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Nutshell: At a historic museum that has gardens, three youths (who were white) vandalized a beehive. Hive-boxes were destroyed and the queen bee went missing. (The proprietors of the facility eventually recovered the queen. Before that, a generous neighbor offered to donate the $150 to replace the queen.)

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They look to be youths. One good community service, restorative justice action might be to have them make amends by learning about bees and giving a presentation for the community. That would even satisfy their “make a video” impulse — they could make a video about the importance of bees!

They could additionally be asked to do a bit of work on the property (maybe picking up litter?). Lilian Place (as well as bees) might end up getting three new advocates!

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<name of person I was responding to> why are you mentioning race here? It seems irrelevant.

<name of same person I was responding to> The picture i saw here shows three young people, all WHITE.

Added a few days later: Very soon after I posted this comment (like a few minutes), it clicked in my mind that he wasn’t talking about the picture. But by the time I went to delete this comment, several people had responded to it, so I left it up in order to keep the conversation-thread intact. And, to avoid giving the impression that I was retracting my earlier comment.

My earlier comment, questioning the manner in which the commenter chose to describe the kids in the park, still stands. This is a nuanced conversation that I’m happy to have with anyone, but in a respectful manner and face-to-face rather than behind a keyboard.

Additionally added the day after my previous addition:

Context is key. Neighborhood vigilantism and mob mentality are well-documented phenomena. As is racial bias in identifying culprits of crimes. It was in that context that I asked my question.

By the way, at the time I asked my question, I was assuming that —-‘s comment about youth in Lenox Park was somehow connected to the bee incident at Lilian Place. I had to read and reread his comment over and over, before realizing he was talking about a completely unrelated incident that didn’t involve ANY of the same kids mentioned by <the person reporting the bee incident> in the original post!

This kind of linkage, lumping things together, gets people’s emotions and imaginations running amok, and before you know it we have mobs with pitchforks.

We need to be particularly careful when it comes to protecting young people and other vulnerable groups from this.

But wait, there’s more! As I texted my neighbor (and then went ahead and posted publicly): I was so grateful for your posting Gary’s DM to you. For many reasons.

1) How deferential and respectful his tone suddenly became, when responding to a man (you) respectfully challenging him, as opposed to a woman (me) respectfully challenging him. (This is a pattern in society; he just happened to be the one illustrating it today.)

2) It gives evidence that even a grown, white, male, homeowner is leery of encounters with the police. And yet he doesn’t see why anyone would be trying to protect 1) young people and 2) Black people from unnecessary police encounters. VERY telling.

Further Reading:

Google: racial bias; wrongful conviction; cross-racial identification errors. I googled “studies show white people misidentify black people in crimes” and found a lot. Also google vigilantism; mob mentality.

Who the heck needs 30k a month and 160 acres?? This is a hyper-individualistic, colonizer mentality. The whole “off-the-grid dream” is a colonizer mentality.

Added later to my comment on the post: I apologize for any confusion or hurt feelings caused by my comment. Where I’m coming from is as a permaculture educator and ecosocial activist who is concerned about some trends I’m seeing within the permaculture design movement.

In a nutshell, I’m concerned that we (meaning my fellow white people in the USA who are interested in permaculture and “homesteading”) are unintentionally bringing a consumerist mentality into our permaculture efforts, thus undermining our movement’s own goals of land access for all.

I want everyone to be able to do all the good things they aspire to do. I just don’t want us thinking that every one of us needs a hundred acres or even necessarily 10 acres to do it! We won’t have enough land for everyone to have a fair share if that were the case.

Particularly I have in mind our obligation of ensuring equitable land access for Black people, indigenous people, and other people of color. (And on a deeper, longterm level, supporting the Land Back movement.)

I did not mean to hurt anyone’s feelings or disparage anyone’s dreams with this comment. And anyone wanting to discuss this further is welcome to friend me and PM me. <green heart emoji>

Following is just the list, which I have excerpted from the article “White Supremacy Culture”, by Tema Okun — dRworks ; www.dismantlingracism.org and Kenneth Jones. To see the full descriptions of each characteristic, go read this very enlightening article at the link below.

15 characteristics/pillars of white supremacy culture

• perfectionism
• sense of urgency
• defensiveness
• quantity over quality
• worship of the written word
• only one right way
• paternalism
• either/or thinking
• power hoarding
• fear of open conflict
• individualism
• I’m the only one
• progress is bigger, more
• objectivity
• right to comfort

Read the whole article here: https://www.whitesupremacyculture.info/uploads/4/3/5/7/43579015/okun_-_white_sup_culture_2020.pdf

I first encountered this list via two creators I follow closely on TikTok and other channels: desireebstephens and RoyalStarDefiant. I’m going to go grab a couple of links to their videos for you.

