It's a new year, but not necessarily that "Happy" yet. There was good and bad in 2021 which I'd like to reflect on.
First on the list for "Bad" was the Insurrection on January 6, along with all the continued lies that the election was fraudulent and the voter restriction legislation happening at the State level in red/purple states. While some GOP lawmakers spoke out against it when it was happening, many are now backtracking and trying to downplay the severity of that day... and doing what they can to suppress the vote so they can stay in power. The small "Good" of this is that there are some Conservatives that are still appalled by those events, including the few that did vote to impeach Trump for his part. Also good is that there is still a committee investigating what happened and why to prevent another recurrence... And there are judges convicting those responsible.
What the Insurrection also showed me was that the "Christian Nationalists" were out there flying "Jesus Saves" signs along with those carrying Confederate flags. This was really a wake-up call to me. It's not that I think all White Christians are racist Insurrectionist Trump lovers. It's just that there was, in my circles, very little said about it by some of my White Evangelical friends. Just like with the killing of Black lives and the AAPI Hate, some of my White friends said nothing to me about any of it (or worse, "It did come from China")... and I felt like I was being gaslighted. I don't know if it was because they just didn't know what to say or if they didn't believe these things were happening... but it did make me deeply sad to realize that some Christians only want to see what's true in "their world."
COVID and its variants are still a "Bad" for 2021 and 2022, but the "Good" is that the vaccines have been distributed and is keeping many people out of hospitals and/or dying. The "Bad" is that vaccines and masks have become a political issue when they should just be considered tools that all of us can use to help each other out. I credit Biden for trying to distribute them to everybody, but "you can't make the horse drink." The "Good" is that those of us willing to use these tools can do so to protect ourselves from the unmasked as much as possible.
Somewhat "Bad" is that Kyle Rittenhouse got acquitted, but he will have to live with the lives he took. In his case, I blame his parents and his world which glorifies guns and vigilantism while villifying BLM protestors. While there are rioters and looters at some (not all) BLM protestors, they are damaging/taking property, not people's lives. He was a minor and got caught up in something way above his head. Definitely "Bad" were the people encouraging his actions, including the police who were praising him and giving him water. The flip side to this vigilante story is that the three guys who killed Ahmaud Arbery while jogging were convicted. They clamed they were trying to do a citizen's arrest or something, but let's just call it what it was - a lynching. And one of them was stupid of enough to record it.
Derek Chauvin was also convicted for killing George Floyd. While this is a taste of justice, I can't really call it "Good" because these killings shouldn't be happening at all. If it weren't for people recording some of these incidents, all of these people would've walked free. It takes camera footage and persistent family and community members to get these convictions. Just imagine how much goes unseen....
One good is that there is one less war the U.S. is involved in (Afghanistan); the bad is that the pull-out was very rocky. While US and allied forces evacuated more than 120,000 civilians, there were still hundreds left. I can't find any recent numbers about how many are still there that want to leave. War is always "Bad" in my book, so now I'm hoping that things on the Ukraine/Russia border don't escalate.
Another good thing is that a bipartisan infrastructure bill passed; the bad part of that is that a lot of good things got stripped from it. But hey, Trump had four years to pass an infrastructure bill which never got passed. I didn't think Democrats could get anything passed with the Senate 50/50 split. Definitely a major "Bad" is the GOP which refuses to let any of the good stuff pass, even when it helps their constituents.
On a personal level, here are some of the highlights of 2021:
Deepened friendships with Fairfield/Suisun Christian friends
Reignited my membership with the First Chinese Church of SF (FCBC), while retaining friendships with folks at Sunset Ministry and New Life Church
Stop AAPI Hate March with Sunset Ministry
Prayer Walk in Bay View/Hunters Point with FCBC and Pastor Kirk Davis of KairosSF
Screening of Chinese Couplets at FCBC
Finished reading The New Jim Crow: Mass Incarceration in the Age of Colorblindness, Never Caught: The Washingtons' Relentless Pursuit of Their Runaway Slave, Ona Judge, and Reconstructing the Gospel: Finding Freedom from Slaveholder Religion.
Attended training for Fairfield's Neighborhood Court Restorative Justice Program
Annual Summer Trips to Vegas to see old friends and Tahoe with Chan Family (mom's relatives)
2022 Goals:
Become more active with the Neighborhood Court Program
Attend FCBC Events - Services, Bible Study, Retreats, Fellowship Groups, Service Projects, Etc.
Read more books (less time on Social Media)
Blog something on a quarterly basis (at a minimum)
I'm sure there's more that I've missed in my highlights and goals, but I've already written a book (which is a long-term goal). Thanks for reading!
