Vox: All Posts by Nesima Aberrahttps://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/52517/voxv.png2017-04-19T08:00:01-04:00https://www.vox.com/authors/nesima-aberra/rss2017-04-19T08:00:01-04:002017-04-19T08:00:01-04:00The religious case for caring about climate change
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<figcaption>Environmental activists display a banner calling for action on climate change as they arrive on St. Peter's square prior to Pope Francis's Sunday Angelus prayer on June 28, 2015 at the Vatican. | AFP PHOTO / GABRIEL BOUYS / AFP / GABRIEL BOUYS</figcaption>
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<p>Talk about values, not just data: how this minister wants to inspire people to take action on protecting the environment.</p> <p id="JoD9Y8">What makes a person decide if they want to take action on climate change? According to <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2015/10/22/religion-and-views-on-climate-and-energy-issues/">a Pew survey</a>, Americans say they are most influenced by education, the media, and personal experiences. One factor that barely plays a role: religious beliefs. Just 6 percent of American adults said their religious views were the most influential factor in deciding whether they think there should be stronger laws on the environment.</p>
<p id="w9MvKa"><a href="http://www.ucc.org/pollinator">Reverend Brooks Berndt</a> wants to change that — he wants to bring religion into the debate over climate change and the environment. As a pastor in Vancouver, Washington, he started a chapter of the Sierra Club's Beyond Coal campaign and worked to transition away from the state’s coal plant. </p>
<p id="jVsgMu">In his current position as the minister of environmental justice at the United Church of Christ in Cleveland, Ohio, he has led efforts to divest from fossil fuels, support renewable energy, raise awareness of the Flint water crisis, mobilize at Standing Rock, and work on other environmental issues that particularly affect communities of color and working-class families. Brooks and his church are official partners of the <a href="https://peoplesclimate.org/">People’s Climate March </a>on April 29 in DC. </p>
<p id="zoAkPn">“Grief over climate change is real,” he said. “Being in it for the long haul is knowing how to wrestle with things like grief. One of the best ways to deal with challenging issues … is to not be alone but to be in a community of support.” </p>
<p id="16T9AK">I spoke with Berndt about why religious people should prioritize the climate and how faith can be way to influence people on this issue.</p>
<h4 id="AYgAdb">Nesima Aberra </h4>
<p id="7cvFlj">Religious people are less likely to believe in climate change and less likely to mobilize around environmental justice causes. Why do you think that is?</p>
<h4 id="Z8RC2N">Brooks Berndt</h4>
<p id="TlsHRO">When you talk about the Christian faith in the US, you’re talking about a huge group of people with lots of diversity. A lot of Christians are not going to identify with that. At the same time, I think there is a sense that we need to own up with what’s going on in our own bigger house — that climate denialism is a problem. And there has been a history of Christians not coming down on the right side on the environment with harmful views. </p>
<p id="qSrL2v">At the same time, when you look at, okay, who’s moved the needle the most on climate opinion? The pope! He moved the needle in the right direction on climate issues. There’s persuadability and openness. Some good segments of people are persuadable if you present things in a moral framework and relates to their faith and values. </p>
<p id="32rwjJ">One of the sad realities is that climate became this ideologically polarized issue like marriage equality and other issues. As a denomination, we’re not strangers to that. We were the first denomination to come out for marriage equality. We’re used to entering into polarizing issues, trying to take a firm public stance and at the same time realizing in our denomination, there is tremendous diversity on any one issue. That’s also where we have the most to offer and is our greatest strength.</p>
<h4 id="JTbbBz">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="JBsS0o">Why is it necessary to have a religious response to climate change? </p>
<h4 id="ghbsP6">Brooks Berndt</h4>
<p id="DY1mMs">As faith communities, we’re possessors of a rich language about what fundamentally motivates people to address environmental injustices and address the climate. When I look at what motivates activists, often what gets circulated in some venues is science reports. </p>
<p id="g5RmRs">But what actually motivates people is what I have found are the three great loves. Love of neighbor: You’re aware of the real and present suffering climate or pollution are causing right now, so you’re motivated once you have that awareness. Another is love of creation, concern for how our natural world is being decimated, extinction of animals, the acidification of the ocean and deforestation. The number one motive I’ve come across — although it’s not for everyone — is love of children. </p>
<h4 id="XFTjfr">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="bISpgW">How do you make a case for the environment scripturally?</p>
