Ain't I A Woman, Too? - Blindspots, Gender Loopholes, and Institutional Power

One of the most insidious tricks of the patriarchy is the endowment of power bestowed on the highest rings of subordinate powers.  This #metoo/#timesup movement has shaken up a lot in the last year, that needed to be loosened from recesses of our collective minds, but, there is tricky ground left to be dug up. 

The  maddening irony of watching numerous men lose their titles and livelihoods in the months past, in both private and public sectors, without due process of investigation or criminal proceedings - while a known, self-admitted sexual predator stands atop us all with title and job in tact, leaves a terrible, acidic burn in the guts of survivors who STILL remain silent.  I don't argue about whether those men deserved to be stripped of their power after being exposed as abusers, but thinking in the longterm, I could not look away from the inherent blindspots and potential consequences of the methods used. 

The trouble about the fervent rash of calling for the heads this way, is that we set a Salem-witch-hunt precedent of how to handle this matter, that would inevitably create the potential pendulum revenge swing-back that would possibly hurt victims even more in the long run.  And before you come for me, understand I'm taking about employing systems of justice for all, that ensures they keep working for our specific concerns, because that is how, checks, balances, and the law...should work, granted, in an ideal world.  Further, I wondered, in such a climate where we were not leaning on such protocols, who else could take advantage of it, because as much good as this has done for survivors to see power stripped from those men who abused it, it unavoidably would be exploited for other power game purposes too, by both men and women.  It could become a tool used for activities unintended. 

Now some call for and praise relief for that same unused due process to be applied to Kavanaugh, a man whose rulings, if he gets the job (after years of successive promotions in the judicial system) will MAKE laws and role back civil rights rulings we need to remain an evolving democracy, long after sex-predator in chief is gone. We didn't call for such investigations in many instances before, so how do we think this will go over now?!  There is a potential backlash for that inconsistency.  Also, behind, beside, or in font of each of any of these men, is often a woman. There were women who stood by Cosby, one of the few who has actually been investigated, charged, tried, and sentenced because of his accusers stepping forward.  But even if an FBI investigation is granted because of Dr. Ford's brave accounting at the hearings, are we still looking at the full here? Are we able to hold the whole truth?  I don't think so, because we still have many people out there who are not being called out, and who continue to question survivors and choose 'sides' according to political belief and not objective, observable, investigated inconsistencies!  And most importantly missing is the questions, "What if you, what if I, what if we, remain silent because it is another woman whose power would be at risk or negatively unleashed for the telling? What if it is a woman who abused, or allowed, condoned, or repressed the cry of abuse? And are men or boys included in this cry?"

The #metoo movement, for all of the very necessary empowerment it has created for us, worries me deeply and personally in that it is mainly the bellow of taking down men (mostly white men), but is still yet to make space for survivors who stand silent under the boot of a woman. 

Psychopathic Privileges v Life Affirming Principles: The Young Are Reclaiming Their Lives in America

I am not a parent of high school students but I am living with someone who is.  I know many of you are parents and teachers, and I too have been a teacher in high schools where safety was an issue. 

In just over two years of living in Washington, my partner Dale and I have had to process three shootings involving the schools his children attend.  To hear a young person cry in the middle of the night while we all sit on twitter live with her, tracking posts to see if there is anyone else she knows who was shot, is not something you soon forget.  But this of course was not an isolated incident, thus the task force subsequently commissioned to conduct comprehensive student/teacher training sessions and drills as the new norm. 

The day before the Florida school shooting, an eighteen year old was apprehended in my little town of Everett. His grandmother, disturbed by his behavior, read his diaries and found terrifying entries of his plans to “get the biggest fatality number”. He wanted to make it “infamous” by using his semi-automatic AK rifle at one high school,  while triggering strategically placed homemade timed explosives at another (where, incidentally Dale’s son currently attends).  This would-be shooter apparently studied the “past shooters/bombers mistakes”, intending for his chosen date of attack - set for April 19th, to rival those of the Oklahoma City Bombing (04/19/1995) and the Columbine High School attack (04/20/1999).

