Where have I been?
Nov. 13th, 2005 06:11 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
deborahjrossOr, what happened to last week?
Most of it was life as usual, with a few distractions. There was a town meeting on Monday to address recently escalating incidents of racism. Boulder Creek is a little town at the northern tip of a redwood forest valley leading to Santa Cruz, and one would expect it to be a haven of peace, brotherhood and other SCZan New Age attitudes. It certainly has its share of tree-hugging crunchy-granola types and superannuated hippies, but also a growing contingent of Silicon Valley commuters (who aren't home) and a residue of rednecks. In recent years, Hispanic men -- some local, some from other parts of the county -- gather by the local market to pick up day labor work, and a group of unemployed/underemployed white youths (early 20s) has begun harrassing them. The Sheriff response time is dismal, the workers won't report the incidents, and apparently things have gotten worse. So we all got together and held a town meeting, with our County Supervisor and the aforementioned Sheriff, various people from the high school (which is south, in Felton), residents, business owners. I couldn't stay for all of it, but the issue has been much on my mind.
I am not an activist; I grew up in a family that was highly involved with progressive issues and union organizing. We were targets of the McCarthy hysteria and the Justice Department brought a law suit against my father, a naturalized citizen, to take away his citizenship. The FBI followed us around and came to our house on numerous occasions. No matter what my mind tells me, my gut says that becoming a public target is not safe. But I absolutely cannot turn away when I see injustice and I'm pretty bold about speaking my mind in a direct situation. So I have been praying for the right path for me.
As I was doing so, meditating, it became clear to me that the world changes on the inside as well as the outside, and that in my life and work, I am an "inside" activist. It is hard to see how writing fantasy can help a world torn by poverty, injustice, greed and hatred, but it is the way I have been led to. Daily, I try to trust that I have been given this work for a reason, that I can reach far more people with a novel of peace, nonviolence and love than I can by standing on a corner soapbox. Even if this is not the case, it is the work of my heart, and perhaps by doing that work, whatever it is, we all become "activists" for peace.
Most of it was life as usual, with a few distractions. There was a town meeting on Monday to address recently escalating incidents of racism. Boulder Creek is a little town at the northern tip of a redwood forest valley leading to Santa Cruz, and one would expect it to be a haven of peace, brotherhood and other SCZan New Age attitudes. It certainly has its share of tree-hugging crunchy-granola types and superannuated hippies, but also a growing contingent of Silicon Valley commuters (who aren't home) and a residue of rednecks. In recent years, Hispanic men -- some local, some from other parts of the county -- gather by the local market to pick up day labor work, and a group of unemployed/underemployed white youths (early 20s) has begun harrassing them. The Sheriff response time is dismal, the workers won't report the incidents, and apparently things have gotten worse. So we all got together and held a town meeting, with our County Supervisor and the aforementioned Sheriff, various people from the high school (which is south, in Felton), residents, business owners. I couldn't stay for all of it, but the issue has been much on my mind.
I am not an activist; I grew up in a family that was highly involved with progressive issues and union organizing. We were targets of the McCarthy hysteria and the Justice Department brought a law suit against my father, a naturalized citizen, to take away his citizenship. The FBI followed us around and came to our house on numerous occasions. No matter what my mind tells me, my gut says that becoming a public target is not safe. But I absolutely cannot turn away when I see injustice and I'm pretty bold about speaking my mind in a direct situation. So I have been praying for the right path for me.
As I was doing so, meditating, it became clear to me that the world changes on the inside as well as the outside, and that in my life and work, I am an "inside" activist. It is hard to see how writing fantasy can help a world torn by poverty, injustice, greed and hatred, but it is the way I have been led to. Daily, I try to trust that I have been given this work for a reason, that I can reach far more people with a novel of peace, nonviolence and love than I can by standing on a corner soapbox. Even if this is not the case, it is the work of my heart, and perhaps by doing that work, whatever it is, we all become "activists" for peace.
