I don’t have much of an audience. In ten years of writing about the amazing
work I have been lucky to be a part of in Honduras, I have gained a dozen or so
followers. Do these kind folks even take
the time to learn what their buddies are up to anymore? I get few shares, likes, and comments on
social media and never a comment on the actual blog. Is it the message or the medium? I’m not sure, but there is one thing for
certain. If you are reading, know that
the journey Christ has put me on is one of combating discrimination through
education.
I stand firmly against the structure under which we live
described by bell hooks so succinctly as “imperialist white supremacist capitalist
patriarchy.” I truly think I spend my
life fighting this framework of discrimination which seeks to promote profit
over people and planet. I understand the
neo-colonialist nature of international volunteerism and seek to deliberately
design our work in Honduras to minimize its effects. Jesus may tell you to promote justice in
other ways, but no definition of justice ensures war, racism, poverty, sexism,
and climate collapse. I threw that last
one in there. bell hooks doesn’t mention
the environment in the above quote; I just wanted to see if you were still
reading.
If My Southern Neighbors are Reading
Your celebration of a bastard state
which barely existed for four years must stop.
It is pure treason and you know it.
Worse, your low-key and obvious reverence for Dixie perpetuates the
abhorrently shady racism of U.S. history into our present. The flags and statues of the enemies who led
military charges against the United States (and modern day mascots depicting
them as safe for school) ruin my day every time I see them, and I sweat white
privilege like President Trump sweats McDonald’s “special sauce.” Get over yourself. I am a history teacher. Celebrate your heritage! Acknowledge that you have family who chose to
renounce their citizenship and become an enemy combatant of the United States. Sing them “Happy Birthday” each year. Just don’t pretend they weren’t wrapped up in
the worst form of racism….or that ignoring that part of your heritage
isn’t the seed ticks satiating Stone Mountain fever from sea to shining sea. You don’t just get to pretend that your
heritage stopped being racist after the passing of the 13th,
14th, and 15th Amendments and Civil Rights Acts. As long as you can breathe easily with a
single star or bar within a hundred feet of your house, our racist heritage lives into today.
I have been told by countless individuals who say they love
and respect our work in Honduras but think I should keep my politics
separate. The Dude has even abided by
this advice on as many occasions. There
have been times where I wrote out an aside meant for the bard to counter a
Facebook friend’s bigoted post. When I
typed out my last thought quoting Fannie Lou Hamer, I realized I was talking to
a past, current, or future supporter of health education in Honduras. I struggle with this one. I truly sit between angel and devil trying to
make the most ethical decision on behalf of the most people to benefit empowerment
education in the 2nd most-impoverished nation in the Western
Hemisphere. Let this blog serve notice
to me and the world around me. A threat
to justice in Honduras is a threat to justice in Haiti is a threat to justice
in Helsinki, is a threat to justice in Harlem, is a threat to justice in Hattiesburg. Censoring one’s stance on justice at home to
engage in physical activism abroad seems to define additional layers of
privilege.
To even have the gall to leave one’s own national borders
once to “help” less fortunate families abroad sets aside domestic issues in
order of importance. Everything must
be okay back home. To engage in this
type of behavior regularly is to mentally become a citizen of another country while
enjoying the privilege of safety and security back home in the U.S. This rear-view mirror reflects a reality
where the issues most-affecting family and neighbors back home take a backseat
to a “calling.”
For Those Reading Who Don't Understand White Privilege Abroad
I wrote my master’s thesis on how to bring in more
ecofeminist mindsets into Christian mission work, and the message about which I
wrote can be generalized to secular nonprofits. I wrote it because I grew up seeing the way
race, sex, religion, and the environment intersect in Honduras. I also wrote it because I believe in the
power of altruism to heal the wounds left open by imperialist capitalism. The multi-billion-dollar loans from the IMF
to industry and multi-million-dollar deals from the U.S. for security leave
little for sick and hungry families starving for an education and a step
up. I believe in the power of volunteers
and missionaries to do what governments and business will not. And if the non-profit world is going to be
the solution to global injustice, it must approach its role with an ecofeminist
mindset. For it is in the words of Karen
Warren:
Ecological feminists
(“ecofeminists”) claim that there are important connections between the
unjustified dominations of women, people of color, children, and the poor and
the unjustified domination of nature (Warren, 2000).
As the ultra-rich and powerful survive and thrive in this
dominion, they do so by denying personhood and self-determination to women,
people of color, children, and the poor while also passing the buck on climate
change.
This is not a plug for my cheap book but to stand up and
remind you that this missionary believes in the power of volunteerism to
provide a path to intersectionality.
This teacher believes in pluralistic education and promotes its free and
unlimited access. A sociopolitical
economic system that etches the words of revolutionary democracy into stone but
refuses to read them can’t stand. This
leader urges you to get involved in the intersectional work to which you are
called. We all can’t be everywhere meeting
everyone’s needs all the time, but we can devote our lives to ending
discrimination in the spheres where we are most passionate. And in this way, we are united in solidarity
for peace and love. In this way, we can
live forever through Christ.
If you would like to join one of our annual Río
de Agua Viva teaching teams to Honduras in 2021, please do not hesitate to let
me know. We are an egalitarian mission
charged with supporting ACSI (Agentes Comunitarios de Salud Integral) in their ongoing commitment to education and sustainable health projects throughout
the most-overlooked areas of Honduras.
One of our discussion groups next year will be on the topic of
privilege, and we need your help doing it well! Get started by contacting me here today
Together, we are the difference.
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