The grandmother reported her grandson to the police and turned in his diaries - and thank God, because she potentially saved scores of children by making that call.  The lucky part here is that he was caught before he killed. The frightening part is that he was armed to do it, planned to do it, and - that his story hit the news the same morning as the shooting on the far opposite end of the country. The cops were all over the schools, with bomb sniffing dogs; the kids all on lockdown. The usual.  Or I should say, full blown epidemic.  

This young man played online video games with Dale’s son; and he should be freaked out of his mind by this, but like us, he is apparently numb from the shock...and why, because he's been through this before. His sister, prior to her graduation, had been through this before. Their friends have all been through this before.  It is to be expected. This is life for high school kids in America. And this cannot be stereotyped by city or State, because Washington is a state (along with Oregon and California) renowned for a broad and progressive local legislative portfolio which much of the country has yet to catch up to.  And yet, for unfortunate contrast, Washington is an open carry State with less than preferable gun control measures. We have at least 11 gun and ammo shops within a 10 mile radius of our suburban home, where with relative ease Dale and I could purchase semi-automatic weapons if we wanted to - and that includes two Wal-Marts.  

 signage on glass gun cases at nearby Wal-Mart store

Last year while traveling in Canada, during a time when I was researching gun violence for a related article, I discussed at length the vast difference in gun control legislation there with my gun-owning uncle who all but spelled out how difficult it is to get one, much less multiple guns even as a “responsible” citizen. 

Based on categories of "prohibited", "restricted", and "permitted" guns in Canada, he informed me of legally mandated articles per gun type when applying for a permit: 

You must get references to apply, permits must state specific use of the weapon, and permit-checks are regularly enforced; there are rules for assembly, and double and triple lock storage and transportation; signed spousal agreement is required for guns to be present in the matrimonial home; mandatory courses in usage and safety procedures must be passed along with thirty to sixty day waiting periods before permits are issued for purchase; and, repeated psych-assessments are conducted to ensure you continue to be a responsible owner at licensing, and for every subsequent renewal. 

You cannot just openly carry weapons, nor is there a lifetime guarantee that you will be granted renewed permits to carry them.   And of course there is a logical list of people who just cannot get one at all - like the mentally ill, substance abusers, and domestic abusers. No free-for-alls there.  And how many mass/school shootings does Canada have? Far fewer than us!  And keep in mind they have a robust gun owning culture too - which makes them the best comparison for what the culture of prohibitive gun laws can prevent.  

Culture and Dangerous Optics

There is nothing new here. We know the numbers, we have over 300 million guns out there.  The threat of this was contextualized thoroughly in an important work made 16 years ago by Michael Moore after the Columbine shooting in Littleton, Colorado - which was the sister school of one of my best friends.  The heartlessness of years of disregard by our leaders after every school shooting since, (especially Sandy Hook - given the number and age of the victims) has left a nation nearly paralyzed in fear and confusion, feeling undervalued and helpless. I know I lost hope after Sandy Hook in particular - because it confirmed in a gruesome and dissonant way for me as an immigrant of color, that if little white children were treated as less valuable than gun sales, then these lobbyists and every old white guy official paid by them certainly cared nothing for anyone else in this country.  That incident alone showed the transcendence of their greed beyond any racial reasoning we often put on our many social troubles.  They value only their profits and no one else - which attacks the very mythology of exceptionalism they wish this nation to uphold.  And when you combine this with Trump’s bill reversing gun control measures for the mentally ill last February, in a nation that has, in the same 16 year period since Columbine, defunded mental health programs nationwide, we see how this has all run amok  - and there is nothing but absolute cruelty to blame this on. 

And the thing is, this isn’t only about being scared for your child being at risk of being killed. There is also the fear of your child  being the killer?! A frightening contention.  What about helping out those parents and family members, who certainly are not aided by an open market for weapons! The shooter in Florida was on watch lists, yet he was able to get weapons.  Conversely, this young man in our town was not on any watch lists, neither was he suspected by even his own friends!  No one saw it coming - except grandma.  I do not know his mental condition - compared with the Florida school shooter, as some may debate, but one thing is clear, he was disconnected and very angry.  And he was able to get advanced weaponry to work that anger out just as easily, because leadership failed again to make that difficult. 

