20250916 STAND Newsletter – Senseless violence
What’s new with STAND
STAND seeks peace through justice, equity, and the raising of all voices. We will celebrate that pursuit of peace on September 20th. Until then, we have work to do and we need your help. Please read below.
Action NOW!
STAND in a pub! Our next SIP is at Marlay House on September 17th. Come and relax with your community!
Then we prepare to STAND for Peace on the 20th. Bubbles, music, and the stories of our neighbors.
Here are some other vetted actions sponsored by allies in the area.
Dear Friends,
Last week, I had the opportunity to speak on Emory’s campus in the midst of a protest around the cancellation of DEI initiatives and academic freedom on campus. I was recorded making remarks that those who seek to restrict speech, representation, and equality in higher education in order to consolidate State control over ideas act in ways that echo authoritarian traditions. I believe that. If you think this is exaggerated, I’d invite you to consider the words of those who built such systems in the past.
A day later Charlie Kirk was shot and killed.
I didn’t know much about Mr. Kirk except that he frequently targeted the most vulnerable among us, and that I struggle with anyone whose business model is to routinely publicly strip people of their dignity and worth. But I also know that the world got darker when he was shot in front of a packed crowd in Utah.
As we watched the scene play out, the way we now routinely watch our children killed at school, the way we watch young black men killed in our communities, the way we watch our immigrant families torn apart, we watched the world dim. With each new assault on the value of human life, it seems we lose something of ourselves – no matter who is targeted. This was the realization of the former Hamas militants and ex-Israeli soldiers that we watched a week ago in our documentary viewing – violence and darkness begets violence and darkness. Within days of Mr. Kirk’s death, faculty at Emory were being attacked online regarding reporting of our support of DEI initiatives and calling for our firings.
The only path forward is to reject the violence and loudly proclaim the dignity of all people and a commitment to the peace achieved through equity and justice. Every other path circles back to violence. On Saturday, that’s what you’ll find us doing. We will celebrate the voices of the people, and work to expand our community in a moment that seems to demand that we darken and narrow our vision to meet the moment. We won’t. We’ll look for light instead, and if we can’t find it, we’ll make it. See you there.
STANDing with you,
Matt
