Buddhists For Racial Justice

[Jundo]

Hi Shozan,

It is hard to solve all the world's problems in a brief thread.

As an observer living outside the United States (in a place where I am the minority), I have come to feel that the American situation is two-sided: Institutional discrimination must be eliminated on the one hand, and people in American must generally come to feel less that they are somehow victimized and entitled. In America, so many folks feel like a victim entitled to blame all their problems on someone else. Sometimes there is a basis in truth. and much historical and ongoing unfairness to point to, but also much exaggeration and "woe is me"ism.

The real road to solving these problems is somewhere in between.

People must learn to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps, at the same time that we learn to do a better job of offering a helping hand to those in need. Both aspects are required.

That, by the way, is not "Buddhist" advice, and simply the viewpoint of one US fellow observing the US from outside for many years. Don't put more value on it than that.

Peace, J

SatToday

[Jeremy]

I almost wrote a post about 'collective karma and social justice', but as I have nothing positive whatsoever to say about the theory of 'collective karma', I'll stop right here

Gassho
Jeremy
SatToday

[Shoka]

Hi all,

Thanks to everyone for the responses and comments. After a few more days to reflect I was draw back to a chapter from "Inside the Grass Hut," there was a passage that really struck me when I first read the chapter and kept coming to mind these last few days.

Each moment we have a choice, an opportunity. We can do something helpful, we can do something harmful, we can be completely unaware and operate out of habit. We have this chance to use each moment of choice that we are given to take care of our lives and the world around us. Let's take this chance together. It is a beautiful way to live.

On the other hand, since we are merely an expression of the interdependence of everything, we can’t even begin to know all the things that lead us to make the choices we make. You can’t choose all the infinite things that led to you being here in this moment as you are; you can’t choose your vast array of unconscious motivations that cause your choices. If we only consider the impact of our parents’ and our grandparents’ behavior on our unconscious tendencies, even this is beyond comprehension and is still not even one trillionth of a trillionth of all the things we could list that come together to make us what we are right now. (Chapter 9, page 67)

For me this quote really sums up the call to action in every moment, it gives that reader the sense of stirring to go out and change the world. But the really intense part of this passage is the second part. A reminder to not judge others and take for granted what you were able to achieve, because we have no idea from our limited view what conditions have caused the current state of affairs. But as I said we are also called to action, not to waste a moment because it is always an opportunity.

I started reading “Training in Compassion” by Norman Fischer today. In the introduction he says:

Compassion literally means embracing the suffering of others. To embrace the suffering of others is to be liberated and opened by that suffering, to the point of finding love. But compassion is impossible if we can’t learn to bear our own sufferings and difficulties, if our old habit of denying and running away continues to have its way with us. So the practice of mind training begins with the effort to turn toward difficulty rather than away from it. When we are no longer daunted by difficulties but are willing to engage and make use of them, we become truly resilient individuals.

I know racism is a hard conversation to have, others have said that as well. But turning away only increases the suffering. So I would say kindly if this thread has made you uncomfortable use that, don’t turn away. Seek out more information and explore why it is uncomfortable.

Gassho,

Shoka
sattoday

[lorax]

Thank you all for the thoughts on this subject. I think Moysha made a major point, there probably are not really different races, which brings us to the point of the word "racism". In reality it seems to be a term that defines the world wide practice of one group treating another as an inferior for political, financial, self esteem, etc. The easy markers are skin tone, language, cultural characteristics, country or region of origin, but it seems any difference can be the focal point. Guess the best path is not get sucked in to rhetoric, stereotypes, and other actions by individuals, groups or government that oppress one group or serve to benefit another at the expense of others. Shoka, thanks so much for starting the thought process on this subject.

Peace

SAT TODAY

[Dosho]

Hi all,

Someone I know recently posted an article on FB that said there are no distinct races within humans...only social conceptions. I tend to agree, but I did add the caution that we cannot use such a rationale to claim racism does not exist! I believe Shozan is correct that racism was really one culture trying to distinguish itself as superior to another. So, we made it up and have to deal with it even if biologically we really are all the same.

Thank you all for the discussion.

Gassho,
Dosho

Sat today

[Ed]

Good thread. P
roud to be a Leafer.

sat2day

[Troy]

Buddhists For Racial Justice

The Civil Rights Act of 1964 outlawed segregation by businesses that serve the public, places of employment and government services such as schools. While I believe things are better since then, I do not think racism has ended. Racism in America has been proven over and over again in study after study.

I think it is hard for white people to understand because we do not experience life like people of color. In fact, one study found that 75% of white Americans do not have any friends that are of another race. In most American cities, neighborhoods are divided along racial lines. For example in my city, there are predominately white, Hispanic and black neighborhoods. Which means there are predominately white, Hispanic and black schools and businesses in those neighborhoods. Segregation is not enforced by statute anymore but it is socially.

