"Faith" drawing by Kat Manker-Seale
Wink - Editorial from the Youth Office
by Kat Manker-SealeHere's a question: When you enter a community, what do you look for? I'm wondering this because I think we look for different things.
I look for a community I can see myself in. We don't have to be the same, but I need to be able to understand my community and I need my community to understand me.
Do you look for things
like:
age,
race,
class,
color,
ability,
culture,
religion,
sexuality,
language,
education,
gender,
and sex?
I do. I also look for people who understand my differences and who can accept my differences. I look for people who believe that dismantling racism and oppression has to happen if we are going to be in community together and be able to accept and respect and even understand our different experiences and identities.
Do you think that's bad? I sure don't.
I also look for a community where I'm safe. I look for people who call me by what I want to be called.
I look for people who won't touch me without getting my permission. I look for people who act like I know what's best/right for my soul and my body. Because I DO know what is best and right for my soul and my body. I look for people who won't try to manipulate me into thinking that they know myself better than I do.
I look for people who will be quiet. Sit and listen to the wind blowing.
I look for people who jump up and dance and sing with me. Who get excited about all the energy we can still give to movements of change. Celebration!
I look for people who will cry with me and who will not stop me when I leave them because they can't follow me on all the steps of my journey.
What do you look for in a community? Is your community what you want it to be? Do you want to transform your community into something better? You got the energy for that? What do you put into your community? What do others in your community want your shared community to look like?
How big is your community? How encompassing and inclusive is it? Who does it EXclude? Do you have more than one community?
I want to spend some more time thinking about the communities I am a part of and my part in them. That's important if I'm going to be a part of building community!!
For more information contact youth @ uua.org.
Last updated on Friday, April 18, 2008.
