Thursday, September 20, 2007

233: the Jena 6

good morning y'all.

it is with a dichotomized heart that i sit and type this post.

i had decided i wasn't going to blog on this subject because my emotions were just too strong about it. but God whispered in my ear this morning in several ways and so, i write.

this morning i dreamed i was on my way out. where to doesn't matter and i don't know any way.

what i do know is that there was a crowd of people out by the entrance to our complex. they were orderly but loosely woven into two lines.

i wondered why in the world so many people were gathered and milling about like that, some sitting, some standing, some eating, talking, laughing...

then it dawned on me. they were all waiting for buses to take them to Jena, Louisiana. i looked at the faces, all open and hopeful. none angry or sad. at first every face i saw was brown, like mine. then i looked deeper and harder. and God showed me more.

there were other faces there. i saw caucasian and asian faces too. then i began to cry. like i'm doing now. my heart was touched and overwhelmed with the love i felt.

i knew it was God's way of telling me not to worry because it WILL be alright.

even after that dream, i forgot that today we pledged to wear black, to show our support for our sisters and brothers who are right now caught up in one of life's harshest struggles: the struggle to be recognized and treated as a human being.

and that's why i decided to write this post.

i know that despite what some believe, we are ALL human beings, created by the same God/Goddess/Creator.

my evidence and proof: no matter what color our skin, no matter what race we consider ourselves or are considered; no matter our religious beliefs or lack of; no matter who we voted for in the last election; we ALL got here the same way: from the joining of an egg and sperm that led to a live birth from a woman's body.

i'm praying for the whole town, that God will bring understanding to their hearts, that they will come to understand that this is not a "black issue", it's a human one

i'm saying a special prayer for the mothers, the mothers of the young men in jail specifically. for the other mothers in that town, the ones who may be saying and doing nothing because they think this is not their issue, my prayer is that God shows them that ALL children deserve the best we have to offer them, not just some.

and maybe they will be moved to help in some way. because one day, it could be their child sitting in a place of condemnation because their skin color, the skin that God made, made them a target of those who still need to learn better.

10 comments:

Aly Cat 121 said...

funny that you posted this today because I posted some of my family history regarding former slaves. It's related because right now today we still suffer and it is only our deep faith that followed us here from the Mother Land that keeps up strong.

Scruffy Mummy said...

It's a painful legacy that's never been healed in the US. Hopefully, out of the pain of the situation in the town - something will arise and grow. A new strength and understanding between communities.

Bliss said...

Aly, you're right. we ARE still suffering and why? i don't know... some of us suffer more than others, that i know.

mr. bliss and i were just talking the other day about faith and religion and our MotherLand roots. not in relation to this but another topic we were on. i think we are a deeply spiritual people (not to be confused with religion) but some of us have just lost our way.

my thoughts are a little far-fetched to some but i think it has to do with losing our connection to the actual Land itself--being able to physically touch the dirt, feel the air on our skin, let the ocean wash our bodies--both here and back Home.

Bliss said...

Scruffy Mummy, it IS painful in so many ways and for so many reasons.

i'm also thinking about the larger picture. how will we continue to sustain life on this planet if we can't find ways to coexist peacefully with the other living beings on it?

B said...

amen.

human issue. well said.

thanks for stopping by my blog, btw! :-D

Bliss said...

hey B. thanks for re-paying the visit. i enjoyed visiting Random Acts of Motherhood. :-)

http://randomactsofmotherhood.blogspot.com/

Stellaandthomas said...

I am praying too today. It can be such a harsh reminder of what still exists in the world today. In our home, we want acceptance and tolerance...it makes my heart sad when others are not the same. I pray for the mothers too.

Bliss said...

hey Stella and Thomas's mommy. thanks for dropping by. :-)

maybe we humans will get it right one day...

but like Sally Field said the other night when she accepted her Emmy: "...if mother ruled the world, there would be no (beeped out) wars in the first place."

i think that about covers all the other ugly stuff too. :-)

jessabean said...

I listened to a lot of radio coverage of the rally and commentators discussing the issues in wonder. I've been trying to keep up with the case for a while and haven't blogged about it because I haven't quite been able to wrap my mind around this huge topic as well as some others.

Thank you for touching on the spiritual part of it. I am not religious, but I have a hard time understanding why people are so cruel to each other when it's clear we all come from the same place. I keep waiting for the Big Light to shine down on people, but incidents like Jena just show me that we've all got a long way to go.

I can only hope that justice is done...Great post.

Bliss said...

hey there Jessabean. thanks for visiting.

like you, i can't understand all the cruelty in the world. it's mind-boggling to think about all the ugliness that happens every day. and disheartening too.

do you think we humans will get it before the next "ice age" takes us out? i wonder...