<h4 id="4wJ3ka">Brooks Berndt</h4>
<p id="6zf9gG">Early on in the history of faith communities addressing environmental issues, a lot of emphasis was particularly on Genesis — that our role as humans is to be stewards of God’s creation. I wouldn’t detract from that, but I think we’re in a time where there are other scriptures and messages that are more relevant. </p>
<p id="8Q2HWy">The whole Christian faith is basically about a vision of community that is in utter opposition to the Roman Empire. We come from a tradition that was very much against structures of power, structures of military might, and very critical of greed in relation to wealth. So I think we have to relate our environmental challenges to those scriptures. </p>
<p id="GyuvYI">It also relates to Pope Francis. One of his articulations is if you come from a faith where God sides with the poor and stands with the poor, then that’s a part of environmental issues today because it’s poor people being harmed. </p>
<h4 id="p5PuBd">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="M7onr4">Have you encountered any resistance from your community for the work that you do or the positions you take?</p>
<h4 id="sXw6E1">Brooks Berndt</h4>
<p id="ud07JY">I’ve had members who would express to me strong opinions that were oppositional or might be categorized as climate denialism, but they also stayed in the community. With trying to transition away from [a coal plant in the state of Washington], I had members of my church who had at some point worked or had family members in that coal plant. I made plans to have a lunch with one of them and talked about it. It wasn’t that difficult once you sit down and have lunch with somebody. </p>
<p id="wog8B5">Not too many people are for polluting the water or air but there’s a lot to be found in common ground and for people to be able to connect to an issue in a way that goes beyond the ideological or things one is fed in the media. When you can connect it to real life, people can get out of those ideological straightjackets. </p>
<h4 id="TxqedC">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="jiWQpJ">A lot of climate activists are concerned about the new administration’s approach to the environment. Looking ahead, are you optimistic or worried about climate change?</p>
<h4 id="EELsyR">Brooks Berndt</h4>
<p id="PoO1Cc">If you’re a pastor, a lot of what you’re dealing with on a weekly basis is people caught in grief. Grief over climate change is real and has a significant impact on people. And being in it for the long haul is knowing how to wrestle with things like grief. One of the best ways to deal with challenging issues and things like grief is to not be alone but to be in a community of support and point people to resources around them. </p>
<p id="Qc06zX">I’m a big fan of the Exodus story. At times we find ourselves with our back against the wall or the sea, but at some point the waters do part and we’re able to walk through. Being able to have those stories and connect to what we’re going through right now is powerful. So whether it’s the Exodus story or the story of crucifixion and resurrection, these have helped us make our way through life, through the climate, and issue after issue over so many years. </p>
<p id="rHRtMW"><strong>Correction:</strong> The article has been updated to reflect that Berndt started a chapter of the Sierra Club's Beyond the Coal campaign and that the coal plant was not located in Vancouver. The article has been updated to clarify that the acidification of the ocean and deforestation are important additional environmental issues. The article has been updated to reflect that family members of the church that worked in that coal plant were located in Berndt’s community. </p>
https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/4/19/15271166/climate-change-religious-argumentsNesima Aberra2017-03-23T09:30:01-04:002017-03-23T09:30:01-04:00An American photographer explains how the “laptop ban” hurts his work
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<img alt="Fliers Lose Laptops at Airport Checkpoints" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RlkCfUUBPI_jHxNMIxy2pDMlgUM=/0x29:3000x2279/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53850681/72536787.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Tim Boyle/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>“I don’t trust people to not steal my stuff.” </p> <p id="lO47jx">Travelers from several Muslim-majority countries can no longer bring <a href="http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/21/15000424/laptop-ban-us-airports-muslim">most electronic devices</a> on airplanes, the United States and the United Kingdom announced this week. These devices have to be checked into a person’s luggage if they are traveling to the US or the UK. </p>
<p id="fIC7An">When <a href="http://www.iamshooter.com/">Antar H.</a>, a black American Muslim photographer who travels around the world for his work, heard about the ban, he said, “I’m not going to let this stop me. I’m going to come up with creative, innovative ways to continue what I’m doing.”</p>
