The US media and government really needs to examine the racism

[ikojo]

behind the poor response to Hurricane Katrina.

Today while at synagogue the rabbi's sermon basically turned into an encounter session where people were able to voice their upset about the events of the last week. People are ticked, even here in St Louis which is only 11 hours from N.O.

I stood up and said that this hurricane and the poor response to it has angered me way more than did 9/11/01. I was almost to tears urging the congregation to address racism and classism as we enter the Jewish High Holy Days. I said blacks have been beaten up on for hundreds of years in this country and the poor response is due to the fact that N.O was primarily black.

Some background...a Reform Jewish congregation in St Louis, Central Reform Congregation, has spent the entire last Jewish year examining race and class and white privilege. They don't do it only for the young people but have also challenged the ENTIRE congregation to examine how they are privileged, even though they are Jews, by virtue of being called white in the US.

I brought up the work CRC has been doing this past year and urged this congregation to embark on similar necessary but difficult work. Someone from the social action committee responded that they are having a workshop for young people in January. She said it was important to reach the young who if they are reached before they are 20 are less likely to be racists later in life.

I then said that while I appreciated her work, blacks and poor people deal with racism and classism every day not just one day a year.

Oy vey!!

THAT IS NOT WHAT I ASKED!!!! Young people learn their classism and racism at their parents knee and it is their parents who also need challenged.

What is ironic is that just ten minutes before the floor opened up to concerns the rabbi had spoke about how important learning and growing is to being a Jew!!!

Oy vey, don't these people listen!!