Stephen J. Matlock's Blog, page 3

Food Is Family

You just can’t get into Haitian culture if you don’t try pikliz. It’s colorful, flavorful, with a kick of spice, & epitomizes Haitian cuisine and culture.

Sometimes our brains tell the truth while our emotions lie

I felt so slow and ignorant. I’m not that advanced, not at all, and I am a slow learner who is just not going to get much further along than I am. I’m feeling so discouraged.

When you think you want to help

If you see Haiti and you have the urge to “help,” I would suggest that Haitians don’t really need you to come help them. Haitians, like all humans, have great intelligence, drive, creativity, and their own sense of self-worth. If you want to help, find and support Haitians who are doing that work. It doesn’t give you a place to be centered and it won’t provide photo opportunities of you “helping” Haitians.But it will help Haitians by letting them do for themselves.

When it is too much to bear but must be borne

How do I make my faith work anymore (and maybe it never did) when such a very Christian nation seems incapable of seeing the violence we are initiating, celebrating, and dismissing, often while claiming the name of Jesus?

When we resist, we resist completely

You want to terrify politicians? Take away their signs of power which are "respect" and obedience and decorum and complacency. Trip them up, make a point to oppose them at every turn, continuously point out their failures, and continuously refuse to accord them the power to silence you.

Maurice Sixto and His Stories

There is a lot to unpack here, and while the story is interesting, it’s difficult for me because I don’t understand some of the references to the local customs.

Mwen damou pou Vava – a story

I could hear this young kid narrating this story. “My friends, you know me, and you know I wouldn’t tell you stories. But one day I met a girl—or maybe I just saw a girl—and I’ve not been able to remember what life was like before she existed.”

What makes someone a human?

Rather than seek to deny the humanity of gay people and trans people, what about using your religion to help you decide to know more about them so that you can love them better?

It’s Been a Minute…

It was 365 days ago I first started using #Duolingo to begin my journey learning Haitian Creole (#kreyol #ayisyen).Why?

Day 360 : Se Papa Li, Se Pa Pa Li

There are times when I feel pretty good about my abilities, and then there are other times when I think I am the most ignorant and ill-taught student ever.