The Skin You Wake Up In

 Just. Plain. Wrong.

I am mourning what this country could be. 

If every white person could wake up tomorrow 

in different skin, 

the skin that gets you shot 

while sleeping innocently in your own bed, 

shot in the back while causing no threat,  

A child shot while playing in the park, 

killed with a knee forced on the neck

while begging to breathe,

the skin that gets you ignored in a car dealership showroom,

the skin that gets you stopped for shoplifting,

when there was no shoplifting,

the skin that gets you ignored at an Open House

when the whole point is to sell that house.

And. 

Every.

Time.

And every time the police officer who shoots you,

knees you to death,

clubs you bloody,

apparently has an exemption for killing you,

Every time you get followed, suspected, ignored like you don’t exist, bullied, shouted at ~ all for no valid reason,

you go home stressed, traumatized and belittled,

treated like you don't count,

your children see you demeaned in front of their eyes,

They get it too, and there is nothing your systematic racist 

country is doing to stop the injustice,

in fact the perpetrators proudly pump up their chests,

because they see they are free to wield the power,

feel emboldened by the president

Can see he feels like they do

since he condones the bigotry,

he even throws words around to encourage it

and support it

Says loudly in his pep rallies, police

don't be too nice,

to his rally kool-aid gang says

break the law,

"I'll pay your legal bill,

Don't be too nice."

If every white person could wake up tomorrow

with different skin and that waking up

was for the last time due to the skin being DIFFERENT,

racism may be understood by the white person

who BELIEVED they were one of the non-racist ones.

All for one reason

                                    of waking up 

                                                                  with different skin,

found what they thought about themselves

was just plain wrong.  

They just never experienced it like that.

And it is clear now

What they thought

What they think about themselves

         is.     just.     plain.     wrong.

Sandra Hammel

August 24, 2020

One Moment

Hold The Light as the Blog For Peace 2024 theme is difficult for me in the aftermath of November 5, 2024. Eight years of a legal case and more years of emotional pain from my adult son, who I adopted when he was 11 1/2 years old in 1999. and now, the unfathomable situation of dealing with the election has me in very low spirits.

I post a poem I wrote in 2018 when I returned home after a difficult time. Writing has been my refugee and sustainer so many times.

It is the kind look

that illustrates | matter,

It is the kindness in a subtle gesture

that gives me reason to feel | am important enough,

It is the tenderness in the energy

that allows me to have a moment of acceptance, while all others around would willingly

delete me into nonexistence,

It is the power of one who cares about my feelings, elevating their humanity while preserving mine,

It is the assailing lack of grace of another, that propels one observant soul

to give a moment of shelter, one moment of refuge.

It is one moment that proves the kings and queens of the world

are the ones who offer shelter and refuge.

And not the ones who are trying so hard to prove that they are mighty and grand.

Spoken words that can only spring forward

from a soul truly gounded in graciousness.

Words that fall like feathers and create for you a soft landing,

a warm cocoon.

A kind look

that knows your need to be seen,

A kind act

that serves as a god to your need to be cared about.

These are the kings and the queens of our lives.

A world of look-at-me shouts,

while you gave me the world in one moment.

One moment of knowing in quiet,

what we make of the world

is in how we ease the need

of being known,

of being seen.

Sandra Hammel ~ February 18, 2018, Sunday

💝

Music has always been a place for me to have my spirit held. 

Many Rivers To Cross

Trump ~ What I was Taught About Being A Christian Turns Out To Be Wrong

What I thought I had been taught being a Christian was growing up, turns out not to be what Christians are. In my beliefs, regarding what a Christian is, does NOT allow a voter vote for Donald Trump. And yet, Christians have twice. And can three times. 

Respect is earned. My respect is defunct for Christians voting for Donald Trump. 

