Culture

American Mosques – The Tides Are Finally Changing

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Mosques are critical to the maintenance and growth of Muslim communities. Yet, there has been vocal and insistent opposition to the building of new mosques in America. Of course, protests against the construction of new mosques aren’t the only time American Muslims feel targeted for, and even experience hate crimes because of, their faith. Still, the recent rise in mosque construction in the U.S. is hopeful, reflecting generosity and support across religious and ethnic differences.

Empathy

Creating a Welcoming Community

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This is what I want: to speak to people in ways that work for them, that don’t require them to adopt my worldview or habits, that support them in being heard and understood without having to work hard to understand me, and that contribute to our ability to collaborate towards mutually beneficial goals while allowing each of us to pursue our needs in the ways that work for us. If I can do this, I right away model, on a microscopic scale, the very world I want to create for all of us.

Culture

The Attack: Comparing Film with Novel

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“The Attack” is a powerful, must-see film for those of us interested in Israel and its conflict with the Palestinians. This essay briefly analyzes the film with attention to its divergence from the book on which it is based and analysis of the politics surrounding these changes.

Non-Violent Communication (NVC)

My Leadership Challenges

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I long to live in a world where decisions are made collaboratively, about small and big things. In the meantime, is there anything that I — or anyone who wants to change the paradigm of power — can do while others have not emerged fully from the habits of ceding power to leaders even when they don’t ask for it? This is where the practice of Nonviolent Communication can be helpful.

Culture

The Neverending Morality Play of the Deficit Hawks

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That’s not to say the morality-play theory of Krugman and Conn is irrelevant. On the contrary, it fits into the pattern of conservative fears quite easily. If every new experience that brings pleasure is bound to be followed by pain; if every burst of excess is bound to provoke punishment; if the only way to avoid punishment and pain is a limited, constricted life of constant self-denial; then the world must indeed look like a dangerous place, full of pitfalls everywhere, with every step a risk that wise people will surely avoid. That’s the kind of world the myth of homeland insecurity gives us.

Inter-Culturalism

Talking About Race

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In my experience, which is neither vast nor tiny, any time the question of how we relate to our own and other people’s race is raised, complexity and pain come to the room – before, during, or after the event. I myself have been in a major quandary about how to find useful ways of supporting these conversations, and am doing less than I used to in this area, because I have rarely seen the pain that arises, both for people of color and for white people, be engaged with in ways that supported significant transformation. I am grateful to a few colleagues of mine that are continuing to engage in the inquiry year after year, in the NVC and Diversity retreat, where I believe they are breaking ground in creating a space where radical honesty, complete care and respect for everyone in the room, and deep learning for all happen regularly. Slowly, I have some hope that their lessons will support others, as well as me, in conducting race dialogues that are truly fruitful.

Culture

NSA Mining Is the Digital Stop-and-Frisk of Every American

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The fantasy the NYPD has been living in – that stop-and-frisk is not a violation of the Fourth Amendment – is about to come to an end. The question will be whether or not this national, secret stop-and-frisk infrastructure which has been established by the security establishment in this country will suffer a similar fate, eventually. Either that, or as American citizens, we will continue to have our private, digital data be stopped, frisked and released (or not) without our knowledge.

Non-Violent Communication (NVC)

Saying “No” across Power Differences

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As challenging as saying “no” is to anyone in our lives, a topic I addressed a few weeks ago, it becomes exponentially more difficult when there is a power difference involved. The reason for it is that, by virtue of having power, the other person can deliver unpleasant consequences if we say “no.” A parent may do anything from frowning, removing privileges, sending a child to their room or grounding them, all the way to hitting the child or shaming them in significant ways. A boss may reprimand, put a note in an employee’s file, overlook the person when a promotion is coming up, all the way to firing the person. These consequences are far from trivial.

Culture

Free Speech on Social Media: Anything Goes

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In continuation of my series on First Amendment rights as they impact religious minority groups, I address current controversy over social media posts maligning religious groups. My previous post in this series entitled Does Freedom of Speech Allow Stereotyping discussed a greeting card that stereotyped Muslims as terrorists in an unusually offensive and glaringly inaccurate way. This week I have chosen another unfortunate event, a Facebook post that ignited debate over the possible classification of certain types of content as threats instead of free speech. Tennessee County Commissioner Barry West posted a picture on his Facebook page showing a cowboy aiming a shotgun at the camera with the caption “How to Wink at a Muslim”. My personal feelings of disgust aside, the post once again shows a classic example of stereotyping, this time through social media, which is so much more viral than a greeting card.