Message from Marsha Byrnes
Treasurer, WRJ Northeast District
When asked to write this column, my first thought was to write about the “virus vacation,” as my 5-year-old grandson calls it. But Sharon Sobel did a terrific job of that in her June column. Then I thought about the systemic racism in our country, and our world, that was brought so forcefully to our attention by the deaths of George Floyd and other people of color.
Are we doing enough? I don’t attend protests because my husband is high risk if he contracts COVID-19. Is donating money enough? Is voting enough? Would I call 911 if a Black birdwatcher in Central Park asked me to leash my dog? Do I feel that my children deserve the educational advantages my husband and I provided, more than other children? These are uncomfortable questions, and I feel I have not asked them enough.
I live outside Boston, in a town with little crime, little poverty, and few people of color, not counting Asians. Is this segregation good for our society? In a recent New York Times interview, Jon Stewart, formerly of The Daily Show, said,
The police are a reflection of a society. They’re not a rogue alien organization that came down to torment the black community. They’re enforcing segregation. Segregation is legally over, but it never ended. The police are, in some respects, a border patrol, and they patrol the border between the two Americas. We have that so that the rest of us don’t have to deal with it. Then that situation erupts [George Floyd’s murder], and we express our shock and indignation.
I hope the recent protests lead to positive changes. I hope we all realize that we have to do more than just take care of our families and our own communities. We cannot depend on the people in power to take care of everyone else.
There are groups within my synagogue and other faith communities, as well as other organizations, that are trying to make things different. I don’t have the answers, but I am encouraged that many diverse groups throughout the world are taking responsibility for creating systemic change.
I wish you all good health, and hope that Zoom is allowing you to maintain your connections to your families, sisterhoods, synagogues, WRJ, and the wider world.
Sincerely,
Marsha Byrnes
Temple Isaiah, Lexington, Massachusetts