And let’s look at that - we have a very young generation who sees through every promise society has broken.  

Leadership has failed to propose any new gun control laws much less getting any passed - after all these deaths - in every facet of our so-called free lives.  And in that time a whole generation has grown up knowing their leadership does not value their lives, our lives.  

When you teach kids this, then you say to them that they are powerless, and the more violent or angry among them unravel and reach with ease for weapons that give them what they think is power.  They fear nothing.  They have no innocent bubble to burst.  This is not only about immediate safety, this is about a deeply rooted cultural value for LIFE.  

Worst still, this culture exports, and can infect the thinking of children elsewhere who look to America as the arbiter of power in the world. 

As James Baldwin said:  “Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.”

In any other context the NRA and organizations like them would be called a terrorist group or at the very least, sympathizers to terrorists.  In ANY other context. And this includes anyone in their profit stream - especially too as it pertains to jurisprudent action to support their function. But no, in the American context it is called a right as a citizen.  Touting the 2nd amendment alongside your semi-automatics makes you patriot.  

Gun violence in the name of ‘self-defense’ cannot be defended as a culture, it is a violent dogma that is ABSOLUTELY and murderously insane.  

The Youth Revolution of Safeguards

I would LOVE to see every student, teacher, and parent from coast to coast in this country take to the streets, ON A WEEK DAY, or a whole school week to march on their respective Capitols - LEAD by the YOUTH to scare the shit out of these assholes to change this madness. And it is coming. 

A nation of children marching in defense of their lives is the most powerful thing that can happen, and who can deny them this? These kids and educators cannot live this way, and parents should not be helpless and terrified to send their children to school. We should not be terrified to go out with our friends to see a movie, dance at the club, watch our favorite musicians on stage.  This is a sure way to sink this place into total incivility...into civil war.  Yes I will say that - again.

Congress and lobbyist thugs, if you will not protect the children of your nation, you will have not nation. This could actually be a moment when our NRA funded so-called President could create sound, enlightened, historical legislation in his dark destructive portfolio. As Dwight D. Eisenhower said: “A people that values its privileges above its principles soon loses both.”

This is an awful burden leaders have placed on the backs of their young. It is not fair to them, but these young, articulate, and impassioned teenagers are about to take this country back and they have their own leading voices to guide them. And, they will be old enough to vote soon.   

THIS MOMENT IS POWERFUL.
It is the most hopeful moment I have felt in years. 

Thank you #EmmaGonzalez, you brave #SoulJah

#StudentsDemandAction
#StudentsStandUp 

#WeCallBS 

#TimesUp

#thework

#theywontsleep

#midterms2018

#votethemout

#calledit

#castlestormers

#studentwalkout

#nationwide

#newgunlaws

#guncontrolinAmerica

#gunregulationsnow

Important sites: 
Moms Demand Action

Everytown for Gun Safety

Everytown Research 



Updates: 
Feb 20 - Guardian: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/feb/20/how-rightwing-media-is-already-attacking-florida-teens-speaking-out

#NeverAgain

Pride and The New Norm: Equal Rights

I grew up IN JAMAICA in an African/British influenced household run by two lawyers; one, an atheist and the other, a practicing Catholic. We had a constant influx of visitors from around the world, many of whom hosted us in their homes when we traveled.  Among our guests were committed gay couples who are together to this day. 

Because of how my parents socialized me - it frankly never occurred to me that there was anything different or untoward about "Auntie and Auntie" or "Uncle and Uncle" compared with "Auntie and Uncle".
(Note: In my culture - out of respect we address our elders as "Auntie" and "Uncle"  even when they are not blood relatives.) 
They were our family of friends and THAT was THAT.

In all the years that followed when living out in the World and encountering other view points - I was constantly shocked that anyone saw my Aunties and Uncles any differently because they were gay.  Being a total ham and hag - I amassed my own gay friends, and many, and frankly felt no need to explain this to the few confused objectors in my life - except to point out that their philosophy of love was flawed if they missed the beauty of a soul based on righteous principle. 