<aside id="dIuNsN"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data='{"stories":[{"title":"The US is imposing a \"laptop ban\" on flights from 10 airports in majority-Muslim countries","url":"http://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2017/3/21/15000424/laptop-ban-us-airports-muslim"}]}'></div></aside><p id="dB7UZs">As someone who carries a considerable amount of heavy, expensive equipment and travels internationally for his work, Antar was frustrated, especially since he is currently in the United Arab Emirates, one of the countries affected by this new ban. He shared his thoughts with me about what the ban means to him and his future.</p>
<h4 id="juoOO4">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="HmuMci">How did you react when you first heard the news of the ban?</p>
<h4 id="M0ZXIu">Antar H.</h4>
<p id="Gbmk04">When I travel, one of the largest concerns is: How do I protect the massive amount of extremely expensive camera equipment, computers, hard drives that I end up traveling with? For the most part, I’m able to do a carry-on and backpack. Sometimes I have to check certain items in, but for the most part I bring sensitive things with me. </p>
<p id="kvFsNE">You can imagine my surprise and my chagrin that this ban is on essentially all electronic devices except for a cellphone, which is 95 percent of my luggage. I wear the same three things over and over and wash them, so that keeps the weight down. Everything else is cabling and electronic devices. I bring all this stuff on the plane. </p>
<p id="Tyz3cz">Most airlines won’t insure the equipment. They say it’s your responsibility, we’re not going insure $20,000 worth of gear. Checking those types of things opens you up for theft. I don’t trust people to not steal my stuff. The best way to know they won’t do that is to keep it with you. </p>
<p id="0f9ORe">Also, I physically do not have the luggage to check my items. It doesn’t exist. I have a carry-on suitcase, duffel, and backpack. Let’s say I wanted to comply with this ban. How do I physically do it? That’s a problem. </p>
<p id="CXBLQC">My next problem is that most of these airplanes charge you for additional baggage. So I’m going to front the cost of this additional security. If I had one bag, now I have to check my bag with my laptop and they’re going to charge me for checking that, even though it’s mandatory to do so. A Delta flight from the US across the Atlantic, typically they’ll give you one checked bag, but if you already had one, an additional bag is $100.</p>
<h4 id="021pQx">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="I3dhb5">Exactly what kind of equipment do you travel with regularly?</p>
<h4 id="pVl5Bx">Antar H. </h4>
<p id="2vqilv">In my carry-on, I have with me a full-size GoDox photography strobe, which is battery-powered, a light stand, photography umbrella, reflector for that, and an additional reflector. </p>
<p id="gT6BPk">In my backpack, I have a 15-inch MacBook Pro with power adapter. I also have an adapter/converter, Canon 5d Mark 3, two lenses with that, a Sony A6300 camera, two lenses, another GoDox photography strobe, battery pack for that, respective chargers for the cameras, also photography gimbal stabilizer, a portable Bluetooth speaker, iPad mini 4, set of Sony headphones, set of Powerbeats Bluetooth headphones, DGI Magic Pro drone, three batteries and charger, Seagate 2TB hard drive, 512 GB hard drive, a graphics tablet and pen, and a host of power adapters, aux cables to plug everything in and make it work. And also have portable batteries.</p>
<h4 id="3pyjaZ">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="TGSP6z">You’re on a pretty extensive trip right now. </p>
<h4 id="Zi8HIW">Antar H.</h4>
<p id="uSsYmF">I’m currently in Dubai, but my trip started in Toronto. I traveled to Toronto to meet with some friends, shoot some bloggers and social influencers. From Toronto, a client of mine, we have a photo project in Istanbul, so they flew me from Toronto to London because we were going to meet up in London and fly to Istanbul and then come back. </p>
<p id="9GEYca">When I have the opportunity, I stretch out my trip to explore and go to other places. I went from Toronto to London for four and five days, then went to Copenhagen and spent a day or two there. I caught a train into Sweden and went to Stockholm for a few days, then flew to Dubai. I arrived in Dubai and am here for about a week for some fashion events. </p>
<p id="grPGGu">I’m planning to go to Doha for two days, then Istanbul to do the project; I’m here for three days. Then the plan was to fly from Istanbul to London mostly on Turkish Airlines, because it’s an amazing airline, then fly from London via Amsterdam back to Toronto. </p>
<h4 id="7ronIx">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="NoVS6P">You’ll be traveling out of Dubai in a few days, so what do you plan to do? Are you going to comply with the ban and check your stuff in?</p>
<h4 id="ulGwX3">Antar H. </h4>
<p id="NTt62Z">There’s no way. Initially yesterday, I was having a discussion with some people here about the ban like, “Oh, it’s just the US. Oh that’s crazy, we’re absolutely crazy.” </p>
<p id="SvpoZn">In my mind, I was thinking, “Well, I fly out of London. Obviously the British are following us down this rabbit hole.” So they’ve issued this ban too, and I’m like, “Great, that was how I going to get out of Istanbul.” </p>
