The Holocaust Museum in Washington DC displays these words, "Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander."
The virtue on my mind this week is one I wrote about two years ago. I smile as I think about synchronicity. Then as now, I was thinking about Justice and Justice seemed also to be thinking about me. Then, (January 2009) I reached into my bag of 100 virtues and blindly picking got Justice. (1 out of a 100 odds) Seemed like a confirmation of my choice. This time, I looked into the basket on my living room coffee table that also holds 100 cards -- and there at the top of the pile was Justice.
Why has Justice been on my mind? Well, the world political scene certainly contributes. The sweeping changes across the Middle East, as people there stand up for justice. The natural disasters in part caused by humans (climate change) and our incessant need for 'growth'. But mostly I think it relates to something closer.
About five weeks ago, a young life was violently snuffed out in the beautiful little valley I call home.
Tyeshia (18) was a young woman with everything to look forward to. Early one morning she set out from a party to meet a friend and never arrived. Somewhere along the way, she was murdered and her body dumped in the woods.
The reaction of the community was deep and powerful. A walk -- 'Take Back the Night' was organized, to honor Tyeshia and another woman who was also murdered early this year.
Over 2,000 people showed up in the town square on a Friday evening to take part in a candle light walk.
Much of the coverage around the walk was about how we must act as a community to make our streets safe.
I was struck at the time with the thought that for our streets to be safe, our homes must be safe.
Did you know that currently, every 15 seconds in North America, someone is assaulted by their intimate other? (Yale University Health) Nearly all of these assaults take place, not on dark streets, but in the victim's own home.
Whoever took this young life is a product of the culture we have created and are trying to live in.
When I left the city to come back to my family roots on Vancouver Island 35 years ago, it was in part to raise my family in a smaller, safer more sustainable community. Wendell Berry describes a sustainable community as one where members are in 'harmony with his or her surroundings.' Where people are able to define what is singular about where they live. I thought I could say that this was a place where family was valued and values supported families. Where children grew up closer to nature, community and their families. Life was slower here and the community pulled together. Either I was naive or the world has found us.
This weekend, the lead story in our local paper is captioned, "Child abuse rate triple the provincial average." A shocking trend and very disturbing, but not surprising if one considers the every 15 seconds statistic.
An individual who would assault the person they have chosen as partner in the world is not capable of creating a healthy home. One might even go so far as to say, an individual who assaults their 'intimate' other has some kind of mental illness.
What about individuals who assault, physically -- or with words, complete strangers. Recently I learned of a youth in my area -- who expresses himself in a unique, loving, gentle and original way -- being
attacked and berated by an adult (who does not know him) as a 'freak of nature', for what the adult saw as the youth behaving in a way that he judged wrong. This 'adult' spewed anger and vitriol on another human being for over 10 minutes. Never once did he ask the youth for his story, for what he was thinking/feeling/doing. Can this be a mentally healthy way to treat another human being?
What causes mental illness, I've often wondered, and what can be done to heal it?
I've been reading 'The Truth About Mental Illness', by Dr. Charles L. Whitfield. Dr. Whitfield is a physician and psychotherapist in private practice in Atlanta, GA. A nationally known speaker and author of six books, Dr. Whitfield states, "In my thirty-eight years as a physician, and the last twenty-six years of that time as a psychotherapist, I have seen and assisted countless patients with a wide variety of mental and physical illnesses. Whether their problem was depression, an anxiety disorder, an addiction or some other illness, in most of them I have not seen convincing evidence that the cause of their disorders was solely a genetic or another biological defect. (There is also no published proof for the biogenetic theory of mental illness.) In fact, I regularly saw evidence for another equally, if not more important factor: A history of repeated childhood trauma. Among all of these people, I have rarely seen one who had a major psychological or psychiatric illness who grew up in a healthy family."
Whitfield goes on to say that "over the past century numerous observers have looked at trauma, and how it effects us. But since 1980 there has been an outpouring of more than 300 clinical scientific studies that have shown a strong link between repeated childhood trauma and the development of a subsequent mental illness -- often decades later. In most of these investigations the authors have controlled for other potential associations with mental symptoms and disorders and they have found them to play a less important role than did the trauma itself. "
Children who witness the abuse of one or both parents, or who themselves are abused have higher levels of adult depression and trauma symptoms and increased tolerance for and use of violence in adult relationships.
