June 8 Coexist
cc image courtesy www.flickr.com/photos/br0wser
From Boston.com:
June 4th, 2009, marked the 20th anniversary of the military crackdown on student protesters gathered in Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Beginning in April of 1989, thousands of students and other citizens started gathering in groups large and small, protesting many issues, centered on a desire for freedom and democratic reform. By mid-May of 1989, hundreds of thousands of protesters occupied the square, staging hunger strikes, and asking for dialogue. Chinese authorities responded with a declaration of martial law, and sent soldiers and tanks from the People’s Liberation Army, preparing to disperse the crowds. Late on June 3rd, 1989, the tanks and armored personnel carriers rolled into the square, killing and wounding many, mostly civilians – estimates vary widely, from several hundred to several thousand dead.
From The Los Angles Times:
The California Supreme Court’s decision Tuesday to uphold Proposition 8 and existing same-sex marriages left in place all rights for California’s gays and lesbians except access to the label “marriage,” but it provided little protection from future ballot measures that could cost gays and other minorities more rights, lawyers and scholars said Tuesday.
A reflection on the course of events toward human rights leaves me wondering if we can coexist, or if it’s our very nature that keeps us from finding peace and acceptance. We look back in scorn at the events on Tiananmen Square twenty years ago and yet we continue to alienate and destroy freedom, albeit in more subtle ways.
Do our minds see the world simply as too small to accommodate anyone else other than ourselves and those like us that we deem “acceptable”?
Is it just our fundamental nature to destroy and disintegrate rather than create and coalesce? I hope not.
The world is big enough, find a way to coexist.
I am thankful for a simple peace
- for homecomings and reuniting
- a restful sleep
- and people who build bridges that close the gaps that otherwise seem impassable.
For what are you thankful?
Yesterday I had to attend my brother’s graduation; and in a twist of parallelism the speaker mentioned the events of Tiananmen Square. He also said, be kind to those you meet for you have no idea what they have been through. In light of this I am thankful for:
1) Family; while they are exhausting in many ways, I have one that does love each other as much as they can.
2) Love; the ability to do so, wide open and dangerously free sometimes.
3) The idealist view that we could live for love, peace, kindness, happiness and a healthier planet if we began to try and that every little thing I do in that direction does make a difference.
Noe
June 8, 2009 at 6:42 am
I am thankful for:
1) Waking up today; some days I don’t want to do it, but it sure beats the alternative!
2) Having plenty of friends who greet me via my online forums; many I’ve never met ‘in the flesh’ but are critical parts of my life nonetheless!
3) penguin mints. Happily gnoshing on one now. I love these things. Not to spam a link but they are great
www dot peppermints dot com so no one thinks I’m somehow earning money off clicks 
Sean McPherson
June 8, 2009 at 10:03 am
Once again I am get to come back and count my multiple thanks from the week gone by and pick 3 that stand out.
1) and thats my thank you #1. Just going through the process of thanking helps me clean out my cobwebs and feel refreshed.I love this exercise.
2) Being able to be honest without actually hurtinbg others or self. Its a marked shift from “blunt” & a skill I am begining to like very much in myself.
3) For hope .. always.. things work out in the bestest way
AR
June 8, 2009 at 7:15 pm
Today I am thankful for:
1)Timely endings and new beginnings. Very soon, a person who has given me fits and made extra stress won’t be around and is being replaced by the right thing at the right time.
2) While we are on the subject of right things, I’ve been amazed over the last few days how the right song has seemed to pop into shuffle at the right time.
3)Indian food.
charlanna
June 9, 2009 at 8:48 pm