Reputation matters. I was taught that, too. A lot of what I was taught, apparently gets a pass when it comes to presidents, if your name is Donald Trump. Bill Clinton was impeached for a BJ. And Donald has raped young girls and yet Christians voted for him. Donald told young girls he was raping to get an abortion, if he made them pregnant because he refused to use a condom. After he forced them to give him a BJ, he degraded them, telling them they did a bad job on him. But, surely this is unacceptable to Christians to be told. 

We had Providence Mayor Buddy Cianci as a felon and that was stated to me to be a deal-breaker by a Christian that he get elected. Donald Trump has done way worse than Buddy. It is not even close. Donald has told you, me, the world, what he will do and yet the polls are neck and neck between Trump and Harris. 

I have lived my life. Yet, I care about the planet that is already ending the life of animal life, including ocean animal life, due to the earth climate damage. And there are our grandchildren and great grandchildren. Donald keeps telling us all at his every rally what he is going to do. Christians believe just some of what he says? The writing didn’t need to be written down in a book about the lack of character embodied in Trump. Anyone can google his childhood. It's on the internet with sources. No one could come out of his childhood and be a mentally in tact and  mentally healthy human. He exhibited the foreshadowing of who he became in kindergarten. His father was not a good example for his sons.

Not listing specifically the laws he has broken, workers and cities he has stiffed, sexual and mental abuse he has acted out, degradation of people who worked in his administration, his betrayal of the Constitution and good governance, his former Generals, administration heads who have turned on him and told us what he has done. Christians choosing him to be the president is enough to turn a Christian against Christians. It has me. I don’t respect the religion I was raised in because of their voting for Trump. 

I was taught Christian testimony by how you live your life matters. This includes voting for a man such as Trump. Anyone could have learned what Trump is before voting for him the first time. New York City was very familiar with his lack of character. All the writing about him can be found at your fingertips. 

The stealing of government secret documents, encouragement of overturning the government, hanging of Mike Pence, his VP, his racism, his degradation of women, young girls, human rights of everyone, refugee and immigrant rejection, with no empathy for them as God's children is unfathomable for a person living by Jesus Christ's teachings. Republican FBI Director Christopher Wray has stated to Congress that racism and racist groups has climbed to the highest levels during Trump. Trump has made it acceptable for people who were in the racist closet to come out and blatantly act out racism in the neighborhoods, streets, stores and in public life. 

Anyone who is paying attention to the news worldwide can see the effect Trump's unleashing indecent behavior, fascist, nationalist behavior is doing elsewhere. Venezuelan presidential crisis, Great Britain domestic crisis, Bangladesh government crisis, recently, all mirror Trump. Trump doesn’t like leaders of democracies, he only likes dictator leaders. Why is that?

The USA is playing with political fire and Trump has been the kindling, wood and match. But his voters are the ones who gave him power.

The recent article written by a producer of his fake reality show would give you a jolt. Hopefully. Producer of Trump Apprentice TV Show Exposes Donald

I write until I get a sense it is futile. We are at the mercy of Christians who voted in Trump and gave us the current state. 

If Trump is your man to lead the country, even you may one day get the chance to see your blindness.

Excerpt from linked article: Cianci was loved and reviled in a city that, like America, has been rocked by financial troubles and shaped by demographic change. He was loved for leading a small, dying city through a renaissance — and for being its biggest cheerleader. He even spoke at the 1976 Republican National Convention.

But he was reviled because of his major shortcomings — both personal and professional. In addition to serving two terms as mayor, and having once been America's longest-serving mayor, he also spent 4 1/2 years in prison after twice being convicted of felony charges.

Both times, 20 years apart, ousted him from office. Once, he roughed up the man he thought was having an affair with his wife — he had his bodyguard, provided to him by the city, bring the man to him; he tried to jab a cigarette in his eye and threw an ashtray at him. The other stemmed from corruption charges after Cianci had made an improbable comeback to lead the city yet again. Source The Story of Felon Buddy Cianci - Providence Mayor