Who is a domestic terrorist? Is it the person who pulls the gun and cocks it? Or the person who steps in front of that gun? Is it the person who skirts the law to earn some money to feed their family? Or the person who vilifies and dehumanizes them? Is it the person who…
Our family tells a story that, in 1848, my great great grandfather Patrick stowed away on a boat from Ireland to the USA at the age of 14. This was during what we call the Irish Potato Famine but which the Irish called the Great Hunger. During this time, more than 10% of Irish people…
Those who hold power create labels and boxes for others to advance their own interests. During slavery, white slaveowners grouped those they enslaved into categories of "field slaves", "overseers", and "house slaves". They deemed "house slaves" most docile, fit to be around women and children. They were given certain privileges that those who worked in…
Last Saturday, I joined 30,000 people in Chicago’s Loop and 5 million across the country protesting the Trump administration’s policies and actions. We decried the administration’s deportation of immigrants, targeting of students for their free speech, gutting of federal programs including education and health, persecution of transgender youth, and so many other harms. It was…
Entwining 