Letters to the editor
April 1, 2009
March 23, 2009
Dear Jeff,
I'm a non-White (Asian-American) and wanted to share a comment about your E-Newsletter and the slowness of its growth relative to your hopes.
I find the information and the links contained in your newsletter to be very informative and helpful in my work as an Anti-Racism Trainer. However, the format leaves much to be desired. I don't like having to read through so much narrative to find the links that might be of interest. I much prefer a "news aggregation" sort of approach - more like what the TruthOut.org or EdChange.org newsletters provide than your format. My suspicion is that if you were to provide your newsletter in a different format, you might have a better response in adding new subscribers.
Lelanda
--
Lelanda Lee
8591 Bridle Ct
Longmont, CO 80503-8810
Home: 303.678.9277
Cell: 303.994.5140
Email: LelandaLee@gmail.com
Blog: http://whatacupoftea.blogspot.com/
You have a point, Lelanda. A format change might attract a wider audience. And you offer examples. That is helpful. A format change might involve a major redesign. It may require that the underlying approach to colecting and reviewing information be modified. The concrete process of turning leads into web copy may change. It may require more labor to produce, or possibly there may be a labor savings. These are all answerable questions, in time. I'll think about your recomendation. It will take some time to come to a conclusion on the matter.
I suspect there may be other reasons as well for "slow growth," some of which we can improve upon, and others that reflect the patience needed to foster a social justice movement among privileged people. We are partly trying to challenge, prod, and encourage the white anti-racist community to develop. Growth in our area has been slow but steady over many years. Editor.
March 18, 2009
Hey WACANs!
I recently recieved your latest "WACAN Update" in my inbox. I read it throughly everytime, and I noticed that you linked to my "Stupid White Folks" Bingo Post on my blog!
I was just writing to thank you for linking to me. I love everything y'all do and I hope to attend the WPC next year! Please let me know if there's anything I can do to help y'all. Please also check out my e-zine, The Anti-Racist
HONKIES UNITE AGAINST RACISM!
Always,
Lorraine R. Gore
Honky Talk
http://honkytalkantiracism.blogspot.com
March 18, 2009
What If They Gave a War, and Nobody Came?
by Warren J. Blumenfeld
I keep hearing in the press and in popular discourse about the “two sides” in the Middle East conflict, with the sides being the Palestinians and the Israelis. I understand that there are indeed a number of “sides,” but I believe that the Palestinian people and the Israeli people are generally on the same side. I do not see the two opposing sides as being the Palestinian people versus the Israeli people. Rather, the opposing sides represent many of the leaders (the Israelis and Palestinians) verses the peace loving Israelis and Palestinians who truly want to live in harmony with one another. Unfortunately, those who want peace are being held hostage by their leaders.
I recently returned from a trip to Jerusalem, and I talked with Israelis and Palestinians who truly desire peace, who truly desire an era in which they can live alongside one another in harmony, but they are feeling that the continuing politics of war and division are preventing this peaceful coexistence.
I believe that now is the time -- actually, it has been the time for decades now -- to consider new forms of leadership, not only in the Middle East, but around the world. We need to get away from the leaders who demonize the other, who use fear and the threat and engagement of war as a tool for their own maintenance of power. We need leaders who are interested in negotiating without a laundry list of preconceived conditions. We need to get away from the language of hate for the “other”: “Axis of Evil,” “Islamic Terrorists,” “Zionist Oppressors,” etc.
I see Barack Obama setting the bar higher, setting a great example of what leadership can be. As we all know, during the campaign, he asserted that he would negotiate with leaders throughout the world, “any time, anywhere,” to make a start at real engagement and for a new relationship. As we also know, Mr. Obama was roundly criticized for his so-called naiveté, not simply by conservative Republicans, but also from members of his own party, some of whom consider themselves politically progressive.
And herein lies the challenge, the risk, and the danger for leaders who reach out to the so-called “other side” or to their so-called “enemies.” A number of our great world leaders were not only criticized by members of their own ranks, but some were tragically assassinated by their own people for their courage to negotiate and reach out in the name of peace. These great leaders include Mahatma Gandhi, Anwar Sadat, Yitzhak Rabin, Malcolm X, and the list goes on.
I am a “child of the ‘60s,” and I will always remember one of the phrases we promoted during the height of the Vietnam War. It went: "WHAT IF THEY GAVE A WAR, AND NOBODY CAME.” Well, what if world political “leaders” continue to engage in the politics of fear, who demonize the “other,” who call for and enact war on their so-called “enemies”? And what if nobody came?
Dr. Warren J. Blumenfeld
Assistant Professor
Multicultural and International Curriculum Studies
Department of Curriculum and Instruction
Iowa State University
Ames, IA 50011
wblumen@iastate.edu
515.294.5931 office
515.232.8230 home