To Walk In White Privilege Is One Thing...

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

            Hi.

Not for one moment will I pretend to understand.

 I walk this earth living in the skin of my white privilege, an earth wherein I need not beg to breathe.

 This earth is largely beautiful, its people, for the most part, kind. But there are pieces that remain upside down.

 We like to feed ourselves the delusion that all of the racist ugliness is in the past, part of a dark history, a history that has filled books and movie screens for decades. 

The truth is, if you don't have to live it every day, it's easier to pretend. 

 As we watch the streets of America burn, we have to realize that systemic racism isn't theirs alone. 

It's something that slithers through the streets of our cities, our small towns, our parks,                          our schools.

                    

Most often, it's subtle, but sometimes it's put in front of us making it impossible to turn away.

                    

To walk in white privilege is one thing. To weaponize it is another.

                    

 When you call the police for no real reason. When you flex your privilege, wielding falsehoods with the sole intent of provoking harm. When you admonish people for speaking in a language other than your own. When you treat one person differently than another based on the colour of their skin, their ethnicity, their accent, their religion, their culture, you are part of the upside-down.

 Those who live with the knee on their throats need the help of the privileged.

 It's no longer enough to simply not be racist. That is not even close to being enough.                            Truthfully, it never has been, but it's easy to become complacent when you can take unhindered breaths.

 We need to constantly and consistently call it out. Step in. Witness it in full voice. Film it. Post it. Shame it. Shine an unrelenting light to obliterate the shadows in which it festers. 

 A knee was placed to the floor in silent, respectful protest. A plea to breathe. It was not only ignored, but punished. A knee was then placed on the neck of an innocent man... again. Now, fires rage. A boiling point. 

 The black and white history, the images of Rosa Parks, the March on the Bridge, the freedom riders, and Doctor King become full colour, once again.

 The wars for civil rights and equality are not wars. Wars have a beginning and an end.                          This needs to be a complete and absolute systemic shift. 

 Whenever a segment of society, any segment, is diminished in any capacity, it brings all of us down. A hole in the soul of humanity. 

 Apologies are empty if actions remain unchanged. There have been more than enough empty apologies. False contritions. Fruitless outrage. Thoughts and prayers. 

                   

 Real change must come. Deep change beyond the superficial. We need to begin to heal the wounds not just cover them with makeup.  The scars will remain to remind us of history not worth repeating. 

********************************************************************************

                    

                    Even, in the midst of all of this, the virus marches on. It cares not at all what else is going on. We need to remain vigilant. It doesn't take notice of our ignorances, our prejudices, our economic struggles, our frivolous desires. This virus marches on.

**************************************************************************

May you know I am listening, I hear you, tell me how to help, I'm willing.

May we come together to find a way to stop the prejudice, stop the killing.

May true justice happen, accountability for every set of eyes that stood by and watched this heinous tragedy unfold.

May this, after too many times, after countless soul-crushing times, finally be the last time, the last body left cold.

May we get to the place in Dr. King's dream.

May we bring it closer than it right now seems.

**********************************************************************

www.margyreidbooks.com

Check it out!

https://www.amazon.ca/s?k=once+broken&crid=1EDRJ7ZIAY02&sprefix=once+broken%2Caps%2C295&ref=nb_sb_ss_i_1_11

Perfect Skies Oblivious...

Hi!

How's everybody doing?

Things have begun to open up, more so in some places than others. The whispers of sporting events and amusement parks entertaining crowds are getting louder. More types of businesses are flipping their signs to open, some with more stringent precautions in place than others.

Are you feeling ok about going out for more than a carton of eggs and a roll of toilet paper? Feeling safe? 

I think it's pretty natural to feel a bit anxious about it. It's unchartered territory. None of us have ever crossed these thresholds before. Science is giving the best information it can, but struggles to keep up with not only the virus itself, but all of the misinformation that's being flung at the wall. 

