Humanity is like a Patchwork Quilt

One of the many aspects of diversity is how we each get to work – many of us take the bus, others drive, carpool or vanpool.  Then there are the bicycle commuters – A hardy group of folks that bicycle to work for a variety of reasons.  For some folks it is actually quicker to ride a bike than it is to drive, although this is truer in a big city than here in  County.  Saving money is another popular motivation.  However, probably the most common reason to ride into work is as part of a healthy life style.  I have always enjoyed both the challenges and the invigorating start to the day bicycle commuting provides.

This Friday, May 18^th, we celebrate the bicycle commuter, and encourage others to take it up, by having Bike to Work Day.

If you do ride your bicycle to work, please stay safe out there!

~ Marcie

A group diverse in age and religious affiliation gathered on Tuesday evening at the Library in Poulsbo to talk about the importance of marriage equality and “standing on the side of love.”

Much of the discussion was around religion, even though it is the legal aspects of marriage that are likely on the line in November. One of the people who spoke was Washington State Representative Drew Hansen (23rd Legislative District).  As a self-proclaimed devout Christian, he eloquently conveyed why what he sees in the Bible shows him that Christians should support marriage equality.

While there was a predominance of Unitarian Universalists attending, many Christian denominations were represented as well.

Also speaking was a young couple from Bremerton, one of which is a U.S. Navy Sailor, who both shared how heartening it was to see such a supportive group assembled.  This couple is an excellent example of why marriage equality is important – One of them is fighting for the rights of all of us, the other is his supporter at home, yet they are denied equal access to the right to legally marry the person they love.

Two representatives of Washington United for Marriage explained how they are gearing up for the fight to approve Referendum 74 if it ends up on the ballot in November as expected.  For supporters of marriage equality there are many ways to help and information is available on their webpage: http://washingtonunitedformarriage.org/
Also, look for them at community events around the state over the next few months.

Washington United for Marriage and the North Kitsap Unitarian Universalist Church sponsored the Marriage Equality Town Hall.  Standing on the Side of Love is a Unitarian Universalist Association sponsored public advocacy campaign that seeks to harness love’s power to stop oppression.

~ Marcie

February is African American History Month

You can find national information about this month at:
http://www.africanamericanhistorymonth.gov/

However, I want to highlight some things that relate closer to home. I found a wealth of information on the Kitsap Black Historical Society web page.  There I learned that segregation was alive and well in Kitsap County during World War II, and that Sinclair Park was an area where the residents were primarily African American.   One of the residents of Sinclair Park, Al Colvin, was also a Tuskegee Airman, and then later a Bremerton City Councilman.  He was just one of many influential African Americans in Kitsap County.
Check out their web page for more information and some pictures from that era:
http://www.kitsapblackhistory.org/

We recently lost a civil rights pioneer, and it would be remiss to talk about African American history here in Kitsap County without mentioning Lillian Walker.   She did much in Kitsap County and an article in the Kitsap Sun after her death in January highlights her accomplishments:
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/jan/05/lillian-walker-the-soul-of-bremerton-dies-at-98/

A Kitsap Regional Library blog mentions that she was a founding member of the Bremerton NAACP and the Kitsap YWCA, as well as being very involved with the libraries.
http://www.krl.org/blogs/?p=434&option=com_wordpress&Itemid=100675

One of the more interesting bits of information I found online was an oral history about Lillian Walker on the Washington Secretary of State web page. Here is a quote about the project: “Proving you can make history regardless of your lot in life, Lillian Walker fought for her civil rights long before Martin Luther King Jr. professed his dream. So poor her family barely noticed the Great Depression, Lillian today is hailed as one of the important civil rights activists in Bremerton history.”

To find out more about her full and inspiring life, check out Lillian Walker’s Oral History here:
http://www.sos.wa.gov/legacyproject/oralhistories/lillianwalker/default.aspx

 ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

 This is not from Kitsap County, but I found it noteworthy – Here is a link to a video where as part of a reading from Voices of a People’s History of the United States (Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove,), Alfre Woodard reads “Ain’t I a Woman?”, a speech delivered by abolitionist Sojourner Truth at the Women’s Convention in 1851. (February 1, 2007 at All Saints Church in Pasadena, CA.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=4vr_vKsk_h8#!

~ Marcie

I just watched live (on TV – Thanks to TVW) as the Washington State Senate discussed and then approved the Marriage Equality bill – 28 Yeas to 21 Nays.  I was excited a week ago when enough Senators to pass the bill said that they would vote in favor, but seeing it actually happen was exciting on a whole new level.

