I have a radio show, through Smith College WOZQ 91.9 in Northampton, MA every Saturday morning from 7-8 am. This is a short excerpt from this Saturday's show.
We have to talk
about the Paris attacks. I want to welcome all of our listeners to feel what
they want- if your automatic reaction is to disregard, to cry, to process, to
take action- just feel. As Hank Green said in his video on YouTube, this is not
a time for analyzing what could have been done, this is a time to feel what you
want, and express that how ever you like.
What a disgusting, horrifying attack on human
life. What a disgusting, horrifying assault on our shared values as human
beings. My heart and all of my love is with Paris, and to all who have lost so
much tonight.We need to do more. We can't ignore this and we
shouldn't. We are the generation that repealed DOMA, legalized same-sex
marriage in the United States, stood in solidarity(and as allies)when the sense
of safety of students of color was threatened at University of Missouri, Yale University, Claremont McKenna College, and
Ithaca College, and learned how to use social media as a tool for social
change. Our strength lies in using our voices, our thoughts, and our actions as
tools for change.
The worst thing that could
come from these horrendous atrocious violent acts, as environmentalist and actor Mark Ruffalo aptly noted,
is that it allows people “ to be drawn into the loss of your humanity or
tolerance. That is the intended outcome." Smith College Student Zara Jzmshed said it so beautifully, "I'm mourning for Paris, Beirut, Baghdad, Syria, and Palestine. I'm also mourning for when we braced ourselves when we found out the Paris attackers were Muslim.We must not forget the Muslim lives lost and lives impacted by international terrorism. "
We need to love more,
to treat others and our youngsters with kindness, to promote tolerance and awareness through our
actions, and let our actions and voices teach others to do the same. Life is
precious. Life is beautiful. Life is wonderful because of our ability to love. I'm sending all the love I have to all the people in need. #LoveforParis#LetsDoMore
Here are some ways that you, my readers and internationally-based audience can do to help:
Use the
#PortteQuverte hash tag to help find Parisians opening their homes to help.
Pass it on. If you can,
donate to the French Red Cross www. Ifrc.org, Tweet some
Useful phone numbers-British embassy+
33144513100.
Two Quotes:
“There are only two ways to love your life. One is thought nothing is a miracle. The other is as thought everything is a miracle” Albert Einstein.
“Each time a person stands for an ideal, or acts to improve the lot of others, or strikes out against injustice, they send a tiny ripple oh hope, and crossing each other from a million different centers of energy and daring, those ripples build a current which can sweep down the mightiest walls of oppression and resistance.”