My Favorite Things/Stories for Christmas

 Every year I receive requests to post my favourite holiday stories here they are for the 2022 Holiday Season

When I was about 9 or 10 my father worked as a janitor in a small metal shop in the Detroit suburbs for the Xmas holiday ,his boss invited the employees to bring their kids to work to celebrate Christmas  

My brother and I followed my dad to his work area and in route We encountered his boss , who instructed my dad in our presence to come clean his office and take out the trash!!!!! .. 

He deliberately tried to diminish my dad in front of me and my brother!! It hurt so much to observe the facial expression of my dad 😞…I have never forgot that moment… I also never forgot my brother’s reaction as well , He shouted out come on Greg let’s go help Dad clean the office and take out the trash!! We cleaned the shit out of that office with my Dad not lifting a finger…..

My brother in a slit second slayed the dragon and the attempt by my dad’s boss to belittle and diminish my dad in our presence!!! My Dad never worked another day at the shop:-)

I love my brother so much even more today❤️

Greg/BLM

My other Christmas tale…

Years ago living in California I had a very close friend who was gay and in the closet....I told him no need to hide or be different around me and with me ... 

We became real close over the years he developed lung cancer which he told me about a few years before he passed.

One day he ask me if he could wear a shirt of mine, I thought it was because he was out of clean shirts:-). He confided with me that he loved my passion, energy and love for life and he wanted to wear something of mine to feel like me and live in my aura 

Often I would come by his house and he would have the shirt on and his friends would remark how happy he was and his spirits were up when he wore that shirt ... He would wink at me and I knew why and I luv it 

When he passed his family was cleaning his house  and found the shirt wrapped in a Christmas blanket in a separate drawer. Curtis mom reached out to me and wanted me to take back my shirt. 

I told him about the history of the shirt and they cremated my shirt with him during the Christmas holidays 

To be loved is the greatest Christmas gift one can ever received 

Peace 

Greg/BLM

Today was so wonderful.. 

I am retired and I substitute teach twice a week in my class is a teenager that is blind and he uses a spectacular brail laptop. 

Today some young students were doing a class assignment and wondered why he was getting all the answers right. I told them let’s ask him ( like my students I was afraid to say the wrong awkward question or make a stupid inquiry)

So I said out loud ‘Mike could you tell me how your laptop works ? The entire class became silent and Mike then grabbed his cane and laptop and put it on a desk in the middle of the classroom, he then explained how it worked all of us were spellbound and glued to every word that he uttered!

After he finished I said outloud I was afraid to ask you how your laptop worked because I was ashamed of myself for not knowing and asking questions that would offend you 

Mike said Mr. T .... I been waiting all year for people to talk to me and ask  me questions, I get so lonely thinking no one wants to be my friend because I am blind .

When he said that the whole classroom went over to him and hugged him. I wanted to cry 

When class was over he waited to everyone left and he told me he loved me

I cried and we hugged each together:-)

Greg

Shalom

 Yet again in America there is a conflict of opinions inside both communities of Black Americans and Jewish Americans and it is not driven by international global politics but domestic issues and concerns. The usual suspects ( Louis Farrakhan, Al Sharpton, and others) are not the source of discontent this time between Blacks and Jews. There is now a new group of Black targets( YE , Chappelle, Irving  and others under attack)

The stage this time is anchored in America and intersects, celebrity, media platforms and arises out of the sins of antisemitism , bigotry,  contempt and finally the  unspoken distrust between our communities that has gone public.

Something amiss and not Kosher in the saga of Kanye West aka YE, he deservingly has attracted intense criticism and condemnation for his series of antisemitic behaviors and comments Yet for many in Black America it has reached unwarranted altitude and anger. Which now has  both diasporas in conflict.

YE’s behavior has made him a target for attacks on his sanity and his empire. There are daily global demands which have crippled and caused him  to lose his lucrative and profitable endorsements and his celebrity cachet as well created a net which has contaminated other Black celebrities and personalities out of their reactions and associations with YE.

Without question this is cancel culture in full bloom, BUT is it excessive and an example of extreme overkill? Those seeking to assist YE during his meltdown also face the wrath of his attackers for daring to intervene and render concern and compassion for YE. This has to end now!!!

Here is where I have no problem inviting myself into this saga and I have no reservations inserting race into this explosive and fragile terrain. There are far too many in the Jewish Diaspora that is engaged in outrageous stereotyping and vile generalizations about Black Americans and our attitudes towards Jewish Americans.Far too many  Jewish Pundits, Web sites, and Organizations have waged a collective cultural insurgency against many in Black America who have rejected narratives that We are a community that endorses Antisemitism!