<p id="OBP0sJ">So now my plan is to fly to probably Milan or Stockholm, then catch a smaller flight on Ryanair or EasyJet from those countries into London. It’s probably cheaper than the additional cost of checking in luggage. But it’s an additional trip and added route for me. </p>
<h4 id="jfQxiR">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="IrvVqX">What do you think about the argument for the security needs for this ban?</p>
<h4 id="KLESmu">Antar H.</h4>
<p id="2xnIQp">People cite security concerns for a lot of things. If you go back through American history, security concerns are a justification for a lot of things that we got away with, from negative racial relations, incarcerating individuals, going to war. I ultimately have issues with conjecture and having to take someone’s word that there is a “credible threat” or whatever. </p>
<p id="AWhAHK">There’s this implication with these types of bans that everyone else is lazy and unable to protect themselves and the only people that are competent are in US and European countries — like we’re the only ones who are diligent. When you travel around the world and meet other people, when you go to a country that actually has a terrorism problem like Turkey, when you go to places like that, you know that’s historically and fundamentally untrue. </p>
<p id="MlM0hM">In India, especially in Delhi, when you present your boarding pass, there are armed soldiers. Even though the terminals are relatively connected, if that’s not the door for your airline, then they say, “No, go to the other one.” When you get through, they check you again. They made me pull everything out of that bag. We think we’re the only ones concerned about our well-being, but that’s just not true. </p>
<p id="dVeGwU">The reality is that when we look at things and people cite security concerns, I think it’s interesting to be concerned with one aspect of security but not another security. When we look at terrorism, the biggest problem is domestic terrorism and it’s from most typically an adult white male. We don’t vilify them, don’t fearmonger, don’t paint them in these broad brushes, but that is the greatest concern for us. </p>
<p id="BCoKxY"><strong>Nesima Aberra</strong></p>
<p id="QTKqHg">In the long term, what does the ban mean for you? </p>
<p id="0k9JHV"><strong>Antar H.</strong></p>
<p id="uq9OXb">I’m not going to let this stop me. I’m going to come up with creative, innovative ways to continue what I’m doing. Whether that’s building relationships in countries so I bring less stuff or if I’ve made friends in those regions, we can have shared mutual arrangements where I’ve got access to things for you and you’ve got access to things I need. There are multiple ways to accomplish what you want, but this ban is not moving ultimately in the right direction. We’re creating more hostility toward us internationally.</p>
https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/3/23/15028820/laptop-ban-photographer-problemNesima Aberra2017-03-07T13:00:02-05:002017-03-07T13:00:02-05:00Inside the Resistance Manual, a guide to Trump-era policies — and how to protest them
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<img alt="Activists Rally Outside GOP Retreat In Philadelphia During Trump Visit" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/laBuNXSiLbqqsfYHMONigK6V-3o=/0x138:4192x3282/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53577833/632771620.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Photo by Jessica Kourkounis/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>A conversation with Aditi Juneja: "Regardless of who you are, policy does impact your life in some meaningful way.”</p> <p id="LJVxpf">After the election of Donald Trump, <a href="https://twitter.com/aditijuneja3?lang=en">Aditi Juneja</a> realized that staying informed on how the country was changing was going to be challenging but critical. </p>
<p id="QNhGEa">An NYU law student, Juneja decided to track everything she could about the new administration’s proposed policies and actions affecting issues such as immigration, health care, policing, and reproductive rights. </p>
<p id="37712u">“Policy can seem like a thing in DC that has nothing to do with your life,” she said. “What I wanted to draw attention to is that regardless of who you are, policy does impact your life in some meaningful way.” </p>
<p id="coXjgd">Her efforts turned into a Wikipedia-style, open source guide called <a href="https://www.resistancemanual.org/">the Resistance Manual</a>, where the public can contribute information about state and local elections, proposed legislation, executive actions, rallies, resources, and events. </p>
<p id="APsOq7">As one of the main editors of the Resistance Manual, Juneja oversees a diverse team of volunteers who keep issue-specific pages up to date. I spoke to her on how she’s creating an inclusive, intersectional movement and why she believes democratizing the organizing process is the key to progress. </p>
<p id="4PCo3O">This conversation has been lightly edited for length and clarity. </p>
<h4 id="Bffx34">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="q6dwx4">Can you tell me about the origins of the Resistance Manual? Why did you think something like this was necessary?</p>
<h4 id="HlCcDq"><strong>Aditi Juneja</strong></h4>
