Wednesday, November 18, 2020 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon
18
Commentary...
Letter to a loved one after the election
By Katy Yoder
Columnist
In the aftermath of the
elections, there9s exhaus-
tion, relief, anger and a
determination to keep push-
ing agendas. Recently,
my cousin, who lives in
Southern Oregon, sent me a
text suggesting I listen to a
conservative political pun-
dit and author, Ben Shapiro.
She said she trusts him to
provide her the facts she
uses to formulate her opin-
ions about what9s going on
politically. I hadn9t heard of
him so I followed her sug-
gestion to check him out.
As I read and listened,
I could feel my stomach
tighten. Suffice to say, he
doesn9t like me very much.
I9m a person who honks
and gives the folks peace-
fully protesting on East
Cascade Avenue a thumbs
up. I haven9t joined them
because of COVID-19,
but I sure appreciate what
they9re doing. I9ve heard
stories of <Rolling Coal,=
trucks spewing them with
diesel smoke and people
driving by yelling obsceni-
ties at them. And still they
show up, take the abuse and
appreciate the supportive
waves that help inspire them
to keep pushing for change.
Here9s an excerpt of what
I wrote to my cousin, whom
I love and have always con-
sidered a friend as well as a
family member:
I9ve been doing a lot of
reading these days. I9ve
also been working on my
book again. With that open-
ing, I9ve had time to look
deeply at my childhood in
the 1960s and 970s. What
kind of childhood did we all
have? Very different based
on which home you lived
in on our family compound.
Because of that our child-
hoods had commonalities
but many differences. Our
cousins9 stories, as well as
my sisters,9 are different
from mine.
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As we were growing up,
we were sheltered from the
turmoil taking place on the
other side of the Berkeley
Hills. Civil Rights activists
were pushing hard to force
change in a society that pre-
ferred the status quo. I had
no idea what was going on
and barely knew we were at
war in Vietnam. With no TV,
I only saw bits and pieces
when I was at a friend9s
house.
I didn9t grow up in a
culturally diverse neighbor-
hood. I do remember the
Posadas across from the
Walnut Knolls Park, who
had escaped from death
squads in Colombia. Their
son, Carlos, was my friend,
and Juan was Victoria9s
good friend. Because of
their brown skin they were
incorrectly called Mexicans.
Anyone with brown, Latinx
features were, <Mexicans.=
That was because, as the
white majority, we had the
freedom to ignorantly bunch
them all together and not
really know who they were.
We didn9t have to make the
effort. They were the minor-
ities and lived in a society
where they had to assimilate
and leave their family9s cul-
ture behind them.
While we were children,
systemic racism was the
norm. Education was not
equally provided. We went
to public school, paid for
by our parent9s taxes 4 a
societal assumption that
the government would pro-
vide us a good education.
With that we were taught
a version of American his-
tory that vilified or ignored
the oppressed like the
Indigenous people and
Black and brown people
who were trying to live in a
white-dominated society.
I want to learn more.
I am reading, <How to be
an Antiracist= by Ibram X.
Kendi. Before that I read,
<Caste,= before that I read,
<Me and White Supremacy,=
before that I read, <Rising
out of Hatred.= All of these
books have given me a
broader and more realistic
view of our country9s his-
tory and why we are in the
situation we9re in today.
Like any family that has
abuse in its background,
healing must occur. But for
healing to occur, first there
must be acceptance and
admittance about what hap-
pened. That requires those
involved and those affected
to have a voice. To share
their stories and be heard.
Then it9s time to change
how the family does things
so it doesn9t happen again.
That9s where we are now.
Do we ignore the past? Do
we pretend things were dif-
ferent than they really were?
If so, that will mean more of
the same behavior will con-
tinue on and on and on&
I9m tired of pretending
and believing fabrications
created to give us a sense
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Sisters Park & Recreation
District will put several pro-
grams on hold in the wake
of Governor Kate Brown9s
announcement of a two week
<freeze= to combat the spread
of COVID-19.
The following programs
will be postponed until the
statewide freeze has been
lifted:
" All indoor recreational
youth programs including
laser tag, martial arts, and
cooking.
" All indoor recreational
adult activities including
Western line dancing, SAGE
Room use, indoor pickleball,
and group exercise.
SPRD facilities will
remain closed to the pub-
lic. Only approved program
attendees will be allowed to
access facilities upon passing
a COVID-19 health screening.
Under these guidelines,
the preschool, Camp SPRD,
and outdoor sports-based
youth programs are allowed
to remain open. All other
SPRD programs and services
are being evaluated.
<I know this is hard and
that we all have given up so
much,= said SPRD Executive
Director Jennifer Holland in
an email to patrons of the dis-
trict. <Thank you to everyone
who continues to do their part
to keep our families and com-
munity safe.=
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of pride built on inaccura-
cies or half-told history. It9s
time to grow up and admit
the part we still play in per-
petuating systemic racism.
As white women, we don9t
realize how we are allowing
these hairline fractures to
grow larger and larger. Our
silence and inaction makes
it so.
I don9t see how we can
cross the chasm between
us. You believe what you
believe and I do the same.
Going forward, let9s focus
on talking about our lives
and getting to know each
other better. We are family
even if we don9t agree&
even if we choose to be apart
and go our separate ways. In
the end, I will remain hope-
ful that there is a way to
build a bridge between us.
But I will not pretend our
country and its citizens are
different than they are. We
all have work to do&
I know many folks in
Sisters are having similar
conversations with fam-
ily members. Riding out
COVID and political unrest
in a small town can be a
blessing or a challenge. In
some ways, we9re insulated.
But we9re still experienc-
ing our own versions of
these tough times. Facing
our difficulties with open
hearts and minds will help
us weather the storms ahead
and hopefully make the
world, and our community,
a better place to call home.
Some SPRD
programs
on hold
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