The season five finale of Steven Universe felt like a perfect encapsulation of what makes the show so great -- it made a case for its themes and worldview while acknowledging just how difficult it can be holding to those views. Steven, and the family of Crystal Gems he's built, have often struggled to navigate … Continue reading We Need To Talk
Tag: social justice
(Politics) For The Culture
The culture wars have been raging for a little while now, on all kinds of different fronts in so many different ways. We're fighting about the idea of "white culture", the cultural appropriation of Native Americans and black Americans, how to clearly and succinctly define what's offensive about one thing while another thing is given … Continue reading (Politics) For The Culture
(Geekery) Serving Our Stories, Ourselves
We don't live in times where self-reflection is encouraged often enough. I mean, I understand why it feels so hard to take a moment to check in with ourselves and make adjustments where needed; making sure we're living up to our own values feels awfully self-indulgent when so many people around us feel as if … Continue reading (Geekery) Serving Our Stories, Ourselves
(Political) Social Justice Cleric
This is the fifth Presidential election of my politically active life, and each one has taught me something about the American public and the nature of being a responsible citizen. This one taught me perhaps the most painful but also the most important lesson: a community is only as good as the people who belong … Continue reading (Political) Social Justice Cleric
(Buddhism) Using Anger in Practice
Anger is uncomfortable, but we need to be more careful about how we get rid of it.
(Political) The Third Rail: Anger in Activism
The 88th annual Academy Awards aired Sunday night, and like all good cinephiles I watched. It was a last-minute decision, though; with the eruption of protest against the Academy's decidedly monolithic nominations (all 20 acting nominations were white, and there were depressingly few POC, female and other minorities nominated in the other major categories), I … Continue reading (Political) The Third Rail: Anger in Activism
Kwanzaa 2015: Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
Want to know something really great? Read the Wikipedia entry on Ujamaa here. Julius Nyerere developed a political and economic blueprint for lifting Tanzania out of poverty back in the 60s. The idea was to remove barriers and dividing lines between the people within Tanzania and replacing them with incentives to fostering a national identity … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2015: Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
(Personal) The Wolf We Feed
I’m sure you know this story. One evening, an elder sits down with his son. The son had been getting into trouble because he had problems with anger and lashing out, so the elder tells him a quick fable. “There are two wolves fighting inside of each and every one of us,” he says. “One … Continue reading (Personal) The Wolf We Feed
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 