Without realizing that I had inherited a wide emotional girth of activism from my parents, this issue almost immediately spilled onto the pages of the first college papers I wrote with indignant vehemence. (Along with issues of global acceptance of multiculturalism and the legalization of weed.)  I argued that couples in the #LGBTIQ community had the right not only to marry, but to adopt children.  I smile at this now, as adoption was at issue for gay couples in the late 90s; just this year I attended the baptism of two beautiful natural children of a gay friend…just to illustrate our growth since then. 

Every #pridemarch I've gone to in different cities, or to conferences I've been lucky enough to attend, I strongly believed of course in the fight for #equalrights and supported it with a clear heart, but I must admit that I wondered how this would work in a World so bent on the isms and religions which pronounce what is right or wrong.  In the last year especially, I confess to an unusual phase of quiet that came over me from the numbing shocking wave of fear-induced violence and hate in every sphere across this globe.  And no doubt there is a lot of work still to be done. But I am sucker for reinforcements.  We all are.  I weep ecstatically that I am now old enough to speak like my parents have in saying -
"I never thought I would live to see the day that the World could shift this significantly while I am energetic enough to participate in the new norm." 

The New Norm. 

The fact that THIS in ways unseen opens further rights and protections to the full extent of the law for people, for families... is what was at stake here!! Families!! The  fact that this shall become so ordinary a truth and way of life that the Labels we separate each other and ourselves with can, must, and will fall away. That our differences will only be details of delightful interest to be celebrated.

Yes.

WE are on our way.
On our way back.
To the beginning.
To ourselves.

I congratulate and celebrate EVERY HUMAN BEING. 
What we see evidenced before us, WE can manifest again and again if we just reMember to Love.

#LOVEWINS along with mutual #RESPECT.

#enlightmentisabigbang #offwego  #tippingpoint #criticalmass #letskeepthisgoing #loverevolution #theonlyway
#excusemewhileIlightmyspliff

A Letter to Rachel Dolezal

Dear Rachel Dolezal,

As I have posted online countless times, I will offer again, in such times, my deferral to the inimitable James Baldwin:

"White is a state of mind" baby!

Meaning, as I'm sure you know, - RACE is a state of mind.  I am not mad you lady; confused by you, but not mad at you.  So you wanted
to be ME, and play a black woman in this world.  Okay.  You certainly could have chosen easier ways to practice your vocational work in civil rights and liberties efforts, an easier way to do the job as it were.  And from what I understand, you've been doing a great job, which you were not given due to any privileges.  So, this matter is a personal one then.  As far as I see it, you have not hurt the cause, or my cause, nor created any potholes in my lawn.  In fact, you may have helped in some indirect odd way.  Who woulda thunk it - a blondie that supposedly gentlemen prefer now wants to be ME!! Well I'll be.

As far as your identity issues, well - keep exploring. If most of us dig deep enough - we can relate.  After all, we are ONE right? And this is the journey we're all on really...to move from the illusive self...to an integrated self. Just keep it honest would be my only advice. People get really upset about lying you see.

And don't you agree that we should get back to the real business at hand - like flooding platforms with vehement comments and the streets with urgent cries on picket signs about the dire humanitarian crisis that is going on at the DR/Haitian border AS WE SPEAK?!  You know - that racial cleansing, stateless sanctioning, reverse forced exodus of a people just a few miles south - the Palestine of the Western Hemisphere dare I be so harsh???!!! 

I know, I know, Facebook needs this fodder, and those TV appearances and book deals are flooding in, soon to buff your bank account, but aren't you just itching to get to get back to some real work here for the true effective betterment of our black brothers and sisters?  Yeah, me too.

To the cause!! And let the forum of idle chatter scatter you transracial poster child you! But I won't call you a bad mamma-Jenner though. Nope. Don't see the connection.

Oh and nice tan and perm by the way - fooled us all, but - it cost us nothing, so over and out.

~  Sincerely from the Monuments of MLK

"If we are to have peace on Earth, our loyalties must become ecumenical rather than sectional.  Our loyalties must transcend
our race, our tribe, our class, and our nation; and this means we must develop a world perspective."

Berette Macaulay

The Scary Business of New Beginnings...

They say you should do something that scares you everyday… Well, check!!