Prior to the debate on the actual bill, there were several amendments that were discussed and voted on.  Some of the amendments that passed clarified the protections of religious organizations.  Two amendments that did not pass would have allowed non-religious organizations and businesses to discriminate, contrary to our state non-discrimination laws, and would have put the issue to the voters for approval.

There were some very moving words during the discussion of the bill.  Democratic Senator Murray explained how marriage is important because it is how society says you are a family.  Senator Hobbs mentioned that he would be drilling with fellow reserve soldiers this weekend, some of which are gay, and how could he look them in the eye if he did not vote yes on this bill.  He said “I will never leave a fallen comrade behind.”  Republican Senator Steve Litzow has some great matter-of-fact comments in favor of the bill including how the right to marry is part of the constitutional right to pursue happiness.

Now the bill moves on to the Washington State House of Representatives, where it is expected to pass, then on the Governor Gregoire to sign.  I realize there is likely to be a referendum to put this up to a vote of the people, and we will have to endure misleading statements like what one Senator against the bill said tonight – that marriage equality would create a hostile environment for those folks that support traditional marriage.  However, we will also have the opportunity to hear many more stories about how marriage equality will have a positive affect on Washington State families.

This is a huge step forward, and I am hoping the momentum continues until Washington State becomes a place where all families are valued.

~ Marcie

Dr. Michael Eric Dyson spoke at Olympic College this past Monday, and I came away inspired and energized.  The Olympic College Multicultural Program sponsored the event, and Dan Johnson, the Director of Multicultural & Student Programs at Olympic College, introduced Dr. Dyson.

The program title was Politics, Diversity and the Disenfranchised in America, and Dr. Dyson mentioned how fitting it was that the title “sandwiches ‘Diversity’ in between ‘Politics’ and ‘Disenfranchised.’”

Besides being an author and speaker, Dr. Michael Eric Dyson is on the faculty of the Department of Sociology at Georgetown University in Washington, DC.

Dr. Dyson defined politics as “the fight over just distribution of vital resources to a vulnerable population in a time of crisis.”  He stressed that critical thinking is essential for all of us, so that we can sort out issues and events, put them into context and understand why people do what they do.

One of the many things Dr. Dyson said that resonated with me was: “The disenfranchisement of some is the undermining of all.”

It reminded me of something Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. wrote in his Letter from a Birmingham Jail: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

We are all connected, and probably more alike than not.  Social justice is something for all of us to be concerned about because in the long run it affects us all.

A highlight of the evening for me was during the question and answer period when a white man stood up to ask a question of Dr. Dyson and mentioned that he “got down with diversity when he married a black man.”  The couple has been together for 25 years and they both got a warm response from Dr. Dyson and from the audience.

It was heartening to me to hear Dr. Dyson speak so eloquently and inclusively about diversity. Dr. Dyson has written many books, and choosing one was not easy – I bought Can You Hear Me Now, and am very much looking forward to reading it.

While he infused humor throughout the presentation, Dr. Dyson never failed to instill the audience with the gravity of the issues facing our communities.

~ Marcie

Today, Governor Gregoire made a moving speech in support of marriage equality in Washington State.

I was not able to be there in person at the press conference, but I did watch the video later and felt the genuine support she expressed.

I agree with Governor Gregoire that marriage equality is a civil rights issue and that it really is time for marriage equality in Washington State.

Link to Kitsap Sun article about Governor Gregoire’s support:
http://www.kitsapsun.com/news/2012/jan/03/wa-gov-to-hold-news-conference-on-gay-marriage/?partner=popular

Link to another Kitsap Sun Blog post about this topic:
http://pugetsoundblogs.com/kitsap-caucus/2012/01/04/same-sex-marriage-gains-higher-profile-with-governors-backing/

Text of speech:
http://www.governor.wa.gov/speeches/speech-view.asp?SpeechSeq=222

video of press conference:
http://www.tvw.org/index.php?option=com_tvwplayer&eventID=2012010042

~ Marcie

Engineers are often thought of as those smart nerdy people, and in some cases we can live up to that reputation.  However, we often have a sense of humor about it.  At the recent Society of Women Engineers (SWE) National Conference (in Chicago, IL), I found many examples of engineers and engineering students having fun with geeky slogans.

See if you can figure out these two examples:

This was a design-winning button (design by Amber Scheurer) being given out to conference attendees

This was on a t-shirt being sold by one of the SWE Sections

The national SWE conference is an annual event that I always enjoy when I can attend, and this year I was one of over 5800 professionals and students that attended.

