However,
now President Biden’s dogs have been sent back to Delaware after one
apparently bit a security guard.
March 8 was International Women’s Day, if you noticed.
Good for Pope
Francis for going to Iraq to try to bridge the religious divide with
Shiite Muslims. However, having crowds gather is not good for virus
control. Perhaps as he grows older and less mobile, Francis wanted to make sure
not to miss this outreach opportunity to the Muslim world.
While
Democrats are trying to increase voter turnout and access to the ballot, Republicans
are busy trying to reduce the number of registered voters,
considering that having fewer eligible voters works in their favor.
President Biden has restored
portraits of former presidents Bill Clinton and GW Bush, removed
by Trump, back to their rightful places in the White House. Two female
generals’ promotions were delayed until after the election for fear
of a negative reaction by Mr. Trump. Unlike Trump, Biden is not putting his
name on stimulus checks.
While the
governor and attorney general of Texas, Mr. Trump, and other Republicans
disparage facemasks and insist that wearing one is up to the individual,
a right akin to the “right” to carry a gun, unless the person is a hermit, he
or she is in contact with other people and therefore could be spreading the virus.
Donald Trump has asked
Republican organizations to stop using his name and likeness for fundraising.
Instead, he wants all donations funneled directly to him. Republican
organizations have ignored his request because his name has been good for
fundraising and he still remains a party member. Republican operatives seem to have
no way right now to ease Donald Trump out of their party and out of politics,
so they are making the best of it by continuing to raise money and promote
their party in his name. The two sides are locked in an uncomfortable embrace. As
long as Trump identifies himself as a member of the Republican Party, he and
the party will sink or swim together.
SC Senator
Lindsey Graham is quite right, that Trump has an appeal that other
Republicans lack. Many Trump supporters identify with his norm-breaking
statements, often displaying his total ignorance of a subject, just like their
own. They can imagine making the very same outrageous declarations themselves
if only they dared. When he disparages “Sleepy Joe” or “Crooked Hillary” or “shithole
countries” and says, “Grab ‘em by the pussy,” his followers wish they were free
to make the same brazen and insulting remarks. He’s a big naughty spoiled child
gleefully throwing around his toys with no consequences.
AP, At least 20 dead, 600 wounded in
Equatorial Guinea blasts, https://news.yahoo.com/20-dead-400-wounded-equatorial-203749197.html
Oil-rich Equatorial Guinea is a former Spanish colony
and the only Spanish-speaking country in Africa, also one with a longstanding
authoritarian government. A massive explosion there has brought attention to a
nation rarely appearing in the news. (I’ve translated human rights materials in
Spanish from there for Amnesty International.)
Reuters, Trial implicating Honduran president in drug
trafficking begins in New York, https://www.yahoo.com/news/trial-implicating-honduran-president-drug-130202487.html (This is not surprising to my friends in Honduras, who have never voted
for the current president.)
LA Times, Biden administration to give temporary
protected status to thousands of Venezuelans in U.S., https://www.yahoo.com/news/biden-administration-temporary-protected-status-183742111.html Bravo! I’ve
helped advise and translate documents for Venezuelan asylum applicants here with
grim stories to tell, so have firsthand knowledge of their plight. However, Colombia did it first! Colombia, a much smaller and less
prosperous country, had already given legal status to 1.7 million Venezuelans
who have crossed over, as mentioned in my last blog posting. Many have also
gone to Brazil and other South American countries. About 400,000 are thought to
be in the US, much harder for them to reach.
Colombia
has been generous and has accepted reality, but it’s hard to craft a humane
immigration and asylum policy that does not act as a magnet. President Biden is
finding that out, as his administration tackles the problem of screening clusters
of young migrants now pressing at our southern border. Trump
held migrants in check by force at the border, but the urge, the dream, the
hope, have been alive for decades.
US reports surge of kids at SW border, a challenge for Biden,
https://apnews.com/article/joe-biden-donald-trump-health-coronavirus-pandemic-immigration-a8e541613d08a21669e460a3ff5f76a4
A surge at
the southern border now that Trump is out of office is not surprising. People
have been waiting and crowding at the border for a long time now. The pent-up
demand, the ethos, the common narrative about a "better life" in the
US, as well as real risks and deprivations in their home countries in Central
America, have driven people north. The task is how to be fair to those with
valid asylum claims while also not incentivizing others. And sometimes there is
no clear line between a legitimate and a spurious claim. That's a longstanding
problem. When I was living in Honduras in the Peace Corps, from 2000 to 2003, most
young people there yearned to go to the US. It was considered a rite of passage
and that's still the case. And I've also been an interpreter at asylum hearings
where the final decision seems to depend on who is hearing the case. The
hearing officer often has seemed to be deliberately goad the respondent, trying
to trip them up and often bringing them to tears.