Moving they say is among the top traumas a person can experience, and prior to a couple weeks ago - this whole business of moving out and giving up everything I own was a great conversation piece that inspired only release and celebration...and zero fear.  Then suddenly one day recently, that all changed.  Everyday since has been an exercise in recalling the meditative and spiritual work of this year - and remembering to breathe.  The challenging asanas I've pushed myself in yoga all year to do, I call on now as practice in the asana of release.  Funny that I find myself clinging so tightly now just as I'm about to let go. 

I heard Rev. Bacon say in an interview with Oprah last week that change is like the tumult in a plane.  Pilots explain that when the craft is about to break through the sound barrier the cockpit shakes the most and the body of the craft is at its most unstable.  I love this.  Kind of like the constricting  trauma of the birth canal before air and light; but this new analogy is serving me right now. I'm breaking through the sound barrier - my apartment is the cockpit, and I'm wanting to grip for security before releasing to the cruising altitude on the other side.   Deep and interesting process to observe on a daily basis.  

I'm now at the 2 week mark and I FEEL my body poised and sharply focused on the task at hand.  There is not a single moment for renegotiation left.  It's do or bust. And I'm doing this most involved work WHILE preparing for immediate travel and 3 exhibitions!  Of course.  Hahaha.  But stoop sales are the biggest 'DO' right now and I don't particularly enjoy them because I feel like I'm in a fish bowl brandishing my panties for the world to stare at!  That said - I've been ushered prior into this process by the presence of friends and family so I could get my feet wet.


But unlike those other days where we've had mini impromptu stoop parties, today I had my first solo stoop sale and it was not only a real physical work out, but a true test of breathing away the histrionics, overcoming the fears and getting necessary work done.  I set this all in motion when I decided to release my life here in New York,  and so I have to go through these logistics - which are hardly as romantic as the reasons or the stories behind them. 
       
So...I didn't have the hand holding today that  my little heart yearned for, but such conditions yield deep spiritual truths about where to hold energy and how to stand in an exposed vulnerable space with your center in tact.  It's not easy watching people assess the worth of your belongings...that for you  are so rich with sentimental value.  But with each breath, I experienced the liberty that this entire move is ushering me towards.  And added to that, I was called and visited by sweet souls all day who delivered gems of deep encouragement for this soul work.  Even the guys in the clothing store across the street watched my stuff for me when I had to walk away or show someone my stuff for sale inside the apartment. It's remarkable how sweetly held I was by strangers and new neighbours and passersby who questioned and then celebrated my reasons for my move. It emboldened my sense of courage to continue, to sit in my fish bowl and get about the business of releasing my things, my emotional attachments, my fears, my ego...

These moments are the practice for when I am untethered and on my way to Sierra Leone at the end of the year.   This is the TRUTH right here.  Wow.  Yemaya. 

Humbled • Scared •  Determined • Grateful. 

...on the Cusp of Growing Up in America

The difficulty for me each year is to figure out the answer this internal question:  How do I celebrate or participate in Black History Month? 

Those who have been in intimate company with me know the intricacies of my conclusion that the US is a nutty place to live.   It is ceaselessly astonishing to me that this daring land of the We the..free, should still be today -despite a litany of admirable efforts and results consistent with 'the dream'- so obstinately shackled in old societal clashes of race, gender, and gun violence at the near 50% dividing line in the population!  And - that the sluggish transcendence of these issues seem to go unnoticed as harbingers to our pervading inequalities in health and education, that would nurture a more autonomously creative society truly free to pursue that so-called right to happiness without these  mind-reducing and soul-crushing tensions. 

But -  to the matter of this persisting social construct of 'race' in this our 'Black History Month' - it is a rather inadequate recognition and inspires far less reverence in me than say a Date of Remembrance or any single historical event. I therefore rarely arrive at an answer that satisfies, because it is to me - the absence of this specially named  month that might remove the stigma of "Black" as something that is the victimized  "Other" and still in need of special recognition.

