The Human Race

Photo by @paleyphoto (Matthieu Paley). "We hate because we are taught to hate. We hate because we are ignorant. We are the product of ignorant people who have been taught an ignorant thing which is that there are 4 or 5 different races. There are not 4 or 5 races, there is only one race on the face of the earth, and we are all members of this race, the human race. But we have separated people into races so that some of us can see ourselves as superior to the others. Maybe we thought it would work, but it hasn’t... it has been bad for everyone. There is no gene for racism, there is no gene for bigotry. You are not born a bigot, you have to learn to be a bigot. Anything you learn, you can unlearn." Wonderful and clear words by Jane Elliott. In our lives as photographers, we have the incredible luck to frequently be exposed to cultures, beliefs and lifestyles that are often wildly different from our own. I can honestly say that there is nothing more enriching. Happy New Year everyone! @natgeocreative #JaneElliott #discrimination #racism #prejudice #openminded

A photo posted by National Geographic (@natgeo) on Jan 6, 2017 at 5:08am PST

Every day I am upset, angry, frustrated, you name it, with our new president. I am not only all of those things and more with him, but also with the folks who blindly excuse all of his behavior.

I was watching a segment on NBC Nightly News late last week with Gabe Gutierrez interviewing some Trump supporters and asking them what they thought towards the end of his first week in office. The subject came up of the impending Muslim ban, and the response of one woman in particular really made me want to scream. She was talking with an accent that was definitely not native to any region of the U.S., and she was saying that she supported the ban. She went on to state that she didn't want people coming to America and bringing their different cultures. I about fell of my chair!

I am so sick of the people who either directly came from other countries, or whose ancestors came from other countries saying that we should be banning anyone! Just because you or your grandparents got to America before now doesn't mean that you have more 'right' to be here. The only group of people that even remotely have the right to complain about 'foreigners' are Native Americans. I'm wondering if that woman eats tacos, egg rolls, or pizza, because honey, those didn't originate in 'Merica. 

What's happening right now goes against everything this country stands for and has been since it was founded. One week in office and look at the damage he has done.

Women's March Bellingham

Women's March Bellingham

Yesterday for the first time in my entire life, I attended a march. When I first heard about the Women's March I knew I should go, but I didn't know exactly why. But the more I thought about it, and read about the gal in Hawaii who got the ball rolling on her Facebook page, I knew that I had to go because there is strength in numbers; in this case that ended up having more than one meaning for me.

Strength in numbers not only to send a message to the new president, but also the whole country, and really the whole world. The message that he doesn't speak for millions of Americans when he spews his hateful, sexist, and racist rhetoric. That he doesn't speak for us when he denies climate change, and mankind's role in it. He doesn't speak for us when he wants to ban Muslims and Mexican's.

We had to send the message that he does not represent what the majority of Americans think. He doesn't have our best interests at heart when he wants to repeal the Affordable Health Care Act. And he is an affront to all women the way he makes it quite clear that a woman's only value as a person is her physical beauty. He is the embodiment of the attitude that a woman is only here for man's pleasure, and that man has the ultimate control of her body.

The other way that I didn't anticipate that strength in numbers was important, is that my being part of that crowd, let me know that I am not alone in this fight. And that's what it's going to have to be. We are going to have to fight him every inch of the way from making our lives worse, not better. Yesterday was a call to action, and at one point I let out what amounted to a war cry.

I was so encouraged by seeing just as many men as women at the march. Entire families, and generations. Experiencing the energy of that crowd, and knowing I am not alone in my disappointment that such a horrible human being actually got elected to president, was just what I needed. Knowing that I am not alone in this is going to help me face the next four years. And it's obvious already that they are going to be tough ones. So unless that idiot starts World War III, then hopefully we will still be around in another four years to keep progressing as a nation, rather than going in reverse.

Key & Peele

If you are like me, and dreading the next four years under our new orange president, I hope you enjoy this as much as I did.

Happy New Year 2017

Kitty Collage

2016 Wrap-Up

December 31st 2016

Boo & Munchkin - January 1st 2017