Social Commentary

Saw an old picture. Decided to gather several together. I call this leadership and respect – and love. Love for others. Love for community. Love for differences.

1968

1968 Olympics Black Power Salute. Mexico City. Tommie Smith & John Carlos.

Colin Kaepernick taking the knee, 2016/

And how about this marvelous New Yorker magazine cover?

Love. Leadership. Courage. Respect. Justice. Speaking out. Taking risks to care for others and everyone.

Thank you.

Transformation newsletter [Activism. Economics. Intersectionality. Nonviolence. Culture. Love and Sprint. Environment. Care.] Lovely newsletter located at the website openDemocracy.

Check out this article, February 7, 2019: Five behaviors that perpetuate toxic capitalism. Author Suzannah Weiss.

1.  Praising kids unconditionally.
2. Pushing kids, even when it takes a toll on them.
3. Looking down on people who get less done.
4. Praising people based on money.
5. Telling people to care about their health so they can work.

This article was originally published at Everyday Feminism. Check out Everyday Feminism.

How I wish the world was…

“Why I Am a European Patriot,” Roger Cohen. New York Times, Saturday, January 26, 2019

“Patriotism is to nationalism as dienity is to barbarism.”

“The End of Likability,” Katha Pollitt. The Nation, January 28/February 4, 2019

“Women dancing, women cursing, women running for president and not apologizing – what is the world  coming to?”

“How Ralph Northam and others can repent of America’s original sin,” The Reverand William J. Barber II

“…Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s social life…included parties where white people dressed in blackface…implicating not only a few bad apples but also white elites across social and ideological lines. To African Americans who survived the status quo of racism, this is hardly a surprise. But it does raise again…the question of what it means to repent of America’s racist past and pursue a more perfect union.”

This is a beautiful and deeply sad article.

I wish I could mandate that everyone has to read Ta-Nahsi Coates’ book  Between the World and Me. 

How I wish…

Creating better business value…. Creating better nonprofit value….

Imagine if lots of nonprofits followed what California Green Academy (CalGreen) does to operate its business. (And gosh, just imagine if for-profits behaved this way??!!! WOW!!!!)

I’ll turn back to the nonprofit sector. And the wonderful nonprofits fighting so hard for justice and good ROI and and and….

Hey you nonprofits….Take a look at the Triple Bottom Line... The triple bottom line… an accounting framework with 3 parts: social, environmental (ecological), and financial. And systems thinking. YES! Systems thinking. Read all about it in my book Strategic Fund Development: Building Profitable Relationships That Last, 3rd edition. (There’s so much more to fundraising than just the asking part…than just the fundraising part…There’s the systems thinking part!!!

Try the CalGreen approach — Using various existing global documents to develop nonprofit corporate policies. How about these:

• 10 Principles of the UN Global Compact… for all nonprofits as well as for-profits
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights
• UN’s Women’s Empowerment Principles
• UN’s System-wide Strategy on Gender Parity

Why bother to write our own policies for our nonprofits? Our nonprofits can adopt these UN policies – or adopt with some edits. Hey nonprofits worldwide… Let’s be leaders. We can be leaders for the for-profit sector, too.

Hey. Here’s a question: Has your country (or mine) agreed to these – and ratified them by your country’s (or my country’s) legislature/congress/appropriate body?

Hmmm…….

Imagine showing this video every single year …. for your staff and for your board. Exploring questions. Then talking about the implications and applications for you as individuals, those you serve, and and and …

Better yet, imagine actually doing this live. And sure, staff and board members together.

And how about engaging donors in this? Hmmmm……

Learn about why and how and good and bad and and and on the Internet.

And check out the workshop at 2018 AFP Congress, too.

I was listening to Bob Dylan’s Hurricane the other day.

So I looked up the story on Wikipedia…Rubin Carter…20 years in prison for a crime that he did NOT commit.