Previously, I’d mentioned a
Cuban immigration detainee, the great-niece of a former Cuban political
prisoner of 22 years whom my Amnesty Group, 211 (to which I still belong), was
instrumental in freeing along with 25 others, as recounted in my Confessions
book. If we could achieve that back then, surely now this young detainee being
held right here in the USA can be released. She has already served 2 years in a
Louisiana immigration lockup, while her husband, who arrived with her and was
in custody in Arizona, has been free for more than a year now. She left Cuba,
she alleges, because the police inflicted blows to her abdomen while pregnant,
causing her to miscarry. She reportedly has health problems now and evidence of
the blows and miscarriage, but not of police involvement. She was not successful
in appealing to Republican lawmakers, so now it’s time to try Democrats.
If the virus
is finally ebbing, will the elbow bump remain? Maybe it will be kept on
as a nostalgic reminder of victory over these hard times. In Honduras, women
already have a special greeting for other women, touching each other’s
outstretched forearms.
Here is a notification about the charity I’d selected for donations
related to my Amazon book sales: “This is the quarterly notification to
inform you that the charity you've selected, Pencils of Promise,
recently received a donation of $69,652.63 from
AmazonSmile, at no cost to you or other customers.” Of course, that is a combined
contribution from a number of Amazon book sellers for the charity we had
selected, not very well known, which builds schools and provides school
supplies to students in developing countries. I had selected it precisely
because it is little known and probably doesn’t get a lot of contributions.
Meghan and Harry in their
televised conversations with Oprah seem to be settling scores and also seeking
publicity for future projects. Meghan makes much of her “black” heritage, but
she could pass for several other ethnicities (same for VP Harris) and their son
shares his father’s very fair coloring. However, now it seems in vogue to
publicly invoke the old “one-drop” rule for “Negro” heritage and to brag openly
about it. Some members of my own family are visibly “blacker” than Meghan will
ever be, but they don’t make a big deal about it. The former royal couple,
especially Meghan, seemed eager to air grievances and personal struggles in their
interview, something that Oprah was only too willing to indulge as publicity benefits
both her and them. And so much for the imagined fairytale existence being lived
by royals. The queen is probably not too pleased.
Apologies
for being out-of-step with the times in previous comments, as the full picture had
not yet emerged. Now more women have come forward to accuse Governor Andrew
Cuomo of suggestive remarks and conduct. Having been through bouts of
sexual harassment myself during my working life, I’d always just shrugged them
off as something expected and “normal.” But I am of an older generation and now
may be high time for younger women to finally confront and actually reduce such
common annoying and demeaning practices.
Here is something inspiring from a
previous Obama speech that he plans to put on the outside wall of his
presidential library in Chicago, "You are America. Unconstrained by habit and convention.
Unencumbered by what is, because you’re ready to seize what ought to be. For
everywhere in this country, there are first steps to be taken, there’s new
ground to cover, there are more bridges to be crossed. And it is you, the young
and fearless at heart, the most diverse and educated generation in our history,
who the nation is waiting to follow ... America is not the project of any one
person. Because the single-most powerful word in our democracy is the word
'We.' 'We The People.' 'We Shall Overcome.' 'Yes We Can.' That word is owned by
no one. It belongs to everyone. Oh, what a glorious task we are given, to
continually try to improve this great nation of ours." (Quite a contrast
from the words of our former Tweeter-in-Chief.)
One of the hardest aspects
of the pandemic lockdown apart from no direct personal contact with family and
friends, is often the lack of meaningful activity, especially work.
While people often complain about their work, in fact, having a job earning
money for themselves and their families actually makes them feel useful. Now
during the pandemic, many are really missing their work, quite part from the
financial impact. When I was at the occupational therapy association, we
stressed the importance for individuals of engaging in “purposeful activity,”
purposeful as subjectively defined. Engaging in meaningful and varied activity
is even key to the wellbeing of primates, so, as an antidote to boredom,
zookeepers will often hide their food in different places to incentivize them
to search. The notion may apply to other members of the animal kingdom as well,
both domesticated and wild. Wild creatures do keep on seeking food – an almost
constant quest--while pet dogs like nothing better than fetching a stick for their
owner; both are examples of purposeful animal activity.
