June, 2016 - Bettina Network's Blog

Archive for June, 2016

Juneteenth

Wednesday, June 22nd, 2016

We celebrated Juneteenth in several ways this weekend and wanted to share some of that with you.  It was a fun time over breakfast and dinner.  How could such a sharing be called “fun”?  When you share something this serious with friends around a table with food you can talk about much that you might not broach otherwise.  Try a Juneteenth dinner!  Or a Juneteenth breakfast.

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For all the freedom we now enjoy. Keep us safe and keep our freedoms inviolable.

What is Juneteenth?  See a portion of the article that follows written by Zeba Blay for the Huntington Post to find out.

Zeba Blay 
Voices Culture Writer, The Huffington Post

It took two whole years after President Abraham Lincoln declared the abolition of slavery on January 1, 1863, for the end of one of the darkest chapters in American history to take hold.

The Emancipation Proclamation marked the end of the legalized institution of slavery in America, but in the small town of Galveston Island, Texas, black slaves had been carrying on their lives of bondage and subjugation, oblivious to the fact that they were actually free.

On June 19th, 1865, Major General Gordon Granger and his band of Union soldiers (who had been traveling throughout the South for two years spreading the word) arrived at Galveston Island to tell the last remaining slaves in the United States that they were finally free.

The day became known as “Juneteenth,” a kind of Independence Day for African-Americans, a day of celebration and remembrance. Juneteenth is a state holiday in Texas, and is officially celebrated in 43 states in America, usually with parades, barbecues and memorial ceremonies.

But Juneteenth isn’t recognized as a federal holiday (though attempts have been made), and for that reason few people get to publicly celebrate it or are even aware of its existence and legacy. And that’s a shame, because Juneteenth is an opportunity for black people to truly celebrate all that they’ve overcome through the power of community.

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The History Behind Loving Day

One aspect of Emancipation, which we included in the Nuneteenth Celebration was the law suit which made intermarriage – marriage between Black and White in the United States – legal.  The Loving Case.  Click on the above and you can read about it from Time.com

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250 to 700 Blacks murdered in East St. Louis by an angry White mob.  Angry about what?  This happened in 1917 – does this look similar to some of what is happening today?  Only today it is not so egregious – only 50 or so being killed by those who feel their identities as “better than’ threatened, but it happens far more frequently.

Like drugs, which were considered a “ghetto” problem during the last and previous generations, that problem was ignored and wrapped up into the negative Black stereotype.  Not until the drug traffic expanded into the upper-class White ghettoes did it come onto the front pages and get far more attention.  I have yet to hear these killings being called “White on White” shootings, bombings or massacres.  Starting with Oklahoma they most certainly could have.

As long as these shootings and massacres happened in the Black ghetto, they were ignored. And called “Black on Black” crimes.  They are now front page because they are now happening all over.  Nothing will eliminate them until we stop trying to blame one group for what obviously is a false claim against them and work together to bring about a society which does not have as its first need – proving its superiority over another group and parading out its anger, today against its own, when that artificially created superiority is threatened.  Is it an accident that most of the people doing these killings are Young White Males – mostly from the far right?  Not the ISIS far right, but the American far right.  When our response is to obfuscate and cast blame on others, these killings will continue.  What do those Young White Males have in common?  They perceived themselves as being outside the “White Privileged” class and were treated as such by the small group in which they functioned – their school, etc.

Do we want to stop these killings or do we prefer them to continue and escalate because we can use them to increase and hold in sanctity “White Privilege.”  We are now trying to claim these killings are being done by “the other” and are trying to use that to turn this country into another Nazi Germany – and we are beginning to succeed.  When a Donald Trump becomes a presidential candidate – whether he wins or not – clearly the forces of evil are succeeding.  We either step back and let it happen or we take part in promoting the mythology that they are being done by the unwashed masses.  Currently, that group is defined as Muslims.  If that continues the definition of that group will expand to encompass other minorities – one group at a time.

Was it Martin Luther King, Jr. who said – if they come for you in the morning, they will be back for me in the afternoon?

