Ethical Resistance Is the Answer to Grief and Rage; The New York Times, October 14, 2023

 Peter Beinart , The New York Times; Ethical Resistance Is the Answer to Grief and Rage

"Historically, geographically and morally, the A.N.C. of 1988 is a universe away from the Hamas of 2023, so remote that its behavior may seem irrelevant to the horror that Hamas unleashed last weekend in southern Israel. But South Africa offers a counter-history, a glimpse into how ethical resistance works and how it can succeed. It offers not an instruction manual, but a place — in this season of agony and rage — to look for hope."

A Plea from Cleveland Clinic; December 21, 2021

12/21/21 email from Cleveland Clinic:

A Plea from Cleveland Clinic

"This past month has been sobering for many of us in healthcare. Nearly two years after the COVID-19 pandemic began, we’re seeing some of the highest volumes of patients with the disease in hospitals throughout the Midwest.

"Here at Cleveland Clinic, we’re caring for more than 800 patients with COVID-19 at our Ohio hospitals. Of these patients, more than 200 are in the intensive care unit. The majority of these patients are unvaccinated.  

Our Ohio emergency departments are filled. We have people waiting to get into our hospitals. Neighboring hospitals in our communities are facing the same issues. 

We’ve had to postpone many non-urgent surgeries in Ohio as we try to leave enough space for patients with COVID-19. Our physicians, nurses and caregivers are working around-the-clock to care for these sick patients. They are exhausted.  

Today, we come to you with a plea. Get vaccinated. Please. Whether you are due for your booster shot, undecided about getting your child vaccinated or have been leery of the vaccine all along. The science is clear. Vaccines save lives. Please, get vaccinated.

For those of you who have lost a loved one to COVID-19 this year, we extend our deepest sympathies. We feel your loss. We share in your grief. We, too, are heartbroken.

The only way we can get through this is together. Please do your part for yourself, your family and your community. Get vaccinated. Wear your mask, wash your hands and stay home if you're feeling ill. 

Cleveland Clinic will always be here for you when you need compassionate, high-quality care. The sun will rise tomorrow morning, and with it will bring renewed hope for a better day. 

We wish you and yours a joyous holiday season & a happy and healthy New Year."

‘Sorrow Is the Price You Pay for Love’; The Atlantic, February 5, 2019

Video by Erlend Eirik Mo, The Atlantic;

‘Sorrow Is the Price You Pay for Love’

[Kip Currier: A remarkable short video. Poignant, uplifting, inspiring. A reminder of what matters most, and what's worth striving for and toward.

Watch and share with others.]

"“So much in her story was compelling for me,” Mo told The Atlantic. “It is unique, about a girl doing a male macho dance, and universal, about love and sorrow.”"

'Just Show Up': Sheryl Sandberg On How To Help Someone Who's Grieving; NPR, April 25, 2017

Ari Shapiro, NPR; 

'Just Show Up': Sheryl Sandberg On How To Help Someone Who's Grieving

"On the best way to be there [sic] someone who's going through a hard time

I used to say, when someone was going through something hard, "Is there anything I can do?" And I meant it, I meant it kindly. But the problem is ... that kind of shifts the burden to the person you're offering the help to to figure out what they need. And when I was on the other side of that question, I didn't know how to answer it. Is there anything you can do? Well, can you make Father's Day go away so I don't have to live through it every year? No.

Rather than offer to do something, it's often better to do anything. Just do something specific. My wonderful friends ... tragically lost a son and they spent many months in a hospital before that. And one of his friends texted him and said, "What do you not want on a burger?" Not, "Do you want dinner?" Another friend texted and said, "I'm in the lobby of your hospital for an hour for a hug whether you come down or not." Just show up.

Now, there's no one way to grieve and not everyone will want the same thing. So the best approach is really ask people. Say, "I know you're going through something terrible. I'm coming over with dinner tonight. Is that OK?""

The crucial fight that the anti-Trump resistance is forgetting; Washington Post, 2/2/17

Carlos Lozada, Washington Post; The crucial fight that the anti-Trump resistance is forgetting

"In his introduction to “What We Do Now,” co-editor Dennis Johnson writes of the widespread “despair,” “grief” and “disillusionment” that followed the election. There is anger, too. “Stay OUTRAGED,” writes Linda Sarsour, executive director of the Arab American Association of New York. “Perpetual outrage is what’s going to fuel our movement right now.” There is but glancing thought given to the despair, grief, disillusionment and outrage that preceded the vote, that may have compelled people who once (or twice) supported Barack Obama to cast their lot with Trump. If the resistance is to grow beyond the already converted, if it is to engage in that second battle, it will need some of those people, too.

You know, “stronger together” and all that.

Two essays in “What We Do Now,” tucked at the end of the book, take on that challenge. Novelist Dave Eggers shares his post-election travels through Kentucky, Pennsylvania and Michigan, where he talked with voters, students and immigrants about their hopes and motivations. And Nato Thompson, artistic director at Creative Time, calls on artists to “create work that challenges the forces that brought this situation into existence and will continue operating throughout Trump’s presidency.” And to do that, you have to break out beyond those who think or feel like you do.

“The capacity to produce a more nuanced discussion that cuts across ideology, geography, and political party will be as essential as ever,” Thompson writes."

Cincinnati zoo deletes Twitter and Facebook accounts over Harambe jokes; Guardian, 8/23/16

Elena Cresci, Guardian; Cincinnati zoo deletes Twitter and Facebook accounts over Harambe jokes:

"Cincinnati zoo has deactivated its social accounts after it asked the public to stop making memes about Harambe the gorilla.

The animal was shot dead this year after a three-year-old child climbed into his enclosure. Since then, Harambe has turned into a source of humorous content online.

Jokes about his memory have spread on all corners of the internet – including the mentions of Cincinnati’s zoo official social media accounts."

Ghazala Khan: Trump criticized my silence. He knows nothing about true sacrifice.; Washington Trump, 7/31/16

Ghazala Khan, Washington Post; Ghazala Khan: Trump criticized my silence. He knows nothing about true sacrifice. :

Ghazala Khan’s son, U.S. Army Capt. Humayun Khan, was killed in Iraq in 2004.

"I cannot walk into a room with pictures of Humayun. For all these years, I haven’t been able to clean the closet where his things are — I had to ask my daughter-in-law to do it. Walking onto the convention stage, with a huge picture of my son behind me, I could hardly control myself. What mother could? Donald Trump has children whom he loves. Does he really need to wonder why I did not speak?

Donald Trump said that maybe I wasn’t allowed to say anything. That is not true. My husband asked me if I wanted to speak, but I told him I could not. My religion teaches me that all human beings are equal in God’s eyes. Husband and wife are part of each other; you should love and respect each other so you can take care of the family."