About 3 years ago, I was scheduled
to meet weekly for a limited number of sessions as the interpreter for a
severely disabled girl and her mother at the Children’s Hospital outpatient
clinic in DC. I was assigned to act an interpreter for a therapist working with
the girl and her mother, who both only understood Spanish. Just the mother actually
spoke aloud, explaining what the girl meant with her gestures and
vocalizations. Somehow, on this child’s last few scheduled visits, the
therapist was called away, so I simply spent our allotted time chatting with
the mother and daughter, recounting my visits to their home country. At the
next-to-last scheduled appointment, I gave the girl a little purse from that country.
Such gestures by an interpreter are frowned upon, as we are told to maintain a professional
distance. Yet, I was glad to have done that then because the girl did not show
up for our last session. When I called their home, the mother told me their
scheduled transportation had not shown up. She said her daughter was crying
because she couldn’t come. I said to tell her that I had enjoyed knowing her
and to keep the little purse as a memento. That’s one of many memorable
experiences I’ve had as an interpreter. I do miss the work, but it seems too
risky to return right now, especially to in-person sessions.
While polygamy is illegal
in Latin America, it's not uncommon to see men there supporting 2 households,
though less openly among well-educated and better off families. Male deaths in
Latin America from accident, firearms, and gang violence are greater for men than
for women and men more often travel alone to the US. The gender gap is not
huge, but enough so that men who want 2 women and 2 families, and can afford to
support them, often can have both. I know of a number of such cases where the
first wife grudgingly has accepted the second in exchange for continued support
for herself and her children. I visited one such household on my last visit to
Honduras in March 2020, where the first wife no longer sleeps with her husband,
but still runs a business with him. But among professional men, it's more like what
we have here, with some having a secret mistress for whom they may provide
support. However, a married woman found to have been unfaithful is definitely
an outcast in Honduras and also to an extent in the US.
On the last posting, I included a commentary
on polyandry among brothers in Nepal, a practice that also survives in
neighboring Bhutan.
One Woman, Multiple Husbands And The
Vanishing Practice Of Polyandry In Bhutan, Polyandry is still practised in Bhutan, Tibet, Nepal and
pockets of India, https://dailybhutan.com/article/one-woman-multiple-husbands-and-the-vanishing-practice-of-polyandry-in-bhutan
Having one woman married to several brothers guarantees that
their children will all inherit pasture land and flocks together.
From Wikipedia: Polygamy is legal in Bhutan regarding
the consent of future wives... Women in Bhutan may by custom be married to
several husbands, however they are allowed only one legal husband. The legal
status of married couple among polygamous and polyandrous households
impacts the division of property upon divorce and survivorship, as well as
general admissibility of the marital relationship in courts.
Both polygamy and polyandry are
dying out in Bhutan. Polyandry is only present in certain areas...In general,
the husbands of one wife are brothers... A well-known example of a person
in a polygamous marriage in Bhutan is the 4th King Jigme Singye Wangchuck, who is
married to four sisters.
I’ve asked friends in Bhutan again for their comments. Here is what one
said, Polyandry
in marriage does exist in Bhutan, normally in the mountainous places. It is
very rare but I came across one such nomad family recently. It is because of
their traditions as well as to keep their wealth within themselves.
On these pages, I’ve
advocated for the survival of fetuses after reaching a certain stage of
development. And I consider it dishonest to simply dismiss abortion as routine “health
care.” Yet as the mother of 4 and of a Cuban foster son, I know it’s no easy
task to raise children successfully and that even with the best of intentions,
we will all make mistakes and face some challenges exceeding our capacity. Unfortunately,
too, not all innocent, cuddly babies will grow up to become happy, healthy, productive
adults and survive to a ripe old age. Birth is just the beginning. The pandemic
has made us more aware of the end, including the inevitability of our own death.
Sadly, in our own family, we lost my older son and foster son only one year
apart, both in young adulthood, a very dark time. Furthermore, many people have
children they cannot adequately care for. As a society, we do have a collective
responsibility to endeavor to provide a supportive and remedial environment for
all parents and children, and for people at all stages of life. “Right to life”
does not end with pregnancy and birth, something many anti-abortion advocates already
acknowledge, offering help to mothers after giving birth and opposing the death
penalty as well. (Catholic church leaders have now been urging everyone to get
vaccinated as a specific prolife measure to protect themselves and
others.)
Most dreams vanish pretty
quickly, but I did recall a recent vivid dream whereby I was feeling very
thirsty, really quite parched, but accidentally spilled a glass of water, then joined
in a long line before a fountain waiting to fill it up again. Not surprisingly,
I awoke with a dry throat and immediately took a swig from a water bottle at my
bedside.
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