By Line search: By J.M. SORRELL
By J.M. SORRELL
When saving face is a primary operating mode and when people denigrate others to justify their own harm or inertia, mistrust and chaos ensue.
By J.M. SORRELL
I miss my younger years when resolutions for the coming year included getting more physically fit, reading a certain number of books, helping others in need and being kinder to bad drivers. While some people eschew the ritual, I continue to appreciate...
By J.M. SORRELL
Theories abound for why Vice President Kamala Harris lost the presidential race. Here is the good news: The latest Reuters numbers show that Harris got 48.3% of the popular vote while Trump got 49.9%. There was just a 1.6% difference , so this was...
By J.M. SORRELL
I am writing this before Election Day, so I thought to write about a societal problem that will linger regardless of who is elected president on Nov. 5. Systemic misogyny is hardly new, yet its forms change to meet the moment of each generation. It is...
By J.M. SORRELL
One of the many memorable speeches at the Democratic National Convention was delivered by Michelle Obama. She spoke of hope making a comeback and the potential for good in our country. Ms. Obama also cautioned there are people who will do everything...
By J.M. SORRELL
I would love to write about other topics, and yet the breadth and forms keep expanding. Zionism is increasingly described as a genocidal movement meant to destroy others, yet the actual undertaking was created by Jews with progressive ideals of...
By J.M. SORRELL
Enthusiasm is high, and I do not think it will wane. We have a presidential candidate who is not afraid to express joy while she is serious about what is at stake. She is smart and has heart.Vice President Kamala Harris is intrepid and humble at the...
By J.M. SORRELL
‘Kill the Zionists!” While I hope that ignorance is at play more than hatred, my concern is that for the narrative to continue to fit one’s reality, such obliviousness evolves into the justification to do harm and so it becomes evil.If you are open to...
By J.M. SORRELL
Antisemitism joins racism, homophobia, xenophobia, and misogyny as features of the far right. It is easy to spot when white supremacists claim that Jews are working with people of color to destroy the white race. Most people find their jokes about...
By J.M. SORRELL
May 1 is May Day. Originally it celebrated spring in Celtic and other traditions. Singing, dancing, bonfires, and competing for the tallest maypoles for male fertility were all the rage. Apparently size comparisons have been around for centuries. Who...
By J.M. SORRELL
International Women’s Day is March 8. While the UN did not adopt the day until 1977, its roots go back to the early part of the 20th century — a time when women in the U.S. and Europe were very active in both suffrage and labor movements. It was more...
By J.M. SORRELL
As we celebrate Black History Month, I am reminded of moments filled with grace and solidarity between allies who respond to particular tragedies and accomplices who walk the walk throughout long-term justice movements. Empathy and an internal ethical...
By J.M. SORRELL
Last month I wrote a column about fighting all forms of antisemitism. I have written a few columns about misogyny as an insidious and acceptable form of oppression in many societies including ours. Over the years, I have had this nagging feeling that...
By J.M. SORRELL
Now is the time to offer support and love for Jewish community members, colleagues, friends, neighbors and family members. It is time to stand firmly against all forms and sources of antisemitism without a “but” attached to it. Antisemitic acts have...
By J.M. SORRELL
Contemporary television commercials seem to range from inane to disturbing. If they accurately reflect American society, we are going down. Advertising was not perfect when I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, but many of those commercials are...
By J.M. SORRELL
It can be exhausting to engage in critical thinking and to listen to and learn from others who challenge your world view or your plans for activist work; however, without it, growth is stunted and opportunities are lost. People in identity groups who...
By J.M. SORRELL
Honesty. The sin of telling the truth when no one wants to listen. When the brilliant and incomparable Sinéad O’Connor died on July 26, rapper and actor Ice-T summed it up perfectly: “Respect to Sinead. She stood for something. Unlike most people.”On...
By J.M. SORRELL
Astrid et Raphaelle is a French television series about an autistic woman who works in criminal records and a police commander who team up to solve complex homicide cases. In the United States, the show is called Astrid, and the first two seasons are...
By J.M. SORRELL
Emancipation from slavery came at different times in Southern states as the Civil War ended. In Texas, it came on June 19, 1865, and Black Americans began celebrating the date in 1866. During the Jim Crow era, such festivities were more subdued as...
By J.M. SORRELL
In 2019, I wrote a column suggesting that drag is to misogyny as blackface is to racism. I had read about feminists who questioned the preponderance of drag at annual pride events in other cities. At the time, I was called a TERF (trans exclusionary...
By J.M. SORRELL
For the sixth year in a row, Finland tops the list for the world’s happiest country. You can download the full report at worldhappiness.report/ed/2023. My own spiritual homeland, Iceland, is number three. In general, Nordic countries are high ranking...
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