<p id="ga0kML">[After the election,] I was trying to track in a spreadsheet all the policy stuff that Trump was saying and what was going to happen in health care and immigration, etc. I shared this with Sam Sinyangwe, the co-founder at <a href="https://www.joincampaignzero.org/">Campaign Zero</a> and <a href="http://staywoke">Stay Woke</a>. He worked with a team of technologists and volunteers to create a platform to share the information. We decided on creating a Wikipedia-style platform. I was thinking about the audience, content, and approach, kind of something like what Vox does, to make policy accessible to people and also, more importantly, to make it impactful. </p>
<p id="oUmWmk">Policy can seem like a thing in DC that has nothing to do with your life. What I wanted to draw attention to is that regardless of who you are, policy does impact your life in some meaningful way. The Affordable Care Act is not just a piece of legislation. Who gets appointed in the administration is important. It’s not winners and losers, it’s not about <em>Yay, my side won</em>. It allows people to live, allows them to work, allows them to participate in society, and that matters. </p>
<p id="MZDmeW">We’re writing for people who have limited vocabulary either because of education or for non-native English speakers. For example, we have a page on Supreme Court nominations, and we explain what cloture is. We have a page on impeachment, and we explain how the impeachment process works and what kind of offenses there are. In our current news and media environment, especially with Twitter, a lot of nuances are lost. This is not to dumb down the information in any way. We don’t want to miss out on the nuance but rather explain it. </p>
<h4 id="9uu22F"><strong>Nesima Aberra</strong></h4>
<p id="lt0Cb3">Why make it open source?</p>
<h4 id="LTg5B6"><strong>Aditi Juneja</strong></h4>
<p id="ANWgTy">Partnering with Campaign Zero and Stay Woke, their ethos is crowdsourcing information, so that was embedded in the partnership. I like that as an approach particularly for something like this because, one, it’s practical. The information is coming very fast, so if it’s open source and allows other people to contribute, then it doesn’t fall on one person to do that. </p>
<p id="fdoESU">Two, I have limited expertise. I’m a law student, so I have legal expertise, but I don’t know all the ways to resist. I’m a new activist. I’m not an expert in the environment or housing and construction. This allows us to draw on lots of different kinds of people. </p>
<p id="8QbCtC">More importantly, it’s the fact that in a democracy, everyone should get to participate. If you are resisting a person who has authoritarian tendencies, that quashes dissent, it is important that the resistance is as democratic as possible. The way a movement is structured and operates informs the outcome you’ll get. If the movement is racist, you will have a racist outcome. If the movement is ableist, you will have an ableist outcome. For what we are opposing, it’s particularly salient that we have an open, democratic platform for organizing. It’s not just about the ideology; it’s about the process. </p>
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<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wSz2cbgYigCanVlKFkWmbFolZRE=/800x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/8105837/aditi_juneja.jpg">
<figcaption>Aditi Juneja.</figcaption>
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<h4 id="OcdIn8"><strong>Nesima Aberra</strong></h4>
<p id="h7taak">How do you ensure that the Resistance Manual remains truthful and accurate and can be seen as a credible source when there are so many concerns about media bias?</p>
<h4 id="E12YIv"><strong>Aditi Juneja</strong></h4>
<p id="iSjklH">We have content guidelines within the community that are posted on the main page and every subpage, but what we tell our volunteers is for every factual piece of information, we include a citation. We have citations for everything. I’m a law student, so I have citations after every sentence. We live in a hyperpolarized environment, so I try to encourage content contribution and people to source from sites that are considered nonpartisan to the extent that’s possible. </p>
<p id="z6sB1v">Even if we’re sending an opposition to a Republican president, it would be better to source from Republican news sites like the Heritage Foundation as opposed to a left-leaning foundation. We also try to source from think tanks rather than news outlets. I encourage contributors to not take straight from the news outlet but use the sources from the news outlets. News outlets have limited amount of space so you don’t always get to the nuance. Things get glossed over. We have space, so we don’t have those kinds of constraints. </p>
<p id="pUK9wn">I really try to encourage people not to be afraid to be critical of any political party of people on the left. We can hold competing ideas at the same time. The way you get to the best kind is by debating the solutions. We should learn to be able to hold conflicting notions and ideas. Policy is inherently complicated. The reason these things haven’t been sorted out yet is because they come with emotional and moral questions. We have this ethos of justice and equity. It’s not what is right and wrong but more about how we get to what is right and what is wrong. We can hold two competing notions if they are both based in fact. </p>