The misinformation is more quickly spread than the science, and for one simple reason. Fiction requires far less research. There is, of course, much more freedom in providing content if you don't have to be bothered by pesky things like facts, facts put through paces by peer studies. If out of 1000 scientists, 999 disprove a theory, the chances of it being correct are 0%. 

Let's support actual facts. It's the safest and best way to move forward.

The worst of this thing has killed more than 342,000 people thus far, worldwide, in a matter of 5 months.

It has infected, but not killed more than 4,958,000. Many of the survivors were lucky in that they didn't suffer too many symptoms. Others, though they too survived, had a very different journey, one slathered in hallucinations, pain, and fear. Some suffering what could very well be permanent damage.

Studied, verified, and solid information is what will build the tools needed to kill this bug. Misinformation only slows actual progress. 

It's still not clear as to what the spreading of misinformation is supposed to accomplish. I would love nothing better than to have it explained, with honesty, by those who create it. 

I'm not gonna hold my breath.

In the meantime...

The world still turns, and those of us lucky enough to live in a place where it's deemed safe to do so, with tentative baby steps, are beginning, once again, to turn with it.

Perfect skies remain oblivious to the turmoil swirling beneath their majesty. 

Rivers still run, fish still jump, flowers still bloom.

Mother Nature will continue to paint with all of her darkness and light.

Humans have graced the surface of this dirt for but a minute, yet we perceive ourselves to be of its greatest import. 

Something tells me Mother Nature doesn't agree. 

This test of humanity is not one we can afford to fail. I think its lessons have the potential to go way beyond survival if we let them. 

As we step out, let's remember to be patient with each other, to be kind to one another, and to do our best to keep each other safe. 

Take Care.

***********************************************************

May we pull from this wreckage the best of humanity, its kindness, its grace.

May we make it our habit to instill joy, not fear, in the eyes of our neighbours' face. 

May we allow ourselves to be still, and watch as our priorities rearrange.

May we not let fear keep us from surrendering to new thinking, bringing about real change.

May we not squander this chance to do better, this chance to shift our fate.

May we forever bang the pots and pans, never again letting these true heroes into the shadows, fade.

***************************************************************************

www.margyreidbooks.com 

Cautiously They Cracked The Gate...

Hi!


We've made it through another week! Yay Us!

The best quote I've heard all week, maybe ever, and it happens to come from a writer/cartoonist.

"Science will get us out of this,  but it will be art that gets us through it."

Whatever form that art takes, it carries us, whether you are creating it or consuming it. Books, music, movies, paintings, photos, poetry, sketch shows, cooking shows, talk shows, documentaries, or the shows that solve every crime in under an hour. Luckily there is something out there that suits every palette.

Science will dig us out, likely a lot quicker and easier if people would quit trying to take away the shovels.

Thankfully, not all leaders are created equally. Some, actual Leaders, are taking their guidance from science. They are walking a razor's edge trying to balance medicine and commerce.

Then there are the other, so-called leaders, The Idiocy Regime, the king of which spouted this gem, "If we didn't do any testing, we would have very few cases." This self-proclaimed genius and his intellectual equals seem to be allergic to reality. 

In places where humans are given more value than money, cautiously, they've cracked the gate. Now, it's up to us, as citizens to handle that responsibly. Baby steps, though small, can keep us moving forward. Giant strides will have us backsliding to a position that could be much worse than where we began. Causing another, maybe even more lengthy shutdown.

When I see folks flooding into restaurants and bars, with very few, if any, precautions in place, it fills me with a deep-rooted sadness. To me, these actions show a cold carelessness for the welfare of others.

Over 100 cases of this virus were traced back to a single guy who visited a few different nightclubs and tutored a few kids.

We don't want to be the hot wind on this grass fire.

The journey through this chapter is far from over, no amount of wishful thinking will change that. There is no magic potion, at least not yet.

Pretending it no longer exists, trying to throw more unsubstantiated distractions into the mix, or feeding the conspiracy minions the fodder of nefarious motives, pretending that certain demographics of society are somehow immune, none of this is actually helpful. You know what is helpful? Listening to the science.