Desiree just started doing a whole “15 Pillars of White Supremacy” series via TikTok Live based on this list and article. The next episode is Tues Sept 20 at 7pm EST; check out this link.

This list for me was like finding a missing puzzle-piece for everything in my life. It weaves together all my efforts related to self-awareness, ecosocial activism, organizational dynamics.

And it gives me answers so many things that had mystified and aggravated me. Catty jealousy among women. People constantly asking for “links” and “sources” when someone is literally right there talking about their own lived experience. Understanding, in a new light on a new level, things like sexism, body-shaming, squashing people’s joy … and why the so-called “landscaping” at parks and buildings and houses is so toxic and fake. Understanding why such a long long long list of patterns and things in family and society have come to be the way they are …

It even gives me answers to those lifelong burning little questions such as “Why, in the tiny little village where my Dad grew up in the coal country of Pennsylvania, did they need THREE SEPARATE Catholic churches? (one for the Slavic people, one for the Italian, and one for the Irish)?”

Which is so important because if we can understand and deconstruct a toxic culture that pervades every aspect of everyone’s lives, we will actually stand a chance at having a nurturing society and a sustainable civilization!

Beautiful, short video of village life in Uganda.

https://www.tiktok.com/t/ZTR5bqaAe/ (aketchjoywinnie on TikTok — if you love this video check out her others as well!)

Observations from the standpoint of an eco/social activist, permaculture design educator of Anglo-European descent, living in the USA:

Our idea of “advanced” and “developed” seems very backward to me. For example:

• We build buildings out of concrete and other energy-intensive materials that are super expensive to build and maintain. And expensive to repair/rebuild when hit by hurricane, earthquake, or other natural disaster. And require a whole class of “licensed professional” engineers, architects, codes, zoning, etc.
• Meanwhile, indigenous cultures all over the world (such as in Uganda and other African countries) build their buildings out of readily available local materials such as fast-growing trees, grasses, local earth. And, everyday people know how to build and repair their own houses and other buildings. And build just what they need and will immediately use.
• So-called “developed” countries build millions of miles of paved road, which exacerbates heat and flooding. Now some western cities are discovering the concept of “de-paving” — actually removing pavement! The advanced cultures never got around to paving so much land in the first place, so they are way ahead.
• So-called “developed” countries have widespread malnutrition and other health issues as people have forgotten the importance of growing food near where the people are. Huge amounts of petroleum & other resources are dedicated to planting sodgrass and keeping it manicured. What a primitive, backward culture!!!
• Some of us who live in “developed” countries are aspiring to get back to more natural, land-based ways of living. However, we are impeded by the mental limitations that our hyper-individualistic, consumerist culture has indoctrinated into us. So we keep trying to do “permaculture” in a hyper-individualistic, consumerist matter. We are doing “cottagecore” instead of “VILLAGEcore.” And we are hogging far more than our share of resources.
• I strongly believe that decolonizing our minds is an essential step for any of us Anglo/Euro-descendant people who are attempting to practice a truly green way of life. Anyone wanting to join me in this, I recommend you check out my TikTok feed, which I have carefully curated to be packed with brilliant, caring grassroots educators who are passionately dedicated to helping us all learn and practice anti-racism, decolonization, #LandBack, and other genuine cultural evolution! 💚💚💚 @jennynazak on TikTok

During a rich meal, it’s sometimes prudent and necessary to pause and allow the body to digest the food. That happens with consuming educational content too, at least in my experience.

On this blog I have put out a lot of content over the past several years. You can use the search field to look for topics you’re seeking info and guidance on.

You can also check out the huge volume of content I’ve posted on my other channels: YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, Facebook (Deep Green Book by Jenny Nazak).

On this blog, I’m giving you a pause to digest and reflect on the content I’ve already posted. Even more, I strongly encourage you to check out the content creators and other resources I link in my posts.

It’s not lack of information we suffer; it’s lack of application. Sometimes we just need a little nudge; a bit of help getting started.

I’m busy out there learning from other people, and it’s a huge feast of information and evolution. Dare I say REVolution! If you follow my other channels, especially TikTok, Twitter, and my Deep Green book page on Facebook, you can see their content too.

Get in touch anytime! I’m here for you.