Some words by James Baldwin (guest of honor at the National Press Club [CSPAN 1986]) serve for me as the best summary of the urgency of this absurdity.  Drag the player to listen [from 38.16 - 40:50] where he answers questions on race relations in America today... "A modest proposal: How about White History Week?!"

view on Netflix

What would be far more useful in empowering and transcending this distinction I believe would be to return to the base, to the beginning both in the telling of all history and where it is taught.   Lost Kingdoms of Africa for instance, is not to be reserved for private video rentals or  hosted exhibitions and talks in a special month reserved for such dissemination.  It would be better to further press our institutions to assure this as mandated eduction for ALL children;  as we, and as they are now taught of the Greeks and Romans and other old Empires.  It should all be a matter of course, but we still live in a time where such knowledge is threatening for unfortunate, unfair, and frankly expired reasons and thus still face opposition in appeals for wide cultural dissemination.  This unspoken social reparation of a notable month, fought for and understandably believed to be our entitlement, is but a false right that reinforces our separation through touted celebrations of abbreviated triumphs of our 'overcoming'  in the last 50 -100 years as a people, and serves only and still to do just that …to separate and to annihalite a much longer story fitted for attention in one month out of the year(?)!!  The entitlement of this 'special interest' is an insufficient delusion that serves none of the so-called races, in any culture, least of all blacks who are  now 'integrated members' of society. To these points, I highly recommend listening to Nigerian writer Chimamanda Adichie who spoke so eloquently in a TED talk on "the danger of the single story" and its effect on cultural histories and contemporary  relationships.  

Wikipedia Image

Indeed there are many equalizing effects that the presence of Barack Obama and his family have had on the image of people of colour in the US and the world view to be certain, along with countless other figures; we can see it all over the media. But still and yet, here we are and more than ever divided almost violently by race.  All you have to do is turn on the local evening news in this country. Or, read a few YouTube comment threads - it's amazing how fast a reasonable discussion will descend into senseless vitriol.  2013 people!!! And this while the world considers a first black Pope - and an African to boot - to rescue the declining influence of the Catholic church - which I venture to guess would also be fun for pictures but would change little in their institutional doctrine. 

Yes.  Change,...in modern history, is certainly here, but so hypocritically welcomed that it appears as a hallucination of ironies at best. Note that in researching for this post, I found a bare few reports from any of the world news orgs on the Black Pope headliner...but much more on the international political vying over which country the next Pope will come from. Yeah - so much for separation of Church and State...  This paired with premature news fodder on who will be the 1st Woman President of the United States. Could it be Michelle Obama who is both black AND a woman?!  And on that matter - as we head towards the next Women's History Month - dare we dream that:

1) the leading religions - the heirachal power structures between Man and God that have rewritten a lot of history (ironically)in the name or preservation of God's kingdom - may consider allowing Women to participate, and lead...too?
2) the two most powerful imperial entities -America and the Vatican- will disabuse their delusional right of power over the natural, social, and spiritual worlds and allow equality and validity of all existence?  

THIS could eradicate the need for a month of head patting!


I indeed understand how the necessity these special History Months came about, I just wish we no longer had need for them.  The growing up simply isn't happening fast enough for me I guess...
Suffice it to say - this month I celebrated nothing. But I did find James Baldwin. 


Children have never been very good at listening to their elders, but they have never failed to imitate them.
~ James A. Baldwin





 
PAST RELATED POSTS:
A Response to Dispatches from (A)MENDED America (December 2008)

What it means to PRIORITIZE!!! (March 2009)

"Why Do You Talk So White?!!" - (Uh oh - it's a race rant...) (March 2012)

Taking A Piss, part deux

And who knows how many more examples there will be.  No matter - as long as it's this good I'll take it. 

Remember the stupid saga of Donald Trump demanding the President provide the long-form proof of birth ...which ended with the hysterical shaming by our said President at the 2011 White House Correspondents dinner?  Well the Donald couldn't stop there could he?  I would have.  Most of us would.  This idiot then moved on to demanding the President prove his university attendance!  Now of course none of this is worth of our time...if it wasn't so damn funny!  If you're looking to procrastinate a bit with some light entertainment - follow the trail below - all the way to Bill Maher's most excellent take down Real Time monologue ever. 


some background on Politico with all relevant video clips here. 
 