Every real scientist says the same thing.

We can begin. With caution. With testing. With tracing. With masks. With distance. With protocols. We can begin.

What our lives look like in a month or two will be directly dictated by the actions we choose right now.


Cautiously they cracked the gate, how we handle that responsibility writes the rest of the tale.



***************************************************************

For those on the front line...


May the actions of the many honour the actions of you brave few, the ones who work at the salivating mouth of the beast.
May you feel our support, let it lift you from your tear-stained sleepless pillows, give you some sense of release.

May you find the want to, to fight for us, marching past the angry faces that fight against what you are fighting for.
May you find the strength to carry the grief, a weight you bear not just for you, but for the families who can't come by anymore.

May you find peace when all that's left of this are the scars that have etched themselves upon your soul.
May the cheers continue and the redefining of 'essential' remain forever on the tips of our tongues, Heroes.

Happy Mother's Day...Pandemic Edition

Hi!


First, let me begin by making very clear that, though this week, I will be celebrating Moms in my ramblings, this, by absolutely no means whatsoever is meant as a slight or to diminish the dads out there, and all they do. It's just Mom's turn.


As many of you know, I am a Mom myself. A mom to 4 inspiringly kind, resourceful, brilliant daughters, two of which are Moms themselves.

I am an empty-nester mom and Grandma. My daughters are now 33,32,30 and 29, but that, of course, was not always the case.

When they were 4,3,1 and infant, things were much different. Clocks were irrelevant, sleep was nothing more than an interesting concept, and whatever was happening in the world beyond the needs of my littles was a mystery. At the time, I was also running a day home, and we had a movie rental business that we ran out of our basement.

But... we were not having to muck our way through a pandemic.


I think about being 'mom' to littles right now. Through this. No parks, no libraries, no extended family help, the stress, and fear that has to be suddenly factored into day-to-day errands. Homeschooling. Some already do this, so that part of this craziness wasn't as big an adjustment. The financial stress that has piggybacked this mess. All. Of. It.

When you add social media to the mix...


My hat sincerely goes off to those who have taken on learning a new language, are cooking gourmet meals every night, have created Louvre-worthy arts and crafts, and ninja gyms.

My hat, just as sincerely goes off to those barely holding it together, have become the grilled-cheese masters, and who break into a cold sweat at the mere thought of poster-board, glitter, and glue.

My hat sincerely goes off to those who have homes where the bathrooms are gleaming, the laundry is always caught up, and a dirty dish never sees the light of day for more than ten minutes, where dust bunnies don't dare exist.

My hat, just as sincerely goes off to who are struggling to keep their homes barely on the side of healthy, where laundry monsters never quite die, where dirty dishes get done...eventually and dust bunnies could cause a riot at any given minute.

My hat goes off to all moms.


None of us have done this before. We are all doing our best.


Your best and my best will not look the same... and that's okay.


If you are doing well, is there something you might be able to do to help someone who isn't?

If you are struggling, reach out. Asking for help is not a weakness, it shows the strength needed to get through.

The bottom line? Be kind. Put your side-eye away.

Moms are warriors. This is simply more proof of what we've known all along.


So, happy Mother's Day... Pandemic Edition, moms. Hang in there, there's never been a more perfect time to celebrate your imperfections.



*********************************************************************

For the Moms,

May you take a minute for yourself, whether it be a candlelit bath, or indulging in chocolate while huddled in your closet.
May you take the day, caring for yourself, let things go for a day, the meals, the teaching, the laundry, the dripping faucet.

May you know it's okay to cut yourself some slack now and then, cereal for supper is not a capital crime.
May you see you are enough, you are giving them your love, your patience, your heart, your soul, your time.

May you celebrate your imperfections, for they are what make you awesome, they are what make you, you.
May you celebrate your imperfections, your humanisms, we all have them, even gilded through flattering filtres, it's true.



***********************************************************


Through this pandemic, of course, school and library visits have been postponed or canceled. With this in mind, I have story time videos available on my www.margyreidbooks.com Facebook page.
They may just buy you a few minutes of quiet. Lol!