<p id="e0IeeK">My personal view on this election was not everything was based in fact. Like abortion access, there is absolutely no evidence that access to abortion or choice makes women unhappy. That’s a lie that women’s mental health suffers. There is no evidence to back that up. If there was, I would be fine to include that in the manual. We’d say, “We believe that access to abortion is important, because it’s safe and it’s a choice, however this study says this.” ... We’d allow readers to read that and decide on the information that is presented to them. Where there are challenges and issues, there should be caveats. </p>
<p id="MsBLgz">For Trump’s executive order on entry to the country, there was no competing narrative. The seven countries that he put a ban on, there was no competing narrative to say there was any kind of safety concern. There was nothing there, no alternative. If there was, it would have been fair to share that information, but that information does not exist. So I think from my viewpoint, again, it’s not party-based. We’re nonpartisan. When we talk about elections, there are Democrats not running for office because of scandal or corruption, and we’re happy to share that information. If you follow our ethos of justice and equity, and your idea does, then we’re happy to share it. </p>
<h4 id="1GYxBg"><strong>Nesima Aberra</strong></h4>
<p id="gc3Zpa">What role does intersectionality play in the Resistance Manual’s design and approach?</p>
<h4 id="WW7EKs"><strong>Aditi Juneja</strong></h4>
<p id="HZf8UY">For us, the creation of the Resistance Manual was an exercise of intersectionality. The goal was to try to demonstrate how all of these seemingly different issue areas are related and are important. What we try to do in our team and team leads wasn’t intentional. I was only looking for who was the most actively engaged, but I’m glad to see that, statistically, we’re almost perfectly representative of America across age, LGBT, race — we’re super diverse, and for that I’m really glad, because it brings in all people. </p>
<p id="THw0SF">The point isn’t diversity but inclusion. The point is to bring in different viewpoints. What can be challenging as someone who is trying to champion inclusion and intersectionality is that I still see things through my viewpoint and intentions. It takes some humility to be responsive to concerns people bring to you and not be defensive and be responsive, and realize if something is important for a group’s advocacy or activism, then it’s worth listening to, even if I feel it’s being accurately represented. </p>
<p id="gCKNGd">It’s a challenge having as many voices at the table as possible. We’re fairly representative, but because of the nature of our work, we have a liberal bend. And because it’s policy, we have an educational skew where our people have higher levels of education. I’ve tried in terms of language to be accessible to all educational backgrounds and then in terms of ideology. </p>
<p id="HFf8Pg">I have been recently been making an effort to read more about moral and political psychology and share that with people on the manual and say this is the kind of value message that appeals to conservatives and the kind of value message that appeals to liberals, or these are traps we might ourselves fall into because we think they are important. It’s not to change the information, but if we frame it with certain value messages, it might appeal more to a broader variety of people, such as emphasizing fairness and those politically neutral values. </p>
<p id="daNAQw">I think one of the big things is really about trying to make it about ideas and not individuals. The policy ideas we’re seeing in this administration have existed before Trump and will be there after Trump. The Affordable Care Act was a Republican idea. Before Obama, it was Romneycare. If Trump doesn’t get elected after four years, or doesn’t last his term for whatever reason, the ideas will outlast him. They are embedded in his administration and our political system. So it’s important to focus on the ideas. </p>
<h4 id="kiOdmE"><strong>Nesima Aberra</strong></h4>
<p id="wNTdyN">How do you account for people not able to engage in activism either for safety or because it’s hard on their mental health and well-being? How important is that to address in envisioning effective activism and an inclusive resistance movement?</p>
<h4 id="iWPOPx"><strong>Aditi Juneja</strong></h4>
<p id="1IJgBn">I think that’s important. One of the things we try to do in our “Ways to Resist” section is to give lots of ways to resist. I have a disability. I am nervous attending a protest because if I was to be arrested at a protest and not have access to my medication, that would be a problem. That would be a tamer end of reality for many people. </p>
<p id="n0VLKT">There’s no one way to resist. Some of them are political actions; some are not. We have a link for technologists who want to work on tools. We list protests and town halls but also online events. Resistance has to be accessible not just about language or ability. That’s hugely important. </p>