How can we deal with this terrible situation? How can we find justice?
Linda Kavelin Popov reminds us that "Justice is being fair in all that we do. We continually look for the truth, not bowing to others' judgments or perceptions. We do not backbite. We clear up problems face to face. We make agreements that benefit everyone equally. When we commit a wrong, we are honest in correcting it and making amends. If someone is hurting us, it is just to stop them. It is never just for strong people to hurt weaker people. With justice, we protect everyone's rights. Sometimes when we stand for justice, we stand alone."
The children of the world are under siege -- often in their very own homes. How can we find justice for them? Educational systems, that may have helped (German psychotherapist Alice Miller suggests that one empathetic witness can sometimes help a child on the journey to overcome childhood neglect) are under siege from overloaded and underfunded curricula and lack of real support for educators.
Social programs that have the potential to help are stressed to the breaking point.
The very ground we stand on (planet earth) is also under siege. How can we find justice for the planet and her living systems?
I'm reminded again of Bill Cosby's wisdom, "Hurt people, hurt people." And animals and the biosphere.
How can we stop the hurting? We need a new paradigm. It is never just for strong people to hurt weaker people. Everyone's rights must be protected.
To truly honor this earth and her inhabitants, to truly honor Tyeshia and the other young people who are victims of abuse by 'hurt people', we must take back the night and the day by lighting more than our streets. We must light our homes and communities with mutual respect, love and safety -- only then can we have a true community, a community in which each child and adult is safe and able to live a full, free life. The kind of community that the First People of this region developed and Western culture has all but destroyed.
We have a lot of work to do. We must begin it.
Tyeshia -- and every child -- deserves nothing less.
Namaste,
~ Kate
The Practice of Justice
I think for myself.
I do not engage in prejudice or backbiting.
I make fair agreements.
I make restitution for my mistakes.
I honor people's rights including my own.
I have the courage to stand up for the truth.
I am thankful for the gift of Justice.
It is the guardian of my integrity.
Reflection Questions
What action is justice calling me to?
How can I stand up for the truth?
What can I do to stop abuse?
What problems do I need to clear up?
The virtue on my mind this week is one I wrote about two years ago. I smile as I think about synchronicity. Then as now, I was thinking about Justice and Justice seemed also to be thinking about me. Then, (January 2009) I reached into my bag of 100 virtues and blindly picking got Justice. (1 out of a 100 odds) Seemed like a confirmation of my choice. This time, I looked into the basket on my living room coffee table that also holds 100 cards -- and there at the top of the pile was Justice.
Why has Justice been on my mind? Well, the world political scene certainly contributes. The sweeping changes across the Middle East, as people there stand up for justice. The natural disasters in part caused by humans (climate change) and our incessant need for 'growth'. But mostly I think it relates to something closer.
About five weeks ago, a young life was violently snuffed out in the beautiful little valley I call home.
Tyeshia (18) was a young woman with everything to look forward to. Early one morning she set out from a party to meet a friend and never arrived. Somewhere along the way, she was murdered and her body dumped in the woods.
The reaction of the community was deep and powerful. A walk -- 'Take Back the Night' was organized, to honor Tyeshia and another woman who was also murdered early this year.
Over 2,000 people showed up in the town square on a Friday evening to take part in a candle light walk.
Much of the coverage around the walk was about how we must act as a community to make our streets safe.
I was struck at the time with the thought that for our streets to be safe, our homes must be safe.
Did you know that currently, every 15 seconds in North America, someone is assaulted by their intimate other? (Yale University Health) Nearly all of these assaults take place, not on dark streets, but in the victim's own home.
Whoever took this young life is a product of the culture we have created and are trying to live in.
When I left the city to come back to my family roots on Vancouver Island 35 years ago, it was in part to raise my family in a smaller, safer more sustainable community. Wendell Berry describes a sustainable community as one where members are in 'harmony with his or her surroundings.' Where people are able to define what is singular about where they live. I thought I could say that this was a place where family was valued and values supported families. Where children grew up closer to nature, community and their families. Life was slower here and the community pulled together. Either I was naive or the world has found us.
This weekend, the lead story in our local paper is captioned, "Child abuse rate triple the provincial average." A shocking trend and very disturbing, but not surprising if one considers the every 15 seconds statistic.
