When you are among Friends

If someone says, “I went to UGA” or any large college or university, most people can readily identify something about that school (football, agriculture, technology, etc). When someone asks an alum of a Quaker school where they went to school, sometimes the person asking the question looks kind of lost if they follow-up and ask what type of school that is and the answer is a simple, “Quaker”. (I have on a few occasions extolled about one benefit of being an alum of a Quaker school is the lifetime supply of free oatmeal. I should not prey on the innocent.)

Quakers are not Shakers (but they can and do shake things up sometimes), or Mennonites, or Amish. Quakers are Quakers just like Methodists are Methodists. They come in all sizes, shapes, colors, and varieties. Flaming Liberals-yep. Middle of the Road-got plenty of those. Conservative- there are some of those too.

If you are wondering who Quakers are and what they do, The Huffington Post ran an article in June, “4 Things We Can All Learn from One of America’s Oldest Religious Communities” which does a good job of explaining some of the ways Quakers work together as a faith community (and as a result in their communities beyond their church).

There is a new family living in Ragsdale House, where the President lives at my Quaker college alma mater, Guilford College. The search to hire our ninth president was unusually transparent when compared to how many schools hire their administrative leaders. When the College announced that Jane K Fernandes had accepted the offer to join the Guilford community, there was a huge outpouring of genuine and heartfelt excitement. Jane said she truly felt called to Guilford, and her passion for the values of Quakers, a Quaker-based education, and Guilford are palpable.

Why am I calling Guilford’s Ninth President “Jane” instead of “Dr Fernandes” or “President Fernandes?” Rule 5 of  22 things only someone who went to a Quaker school would understand, written by a Guilford alum, explains it (slight NSFW language).

Rule 1 about bumper stickers? So true, as a Friday Photo from Rural and Progressive a few years ago demonstrates:

Guilford Alum, Class of 1961, leaves no doubt about her politics
Guilford Alum, Class of 1961, leaves no doubt about her politics

 

 

 

 

 

We will confuse you with big words

The Million Vet March folks aren’t happy about being hijacked by Sarah Palin, Ted Cruz, and the Confederate flag waving Tea Party wahoos during their march Sunday. Their Face Book page includes this:

Official Stance of the Million Vet March on the Memorials: 

The political agenda put forth by a local organizer in Washington DC yesterday was not in alignment with our message. We feel disheartened that some would seek to hijack the narrative for political gain. The core principle was and remains about all Americans honoring Veterans in a peaceful and apolitical manner. Our love for and our dedication to remains with Veterans, regardless of party affiliation or political leanings.

I wonder if the Tea Party standard-bearers raced home to their Faux News dictionaries  to look up the multi-syllabic words used by other protesters who were also out on Sunday.

photo from Huffington Post
photo from Huffington Post


No Mor Chikin 4 me (a variation on The Friday Photo)

The Friday Photo
A weekly photo inspired by art, community, and spontaneity
July 20, 2012

created by Bully the Bullies

When it became clear to me that Chick-Fil-A really doesn’t support equal rights for all of its customers, I decided to skip the drive through on the few occasions when I happened to be near one. Granted, I wasn’t propping up their profits by any stretch (I was a fan of their diet lemonade more than anything else that they serve), but I decided that even that little bit of infrequent business was too much.

Now the Cathy family has removed all doubt that it wholeheartedly and financially supports work to deny LGBT Americans (many of whom are their customers) the same rights that heterosexual enjoy.

I don’t think I’ll ever be hungry enough to stop at a Chick-Fil-A until they decide that all  people should have the same rights. Period.

And it will probably take putting some of their profits right where they have advocated for disenfranchisement and inequality to send me to the drive through again.

 

 

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