Report of filed suit by Trump against Maher on Gawker:

Maher pushes”the Donald” up to the stupidity podium like none other.  5 minutes of BRILLIANT comedic writing and delivery that should end the nonsense...right? Too late either way - the Donald's idiocy is of general acceptance apparently that even MacArthur Fellow Michael Dickinson recently alluded to it his in TEDTalk presentation on "How A Fly Flies"[at 6:10...] - lol!!!

Real Time With Bill Maher Episode 271 New Rules (by Buzz Sourse)








RELATED JOURNEY POST:

Taking A Piss (May 2011)

Appeals for the Life of a Friend

Dear friends and family,

This is a very sober and unfortunate reason for an appeal for help.  But hope is strong.

An old friend of mine Neesha Cameron (from my Sandals days in Jamaica) was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer last fall.  Unfortunately she has taken a turn for the worst in the last days and her family, friends, acquaintances and
beyond are pulling together resources in every way possible to raise funds for her treatment. 

I know a lot of emails like this float around - often about people we don't know
but I am personally asking you to assist any way you can for someone I do know. 

She is a warm and beautiful person with a young daughter who needs her to beat this thing.
And seriously - no amount is too small and you can donate anonymously.  Anything you can give will help - it adds up!

She has been flown Mexico to receive specialized treatment from a highly reputed

practitioner of holistic care for cancer treatment, Dr. Castillo at his clinic in Tijuana*

Contact Info for more info on how to help:

The Cameron family - and primarily Neesha's sisters Orianna and Nekoda can be reached at the
email addresses below:
 
Oriana Cameron:
orianajam@yahoo.com

Nekoda Cameron:
empressnekoda@yahoo.com

Friends are also working on fundraising events in Jamaica and New York for Neesha.

For fundraiser details
• to get involved • offer sponsorship • goods for auction • direct donations • etc  :)

Raxanne Chin

(who is physically with Neesha in Jamaica now assisting in her care)
[of Femheka Design/SaveOurJamaicaFoundation]:
raxannchin@gmail.com

Linda Virtue  

[from KayUnger]: 
Ljasvirtue@gmail.com

We are also brainstorming a fundraising fashion event to raise funds for 2nd and 3rd treatment sessions for Neesha
later in the summer.  

News to follow...

--- 

I have also attached a PDF doc with more extensive information about the clinic in 

Mexico, the costs of treatment and accommodation with applicable links to treatment info, testimonials from past patients, and also more contact info for the Cameron Family.**  

---

 
There are a few ways online to donate:

1)
You can directly donate (and anonymously if preferred) via
https://fundrazr.com/campaigns/eKA86?psid=7742d7d00058434193a71ffa2eda8b7c

2)
You can send a donation via Paypal to her sisters using this merchant account email address: empressnekoda@yahoo.com

3)
Ladies you can purchase mascara from the MaryKay Foundation where 50% of proceeds
will go to the Neesha Cameron Fund (see/click flyer attached)

flyer design by kgn6/danae grandison

---

Remember any amount will help.

If you cannot donate at this time, you can emit positive wishes for this goal to be met by sharing this with others.


PLEASE  send this out to anyone you know who can assist in any way.
Blog it, Facebook it, Tweet it, Digg it - however you share information widely. 

We can't take for granted that no one will respond.  If everyone gets one person to donate - that's HUGE.

She is in severe pain. 
This is URGENT. 
It can't be said any other way...

Deep thanks to you and endless gratitude for however you can help.

Love • Light • Gratitude • Life
Berette


*About Dr. Castillo - He was awarded the 2006 GOEH ( Global Organization for Excellence in Health). Dr Castillo combines the best of both worlds. He provides the patient with the benefits attained form both areas of western medicine and holistic treatment. The objective of the therapies that Dr. Castillo administers is to prolong and improve quality of life as much as possible by putting into remission, or stabilizing the patient's condition.I.M.A.Q.

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Face Lift Off: Leaving My Facebook Mask(erade) Behind

Well oops - the researcher became the subject as it were! 

I woke up one day and realized that I start and end my days with Facebook.  That I carried it with me in my handbag (ie. my phone).  That I was never really OFF the damn thing!  

Well - actually a few things shook me awake - like some very real world experiences that proved my early observations that folks take Facebook WAY too seriously - assuming all representations of their lives there equate reality; that validity is gained there first.  Concurrent with this were a couple of rude awakenings of very aggressive behaviours and presumptuous expectations from  virtual strangers - 'virtual' being the operative word here. 