YE is not a Nazi nor a serial killer nor the worse human being on the planet. There is truth to the reality that when a Black person including a celebrity goes dark and off the rails there is an extreme overreaction and excessive exaggeration that feels like a Hi Tech Lynching.

Black Americans and others can’t stand silent here and allow spectacle of Anti-Blackness to erase our agency. Black Americans cannot ever tolerate efforts by anyone or collective or interest to  intimidate us into submission and even erasure. We have to speak up not just for YE but  for those in our community that  go dark and engage in hateful acts not only as a result of some underlying health issues but because some individuals are human and  human beings are imperfect human beings… 

I am not recommending nor advising anyone to go purchase YE’s music or sign some ubiquitous internet petition nor search for similar racist comments by Jewish celebrities and personalities toward Black Americans.

There is a place here for compassion certainly not acceptance nor tolerance of hate and evil .. Compassion is an act of humanity it does not fit every twisted and vile saga but it has a place in civilization and humanity , it does not a erase hate, bigotry nor is it an excuse, confession or retreat from hate and in this situation Antisemitism.

It is frankly extremely Disappointing observing Black Leaders unwilling to challenge those in America‘s Jewish Leadership that seek  to assert that Black Americans are Antisemitic and enablers of hate towards Jewish Americans , it is equally Disappointing observing the ease of so many in Jewish venues that rush to condemn Black Americans for not genuflecting to demands that every single Black American must react to the Antisemitism of a few in our community 

The facts are unequivocal Black Americans in America have confronted unprecedented and unparalleled experiences of inhumanity in America infinitely more than Jews have in America’s history as a nation . We did not become White in America when our souls entered the land of America’s indigenous peoples. We have never organized pogroms against Jewish Americans. We have and will continue to object to racist Jewish Americans that leveraged their‘Whiteness’ to engage in discrimination, bigotry and contempt for us because we are not White In America 

There was a Black Holocaust in America that altered our trajectory as a people, a culture and our very existence and its footprints are still alive and present In America , Our Blackness and our Black agency is not subject to any reservations, permission, conditions by anyone, any institution, government or religious, ethnic, nationality or racial collective anywhere on Earth 

To those seeking to silence, censor, direct and instruct us to how act and react it is never going to happen in anywhere, anytime on the Earth.

Black Americans and Jewish Americans can’t become enemies when both our communities are in peril and targets at risk with the resurgence of White Supremacy and White Christian nationalism intensifying in America… Being White in America will not be a safe harbor for Jewish Americans in an America that becomes saturated with White Supremacy and all of its derivatives.

This is a difficult moment in America not just for our communities but for others that encounter the worst of America. When there is an intersectional battle between Black and Jewish Americans it diminishes both of our existence in America . Dissent and Alternative perspectives and opinions can never to silenced and censored.Curated attempts to undermine speech must be rejected and condemned. Those seeking to demonize Black voices on topics like Antisemitism and Anti Blackness should be rejected wherever it surfaces anywhere in America.

Black Lives have always mattered and so do Jewish lives in America . I am convinced both of our communities can weather our differences and be there for each other when it matters.

Black Americans Agency in the USA

 Disappointing observing Black Leaders unwilling to challenge those in America‘s Jewish Leadership that seek  to assert that Black Americans are Antisemitic and enablers of hate towards Jewish Americans 

Disappointed in the ease of so many in Jewish venues that rush to condemn Black Americans for not genuflecting to demands that every single Black American must react to the Antisemitism of a few in our community 

The facts are unequivocal Black Americans in America have confronted unprecedented and unparalleled experiences of inhumanity in America infinitely more than Jews have in America’s history as a nation . We did not become White in America when our souls entered the land of America’s indigenous peoples 

There was a Black Holocaust in America that altered our trajectory as a people, a culture and our very existence and its footprints are still alive and present In America 

Our Blackness and our Black agency is not subject to any reservations, permission, conditions  by anyone, any institution, government or religious, ethnic, nationality or racial collective any where on Earth 

To those seeking to silence, censor, direct and instruct us to how act and react it is never going to happen in anywhere, anytime on the Earth 

BLM have always mattered and will always matter 

Greg/BLM

AntiBlackness/AntiSemitism

 AntiBlackness /AntiSemitism 

Which behavior is more negative to society ?

Which behavior cancels a perpetrator more than the other ?

Which behavior lives in your community?

Which behavior is easier to target?

Which behavior is more difficult to defeat?

Greg/BLM

A Plea 4 Ye

Something is amiss and not Kosher in the saga of Kanye West aka Ye , he deservingly has attracted intense criticism and condemnation for his series of antisemitic conspiracy comments ….