P.S. The following blog post and two videos will help you self-resolve most of your major green dilemmas. Most of the questions I get all the time from people (such as the electric-car questions) boil down to what’s covered at the three links below. The videos will take a little over two hours of your time, and reading my post might take you an additional 15 minutes. It’ll be three hours of your time and energy well-spent.

• My blog post “Planet of the Humans?” gives some tips on sorting thru the vast sea of info; honing our critical-thinking skills
http://www.jennynazak.com/2020/04/26/planet-of-the-humans/

• Watch “Planet of the Humans” documentary by Michael Moore : https://planetofthehumans.com
Nutshell: There is no “clean-energy free lunch” (Entrenched interests posted a rebuttal to his film, but he posted a rebuttal to that; see my post linked above for that link)

• “How To Enjoy the End of the World” (YouTube, 1 hour): Talk by Sid Smith for the Greens of Virginia Tech, 2019. Good explanation of Energy Return On Investment; Jevons Paradox; why renewables are not the savior. And how we face the existential challenge; move into new ways of being. Very deep, powerful talk. https://youtu.be/5WPB2u8EzL8

PPS. And, as always, you can call, text, or email me to schedule a one-on-one session. I continue to offer these “DEEP GREEN Tech Support” sessions as more and more people are seeking guidance and support in sorting through the various issues that make up a green lifestyle path, from deciding where to live, to finding your right livelihood, trusting your own intuition, getting a handle on that mason-jar hoarding habit, talking compassionately & effectively with the people in your circles, and a lot more. Yes, you can still ask the dreaded electric-car question — you might not get the answer you want to hear at first, but the answers I give will grow on you, as they are practical, do-able, and will help you as well as your community. And anything else that’s on your mind.

I can’t speak for all activists or content creators or climate communicators. These are just my requests, suggestions for people tagging me, sending me links, and so on. Based on my personal experience. Any of you who have other suggestions or different viewpoints to add, feel free to message me.

1) Include a sentence or two about why you are tagging the person or sending them this link. “You may already know about this trend or news item but in case you had not heard, I thought you’d be interested”; “This situation freaks me out and I don’t know what to do”; “This seems like good news; what’s your take?” etc.

2) Be sparing with tags. Really consider what your intention is. If you’re trying to raise awareness of environmental issues, don’t keep tagging your five same environmentalist buddies! (We’re already on your same page!) You might not need to tag anyone at all. Just let it organically reach your “civilian” followers.

3) Sending news links via private DM — you just wasted an opportunity to educate the public. Also, if you are doing this with an expectation that your fellow eco activist friend is going to take it upon themselves to share your privately DMed link … DON’T! You found the article, it sparked your interest; you do the work of publicly sharing it! Activists do a lot of free labor; it sort of comes with the territory. We care from our hearts, we give from the heart. Don’t impose additional demands/expectations for free labor on your fellow activists.

4) On the topic of tagging. If you’re doing it because you’re looking for someone’s professional take on something, consider scheduling a paid chat session with them instead. I wouldn’t tag my doctor or plumber looking for their free advice. Let’s not do it to each other either. More and more these days, people are sharing their Cash App, Venmo, etc. It’s there for a reason! Support activists’ livelihoods; pay them (us) for the expertise they (we) have worked hard to acquire.

tagging, links, bandwidth, attention

The New York Times has some of what I consider the best coverage on climate. (Including their “Climate Forward” e-newsletter as well as their regular daily edition.) (Other major papers I turn to for climate coverage include the Guardian, the New Yorker, the Washington Post.)

But, newspapers have different departments and different constituencies, and not all of them are eco-aware, climate-caring.

Some recent NYT headlines include: “In Hawaii, the Search for Sustainable Tourism” and “Coping with Europe’s Heat Waves.”

Peter Kalmus, a NASA climate scientist who I follow on Twitter (@ClimateHuman), sums it up well in this tweet: “So here’s the thing NYT, there is NO ‘sustainable tourism’ that involves flying on planes, and increasingly as the planet continues to overheat there will be NO coping with heat waves. Please tell the truth.”

As if to underscore his point, another NYT article in the jetsetting travel genre came into my email inbox today: “How to make traveling less of a headache.” In the expected manner of our entitled and individualistic culture, it gives tips and apps for snagging the best airplane seats and so on.

My own article on this topic is much shorter than NYT’s:

“To make traveling less of a headache, do it much less often. So it’s a special treat worth all the annoyances. If in doubt, stay home!”