Just the other day my brother in law who is black was moving stuff in to his garage at night from his car. A white couple in the neighborhood approached him with a video recorder and a flashlight and accused him of robbing his own house. They explained “we have it all on tape”. Evidently they had been videotaping him for a while. When my brother in law explained, no, this is my house. They asked him to prove it at which time he stuck his hand in his car, pulled out his garage door opener and closed the garage. This kind of stuff happens all the time. This is individual bigotry.

Systemic racism also exist. Whites still have “White Privilege” because we do not have to face the hurdles of racism. Here are some examples of systemic racism I found online.

On the New Jersey Turnpike, blacks make up 15 percent of drivers, more than 40 percent of stops and 73 percent of arrests – even though they break traffic laws at the same rate as whites

If a black person kills a white person, they are twice as likely to receive the death sentence as a white person who kills a black person.

Black men receive prison sentences 19.5 percent longer than those of white men who committed similar crimes, a 2013 report by the U.S. Sentencing Commission found.

White Americans held more than 88 percent of the country's wealth in 2010, according to a Demos analysis of Federal Reserve data, though they made up 64 percent of the population. Black Americans held 2.7 percent of the country's wealth, though they made up 13 percent of the population.

As a result of the recession between 2007 and 2010, Hispanic families' wealth fell by 44 percent, and black families' by 31 percent, compared to 11 percent for white families.

Minority borrowers are still more likely to get turned down for conventional mortgage loans than white people with similar credit scores.

Black and Latino students are more likely to attend poorly funded schools.

A study published in 2014 in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology found that participants estimated black boys to be older and less innocent than white boys of the same age.

White Americans use drugs more than black Americans, but black people are arrested for drug possession more than three times as often as whites.

Applicants with white-sounding names get one callback per 10 resumes sent while those with African-American-sounding names get one callback per 15 resumes, according to a 2003 National Bureau of Economic Research report. "Based on our estimates," the researchers wrote, "a White name yields as many more callbacks as an additional eight years of experience."


..sat2day•合掌

[Byokan]

Hi All,

I really value and bow to every contribution here. Troy, thank you for pulling all those facts together. I'm so sorry about what happened to your brother-in-law. It makes me so angry and sad. I'm sorry for him, and sorry for the massive ignorance and misdirected intentions of the neighbors. Imagine how hard it is to keep an open heart when things like this happen to you, over and over again. Metta for all.

Here is a good, short article that begins to briefly explain White Privilege in terms of economics:

http://www.newsreel.org/guides/race/whiteadv.htm

And here's a link to a film I haven't seen yet, but hope to make time for soon. It is highly recommended by several sources. It can be rented for 7 days for the price of a double-grande-rice-milk-caramel-latte-with-low-foam ($4.99):

http://www.newsreel.org/video/RACE-THE-POWER-OF-AN-ILLUSION

Gassho
Lisa
sat today

[Troy]

thanks Lisa


..sat2day•合掌

[Shoka]

Here is a good, short article that begins to briefly explain White Privilege in terms of economics:

http://www.newsreel.org/guides/race/whiteadv.htm

Lisa,
This is a wonderful article. I really like this quote from it:

Or we suggest that differential outcomes may simply result from differences in "natural" ability or motivation. However, sociologist Dalton Conley's research shows that when we compare the performance of families across racial lines who make not just the same income, but also hold similar net worth, a very interesting thing happens: many of the racial disparities in education, graduation rates, welfare usage and other outcomes disappear. The "performance gap" between whites and nonwhites is a product not of nature, but unequal circumstances..

I will have to watch the full video.

Gassho,

Shoka
Sattoday

[Joyo]

Troy, what happened to your brother-in-law...how terrible!!!

In Canada, it's often Natives that people are racist against, or at least that has been my experience. When I was younger, I dated a black man and it opened my eyes to some of the narrow-minded, racist views that some people still have.

Gassho,
Joyo
sat today

[Troy]

Thank you Joyo


..sat2day•合掌

[Matt]

Hi Lisa,

Thanks so much for bringing this to our attention. I have signed the letter, and am exploring the resources the site offers.

Gassho,
Matt
#SatToday

[Jundo]

COLUMBIA, S.C. -- The photo seems simple enough. A police officer assists an older man overcome by the heat, as scalding temperatures swept through South Carolina over the weekend.

But, a closer look at the photo reveals something more. The officer in the photo, who is black, is assisting a white supremacist at a KKK rally. The white supremacist is wearing a National Socialist Movement t-shirt with a swastika on it.

The now viral photo was first tweeted out by Rob Godfrey the Deputy Chief of Staff of Communications and External Affairs for S.C. Gov. Nikki Haley. The photo was taken during protests in South Carolina on Saturday, July 18.

The policeman seen in the photo is Officer Leroy Smith, director of the S.C. Department of Public Safety.

Gassho, J

SatToday

[Mp]

Gassho, J

SatToday

This truly is an expression of service with a open heart and mind. =) Beautiful!

Gassho
Shingen

#sattoday