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ellie krug
writer, lawyer, human
Human Inspiration Works, LLC
The Ripple
Vol 6 No. 7 August 2021
Inspired by the words and deeds of Robert F. Kennedy
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Back in the Saddle and Please Meet Jack!
Dear Friends:
It’s been nearly two months since you last heard from me; how are ya doing? I hope the summer has been going well for you!
As for me, there’s been a new addition to the Krugs-of-Victoria household: Jack, an English cream golden retriever puppy, who came home on July 10. I’m happy to report that in the near-seven weeks since then, for the most part, things have gone great. Jack is certainly all puppy with the boundless energy one might expect and he’s also a challenge; I had totally underestimated the amount of life disruption that would come with raising a puppy by myself. (He's also gone from 10 lbs. to nearly 30 lbs. in that seven weeks!)
Still, as you can see from this Lavender Magazine article, Jack has brought me great love and joy and I look forward to having my forever friend for the rest of my life. I just love his wagging tail!
On another note, an extremely busy June with 30+ talks or trainings has been followed by a much slower July and August. That’s come in quite handy with puppy-raising, but on the other hand, there’s still so much that I want to accomplish to make the world a better place. I can’t do that unless I’m talking to people sharing ideas and attempting to spark inspiration.
So here I am, back in the saddle eager and motivated! I hope to see you soon in one way or another!
Remember, I care about you!
ellie
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Teaching Empathy and Inventiveness: Students Build a Baby Stroller for Wheelchair Users |
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Regular Ripple reader John Edwards with Drake University Law School sent along this wonderful Washington Post piece by Sydney Page about a group of Potamic, Maryland high school students who built two adaptive devices that allow persons who use wheelchairs to stroll with infants.
In 2017, Jeremy King, then a nurse anesthetist, underwent surgery to remove a baseball-sized cancerous brain tumor. While the surgery was successful, it left Jeremy with speech and balance challenges, such that he often uses a wheelchair to be mobile.
Fast forward to June 2020 when Jeremy’s wife Chelsie became pregnant. Understanding that Jeremy would want to be active with their newborn, Chelsie (a drama arts teacher at Bullis School) asked a colleague, Matt Zigler, if he could help build something that would allow Jeremy to take their child on walks once the baby was born.
Zigler, who oversees the Bullis School “Makerspace” teaching area, brought the stroller idea to students in his “Making for Social Change” class. As Zigler explained, “A big part of the course is developing empathy for the person you’re designing for,” and with the intended beneficiary being someone within the Bullis School community, the high school students were extra psyched to help.
The class was divided into two groups—one group set about to create a device that would allow a car seat to be attached to Jeremy’s wheelchair for when the baby was a newborn. A second group used a 3-D printer to build a device that would attach a stroller to the wheelchair for when the baby was older.
Through trial and error, the two groups eventually came up with functional designs, including the car seat attachment which was tested using 55 lb. cinder blocks to make sure the mechanism could safely support a baby.
This March, just after Chelsie gave birth to the couple’s son Phoenix, Jeremy and Phoenix took their first ride together (make sure you click on the article to see a beaming Jeremy with his son inches away!). Chelsie took a video to share with Zigler’s class; he reported, “Seeing the video was like hitting a home run. It felt really good.”
Matt’s reaction to being able to ride with his son was equally impactful. He said, “These students gave me the opportunity to do something I thought I would never be able to do. I’m really grateful.”
Readers, every day there are so many positive things going on in the world. We simply need to be on the lookout for stories like this that remind us of human empathy and goodness! Thank you, John Edwards for sharing with me!
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Inclusivity Tip of the Month
Facing Our Fears—Including Fear of “Other”
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I recently did an Ellie 2.0 Radio interview with Ranae Lenor Hanson, author of Watershed: Attending to Body and Earth in Distress, a memoir about facing both a health crisis and the crisis of climate change. Ranae and I also talked about how to bridge the great divide between greater (rural) Minnesota and the state’s urban centers, and our conversation in part centered on dealing with how people are afraid to get beyond their comfort zones. The problem is that fear insulates us and makes it darn easy to build up and maintain stereotypes and prejudices—which only deepens the divide.
My talk with Ranae has me wanting to focus on how we need to talk about our fears, particularly our fear of “Other.” Indeed—and this isn’t an exaggeration—there are many in white-dominated communities who fear that “Black Lives Matter protesters will come down my street and burn our homes.” With me living in Victoria, a Twin Cities exburb bumping up against farms, I recently talked to a man who refused to travel to downtown Minneapolis or St. Paul. His rationale: “It’s like ‘Black Hawk down’ over there.” (That’s an exact quote.)
For sure, the man’s ignorant statement was ground in stereotypes, but it also reflected the man’s fear. I tried to explain that he was wrong about things in the Cities, but he had his fear-dominated mind made up.
How do we honestly face our fears? What are the strategies for getting past fear?