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Everything talked about in this blog and in any other blog in the Bettina Network, inc. is the opinion of the person who wrote the blog and does not necessarily represent the opinions of Bettina Network, inc. It is the property of Bettina Network, inc. and/or the person who wrote the original blog.

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

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Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

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Pochahontas and Warren

Wednesday, June 15th, 2016

What a morning!

We must share with you a breakfast during which Elizabeth Warren was discussed – because it had to do with a sighting of Pochahontas.

Pochahontas danced all around the breakfast room.  She was so excited that we could see her.  Most people can’t because she died ages ago.

Her excitement was because she heard the ghost gossip about her name being connected to Elizabeth Warren’s and she wanted us to know how exciting that was for her, because Elizabeth Warren is one of the people she holds in high regard.  To have her name so connected was an event she was celebrating all across these United States.

If you listen you will hear her because she is dancing around whispering into everybody’s ear how wonderful and her thanks for giving her such a great time and increasing her reputation along with increasing the reputation of Elizabeth Warren since they have a lot to give one another.

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Everything talked about in this blog and in any other blog in the Bettina Network, inc. is the opinion of the person who wrote the blog and does not necessarily represent the opinions of Bettina Network, inc. It is the property of Bettina Network, inc. and/or the person who wrote the original blog.

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net

The Marc Jacobs Collection

Wednesday, June 8th, 2016

We had a wonderful guest who had been to the most recent Marc Jacobs show – collection – for resort wear (I think).

She would not write a blog, so we are taking her comments and passing them along.

At breakfast she brought her lap top to show us what is happening in the design world.  It was predictable and the most prevalent comment which went along with those watching around the table was – ‘is this clothes-pedophillia?

That stopped me for a moment because I didn’t know what to make of the comment.  It was like another comment I was trying to take in and that was about the Washington Post and its new owner trying to take over the world and using his ownership of the Washington Post to control and get rid of the competition.  They were both earth shattering comments.  So we picked ourselves up off the floor and tried to understand.  When the owner of the Washington Post is also the founder of Amazon.com that should be a conflict of interest and it is time for the government to take a hard look at moving to stop this monopoly that Mr. B is trying to put in place.  If they don’t it will be too late, because he will be too powerful – if that hasn’t already happened.

Our worlds were certainly splattered into little pieces.  What does this all mean?

As we looked at the Marc Jacobs show on the computer – we began to understand.  It looked as though the 13 year old models have become the inspiration and the clothes look as though they are walking through their high school dream sequence.  Nothing was there for anyone over 15 years old and even the 13 to 15 year olds that, we thought, this collection was obviously reflecting, were stuck in a class that stopped at ‘lower middle’.

Harsh words, but amazingly accurately reflected the opinion around the table.

What more is there to say.  The world is changing and many of us are so busy we are sleeping through changes that are life negating.

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__________________________________________________________

Everything talked about in this blog and in any other blog in the Bettina Network, inc. is the opinion of the person who wrote the blog and does not necessarily represent the opinions of Bettina Network, inc. It is the property of Bettina Network, inc. and/or the person who wrote the original blog.

Want to join us? Have a home that you want to open to become one of Bettina Network’s Hedge Schools? Call us and lets talk – or email us.

Ed. Note: Members of the Bettina Network Lifestyle Community can contribute to the Bettina Network Blog whenever they have anything they want to say and be heard by this fantastic group of people. Send your blog to bettinanetwork@comcast.net or mail it to us at P. O. Box 380585 Cambridge, MA. 02238 or call us on the telephone at 617-497-9166 to tell us what you want to say and we will write it for you.

Volunteer with Bettina Network Foundation, inc. to work estate sales; to help move items from one home to another; to contribute your ideas on how we can better use our resources in this effort to relieve and eliminate homelessness and poverty. We also need photographers; designers; and more. However much or little time you have, we are grateful.

Send your event information to be included in Bettina Network’s Menu of Events to: bettina-network@comcast.net


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