Some Thoughts on Ferguson

The decision announced last night to not indict Officer Darren Wilson in the shooting death of Mr. Michael Brown is no longer only about this one incident, if it ever even was. This incident has become, and is, about the state of race relations in this country that so many of us love.

At the congregation I serve as pastor, we've begun working in earnest to equip folks with the tools to intentionally share their faith with younger generations. We recognize that, as much as church leaders might want to be incharge of everything having to do with faith, parents have a much greater influence on their children than anyone else ever will.

Parents, or more specifically the adults with whom children spend the most time, are the ones who (intentionally or accidentally) share their worldview with young people. Kids learn how the world works from their parents.

I move through every day assuming that I'll be safe, that I'll be able to get what I need at almost any time, and that I'll have access to someone who has the power and authority to change what needs to be changed in order to make my personal situation the way it should be. That's how my parents taught me to move through the world

What do you assume about the world? If you're white, and especially if you're straight and male, you very well may make similar assumptions to mine.

If you grew up in this country black, or Latino/a, or Asian, or Native, or with any skin color darker than (northern) European, you almost certainly learned something different about how the world works.

See, we learn about the world from our ancestors. I grew up trusting authorities, at least in part because my ancestors had essentially been treated fairly by the culture in which we live.

Most people who grew up in this country with darker skin than mine grew up with decades or centuries of history of being treated unfairly. That deeply-embedded family history cannot be turned around simply because the voting laws changed 50 years ago. It takes generations of everything being different before culture even begins to truly be any different.

From a priviliged white perspective, this is what Ferguson is about. Folks are looking around, seeing that what we have is broken, and demanding that things change.

I'm not a legal expert, so I can't offer an opinion about whether Officer Darren Wilson ought to be indicted.

I do know that Mr. Michael Brown was killed without an indictment or a trial or a sentencing.

Which leads me to believe that our system, our culture, our world needs to be indicted, put on trial, and (most importantly) rehabilitated.

And the place to start, perhaps, would be to start trusting one another - specifically, for white people to start trusting that when people of color talk about how they experience life in our society, they're telling the truth.

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Spring Bicycle Adventure

If you took a look at this blog about a year ago, you might remember that I participated in a 400 mile bike ride. It was a remarkable experience, and I'm looking forward to doing it again this year.

Now, if you weren't reading this blog a year ago (I suppose there may be some, since one of my readers mentioned that I might have more than seven readers … maybe even as many as ten), you may remember me writing a little about that experience.

I got to spend six days riding my bike, one day putting a new roof on someone's home, and the whole time meeting and interacting with great people in every single place we found ourselves.

And, perhaps more significantly, I got to be part of the work of the Fuller Center for Housing, to give people who wouldn't have it otherwise, the opportunity to have a safe, comfortable, and affordable home to live in.

What's great about the work they do is that they do is that it's tremendously financially responsible. Every dollar that comes in to the Fuller Center goes back into supporting the mission of providing housing for people.

Some of their financing comes from the generosity of people like you (see below). But you should know, also, that the homes aren't given away. Every family that moves into a Fuller Center home is expected to work … actually work … on building their home.

Further, every family that moves into a Fuller Center home pays for the home … it's not a handout. The family takes out a zero-interest loan, sets up an affordable payment schedule, and repays the cost of the home.

There are no huge corporations or fat cats making exorbitant profits from Fuller Center homes, families are able to build their credit rating, and all of the money paid on the mortgage goes into building other homes in the future.

I did last year's ride with my dad, who's riding again this year ~ and what's pretty great is that my daughter is also coming along this year.

I feel honored to be able to participate in the Spring Bicycle Adventure, and to support the work of the Fuller Center. I want to invite you, my 7 10 readers, to also support the work they're doing.

Since we all have to raise a certain amount of money for the Fuller Center, I'll provide a link to my fundraising page.  And you may support my daughter's fundraising efforts here.

Thanks for reading, and for helping people have safe and affordable places to live.

