A Letter to My CUUPS
Sisters and Brothers,
The title of this letter is
bound to cause some discomfort. Such a statement, if held as true within our
culture, shatters many of the beliefs in fairness and justice that we were all
reared embracing.
Let me invite you to sit
with that discomfort for a moment. Imagine that your experience of life is fully reflective of the above statement. In this moment of reflection attempt to accept that there
are people who are trapped in the reality that our culture behaves in ways that
prove daily that All Lives Do Not Matter.
A young mother sends her
pre-teen off to school each day in fear that he will be assaulted, killed or
arrested based on the attributes that he was born with. Imagine with me this
fear, apply it to your children or grandchildren, and sit with the discomfort,
the sadness and the terror.
In our nation people of
color are being killed and jailed in alarming numbers. Most persons of color in
the criminal justice system face penalties more than three times as harsh as
whites for the same offence.
Please stay with me here
because I am about to use a phrase that has many in our country developing a
defensive posture. It is exactly
because “All Lives Do Not Matter” that the #BlackLivesMatter movement is so
important. For generations cultural norms have been passed along to Americans
that perpetuate a system that devalues people of color.
As a white American I am
very uncomfortable with this situation, my inner being so wants to accept the
myth that with hard work, a great attitude and a little luck everyone can
succeed in our nation. Of course I want to deny a system that gives me an
unfair advantage, after all I worked for everything I have.
After several high profile
killings of young men of color the #BlackLivesMatter movement was born. The realities
of how inner city police departments treat people of color were broadcast to
the world. Desperately, Police Public Information Officers began to spin the
news in ways that discredit the messenger in order to not face the reality of
policing in America.
For White Americans it
seemed that a full on assault on our most cherished public servants was
occurring. Talking heads attempted to convince us that to be pro #BlackLivesMatter
was to be anti police. Nothing could be further from the truth, the movement
simply calls for police departments to live their creed “To Serve and Protect”
without regard for race.
Recently, a couple of assaults
on police officers have been used to whip up fear that our nation is turning on
its’ police officers. In fact, assaults
on police have been trending down nationally for five years, a pattern which is
continuing in 2015.
Still uncomfortable? So am I, just as my grand parents had
to face their discomfort with inter racial marriage in order to manifest a more
just world, so must we sit with our discomfort and continue to work for a day
when Black Lives Do Matter as reflected by our collective culture.
The Covenant of
Universalist Pagans will soon be considering a national statement concerning
social justice and support for the #Black Lives Matter movement. The statement
is listed below this letter, I urge you to support this statement. Please join
me in accepting that our collective discomfort is a clear indicator of why this
statement is so important. Empathy
is a reflection of understanding, may we collectively understand how important
this statement is to the very values we hold as CUUPS members.
Respectfully submitted for
your consideration,
Rev. Peter Dybing
The Covenant of Unitarian Universalist Pagans, Inc., affirms the
intention of all members and friends to be in solidarity with those seeking
justice and an end to violence. We are called to dialogue, action and
maintaining a "a strong voice" to end systematic dehumanizing of
anyone due to race, religion, or the prejudicial thinking we put between
ourselves and others. We honor all members of the human family on our beloved
planet called Earth.
We, the members of CUUPS, Inc., are witnesses and call on members and
friends to act as partners in the work to create more justice in our broader
communities.
We wish to express our deep sadness and outrage in the wake of the
numerous and ongoing deaths of black and brown people. None
of us can be truly safe or free when some lives have value and others don't.
The sacred value of a human life is not superficial.
We must each find the way in which our own gifts meet the need of the
world. For some that will be participating in protests on the streets. For some
that will be supporting the protesters through concrete or emotional means. For
some it will mean writing and talking. For some it will mean getting educated
further about unlearning racism. For some it will mean doing research into root
causes or effective ways to create more justice; or creating safe spaces for
the anger and rage and violence within to be expressed and released. For others
it will be providing training and learning opportunities for others. In particular, we call on
every white person to boost the voices of people of color, to renew soul
searching for the dimensions of your own white privilege, to find the ways you
are called to interrupt the culture of racism, and to take action.
Those of us who look to earth-based or Pagan spiritual sources have
particular resources to offer. We offer the soul-enriching connection to earth.
We offer ritual and pageantry. We offer theo/alogies of celebration of
difference. Whatever the shape of your calling, follow it. Let us remain faithful
to the work that must be done and dedicate ourselves to building a world where
injustice is only a memory. We urge all siblings in the human family to return to the sacred
sources that feed our deepest selves and remind us that we are beloved children
of the divine, woven into one tapestry. Our world can be a better one. We must
do the difficult work to make it so. #BlackLivesMatter
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