We don’t always do so well with “and justice for all.” Racism triumphs over and over and over…

No matter that LBJ worked hard to get the Civil Rights Legislation passed back in 1964 and 1965. No matter that Barack Obama was President for 2 terms.

The day before listening to Bobby sing Hurricane… Tom and I watched the 2017 movie Marshall about Thurgood Marshall and his 1940 case in Bridgeport, CT.

Such sadness and anger about racism. Such admiration for those who fought and fight and will fight. Forever.

Larisa Alexandrovna. Journalist, essayist, and poet. Managing Editor of Investigative News of The Raw Story. Twitter: @larisa_a

Larisa is talking about Judge Brett Kavanagh and on and on…   Thank you, Larisa, for allowing me to put this in my blog.

I think I understand now why I am upset about this case. I tried to sleep last night and all I kept thinking is why are they trying to “ram him” through despite the majority of the country and the majority of women saying “no,” and “please stop,” and “wait”… and in that very question I found the answer. It was so simple and so alarming.

They are literally playing out out on the national stage and in real time what it feels like to be overpowered. They won’t take no for an answer. They won’t listen or slow down. They won’t stop. The more we say no, the more angry they get. The more we ask them to stop, the more entitled they feel. This is, I think, what is affecting me and countless other women.

We are being overpowered despite us being in the majority and asking rightfull that they stop or wait. They are saying no and the more we beg, the more aggressive they are getting. Until finally, they play on “ramming” through his nomination while we are supposed to just take it.

This is what is affecting me. This is – I think – what is affecting most women. This overpowering, entitled and demeaning attack on our body politic.

Us: Please stop

Them: no

Us: Wait

Them: no

Us: STOP

Them: NOOOOOOOOOO

Us: Crying

Them: Angry, yelling, ramming

This is why I am upset.

Thank you, again, Larisa. This is deeply caring and deeply sad to me. Thank you.

Some favorite YouTube videos.

I use them in my classes at SMUMN – where I teach in the masters program in Philanthropy and Development.

If I were on staff at an institution (instead of being a consultant) – I’d insist all staff watch these together….And then talk.

HEY! What a great way to start a board meeting…periodically watching something like this and talking about the implications for your clients, your donors, your organization, the community, and on and on and on…

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE MARVELOUS VIDEOS is about the work that you and I do. The work that pretty much any human being does.

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE INSIGHTFUL VIDEOS is about life…your life and mine, and the beneficiaries of our work and the volunteers helping in our organizations, serving on boards.

AND EVERY SINGLE ONE OF THESE HUMAN AND HUMANE VIDEOS is about our donors.

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Watch these. Share these. Explore the implications. Learn. Make change. Do and be better.

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Ahmen, “Batman of Social Impact.” Nonprofit leader by day and hip-hop artist by night. His marvelous opening for IFC 2017. I was there. I took the knee with my hand in a fist.[ https://twitter.com/TheResAlliance?lang=en]

#likeagirl “What does it mean to do something like a girl.” [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XjJQBjWYDTs]

Ash Beckham: We’re all hiding something – coming out of the closet. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kSR4xuU07sc]

Brené Brown and vulnerability. [https://www.ted.com/talks/brene_brown_on_vulnerability]

“What is Privilege?” The privilege walk is one of the most insightful, saddening things I’ve ever seen or experienced. Better than watching it, you can actually do it. [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hD5f8GuNuGQ]

From my archives – originally posted on June 2, 2014. 2014!!!! And now it’s 2018. And wouldn’t it be great to say how things have changed…better yet improved…

But not really. Yes, the good news is things like the #MeToo! movement. Sadly, the opposite of that is the leadership of our national government and our president and…

Soooo…. Welcome back to June 2, 2014………From my archives. With mini updates included…………………….

How weird. Within 60 seconds of posting this morning’s blog – “Racism and the United States” – I read Charles Blow’s “Yes, All Men,” in the New York Times.