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Bicycle Adventure

As my seven readers may know (from previous posts about cycling), I like cycling. As my seven readers may also know (from previous posts about things like paying taxes and healthcare), I feel like it's the responsibility of those who have plenty to provide respectful and humane assistance to those who don't have as much.

These two sides of me are meeting one another this spring when I embark on the Fuller Center for Housing Spring Bicycle Adventure.

Here's the deal. The Fuller Center for Housing is an amazing organization who repairs existing homes and builds new houses for folks who can't afford new construction and/or repairs at the market rate. For those who are familiar with Habitat for Humanity, the Fuller Center is very similar (and was started by the founder of Habitat), Millard Fuller.

As part of their fund-raising and sharing-the-word activities for the past five years has been the summer Bicycle Adventure. Last year my dad rode the summer bicycle adventure, which went from Seattle to Washington D.C. I would have loved to be part of that adventure, but my work schedule didn't allow it. I'd also love to be part of this summer's Bicycle Adventure, but my schedule (again) doesn't allow it. And so I was almost ecstatic when I learned that there would be a Spring Break Bicycle Adventure. Only one week, only 400 miles – “I can do that” I told myself. And so I signed up.

I'm looking forward to experiencing the spring beauty of Tennessee and Alabama and Mississippi on the Natchez Trace Parkway. I'm looking forward to learning more about, and telling people about, the Fuller Center. And I'm looking forward to raising money to support the work they do. If you're interested in contributing to my fund-raising goal, you can do so by clicking here.

Now, if only the snow would clear off of Denver's streets so I could get out and train.

Financial Collapse

Europe's leaders are meeting to further discuss the Euro-zone debt crisis.  In USAmerica, we still have not worked our way out of our own economic woes.  Sure, they tell us the market is rebounding, but that seems to be only in the market ~ regular people are still struggling to find work, while the purchasing power of their paycheck continues to diminish.  Governmental leaders aren't actually doing anything other than yelling at each other about the best way forward, while bankers' and CEOs' paychecks are through the roof and corporations rake in record profits. 

A couple years ago, the government (read: taxpayers) bailed out the banks that were on the verge of implosion, because (the way I understand it in my feeble mind) if they were to fail, the whole financial system would collapse.

So, it seems to me that this is where we stand:  banks took big risks with money that belonged to regular people; the risks didn't pay off; the banks, who took the risk, are punished by being given loans so they can stay afloat; the bailed-out-risk-takers, as a result of their punishment, are now making more money than they were before the crisis.  At the same time, those of us who didn't take huge risks (those of us who actually funded the bail-out) are rewarded with stagnated wages, a poor job market, and huge concerns about an economic future that doesn't seem to be improving for anyone besides the tremendously wealthy. 

More than a couple times in recent weeks, I've heard the maxim 'greater risk results in greater rewards'.  What I haven't heard is anyone reminding us of the flip side, which is that with the potential for greater reward comes the danger of greater loss.  Maybe it's because if we believe that financial institutions are too big to fail, they don't actually take on any risk of loss.  If we continue to be willing to cover their losses, they will continue to manufacture bigger and bigger risk.  But it's our risk for their reward.  They're not a danger of loss ~ it's the taxpayers and regular people on whom they put that risk. 

The thing is, if I've made an investment, I don't mind taking a loss (it doesn't make me happy, but I understood the risk when I made the investment).  What I don't like is when I have to take a loss because someone else made a bad investment. 

What I continue to wonder is what would actually happen if those banks had been allowed to fail?  I hear that our financial system would collapse.  OK, this would probably result in a period of panic and chaos. 

But it wouldn't last forever ~ so, then what?  We'd start over, with something new.  And maybe, at least for a while, it wouldn't be so disproportionately unjust. 

Meanwhile, in the wake of banks' collapse and financial distress in Iceland, the people have kicked the government to the curb ~ real democracy seems to have momentarily reared its head.  

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