<p id="hGAiv4">We have a number of people with disabilities working on the manual, and they have expressed to me that it’s empowering to have a way to participate because oftentimes online activism or hashtag activism gets made fun of or looked down on. There’s no doubt that an important part of activism is making sure people know what’s happening. </p>
<p id="mPYUxU">In our Slack channel, we have self-care ideas where people can share or scream and vent. If you’re a team lead, you have to keep up with the news, but it’s okay to not read for the day. There’s a balance between being informed and being saturated. We also have a place for self-care resources on the site because we’re mindful that this work can be emotionally, physically, and intellectually draining in various ways. </p>
<h4 id="EoGZfa"><strong>Nesima Aberra</strong></h4>
<p id="4BATiM">What are the issues that activists need to be more aware of?</p>
<h4 id="L45RFy"><strong>Aditi Juneja</strong></h4>
<p id="m5J5A9">One issue I think people aren’t paying attention to is voter rights and the laws that create more voter suppression and make it more difficult for people to vote. If you look through the Cabinet and administration appointments, they don't have a lot of things in common, but many of them have assaults on voting rights in common, which is a thread that I have not seen explored. </p>
<p id="j7oS8v">I know it’s maybe a less exciting topic, but I think it’s a fundamental topic. Your vote is your voice. A handful of calls to a state legislator might make a big difference. We have tools about that in the manual, and we have information on the bills being proposed. </p>
https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/3/7/14834692/resistance-manual-aditi-junejaNesima Aberra2017-02-01T17:30:02-05:002017-02-01T17:30:02-05:00How a viral protest photo gave this rabbi a chance to spread a message of hope
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<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/lYWuHgx0L2xyahcsnAKF8XMpJQA=/0x0:3000x2250/1310x983/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/53045721/GettyImages_633174316.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Nuccio DiNuzzo/Chicago Tribune/TNS via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>Jordan Bendat-Appell brought his son to a refugee protest and bonded with a Muslim family fighting for the same cause.</p> <p id="WNTzOg">Rabbi Jordan Bendat-Appell and his 9-year-old son Adin joined thousands of protesters at the Chicago O’Hare International Airport on Monday night to voice their disagreement with <a href="http://www.vox.com/2017/1/28/14425542/president-trump-refugee-ban-what-how">President Trump’s recent executive order</a> on refugees and immigrants. </p>
<p id="OabZ3T">While he was there, Bendat-Appell met another father, Fatih Yildirim, who had brought his daughter, 7-year-old Meryem. Both children were sitting on their fathers’ shoulders, holding up posters and smiling at each other, when a Chicago Tribune photographer captured what would became a <a href="http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/breaking/ct-jewish-muslim-fathers-viral-photo-met-20170131-story.html">viral photo</a> of them — two families, one Jewish, one Muslim — inspiring many people by the sign of solidarity and acceptance in a time when the country feels more divided than ever. </p>
<aside id="6vh6NC"><div data-anthem-component="readmore" data-anthem-component-data="{"stories":[{"title":"President Trump's immigration order: what it means and who it hurts","url":"http://www.vox.com/2017/1/28/14425542/president-trump-refugee-ban-what-how"}]}"></div></aside><p id="ItqtYV">I spoke with Bendat-Appell, a program director at the <a href="http://www.jewishspirituality.org/">Jewish Institute of Spirituality</a>, about the protest experience, why that photo was so moving, and, as a father of three, what his thoughts are on teaching tolerance and empathy to children.</p>
<h4 id="BliqFB">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="l66ZpF">What motivated you to attend the protest at O’Hare? </p>
<h4 id="ic47NV">Jordan Bendat-Appell</h4>
<p id="8zX0BL">We were really moved to participate in the protest and inspired by friends and colleagues and thousands of other people around the world who have gone out to protest these policies. We felt especially moved as a family to protest the recent immigration ban because we just feel so deeply in a time of greatest need our country should not be closing its doors to people. And really, from our perspective as Jews, this is a personal thing. My wife, her grandparents are refugees and survivors of the Holocaust. In our tradition, we are all connected, and we need to be aware of our own suffering and the suffering of people today. It didn’t feel extraordinary and heroic, just ordinary people standing up for what we believe is right. </p>
<p id="JRjCo9">We thought it was really important to bring our son, because he has been really concerned about the political situation and interested in what’s going on. When we asked him if he wanted to go to the protest, there wasn’t any hesitation. He was curious about what it was like and all for it. We want to teach our children that this is a tremendous responsibility we have as Americans to be really active parts of our democracy and speak up for what is right. </p>