“Yes, All Men” motivated me to write this companion piece to my blog “Racism and the United States.” I call this new blog “Misogyny and the United States.” It’s a good partner for “Racism and the United States.” Then we can add in “Homophobia and the United States,” too. I blog about these various items fairly regularly. And I speak up when I present and I write.

So here goes…. Again and forever until we have equity for all!

“Sexism” … A bit of an easier word than “misogyny.” But are they different? Not in action. Socialized and institutionalized behaviors. Even women can be misogynistic.

Check out Wikipedia:
Sociologist Allan G. Johnson says, “misogyny is a cultural attitude of hatred for females because they are female…misogyny…is a central part of sexist prejudice and ideology and, as such, is an important basis for the oppression of females in male-dominated societies… Misogyny functions as an ideology or belief system that has accompanied patriarchal, or male-dominated societies for thousands of years and continues to place women in subordinate positions with limited access to power and decision making.”

Yes, that still happens. Yes, the U.S. is that kind of society. Did you know that in 2014 (the original date of this blog), the U.S. had a larger gender gap than 22 other countries? In 2014,  the U.S. ranked 83rd in the world in the number of women in elective office at the federal level? How does the U.S. rank today, according to the 2017 World Economic Forum Gender Gap? #96 in Political Empowerment. #82 in Health and Survival. #1 in Educational Attainment. And #19 in Economic Participation and Opportunity.

Maybe you want to check the report annually? Visit the World Economic Forum. Maybe we should all know that the gender gap is actually getting wider!! 

The gender gap. Sexism. Misogyny. In the U.S. In many countries. In various religions. Part of various political philosophies.

“I believe it’s very important for everyone to be a feminist.” That’s what Mr. Blow’s son said to him… And that’s how Blow began his op-ed piece on June 1, 2014.

Blow continues with: “Yes, we should all be feminists, but too often we believe that the plight of the oppressed is solely the business of the oppressed, and that the society in which that oppression is born and grows and the role of the oppressors and beneficiaries are all somehow subordinate.”

But that’s just plain wrong, as Blow notes. “Fighting female objectification and discrimination and violence against women isn’t simply the job of women; it must also be the pursuit of men.  Only when men learn to recognize misogyny will we be able to rid the world of it.” (Actually, fighting any oppression is the responsibility of everyone, not just the oppressed, not just the marginalized. White people marched with Martin Luther King, Jr. Straight people march with the LGBTQ community. Men march with women.)

Sexism. Misogyny. It’s real – just like human made climate change is real. Facts prove it. YES, FACTS!

• Check out the World Economic Forum annual gender gap report. Read the Universal Declaration of Human Rights from the United Nations, written at the U.N.’s founding. Check out the U.N.’s WomenWatch, the gender equality news feed.
• Are you familiar with UN Women, the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women?  Have you read the requirements of the Commission on the Status of Women – and the requirements for gender equality?
• And there is so much more research and documentation and facts about the poor status of women…

So are you a feminist? I’m so tired of hearing women and men say “Well, I just don’t identify with that word but…” Again, from Wikipedia: “Feminism is a collection of movements and ideologies aimed at defining, establishing, and defending equal political, economic, cultural, and social rights for women. This includes seeking to establish equal opportunities for women in education and employment. A feminist advocates for or supports the rights and equality of women.”

A feminist advocates and supports the rights and equality of women, equity for women. What’s not to like? Cut the simplistic crap and the word games. Are you a feminist? Do you believe in equity – for women and men and people of color and homosexuals and heterosexuals and and… ?

(Guess what I just learned? Charles Fourier, a Utopian Socialist and French philosopher, apparently invented the word “feminism” in 1837. And the terms appeared in France and the Netherlands in 1872.)

By the way, philanthropy and the nonprofit/NGO sector are enmeshed in this same moral dilemma of inequity and power.

Okay. That’s the end of today’s ranting (June 2, 2014). I’ve got client work to do.