An individual who would assault the person they have chosen as partner in the world is not capable of creating a healthy home. One might even go so far as to say, an individual who assaults their 'intimate' other has some kind of mental illness.
What about individuals who assault, physically -- or with words, complete strangers. Recently I learned of a youth in my area -- who expresses himself in a unique, loving, gentle and original way -- being
attacked and berated by an adult (who does not know him) as a 'freak of nature', for what the adult saw as the youth behaving in a way that he judged wrong. This 'adult' spewed anger and vitriol on another human being for over 10 minutes. Never once did he ask the youth for his story, for what he was thinking/feeling/doing. Can this be a mentally healthy way to treat another human being?
What causes mental illness, I've often wondered, and what can be done to heal it?
I've been reading 'The Truth About Mental Illness', by Dr. Charles L. Whitfield. Dr. Whitfield is a physician and psychotherapist in private practice in Atlanta, GA. A nationally known speaker and author of six books, Dr. Whitfield states, "In my thirty-eight years as a physician, and the last twenty-six years of that time as a psychotherapist, I have seen and assisted countless patients with a wide variety of mental and physical illnesses. Whether their problem was depression, an anxiety disorder, an addiction or some other illness, in most of them I have not seen convincing evidence that the cause of their disorders was solely a genetic or another biological defect. (There is also no published proof for the biogenetic theory of mental illness.) In fact, I regularly saw evidence for another equally, if not more important factor: A history of repeated childhood trauma. Among all of these people, I have rarely seen one who had a major psychological or psychiatric illness who grew up in a healthy family."
Whitfield goes on to say that "over the past century numerous observers have looked at trauma, and how it effects us. But since 1980 there has been an outpouring of more than 300 clinical scientific studies that have shown a strong link between repeated childhood trauma and the development of a subsequent mental illness -- often decades later. In most of these investigations the authors have controlled for other potential associations with mental symptoms and disorders and they have found them to play a less important role than did the trauma itself. "
Children who witness the abuse of one or both parents, or who themselves are abused have higher levels of adult depression and trauma symptoms and increased tolerance for and use of violence in adult relationships.
How can we deal with this terrible situation? How can we find justice?
Linda Kavelin Popov reminds us that "Justice is being fair in all that we do. We continually look for the truth, not bowing to others' judgments or perceptions. We do not backbite. We clear up problems face to face. We make agreements that benefit everyone equally. When we commit a wrong, we are honest in correcting it and making amends. If someone is hurting us, it is just to stop them. It is never just for strong people to hurt weaker people. With justice, we protect everyone's rights. Sometimes when we stand for justice, we stand alone."
The children of the world are under siege -- often in their very own homes. How can we find justice for them? Educational systems, that may have helped (German psychotherapist Alice Miller suggests that one empathetic witness can sometimes help a child on the journey to overcome childhood neglect) are under siege from overloaded and underfunded curricula and lack of real support for educators.
Social programs that have the potential to help are stressed to the breaking point.
The very ground we stand on (planet earth) is also under siege. How can we find justice for the planet and her living systems?
I'm reminded again of Bill Cosby's wisdom, "Hurt people, hurt people." And animals and the biosphere.
How can we stop the hurting? We need a new paradigm. It is never just for strong people to hurt weaker people. Everyone's rights must be protected.
To truly honor this earth and her inhabitants, to truly honor Tyeshia and the other young people who are victims of abuse by 'hurt people', we must take back the night and the day by lighting more than our streets. We must light our homes and communities with mutual respect, love and safety -- only then can we have a true community, a community in which each child and adult is safe and able to live a full, free life. The kind of community that the First People of this region developed and Western culture has all but destroyed.
We have a lot of work to do. We must begin it.
Tyeshia -- and every child -- deserves nothing less.
Namaste,
~ Kate
The Practice of Justice
I think for myself.
I do not engage in prejudice or backbiting.
I make fair agreements.
I make restitution for my mistakes.
I honor people's rights including my own.
I have the courage to stand up for the truth.
I am thankful for the gift of Justice.
It is the guardian of my integrity.
Reflection Questions
What action is justice calling me to?
How can I stand up for the truth?
What can I do to stop abuse?
What problems do I need to clear up?
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