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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (July 29, 2020)
8 Wednesday, July 29, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon VIGIL: Sisters activists commemorated killing of George Floyd Continued from page 1 people to be aware that not everything is as perfect as it seems in Sisters. Things still need to be fixed. We all need to take that responsibility, especially in Sisters where we9re not as exposed as other places to what differ- ent kids experience around the world and our nation. We have to be more sensitive to those who are different, and may need something more.= As a person of Asian descent, Hougham gave an example of an Asian person in the Sisters schools, and how Chinese, or students of Asian descent, have been treated since the coronavirus hit the U.S. <It9s people who don9t respect Chinese culture,= Hougham told The Nugget. <Kids make fun of the lan- guage at my school and I have to say it9s not OK. It makes us both feel awkward, and even though I9m doing the right thing it brings a tension between us, espe- cially since I9m the minority. People associate the coro- navirus with China and take out their anger on Chinese or Asian people in general. Students don9t realize it9s not a joke and it needs to be taken seriously. It9s a very real problem and more dan- gerous for a person who9s Asian American. It can be scary.= A member of the steering committee for Indivisible Sisters Oregon, Joshua Berger said he hopes events like the George Floyd vigil will help people learn, and encourage them to take time to listen and dig deeper into racism in the U.S. <This kind of violence has been going on for hundreds of years. There just wasn9t cell phone videos to capture it. We wanted to have an evening of contemplation. I don9t have black skin, so I9ll never know truly what it9s like,= said Berger. <We hope awareness is increased and people think about what they can do to improve things. But the journey is inward as well. We can all do better.= Hougham hopes her efforts and those of many Sisters residents will improve conditions for Black people. <We all have privilege if we9re not Black,= she said. <I wanted to tell others that if they9re not doing any- thing, then they9re on the wrong side. They need to take a stand against racism even if they don9t experi- ence it themselves. They need to take time to educate themselves and make them- selves available for allyship whenever possible. If you9re different or not the typical person who lives in Sisters, some people think it9s wrong to have a grievance or address a problem when we should be grateful for what we have. It can be toxic to be positive all the time. We need to take responsibil- ity for the things that still need improvement. Just because you ignore some- thing doesn9t make it any less real. If you choose to not NEW CHEF NEW MENU PHOTO BY MARY CHAFFIN Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum (orange baseball cap) joined Saturday’s Black Lives Matter demonstration as she was visiting Sisters. a nonprofit charity that provides fully guided and outfitted trips for disabled Veterans at no charge more than 2,000 disabled veterans have been served All guides and board members are disabled veterans. There are no paid employees. Warfighter Outfitters is 100% volunteer-based and only spends donor dollars on basic operating costs of fuel and food. All operating costs are funded by donor dollars. Would you consider making a donation to Warfighter Outfitters today? warfighteroutfitters.org Warfighter Outfitters • 541-719-0071 • 501(c)(3) Nonprofit Outdoor Seating! Dine-In or Take-Out 391 W. Cascade Ave. | 541-549-2675 corkcellarswinebistro.com PHOTO BY KATY YODER Olivia Hougham offered opening remarks at a vigil in Village Green Park on Saturday. accept what9s happening that doesn9t invalidate what other people are experiencing or who they are or what they have been through. I want to make it clear that to make this country and commu- nity better and stronger, we need to start accepting dif- ferent perspectives and start accepting people for who they are.=