as i'm sure you've noticed, there's a video circulating about a group of youth mocking Omaha elder and Vietnam veteran, nathan phillips, after an anti-abortion rally in washington, and frankly, there are so many things wrong with this picture. (the only right thing with this picture is how well nathan responded.)

that being said, this blog isn't going to touch on how wrong the youth were, how deep our racism roots go, how stupid white supremacy is, or what i think about anti-abortion rally to begin with, but i will say this: this is very much so learnt behaviour.

we all have to take responsibility for our own actions, and these youth are no exception, but we adults/leaders/the government need to take responsibility, too. if there's one thing i have learned while working with youth, it's this: they don't always do what they're told, but they do model what they see, and calling this kid a 'punk' (among other names) isn't acknowledging our part in this, either.

truthfully, i'm at a loss of where to go from here, but i do think the solution lies within each of us; we all have the ability to make a dent in how the world treats one another by checking our own hearts and ridding them of even the slightest degree of prejudice or racism, by doing what we can to model love and acceptance to all, and by peacefully stepping in and defending one another when such actions call for it. the students weren't the only ones at fault here; by staying silent, others participated, too. i should know. i stood by in silence myself once.

i was sitting at a mcdonalds late at night when a belligerent 'homeless' man started yelling at a man who identified as sikh. i wasn't paying too much attention to what was being said, but before i could figure it out, man number two got up and moved tables as mr belligerence made am ignorant statement that still haunts me years later, "go back to your country - you don't belong here!"

i wanted to say something, i really did. but i froze. ashamedly, i was afraid of what this angry man would do to me. i thought about saying something to the young man who moved tables, too, but what could i say? "i heard what he said to you and he's not right. you belong here"? maybe. but i feared that in doing so, i would just make things more awkward for him, so i did something that i regret to this day; i stayed silent.

would i have done something had i had been at this rally? i'm certain i would have, but not because i am braver or better than anyone else, but because i made a vow that day to God and myself that i would never (unintentionally) choose sides by being silent again, because, well, we are choosing sides when we choose to be silent.

i'm not saying you need to jump in front of a bullet, or put yourself in danger (that is for you and i to discern in the moment if it ever comes down to it), but there are ways in which we can stand up for what is right at any given time. stand with the one being mocked and bullied. say something. educate yourself and others, i don't know. all i know is that what happened this weekend is not okay, and although we are quick to point fingers, it isn't just a group of catholic students who are at fault here. a lot of us are.