i believe in love. i believe in life.

yup i think that sums it up. rwanda is this small little country. first off. the people are amazing. i love them. i love rwanda.. in that way you know .. where you see someone you know.. and run up behind them jump on their back.. and say hello i love you. :) well i want to do that to all of rwanda. it is small like me.. so i think i can.
well then rwanda also had 3ish months of hell on earth aka the genocide of 1994. going to the genocide memorial (which was very tasteful i thought and rad that they talked about all the genocides in the world)..said that before the 1890 (the dates are lose.. give or take 20 years)..before they were colonized and christianized they claimed that rwanda was one people. then the settlers came and declared that their were three main groups of people. they found irrational ways to seperate them. you know based on phenotypes...like tall and thin, or whatever.. so basically you get hutu, tutsi, twa (the pygmies). the tutsi's were about 15% of the population. the colonist thought they were inherently smarter and thus deserved more respect and more cows, blah blah. blah.. so then you know the rest.. resentment incurred. between the groups.. and hierarchy begins.. now did this happen before? who knows.. but it is credited with the settlement of rwanda this great divide.. so they have one genocide in like the 40's (?) and then again in 94..and guess what.. again in the congo from 99-2004 (i just read something today about this online-basically the tutsi's wanting revenge on the hutu that ran from the law after the genocide was over) ..

So what do we have here? we have people separated and divided based on irrational things. that i can not see. but wow is this still existing here. yes everyone here is now a rwandan. no classes. you can't talk about hutu and tutsi.. it is not socially acceptable. kinda rad actually.

So then why do we divide people? why do we think this is better then that? what is the purpose?


i get that i personally have a bunch of traits of characteristics of phenotypes of history of things that can identify me. but in no way am i defined by any of these things. I am not defined by my identity. My definition is that i am a living being. PERIOD. My identity can be a bunch of stuff.. like a live in cap hill. i have two sisters. i am born in oct. i am a woman. blah blah stuff.. you know. i like to drink fresh water. i like showers that are warm. i like it when it rains. i miss glassblowing. :)


anyway.. i am just over this notion of heirachy.. i can't find an example of where it does good. Discrimination is pointless human trait. i wish we evolved pass this. but we don't. i think it is way easier to pass judgement and to put in some sort of heirarchy and to make oneself feel supior. that is all easy stuff to do. we can base it on any irrational thing. even if it not rational to the person being judged. it is easy to do. too darn easy.

the hard things in life.. the really hard one: to look someone in the eyes..directly.. presently.. aware..and have that smile that originated in the gut of your belly coming up to your lips with the color of compassion.. illuminating.. and shake someones hand out of absolute respect, dignity, and love. no matter who they are. and then .. a hug. to reinforce the love of life.


my thoughts for the last few days. i hope you enjoyed.

love you lots,
Lizzie