Janell Ross’s 12/19/15 WaPo column includes a remarkable statement:
The abbreviated and not at all easy life of Freddie Gray was, to some extent, shaped by Gray’s choices. He was an American and an adult with at least some of the attendant free will that people assume comes with either status.
In the present political climate, I never expected to see such words in print.
Read the article:
Continue reading Why you should know about Freddie Gray’s life
A parable of relief vs. advocacy
“Relief” refers to providing for needy people’s immediate survival needs — food, shelter and clothing, direct material gifts. “Advocacy” refers to political activism, meant to change policies and laws. People and organizations who presume to serve the poor, face choices as to which one to emphasize.
The parable of the babies in the river addresses that choice. Activists love it. Desmond Tutu and others have endorsed it.
The people in a place make the place.
Choices and inevitability
Related:
Music:
THE WAY OF PEACE
| ← 4. Serotonin and the individual | Home | 6. Sales pitch → |
The serotonin levels of the members of a community profoundly affect the degree of harmony and prosperity (shalom) in that community. Continue reading 5. Serotonin and society
I am very excited about this.
This is, as far as I know, the first study to attempt to measure the degree of chaos in the home.
The researchers in an earlier-mentioned study (Related: Poor children have smaller brains) speculated that “poor families tend to live more chaotic lives, and that stress could inhibit healthy brain development.” The current study seems to indicate that it is directly so.
As of this writing, my hypothesis has become as follows: the chaos of a growing child’s environment causes comparatively more resources to be devoted to the limbic system and less to the cerebral cortex, resulting in a body with reduced capacity to learn.
Related: A MUST-READ CONCERNING JUSTICE AND POVERTY
Related: Chaos overwhelms the poor
Related: Wisdom teaching in poor black homes
(Originally posted 2015-07-08; reblogged 10/13/16.)
The Homeless Blogger 