~ Marcie

I wanted to share something written by a friend of mine (with her permission) because I think it helps explain how some folks are feeling about recent cuts, and talk of cuts, to essential services.  While there may be some who ‘game’ and cheat the system, most folks are using the systems we have in place as the safety nets they were intended to be.  Some of the people I know who rely on Social Security and Medicare were not only productive working people, they were doing key jobs that many would not have the desire or the patience to do such as working with street kids, working in a women’s prison, and being a nurse.   Through no fault of their own, they now cannot work.  Everyone has a story behind how they got to where they are, and until you have listened to their story, it is not your place to judge.

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Written by my friend -

THE DISPOSABLE PEOPLE

By some they are considered the disposable people. They are the homeless, the mentally ill, and the disabled. They are people who push shopping carts filled with meager belongings along cold, wet and dirty sidewalks. They are the unfed and the unbathed. They carry cardboard signs begging for help. They are preyed upon, beaten and ignored. Bearing memories that refuse to die they become but a shadow cast by all that once was.

They are the poor. Unable to stretch a meager income, they are cold and hungry. They are uninsured, living today in fear and despair. They sacrifice dignity on the altar of corporate greed.

They are the middle class. Once firm, their substance is now evaporating like water held to the fire of corporate values; a cancerous flame burning the soul of humanity. They are tethered and silenced; Victims of a powerful force shifting the boundary of morality.

They are the people not fitting the concept of “white male privilege.” They differ in race, ethnicity, values, beliefs and sexual orientation. They are treated with contempt, suspicion and denied the constitutional right of equality.

Those who consider themselves the indisposable people, represented by corporate wealth, power and greed, are with little resistance, emerging like hungry parasites from a dark pit. They are parasites with teeth gnawing on those who sleep with eyes closed in denial. Hoping whom they consider the disposable people will not awaken, they quietly fill their bellies with hopes and dreams until human values are snuffed out like a candle flame between two fingers.

Life is about compassion for our fellow human beings and about caring for the world that sustains us. Without that we have lost our humanity.

Shari Burns
2011

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~ Marcie

A couple of things have happened recently that I think are worth noting -

One you probably heard about…

Here in our Kitsap County corner of the world, we had a piece of good news about marriage equality, and I applaud the Suquamish Tribe for stepping up and doing the right thing – recognizing the same-sex couples in their community with the right to civil marriage.  I also applaud the woman who stood up and asked for the Tribal Council’s consideration of approving same-sex marriage, which started the ball rolling towards marriage equality for the Suquamish Tribe.

The second you probably did not hear about…

Not too long before the unanimous vote of the Suquamish Tribal Council, in a distant land and in the midst of tragedy and terror, a married lesbian couple in Norway was showing that they were heroic members of their community by saving 40 youth from the shooting on Utoya island.

The Finnish capital city’s largest daily newspaper, Helsingin Sanomat, published an article about what these courageous women did in Norway, which was translated into English and published in a blog post of Talk About Equality: “If a Married Lesbian Couple Saves 40 Teens from the Norway Massacre and No One Writes About it, Did it Really Happen?”

Here is the article (translated from Finnish):
Hege Dalen and her spouse, Toril Hansen were near Utöyan having dinner on the opposite shore across from the ill-fated campsite, when they began to hear gunfire and screaming on the island.

“We were eating. Then shooting and then the awful screaming. We saw how the young people ran in panic into the lake,” says Dale to HS in an interview.

The couple immediately took action and pushed the boat into Lake Tyrifjorden.

Dalen and Hansen drove the boat to the island, picked up from the water victims in shock in, the young and wounded, and transported them to the opposite shore to the mainland. Between runs they saw that the bullets had hit the right side of the boat.

Since there were so many and not all fit at once aboard, they returned to the island four times.

They were able to rescue 40 young people from the clutches of the killer.

“We did not sleep last night at all. Today, we have been together and talked about the events,” Dalen said.

Lesbians making history both near and far.

~ Marcie

During a recent trip to Vancouver, BC, I found it to be the land of Smart Cars and Prius taxis, where marriage equality is the law of the land.  At the same time, I found it interesting that there were flyers for anti-bullying fund raising events, and that one of my fellow travelers was harassed with anti-gay slurs hurled by local juvenile ruffians.  Clearly having marriage equality is not the end of the line for equality and inclusion; there is still much work to be done even in Vancouver, BC.

~ Marcie