I know we have to write a reflective paper about our trip to Detroit, but I'll briefly talk about some things that are on my mind here, anyway.
I really enjoyed meeting with the individuals we had a chance to meet. I really enjoyed Charles from Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice. His passion and concern for the issues that matter the most to me when it comes to EJ was wonderful to see. I protested the proposal of a trash incinerator just outside of Philadelphia, in an African American community with high rates of cancer. It's difficult to fight something when the community fighting it does not have the money to do so.
The tires-to-energy facility that is being built near Allegheny was supposed to be built in Erie, but because Erie had the money to fight it they moved 30 minutes south to the low income community that my school was located in.
I would also be interested to talk more with the folks from D-Town farms because I do tend to focus on racial inequities/injustices. I think there is a lot to be said about focusing on empowering racial "minorities" and placing less emphasis on empowering the already empowered (whites). White people are born into privilege in this nation based solely on the color of their skin, I think. "Color blindness" is an attractive idea to many people with good intentions, but I think that it is more problematic than it is helpful. In a philosophy class on racism, after reading Mills' "The Racial Contract", my Muslim friend cried in front of a room full of people who all suggested that we ought to be colorblind. Colorblindness makes racism a non-issue. Colorblind ideology is a form of racism. There is nothing wrong with wanting justice for all people. Who doesn't want that? But racism is important and I think we need to be working hard to make sure that non-whites have the same rights as whites in this nation. I think this should be a priority.
See:
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-36-fall-2009/feature/colorblindness-new-racism
http://www.policymic.com/articles/55867/colorblindness-is-the-new-racism
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/16/america-isn-t-colorblind-we-need-to-talk-about-racism.html
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/colorblind/201112/colorblind-ideology-is-form-racism
Classes this week were great. It's great to see Christians working to create a better world (GO GREEN DRAGON!). I loved hearing about the things Jabin is doing, though I do plan to start a conversation with him about taking his students swimming with dolphins. It was a bit disheartening to hear about the school grading systems. It's another case of helping the privileged while failing those in need.
The economics discussion was great, but how do you influence the public to pay more? How do you get people to support paying higher prices associated with externalities? I'm going to be thinking about the implications of the Republican president comment for quite some time.
HOPE: States in the northeast and Mid-Atlantic uniting to demand that the federal government take action for the planet and for people.
"Maryland joined seven other Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states Monday in asking for federal help to curb air pollution from beyond their borders, saying their residents' health and their economies are being hurt by smog-forming emissions from the Midwest and South.
Read more:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/blog/bs-gr-upwind-air-pollution-20131209,0,6362881.story
I really enjoyed meeting with the individuals we had a chance to meet. I really enjoyed Charles from Detroiters Working for Environmental Justice. His passion and concern for the issues that matter the most to me when it comes to EJ was wonderful to see. I protested the proposal of a trash incinerator just outside of Philadelphia, in an African American community with high rates of cancer. It's difficult to fight something when the community fighting it does not have the money to do so.
The tires-to-energy facility that is being built near Allegheny was supposed to be built in Erie, but because Erie had the money to fight it they moved 30 minutes south to the low income community that my school was located in.
I would also be interested to talk more with the folks from D-Town farms because I do tend to focus on racial inequities/injustices. I think there is a lot to be said about focusing on empowering racial "minorities" and placing less emphasis on empowering the already empowered (whites). White people are born into privilege in this nation based solely on the color of their skin, I think. "Color blindness" is an attractive idea to many people with good intentions, but I think that it is more problematic than it is helpful. In a philosophy class on racism, after reading Mills' "The Racial Contract", my Muslim friend cried in front of a room full of people who all suggested that we ought to be colorblind. Colorblindness makes racism a non-issue. Colorblind ideology is a form of racism. There is nothing wrong with wanting justice for all people. Who doesn't want that? But racism is important and I think we need to be working hard to make sure that non-whites have the same rights as whites in this nation. I think this should be a priority.
See:
http://www.tolerance.org/magazine/number-36-fall-2009/feature/colorblindness-new-racism
http://www.policymic.com/articles/55867/colorblindness-is-the-new-racism
http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/07/16/america-isn-t-colorblind-we-need-to-talk-about-racism.html
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/colorblind/201112/colorblind-ideology-is-form-racism
Classes this week were great. It's great to see Christians working to create a better world (GO GREEN DRAGON!). I loved hearing about the things Jabin is doing, though I do plan to start a conversation with him about taking his students swimming with dolphins. It was a bit disheartening to hear about the school grading systems. It's another case of helping the privileged while failing those in need.
The economics discussion was great, but how do you influence the public to pay more? How do you get people to support paying higher prices associated with externalities? I'm going to be thinking about the implications of the Republican president comment for quite some time.
HOPE: States in the northeast and Mid-Atlantic uniting to demand that the federal government take action for the planet and for people.
"Maryland joined seven other Northeast and Mid-Atlantic states Monday in asking for federal help to curb air pollution from beyond their borders, saying their residents' health and their economies are being hurt by smog-forming emissions from the Midwest and South.
They petitioned the Environmental Protection Agency to require nine "upwind" states — Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan, North Carolina, Ohio, Tennessee, Virginia and West Virginia — to join a commission that would require those states to curb pollution from their coal-burning power plants, motor vehicles and industries, which can foul air hundreds of miles away.
"For the sake of our state and our people, we need upwind states to act more aggressively to reduce the pollutants that they put in the air from their own states," Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley said in a statement taped before he left last week for a trade trip to Latin and South America.
Also petitioning the EPA are Connecticut, Delaware, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York, Rhode Island and Vermont."
Read more:
http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/green/blog/bs-gr-upwind-air-pollution-20131209,0,6362881.story
No comments:
Post a Comment