For one, it’s important to label what we’re experiencing/the inner bumpiness we feel as “fear.” Once you’ve done that, talk to someone about the thing you’re afraid of—the mere act of talking about it will begin to make the topic or thing in question less scary.
Second, understand that it’s okay to be vulnerable by admitting you’re afraid; many are hesitant to talk about or acknowledge their fears because they feel it will make them look weak or unable to lead. On the contrary, vulnerability draws people in and leaders who are willing to be vulnerable earn the respect and loyalty of team members.
Third, self-educate about what it is that you’re afraid of. Some of this can be done by a Google search; other self-education takes being brave and meeting people who are different or “Other.” (Or it may take getting in the car on a beautiful Saturday morning and driving to downtown Minneapolis for a walk on the Stone Arch Bridge.)
Lastly, resolve to go forward bravely. Fear in general, and fear of “Other” in particular, limit us. Become engaged in something—a book club, a volunteer opportunity, or an arts event—where you will be put in contact with people who are different from you. It will give you the opportunity to melt away stereotypes and allow for wonderful possibilities to unfold.
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John Edwards and his friend Mary Beal alerted me to this Washington Post story of a 99-year-old woman who befriended a two-year-old boy who lives next door; the pair spends hours together, giving each other relief from the pandemic. Additionally, have you heard of the organization, “No One Left Behind,” which helps Special Immigrant Visa recipients—former interpreters and their families—who are immigrating from Afghanistan literally as you read this? I highly recommend learning about and considering a contribution to this organization, especially at this critical time (and my thoughts are with the Afghan people at large).
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On September 9th at noon CST, I will be part of a panel sponsored by the American Bar Association—the topic, “Welcoming Our Transgender Colleagues in the Law.” This free online event is open to the public (sorry lawyers, it is not a CLE-credit event, but come anyway!). If you have an interest, click here to register; I’d love to see you! Also, if you have the time, I highly recommend this August 14th “Ellie 2.0 Radio” show where I interview Ranae Lenor Hanson, which I reference above. Here too is a victory for an Illinois transgender woman who battled her long-time employer, Hobby Lobby (yes, that Hobby Lobby) to let her use the women’s restroom (the company forced her to clock out and use the women’s restroom at a neighboring business); now, not only can Meggan Sommerville use her store’s women’s restroom, but Hobby Lobby has to pay $200K for the distress it caused her. Wonderful!
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The debate over Critical Race Theory (which fearful people are using as a catch-all phrase to keep America from talking about its race/skin color issues) continues; here’s a story of a Tennessee high school teacher being fired for assigning his class an Atlantic Magazine article by Ta-Nehisi Coates that discusses white privilege and power. Ugh. Here also is a story about a Virginia school board meeting that became contentious over the issue of adopting transgender-positive policies. And did you know that Iowa’s social studies standards don’t include the word, “slavery,” earning Iowa a “F” from the Fordham Institute? Unbelievable; click here to read more. Lastly, here’s a story of how Minneapolis formerly segregated its fire department, and then for decades after, had no firefighters who were of color (other than the white color).
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This month’s Relief features bears and robots—starting with this video of a bear cub wrestling with a golf course flagstick. Then there’s the bear that opened eight car doors in a single night in Estes Park, CO. If real wildlife isn’t enough for you, here’s a video of Boston Dynamic robots acting very human-like. Wow!
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Have you ever heard of a bar drink called an “Angel shot”? Watch and listen as a bartender explains that when someone orders an “Angel Shot” (usually it’s a woman), it’s the customer’s code word signaling they need assistance with someone who’s unwanted in their personal space. I had no idea! Also, check out this video of a passenger “mutiny” over the decision of a UK Easy Jet crew to remove two black men from a flight after the men failed to put their shoes on in preparation for takeoff. The passengers prevailed and the crew was replaced. We need more of this resistance to white supremacy that’s baked into the system…Former colleague and friend Renee Grassi shared a Tweet about a Naples, Italy balcony railing that’s engraved with braille—which describes the stunning view. How smart; how supportive of those with blindness! One more thing: Walmart—yes, that Walmart—recently announced that the 1.5 million workers it and Sam’s Club employs will get free college tuition at one of ten online universities—wow, now that is a way to break down structural racism! See the story here.
Lastly, if you want to help me to do more work for organizations that lack budgets for training, please consider donating to Human Ripple Works, Inc., a nonprofit that others and I set up to train nonprofits/other organizations on human inclusivity. Thank you for that!! If you’d like to support this work, please click here on the HRW website.
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Finally....
The Ripple is a work in progress, so please, I welcome your suggestions and comments! Please share this newsletter with others, too!
Thank you for helping to make the world a better place! I'm at your side, cheering you on, I promise! Please have compassion for yourself and for others.
ellie
Encouraging Open Hearts and Thriving Human Spirits
Human Inspiration Works, LLC: We make "inclusion" an action word
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Ellen (Ellie) Krug
319-360-1692
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