Ye’s behavior has made him a target for attacks on his sanity and his empire. There  are daily demands which aim to have Ye lose his lucrative and profitable endorsements and his celebrity cachet…

Without question this is cancel culture in full bloom, BUT is it excessive and an example of extreme overkill? Those seeking to assist Ye during his meltdown also face the wrath of his attackers for daring to intervene and render concern and compassion for Ye… 

Here is where I have no problem inviting myself into this saga and I have no reservations inserting race and compassion to assist Ye here…. 

Ye is not a Nazi nor a serial killer nor the worse human being on the planet. There is truth to the reality that when a Black person including a celebrity goes dark and off the rails there is an extreme overreaction and excessive exaggeration that feels like a Hi Tech Lynching certainly this clearly is not a Clarence Thomas metaphor…

Black Americans and others can’t stand silent here and allow this troubled soul to beaten into submission. We have to speak up not just for Ye but for ourselves when We fuck up and go dark because not only as a result of some underlying health issues but because We are human and  human beings are imperfect human beings… 

I am not recommending nor advising anyone to go purchase his music or sign some ubiquitous internet petition nor search for similar racist comments by Jewish celebrities and personalities toward Black Americans….

Compassion is not acceptance nor tolerance of hate and evil .. Compassion is an act of humanity it does not fit every twisted and vile saga but it has a place in civilization and humanity and I am invoking it now 4 Ye West

Greg/BLM

Alternative Educational Strategies

Securing a comprehensive and sound education  is a profound aspect of living anywhere on earth. The capacity to attain a superior and life altering education remains subject to a variety of critical components and influences. 

The intersectional aspects in achieving a life altering education includes the roles of parents, administrators, students, the community and the educators as well as other transformative influences and factors.

Of late in America our Boards of Education are now experiencing a highly volatile and critical pivotal role in the political sphere . The usual topics like selection of books and curriculum are now once again center stage in the cultural wars of race and politics. Academic Freedom is under assault in this latest Era of Education in America .

Black American Activist’s and a few others are now focused  on augmenting the role of parents/community into the framing the complexities of governance and agendas of Boards of Education beginning with their contractual and bargaining negotiations with Teachers Unions 

Parents and as well as taxpayers will be articulating and even demanding to be apart of the collective bargaining process between school boards and teacher’s unions with a series of metrics and guidelines which demonstrate / document accelerated academic achievements outcomes especially in school districts that continue to woefully fail our most vulnerable populations and students.

Parents and Taxpayers have been MIA for too long in this area of education. Parents no longer can rely on Boards of Education, Teachers Unions and Administrators to deliver academic outcomes. The role of accountability has now evolved and so has its evaluators.

Parents of vulnerable children simply can’t rely on the usual suspects to deliver superior educational outcomes. The pandemic and its devastating impact on our students academic performances has shattered the foundations of education in our nation and not just in vulnerable communities 

The politics of Education in America better brace itself for this transformative role of parents and their role in the negotiations and bargaining process of education in America 

Greg Thrasher

BLM

Substitute Teachers Matter(c)

 Substitute Teachers Matter 

America’s educational system has a variety of interdependent components. In the classroom the role of the educator is extremely significant from assisting students in their academic goals to being there for social and emotional growth .

Quite often the role of the substitute teacher is often overlooked and diminished. Far too many parents, administrators and students view our role as insignificant and not that crucial to the education of a student as their primary educator.

For too long the substitute teacher has been marginalized. For many substitute teachers the compensation is meager and our academic expertise is discounted and even ridiculed in some educational venues .

In many school districts substitute teachers are rarely consulted by administrators for opinions on pedagogy ideas. Teacher training programs which seek to enhance the academic credentials and classroom skills of teachers and educators are nonexistent in school systems for substitute teachers.

Many school principals and department heads don’t invite substitutes to training sessions inside and outside the school buildings. Substitute teachers are too often viewed as ‘baby sitters’ from administrators to parents to students and even full time teachers.

When the issues of diversity and staffing are present Black substitute teachers like myself and others are rarely observe in many school buildings across the country.

Recently I experienced with other substitute teachers  a social network threat that targeted schools on the anniversary of a horrific school shooting in America, substitute teachers were not even put on notice nor aware of the threat from school administrators or teachers unions. We were vulnerable and imperil and no one cared from administrators to teacher’s unions.

Substitute teachers are critical assets in any academic and educational equation in both public and private educational institutions in America.

We have transformative academic and educational capital that continues to be underutilized and underdeveloped in our schools.

I proposed this reality has to end in our school systems in America. This is a public service announcement  so do pay attention