***Thankyou to all of you who left comments on Billy's blog and here in regards to his latest post. As you can see from this site meter, he had a TON of traffic on his blog the day of and after he posted it! Nice to know that his work is being read!***Well I figured it wouldn't be long before Billy's creative essays on his blog stirred up some controversy. Afterall, he writes in the style of David Sedaris- and I can't imagine that guy can write for the New Yorker and have 6 Best Sellers without conflict!
The sad part is that the criticism he has received for writing Black Sabbath, is neither constructive or all that well thought out. He has posted the comment in full along with a rebuttal and I would love for my faithful blog followers and friends to weigh in on the subject. You can comment with just your first name under name or with your contact info-whichever you prefer. Or you may not want to get involved. But I will say that the topics brought up by "Anonymous" are ones that we have educated ourselves on and continue to do. We did not go into Transracial Adoption lightly and were blessed to have great training on this aspect of parenting by our foster care placement agency and our social worker who happened to be African American and was with us for the entire first year we had Isaac. We currently have a network of friends and continue to build upon that, families who also do not all look like each other.
And in defense of my husband and his work (which I edited myself very carefully)-it was not meant to be a piece on adoption or raising an African American child. It was more of a reflection upon how hard it can be to be the minority in a majority. Our desire to attend this particular church for awhile was two-fold. First, and most importantly it was to open our horizons to the way others worship, particularly in the African American community. And it was also to get ourselves into the mindset of what it feels like to be the only one who looks like you in a group setting. We were looking for a new church and this was one of many that we tried for awhile. I believe my friends who are parenting African American children would agree that our desire to be involved in a diverse community is not just for the sake of our child, but most importantly because we are now a family of color and all people desire to be around those whom they can identify with. Our children's racial identity is, and with God's wisdom and guidance, will continue to be a priority in our lives.
So if you have time-click on Billy's Blog to the right and read on!!
The sad part is that the criticism he has received for writing Black Sabbath, is neither constructive or all that well thought out. He has posted the comment in full along with a rebuttal and I would love for my faithful blog followers and friends to weigh in on the subject. You can comment with just your first name under name or with your contact info-whichever you prefer. Or you may not want to get involved. But I will say that the topics brought up by "Anonymous" are ones that we have educated ourselves on and continue to do. We did not go into Transracial Adoption lightly and were blessed to have great training on this aspect of parenting by our foster care placement agency and our social worker who happened to be African American and was with us for the entire first year we had Isaac. We currently have a network of friends and continue to build upon that, families who also do not all look like each other.
And in defense of my husband and his work (which I edited myself very carefully)-it was not meant to be a piece on adoption or raising an African American child. It was more of a reflection upon how hard it can be to be the minority in a majority. Our desire to attend this particular church for awhile was two-fold. First, and most importantly it was to open our horizons to the way others worship, particularly in the African American community. And it was also to get ourselves into the mindset of what it feels like to be the only one who looks like you in a group setting. We were looking for a new church and this was one of many that we tried for awhile. I believe my friends who are parenting African American children would agree that our desire to be involved in a diverse community is not just for the sake of our child, but most importantly because we are now a family of color and all people desire to be around those whom they can identify with. Our children's racial identity is, and with God's wisdom and guidance, will continue to be a priority in our lives.
So if you have time-click on Billy's Blog to the right and read on!!
Posts
4 friends commented!:
Oh wowzers... just read all of that on goggy coffee.. not quite sure how to comment yet?? hmm, takes me some processing. certainly interesting, but i wouldn't expect the anonymous folks around to "get it" & sadly many don't. nothing new to us huh?
love ya,
kristin
Yes it is nothing new.
People don't "get it" naturally but I know by us being willing to talk about these things we can help to change that learning curve a little bit!
I talked to a lady yesterday on the phone who is interested in Generations and her end of the conversation was peppered with a lot of statements that made me cringe, but by the end of our talk she said that I had said a lot of stuff that she had not thought about before and she wanted to educate herself on these things. Praise the Lord for using my tongue (that often gets me in trouble) for some good!!
I'm an adoptive mom, not sure if I've commented here before or not.
I read your husband blog and thought that it was honest and transparent and very real. I agree with his response to Anonymos, you can not ignore your son's ethnicity, race, or anything else that makes him who God created him to be. I admire you for wanting to show him you are not afraid to embrace and engage in what makes him who he is.
Our son is half Hispanic although, no one believes it to look at him. That part of his culture is an important part of who he is and we want him to be proud of that!
Blessings!
Thanks for leaving a note, Becky! Glad to meet you. (Your blog is adorable, by the way!)
Thankyou for the comment about us not being afraid to engage-I think that this factor is why we may come across as "pushy" in our strong beliefs on this topic. We know how vitally important it is for our children to have parents that are sharp and ready to be used by God to shed light upon ignorance.
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