A Druid’s Web Log – June 2020 – Rampant bears and protesters in the streets

A MESSAGE OF SOLIDARITY FROM THE TRIBE OF THE OAK DRUIDS

We at Tribe of the Oak send our deepest condolences to the family of George Floyd. Our Druidic Order is founded on the principle that all people are sacred and should be afforded the same rights, responsibilities, privileges and protections under the law. We as a Druid Tribe are devastated by the actions that have occurred in many places and in different forms, against a group of peoples guaranteed these rights under the Constitution that are still denied to many. We mourn the loss and injustice to all that have lost their security, liberty, and lives at the hands of racism.

We of the Tribe of the Oak understand the words of Martin Luther King Jr. when he said, “Riots are the language of the unheard.” Our Tribe understands that those who ignore peaceful demonstrations must suffer the consequences of violent revolution. While we don’t condone violence, we understand it, because for some it is the only way to be heard. We stand with the protestors, even in their anger and even in their devastation, and raise our voices alongside theirs. We feel that Black Lives must matter for all lives to matter. We are committed to working for an equitable and just society for all, regardless of race or gender.

Tribe of the Oak Druids www.tribeoftheoak.com

La Belle Jardiniere – June (1896) *Eugène Grasset*

As I write this the country is in flames. There are massive protests everywhere, due to the police murder of George Floyd, a black man who was already subdued and handcuffed, yet a cop pressed his knee to Floyd’s neck for nine minutes, killing him on the street. There are protests in all major cities, and sadly, some looting and violence (the police are even shooting reporters with rubber bullets now).

The president attacked a group of peaceful protestors who were gathered in front of the White House with tear gas and night sticks, all so he could march across the street for a photo op in front of Saint John’s Episcopal church. Once there he held a Bible aloft and used the setting for a political speech.

The Bishop was not amused;

Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde’s Response to the President:

“The President just used a Bible and one of the churches of my diocese as a backdrop for a message antithetical to the teachings of Jesus and everything that our church stands for. To do so, he sanctioned the use of tear gas by police officers in riot gear to clear the church yard.

I am outraged.

The President did not pray when he came to St. John’s; nor did he acknowledge the agony and sacred worth of people of color in our nation who rightfully demand an end to 400 years of systemic racism and white supremacy in our country.

We in the Diocese of Washington follow Jesus in His Way of Love. We aspire to be people of peace and advocates of justice. In no way do we support the President’s incendiary response to a wounded, grieving nation. In faithfulness to our Savior who lived a life of non-violence and sacrificial love, we align ourselves with those seeking justice for the death of George Floyd and countless others through the sacred act of peaceful protest.”

I live in a rural area and we had a nice little protest at a crosswalk in town yesterday, featuring kids holding signs and gray-haired ladies using walkers. I, as usual, carried the American flag. That confuses some people. One local insisted I must be a Trump supporter because I was carrying a flag at a demonstration against Sheriff Arpaio when he came here to speak at the local gun club. But I also had a sign that said “Ban Assault Rifles”. He just couldn’t wrap his head around the two images and make sense out of it.

There is fear that with all these protests and people marching closely together, not wearing masks in many cases, there will be another big spike in Covid-19 infections and deaths in a few weeks. As I type this, June 3, 2020, there are more than 1.8 million confirmed cases in the US with about 106,241 deaths from the virus. People of color are disproportionately affected, partly because of lack of access to healthcare, an international disgrace, and partly because due to having more melanin in their skin they can’t absorb as much vitamin D from sunlight as whiter skinned folks can.

The whole country is on edge and despair is palpable.

But the good news is that many people are still working from home, not driving as much, and nature is having a great time of it. There is a bumper crop of baby goslings down at the lake. I have had deer in the yard for the first time in decades. And there are bears roaming the neighborhood. A small black bear was in my yard last week and yesterday I saw the same little bear sauntering across the road by the lake, behind a man walking a dog. The man never even noticed. There has been another reportedly huge bear feasting on trash cans, but I haven’t seen it yet.

My hummingbird feeder is bringing in Ruby Throated hummers for the first time, I used to get only green hummers. I have to take the feeder in at night because something, a bear or a raccoon, has been taking it down and drinking the contents. It is always carefully laid on the ground afterwards with nothing broken. There are flocks of birds everywhere in the trees under the airplane-free, deep blue skies.

There is always a silver lining if you look hard enough.

It is almost Summer Solstice!

In Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream, “Puck greets a passing fairy and asks her whither she goes. The fairy tells him exactly what she’s up to:

Over hill, over dale,

Thorough bush, thorough brier,

Over park, over pale,

Thorough flood, thorough fire.

I do wander everywhere

Swifter than the moon’s sphere.

And I serve the Fairy Queen

To dew her orbs upon the green.

The cowslips tall her pensioners be.

In their gold coats spots you see.

Those be rubies, fairy favors.

In those freckles live their savors.

I must go seek some dewdrops here

And hang a pearl in every cowslip’s ear.”

May the strengthening Sun bright us light and not despair.

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