public invitation. RantWoman deeply appreciates community energy around the topic identified below. 

RantWoman also notes her own participation in a recent virtual conversation convened by Western Friend. Friends from many Meetings in the western US participated in the conversation with worship sharing among other things about how Friends might witness with integrity in the current environment. There was attention both to the reality that people tend to seek out Quakers at times like these and that, paraphrasing and collapsing several comments, nurturing the Light of younger people is most definitely called for. Plus the topic to be discussed greatly exercises RantWoman but RantWoman's plate is full.Rantwoman would be grateful just to know good discussion is going on. Having a good discussion could set an important example that can ripple far beyond the UFM community. 

RantWoman would also particularly like to have information allowing her to address two concerns.

--From time to time when RantWoman goes about in her community, someone asks "where are the Quakers?" Right now, every time RantWoman hears that question she has to pray that her Excessively Plain English to Quakerese filter does not just melt down. So RantWoman would very much like to see something from the Hold it In the Light request move forward. RantWoman is also very clear that what she would be ready to move forward is very different from drafts so far.

--Seattle is not by any means the riot-infested dystopia that media images imply but there are serious matters that need attention. And there is a pandemic. And RantWoman really does not care whether others want to see her or even want to talk about what healing might look like. "I don' wanna" is not a reasonable basis for community and the opportunity to see familiar faces is really precious to RantWoman. RantWoman keeps suggesting specific steps that she thinks would be doable. Enough said? RantWoman will say it again elsewhere.

RantWoman also appreciates introduction of the Oops Ouch Snap language in an electronic conversation. There are some serious ouches going on and RantWoman continues to honor a call to be faithful to her Light. The ouches get a separate email.

Hold in Which Light? 

Despite or maybe partly because of seriously wonky eyeballs, RantWoman has a lingering fascination with Arc Welding, glass blowing, and things to do with lasers, holography, and "Fire photon torpedoes." So RantWoman needs to ask readers to be patient with the risk that inner Light will come out as Inner Blowtorch. RantWoman will do the best she can not to singe anyone or anything. RantWoman has also given herself the option of writing two versions of this post, one that is HOPEFULLY concise and on-point and one that digresses in the direction of every thing RantWoman is peeved about in connection with what she writes. Please hold RantWoman's keyboard in the Light with particular prayers that thoughts occurring in Excessively Plain English make it through the translation to Quakerese filter.

The Hold in the Light request set RantWoman's Inner Blowtorch blazing and this post is an effort to heed that call, hopefully without singeing anyone. This post includes RantWoman reflections on some history in Seattle, some blunt accessibility points, commentary about the content of the proposal, and suggestions about process. The post is likely to be imperfectly edited, but readers are encouraged to consider which category different paragraphs fit into.

The Hold in the Light request came as part of the same Zoom event where someone expressed concern about public outrage over the Rochester NY police killing man suffocated while placed naked in a "spit hood." The man was naked in cold weather and later found to be high on PCP. RantWoman's Crip Twitter streams are full of accounts of routine use of such hoods in many situations involving mental health issues or drugs. RantWoman has been completely unsurprised to hear the local Rochester police officers' union say the officers were following their training. In the Zoom event, RantWoman noted that being suffocated while high is generally monstrous; in Seattle in at least one police shooting, after one of the reviewing bodies reported that officers were acting according to their training, but the training was changed. RantWoman will come back to this factoid further down.

Is UFM called to create an ad-hoc committee about abolishing the police. 

RantWoman has seen other invitations to ask questions and RantWoman will season whether to email this link to those inviting questions. RantWoman moderates comments and specifically offers the comment space as a place where Friends might essentially compare notes about what is most on their minds.. Sometimes RantWoman appreciates that one on one conversations lead someone to change their minds or to adjust something before the next conversation. Sometimes RantWoman likes the sense of shared discernment from many readers and a sense of which points on her mind most resonate with others. . In this case, RantWoman is extremely grateful that questions got posted to the whole listserve and that enough people talk of Meeting life to RantWoman for RantWoman to need to heed a call to speak.  RantWoman is also aware of many paths to total overwhelm in the internet age AND RantWoman would be too happy to go on about silencing and the listserve. This post though is not the place for "A whole bunch of things really suck. How can things be better going forward?"