Facebook and the like (no pun) have never been more for me than sites to promote  professional efforts, to communicate with  supporters in a personable way, to have fun exchanging written banter on shared interests with friends and acquaintances, and to exchange links + fotos with my peeps/REAL members of my physical life.  (Ironically less exchanges actually happen with my physical-world friends on these platforms - perhaps because we have 'reality' - lol).  I guess in short, FB is like an interactive address book, bookmark keeper, and calendar that makes us all appear to have great memories when it comes to birthdays (come on - birthdays on Facebook rock! lol), or far more active lives by virtue of the 'LiKes' and links we share! 

But somewhere in between my sociological/artistic observation and research of this for my project BRANDED... and me being a participant, I engaged in some of the very same behaviours I was analyzing in others.  I remained fiercely private about matters that don't belong there, and never attacked anyone, but around mid Summer of last year I started spending an inordinate number of hours on that thing! I started needing that interaction for ego strokes, a good laugh at stupid jokes (fun times! sigh...), stimulating conversations/debates at a 'safe' distance, blah blah blah.  I also justified this in the name of promotional necessity for my work.   

The first important statistical fact that bubbled to the surface and smacked my face in was the fact that I wasn't really promoting that much - save for a show post here and there, or appeal to 'LiKe' my page...(eye roll).  Further, I felt I was running out of things to promote.  I spent hours here, thus reducing the amount of free time I had for the life I was investing in before, like writing on this blog for instance; creating more photograpahic or collaborative projects; teaching art with orgs I support; writing proposal submissions for my work; soliciting paying jobs...etc.  Though I have met or reunited with a number of great souls and characters there, the bottom line is that much time spent on FB has not resulted in any appreciable improvement to my physical work process as an artist, nor has it resulted in increased commissions and sales for my work.  Not the way all real life and blogger interractions do.  It's like high school where one will forego doing homework so you can play in the right circles for popularity points.  Who wants to miss the next viral post that proves you being current?!  The number one procrastination tool confessed to by millions is Facebook! Wow.  All I'm saying is like all things, there needs to be

...b a l a n c e.  Of course this is obvious  - as I've continually examined here on this journey blog.  But to wake up inside this particular belly as it were has been a bit stinky and I wear this stink with a bit of embarrassment too, hence my need write it all out here. I believe if we cover up, hide, or 'front' - the beast wins.  So...

...the most liberating thing was to decide to take a break from that amoebic blue world beast - at least for a little while - lol.

A friend of mine, Jimmy, who does this often always referred to Facebook as a country - "sometimes I fly in, visit loved ones - hang out in new spots, meet a couple folks, and then I return home".  

And so I've posted this on Facebook and flown home. I've set up my bathroom darkroom and spent hours doing pinhole photography. Sweet liberation to be shared in subsequent posts.

APRIL 27, 2012:

Not that this is MaJoR news yeah,  but I've been told that without prior warning of FB sabbaticals some folks might create the wrong ideas when they suddenly see a 'friend' disappear. 

So...I'm checking out temporarily from MAY 1st to JULY. 

I confess that I have fallen into the FB addiction trap - woke up one day a realized this place is getting more of my time than my actual work is.  I know - such an unusual observation right?!!!   Well I like being on top of  my creative work and blogging about that, and other such pass-times as old-fashioned emails, phone calls, yoga, chocolate, cheese shopping, etc.  I need to plug out of this and plug deep into feeding my soul. :)

I expect I'll see many of you in REAL life, and on other spots like ...twitter  (so far that'll stay up tho I still have NO idea how that thing really works...).  But yah - May 1st (that's Tuesday) FB gets the boot for bit... will play til then. :)

One Love Munchkins and Happy Weekend!

B

A fellow Facebooker who thought it a good idea to do the same - photographer Jim Northorp:
  Cyber-Celibacy Facebook No Mo?

RELATED POSTS:
-Some talk about a new project...'BRANDED' (Oct 2010)
-Awakening in the Illusion (Sept 2010)
-Apathy as Peace of Mind? (April 2010)