You think I might have been pissed in 2014? Just imagine how I feel now, March 2018. At some point, I may post a list of resources re: gender equity — in my Free Download Library. Let me know if you’d find that useful.

I wasn’t paying attention. Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. day in the U.S.

So here are things I’m thinking about and seeing……..[And yes, this is long. Mostly just quotations. I collect quotes to inspire me, to help me remember and to fight and speak out.]

TheAgitator.Net with great statements and marvelous New Yorker cover.

Some favorite MLK quotes – because I collect social justice quotations. And I believe these are all still true today.

• “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere. We are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.”
• “Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropists to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice that make philanthropy necessary.”
• “First, I must confess that over the last few years I have been gravely disappointed with the white moderate. I have almost reached the regrettable conclusion that the Negro’s great stumbling block in the stride toward freedom is not the White Citizen’s Council-er or the Ku Klux Klanner, but the white moderate who is more devoted to “order” than to justice; who prefers a negative peace which is the absence of tension to a positive peace which is the presence of justice; who constantly says “I agree with you in the goal you seek, but I can’t agree with your methods of direct action;” who paternalistically feels he can set the timetable for another man’s freedom; who lives by the myth of time and who constantly advises the Negro to wait until a “more convenient season.” Shallow understanding from people of goodwill is more frustrating than absolute misunderstanding from people of ill will. Lukewarm acceptance is much more bewildering than outright rejection.” – Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., April 16 1963   “uneasy with injustice, but unwilling yet to pay a significant price to eradicate it.” 

Some of my other favorite social justice quotations. I think MLK would have liked these. And I believe that these are all still true today.

• “Giving isn’t a posture reserved for the rich or powerful. It is the responsibility and privilege of every man, woman, and child to participate in the task of building more just and humane societies.” (Alfre Woodard, Robin Hood Was Right)
• “Creating social change is exciting. It’s proof that we are alive and thinking. What could be better than to work for a future where fairness is the bottom line?” (Alfre Woodward, Robin Hood Was Right)
• “Until the killing of black men, black mothers’ sons, becomes as important to the rest of the country as the killing of a white mother’s sons, we who believe in freedom cannot rest until this happens.” (Ella Baker, 1964)
• “We’d best restate what civil rights mean: the recognition that racial discrimination played a central role in the development of this nation [U. S.] and its institutions; the understanding that past discrimination resonates in the present; the acknowledgement that millions of Americans, a disproportionate share of them black or Latino, endure persistent poverty and in isolation from mainstream opportunity, and in conditions too brutal and pervasive for them to easily overcome solely on their own; the clearsighted conclusion that we’ve got far to go before there’s equal opportunity in America. And we’d better recognize what civil rights is not: an unregulated ‘free’ market or shaming fingers pointed at racial minorities and the poor.” (Susan Eaton, The Nation magazine, 01-10-17, 2005)
• “As a black person, I am no stranger to race prejudice. But the truth is that in the political world I have been far oftener discriminated against because I am a woman than because I am black.” (S. Representative Shirley Chisholm)

Would MLK, Jr. be as ashamed of us as I am? I think he’d be deeply deeply sad. And I think he’d be hopeful and still fighting. “There may be times when we are powerless to prevent injustice. But there must never be a time when we fail to protest.” (Father Dan Berrigan)

I’m still fighting. But the moral injury (a definition of PTSD) I’m feeling (and so are so many others) … is huge. I feel so sad and so angry so much and so often. I cannot allow this to happen to me:“Cautious, careful people always casting about to preserve their reputations…can never bring about a reform. Those who are really in earnest must be willing to be anything or nothing in the world’s estimation, and publicly avow their sympathies with despised and persecuted ideas and their advocates, and bear the consequences.” (Susan B. Anthony)

I must remember what Jessie de la Cruz said. Jessie was a retired farmworker talking of the days before the founding of the United Farm Workers. “La esperanza muere últimata – Hope dies last.”