And RantWoman needs to be faithful to a call to deliver what is on her heart, despite rather blunt calls from some directions not to deliver anything at all. Reflecting, RantWoman is humble about an observation: some of the don't deliver anything at all calls come Friends RantWoman met with for a time several years ago. RantWoman apologizes: she should at the time have just said "this conversation needs more people than the three of you." RantWoman is VERY grateful there are more people in the picture now; RantWoman also very much hopes more people in the picture can help share some burdens. RantWoman will be faithful to her call and leave what happens after to god and further discernment.

RantWoman has seen the proposal documents distributed last month. RantWoman takes issue with the current fashion around this Meeting of treating minutes as top-secret until two days before the next business meeting BECAUSE RantWoman prefers to think over what is in minutes and whether minutes reflect what RantWoman understands and remembers. RantWoman notes an email exchange about written responses to questions that have come in. RantWoman would probably prefer to have more than two days to reflect on the comments there.  RantWoman gets to take all the issue she wants, but in the absence of commentary to root around in, RantWoman's inner blowtorch can find plenty to say in connection with the documents and the proposal. 

Here follow questions interspersed with various commentary:

Why ARE we doing this, seasoning this minute?

--Virtue Signalling? There is a whole lot of painting "Black Lives Matter" everywhere. The impulse to do more is laudable.

--Efforts to live out our testimonies? Which ones? How do the proposed steps speak to those testimonies? Wait, what steps exactly are being proposed?

--How  does action on this minute enrich the WORSHIP life of our community?

--The minute calls for government entities to take certain actions. Will the proposed committee provide any kind of support for Friends let to sit in city council meetings, follow financial / governmental budget concerns in the media, and speak as led?

--How does action on this minute provide Friends support for conversations they might have at work, the gym, the store...?

--How will seasoning this minute increase our ability to engage societal stress and  profound cries for reform?

--Are we ready to go where we are led including frankly addressing our own privilege and ableism?

--Do we really gotta abolish the police? Is that really what people across the entire population want? What about people called to work in different ways to address injustice in our society? What about people who worship with us whose jobs require that they talk regularly to cops? What about persuading others to join our efforts?

--What about domestic violence serial rapists people working with alternatives to violence who hear people formerly incarcerated talk about how much they needed help to stop what they were doing?

ANOTHER Ad-hoc Committee??? 

There is already an ad-hoc committee about disability. Should we really add another one"? 

--SO, we've solved Ableism? We know everything we need to about accessible meetings, alternate formats, technological and physical accessibility, access for people with different access needs to the same info? We know everything we need to know and everything is perfect just in time to tackle the point that people with disabilities are overrepresented in jails and prisons. OF course we want to use resources better for services and support, but we don't need no stinking committee anymore? RantWoman tartly notes that, aside from the LONG tenure of her own efforts to talk about disability, the charge of the AdHoc Disabilities committee was to run for a year from December 2019. That charge absolutely needs to be renewed.

--Cue the Johnny Cash video "Children go where I send thee." RantWoman thinks another ad-hoc committee might be just fine. RantWoman is VERY clear, though about the importance of the next questions.

Okay the committee is going to work. What principles does it propose as far as planning accessible events and activities?

--What principles will the proposed ad-hoc committee observe about availability of content in formats accessible for people with different needs ranging from compatibility with specific tools to Paper? This includes social media, materials for reading groups, handouts at public events, videos. The proposal includes a list of suggested readings. RantWoman has pretty much the same content issues she has with this list as she had with the resources at the bottom of the Disabilities survey. The reading list is the same topical and process frenzy However, in previous commentary RantWoman completely neglected to mention the multiple formats issue. As partial remedy, a link to a video and transcript just to get things started.

--What other steps might be taken to ensure planned events are accessible and inclusive? 