<h4 id="FQAR1t">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="o6lyKT">Can you tell me more about the signs you were holding and the significance of the messages?</p>
<h4 id="Ftl4SC">Jordan Bendat-Appell</h4>
<p id="lJLaP0">My wife made the signs with our son. As they spoke about the protests, they really just tried to clarify what were our two core messages and the first one, “Hate has no home here,” is to affirm that we are standing up for love and not for hate. The second sign, “We’ve seen this before. Never Again. Jews against the ban,” again connects to our own particular story and our own sense as Jews of the responsibility to speak up at this moment. Also, one of the most beautiful things of the protest, besides meeting Fatih, there were a whole host of Muslim people who came to shake my hand and were curious to ask, “Why are you here as a Jew?” It was so beautiful to shake people’s hands and connect with them. </p>
<p id="9ycG4p">Another thing is I saw three other rabbis that I know and other Jewish friends at the protest, so there were so many other people from our community who were there, and we were really proud of that. </p>
<h4 id="YKwgLL">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="mLppQw">What did you think of the response to the photo of you and your son with Fatih and his daughter?</p>
<h4 id="3re2Lz">Jordan Bendat-Appell</h4>
<p id="E1EbRc">It’s been really pretty amazing to hear people’s responses. It’s been moving. When people see the photograph, they see the promise of hope and the possibility that ordinary people, parents, children, anybody can really in real ways bring light and love and connection into the world, even if there are reasons why we may feel that we need to be separate from each other. </p>
<h4 id="nqcKxM">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="M5xLXe">As a parent, do you think it’s important to include children in advocacy? What are the potential downsides? </p>
<h4 id="GJP1tY">Jordan Bendat-Appell</h4>
<p id="qL9GBd">I think it’s important to talk to children in a way that doesn’t demonize anyone. We really didn’t want this to be about being against Trump, but for human rights, for people. We found our son could really understand that. Some of these issues touch upon fundamental issues of right and wrong that children certainly can understand, and I think it’s so important to involve our children in this work, so that they can really experience firsthand what it means to be a citizen of this country and play an active part in our democracy. </p>
<h4 id="PHOF8g">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="1MqUzJ">What do you recommend for parents who are concerned about the negativity of the political discourse and don’t want it to affect their kids? </p>
<h4 id="EHA5VX">Jordan Bendat-Appell</h4>
<p id="S0tkmJ">There needs to be an appropriate balance, and it depends on the age and temperament of the kid. We try to strike that balance by talking about the issues and not increasing fear, but emphasizing the opportunities to advocate for what we believe in. </p>
<h4 id="mMurIG">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="sr0H1c">What does empathy mean to you, and how do you teach that to your children?</p>
<h4 id="FfiQM2">Jordan Bendat-Appell</h4>
<p id="6FrPA6">Empathy is a cornerstone of our spiritual practice, and it’s something we feel like we always have to be training in. As a family, we try to talk about understanding how other people feel. I know that for my wife and I, as adults, we are always striving to strengthen that. </p>
<p id="1UziQp">There’s always the possibility that when we have experienced pain, we have the impulse when we’re in a position of power to put that pain on other people. But our tradition teaches us, our spiritual practice, that we also have the opportunity to really learn from our own experiences of pain when we are empowered to respond to others in pain. We see that as a moral obligation. </p>
<h4 id="lpxccR">Nesima Aberra</h4>
<p id="wbBNOi">Can you tell me about meeting Fatih at the protest and what your relationship has been like since that night? </p>
<h4 id="76Krxz">Jordan Bendat-Appell</h4>
<p id="GP3kTu">Fatih and I exchanged information, and I wanted to stay in touch well before any of this happened with the photograph. Yesterday, I invited him and his family for Shabbat dinner next week. Today, we spoke about my family going to visit him and his home. We’re also starting to think about how to bring our communities together and are hoping this will be the beginning of something, certainly of a personal friendship, and if it’s just that, I’ll feel really happy. </p>
<p id="Ih9DIY">I want to add that ever since the election, I felt like one thing I could do better is just to connect with people outside of my own community. When we were at the protest, meeting Fatih and speaking with him and his family, I was thinking, such a nice guy, sweet family. My kids go to Jewish day school. They have no Muslim friends, so what a great thing it would be to connect our families. I think that’s something we all can do, reach out of our comfort zone and the confines of our communities and just meet new people. </p>
https://www.vox.com/conversations/2017/2/1/14476824/trump-refugee-protest-viral-photoNesima Aberra