To purchase books:

www.margyreidbooks.com

When Idiocy Bleeds...

Hi!



For whatever reason, perfectly intelligent people continue to believe and follow the orange windbag that currently inhabits the Whitehouse.

He drops hints, and they amplify them through actions.

His followers have an innate ability to ignore, justify, or straight-up deny horrible things he's done regardless of the consequences. From the Access Hollywood tape to babies in cages, to the facts that came out during impeachment, to his complete bungling of this pandemic.

If it wasn't so scary, it would be fascinating.


What is even scarier, is the fact that his idiocy seems to bleed into other countries.


Hell, even here in Canada, we had a guy saying that the recent assault weapon ban, is denying him his "2nd Amendment Rights."

Okay, first of all, in Canada we have the "Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms," the '2nd amendment' this guy is talking about, the 'right to bear arms' thing, is American.

He hints to his "good people' that their local leaders should 'just open up' defying logic and science, and the next thing you know, there are people protesting for their freedom, which apparently is the freedom to get sick and infect others as well. I get that financially, this virus is creating chaos, trust me, as a small business owner myself, I more than get it. But, jump the gun, and we'll be back to square one... or worse.

This nonsense has also bled across the border.

South of the border, financial support for those hit by this thing seems to run from threadbare to non-existent, creating desperation.
Here, I just don't get it. Safety nets have been thrown far and wide. They don't catch all, including my hubby and I, but they catch most.
So, here in Canada, what are you protesting against, exactly? Your right to get your nails done, and a hair cut? Your right to drink on the patio of your favourite pub?

There are still outbreaks happening. Who of your loved ones are you willing to sacrifice to get that beer? Even if it didn't mean that they died, but just got to ride a respirator for a few days, who are you willing to have that happen to?

There are those calling the safety measures 'communism'. For crying out loud, just look it up.

Even if it was close to the same thing, what is driving the safety measures is completely different.


So, can we just take a breath? Please?


The closings are not forever. Another difference compared to communism, by the way. Here, where I live, we are beginning to take cautious baby steps in the direction of opening up.

It's going to be happening slowly and methodically, monitoring through each stage, with the acknowledgment that we may have to take steps back along the way.

But, it's happening.

Researchers are working around the clock and around the world on treatments and, ultimately, a vaccine.

The world has never seen this before. The closest thing was the Spanish flu a century ago.

Technologically, of course, we are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were. We are learning more about this virus every day. The more we know, the closer we get to killing it. To know more, we need to test more. Period. Test for the virus, retest for the virus, and test for antibodies in people who have recovered, and even in those who haven't.

It's how the world eradicated polio, smallpox, and countless other diseases. It'll be how we get rid of Covid-19 as well.

There is nothing anybody can do about the guy south of the 49th, at least until November. Until then, the citizens of the United States are a captive audience, the unfortunate recipients of his nonstop, deceptive fodder.

We have to do our best as to not let him poison the entire planet with his love for conspiracy theories and hate for truth.

He sees the world as black and white. Us against them. He loves to pit people against each other using race, culture, religion, whatever he can to create a divide.

Don't let the idiocy bleed.



******************************************************

Until next time...


May you be willing to look beyond the black and white to embrace the rainbow that is waiting on the other side of this storm.
May you be willing to see that those truly fighting for humanity have their heads down, working the science, hearts heavy, fingers worn.

May you see beyond your doorstop and understand the enormous impact of your choices.
May you see the value in not letting bellowed, intentional falsehoods drive your voices.

May we all see that a new and different normal can be a positive thing.
May we embrace this opportunity to take a deeper look at what's really important, and let that sing.


*****************************************************

www.margyreidbooks.com








https://www.amazon.com/Once-Broken-Margy-Reid-ebook/dp/B071HTFTX6/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1OL6IVCFRIFGC&dchild=1&keywords=once+broken+margy+reid&qid=1588436623&sprefix=once+broken%2Caps%2C289&sr=8-1