--One of RantWoman's online personae Sarah Bridgesong feels no obligation to wait around for an invitation to visit the electronic right of way near the Meeting for Business. RantWoman is trying to persuade Sarah B that it is fine to see what teamwork delivers, but SB is not very patient about people doing things they think are heroic without listening to what matters most for RantWoman and then completely missing really critical simple points. RantWoman also has too much experience with critical details getting muddled out of minutes and group reportbacks and specifications for different kinds of work.RantWoman does want to move the minute discussion forward and does not want to soak up all the Business Meeting time with kerfuffle RantWoman will digress further in a separate post.

Do UFM Friends feel any call to review Friends connections to the evolution of local police accountability measures aAlternatives to Violence / the Criminal Justice Working Group of Quaker Voice / police reform by FCNL?

Do UFM Friends need to reflect on moments such as the #BlockTheBunker campaign and the #NoNewYouthJail campaign? Hint: RantWoman herself was not able to move as fast as would have been desirable and would love it if there were voices in Meeting able to help identify needed work going forward?

What does UFM need to do to include the voices of BIPOC directly in our discernment as we season action?

Are there things UFM needs to "get right with the Lord" about within our own community before we go out trying to fix the world? (Yep!)

How can we support and care for each other as we undertake this work?

Would UFM Friends like to compare notes with other Seattle Friends? RantWoman has had the honor of attending meeting for Business for both Salmon Bay and South Seattle Meetings? RantWoman has been impressed by a number of things. Both Meetings worked with the NPYM minute on ending racism. Both Meetings are clear they want to commit to specific actions and not just write pretty words. Both meetings generated clear minutes of action and are acting on their intentions. Both Meetings also included clear statements about engaging beyond the boundaries of their Meeting with community or neighborhood or other faith communities. RantWoman thinks there might be something in this history for asking whether Friends from other Meetings might also be called to witness about police accountability and police reform. Here RantWoman specifically wants to acknowledge the Light and leading of a Friend who used to be part of UFM.  

    At the time this Friend started attending South Seattle Friends, UFM including RantWoman really had no capacity to help nurture the Friend's leading to work on racial justice. RantWoman deeply appreciates how Friends from South Seattle and from the FGC ministry on racism have helped support and nurture this specific Friend's work. RantWoman thinks that police reform / abolition is important to talk about and that Friends may more simply be called to work for racial justice in ways that develop societal growth to minimize need for police..

WTO

Please bear with RantWoman's need to dodder on about events from the past and fairly blunt suggestions for the future.

In the hoary mists of last century when RantWoman was clerk of Peace and social concerns and recently when season the minute about starving orcas and public transportation, this kind of social justice minute had three basic parts, some background information, a clear statement to make to the world, and a what UFM commits to do which often included publicize the action in different ways and less often includes specific steps UFM will do. 

RantWoman also specifically notes that the final minute that Business Meeting approved about WTO was VERY different from the version presented by Peace and Social Concerns three months earlier.

The minute proposed for the upcoming Meeting for Business has background info, suggested resources, and a nice words statement those presenting the minute want to make to the world do. RantWoman inquires:

--What REALLY needs to be in background info and a resource list. A set of committee charges might include develop and expand or refer people to good resource list.

--If the goal is to create a committee, why even have a statement to the world yet? RantWoman is certainly not ready to make the statement proposed and RantWoman cannot imagine others are at unity either. But RantWoman believes a lot can be accomplished by simply having a process to engage about some of RantWoman's many questions above.

No one has particularly asked RantWoman for suggestions, but RantWoman will heed the call to ffer anyway: what RantWoman would do:

--In the upcoming Meeting for Business Thresh the feedback so far. Are there points the proposed committee needs to know more about?

--Consider whether to bring a draft minute creating the committee and a proposed workplan to this month's Meeting for Business or to work a month and then bring the minute and a proposed roster to be sent to Nominating Committee.

--If a revised minute is to be brought also offer a proposed resource list and invite Friends to offer suggestions or to speak about parts of their personal work the committee might help nurture.

Just by way of adding to a resources list, 

Aaron Dixon talk and transcript

What do Friends notice from the tape?

 

In LIght and Faithfulness

RantWoman