Addendum to Privilege, Responsibility, and Nonviolence
After posting my recent post, I received a comment that completely surprised me, in which I was challenged about what I thought was the opposite of what I said. Given what was written in the comment, I believe it was a person of color writing it. Given my overall commitments, …
Privilege, Responsibility, and Nonviolence
by Miki Kashtan
When I first heard Marshall Rosenberg, back in 1994, say that the actions of another person are a stimulus, and never a cause, for my feelings, I was shocked. Little did I know that this statement would become the nucleus of my growing understanding about what has …
Staying Open to Life despite Losses
By Miki Kashtan
When I sat down to count the number of times that I lost a friendship by actions of another, I didn’t imagine I would reach the number 29 in the last 27 years, almost all of them close friends, or other people with an ongoing connection, who …
When Effects Are Invisible: From Comfort to Freedom
“When a behavior becomes the norm, we lose our ability to view it as dysfunctional.” Jeff Garson, Reflection #42, Radical Decency (URL temporarily inactive).
“To reinforce the majoritarian dream, the nightmare endured by the minority is erased.” Ta Nehisi Coates, My President Was Black.
What is it that makes the …
If I Were a Rich Man – the Inner Dimension
In last week’s piece, I wrote about what I might do in the world if I had a lot of access to resources while having the same values, sensibilities, and beliefs that I have now.
In answering that question, I skipped over the major issue that values, sensibilities, and beliefs …
If I Were a Rich Man
The question is simple: what would I do now, in this period of human history, and especially as we are all adapting to this new presidency, if I had a lot of access to resources while having the same values, sensibilities, and beliefs that I have?
There is, of …
Miki on race and safety: her first piece at openDemocracy
The global web magazine based in London, UK, openDemocracy has a section called “Transformation – Where love meets social justice.” Miki was recently invited to contribute there and her first piece went up today:
How we talk about race and safety can really make a difference.Check it out! It’s …
Working for Change in a New Era – How?
Accountability, Love, Shame, and Working for Transformation
“All through history, and for many of us in our own experience, there are deeds done, causes furthered, and values proclaimed, that must be regarded as destructive, motivated by hate or greed, harmful to humanity on whatever scale, local or world-wide. These things may all be ‘good’ in the eyes …
You’re Not a Bad Person: How Facing Privilege Can Be Liberating
“Having wealth is unjustified, but the Rockefellers justify it by doing good. I had to cut through all this and understand that there is no rational justification for my family having the amount of money that it has, and that the only honest thing to say in defense of it …