American Friends Service Committee

[ujcdv]

Most of us who have foreign born spouses have probably talked about cultural and racial differences at some point in your relationship. In my opinion, those of us on this site who are fighting to get our spouses back have risen above the cultural/racial aspect of our relationships where it is just not an issue if it ever was one.

My point of this post is I found a site where they explain the prejudice/bigotry/hate in a very informative way. This group has experience with prejudice, and no one thinks about them very much anymore. When people do think about them, you think of oatmeal.

Here is the link to the site and their article on Anti-Immigrant Movements

http://www.afsc.org/immigrants-rights/learn/anti-immigrant.htm

[Cherokee]

Their information is really well researched and presented. Thanks for sharing it

[Laurel Scott]

Quakers are over-represented in the immigration attorney community. Actually, I was thinking of suggesting that we have a Meeting for Worship at the conference in Vancouver.

[ujcdv]

Really? I had no idea. I just knew that quakers had alot of experience with prejudice and persecution through the ages.

[Laurel Scott]

That's why we like immigration law.

[ujcdv]

Well, when thinking about that group, I still think of oatmeal and not immigration law ;)

[Laurel Scott]

LOL! You should be thinking Underground Railroad, which was comprised almost entirely of Quakers and former slaves. We're proud of that. Also, Quakers admired the work of a young black preacher in the 60's and arranged for the invitation to India to study Ghandi's methods.

[Laurel Scott]

Can't find the edit button.

Change the above from "paid for his trip" to "arranged for the invitation": http://www.afsc.org/about/hist/king.htm

[ujcdv]

Wow, I did'nt know that either. I also did not know you were part of the group. It doesnt say on your web site.

[Laurel Scott]

Group? Its a religion. Its not common to post one's religion on one's law firm website.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Fox

[ujcdv]

Well call me dense but I always thought it was a pacifist movement not a religion. Learn something new everyday.

[Laurel Scott]

Other Quaker history:

Puritans attempt to wipe "heretic" Quakers off the face of the New World, but Quakers refuse to either back down or take up arms: http://www.massmoments.org/moment.cfm?mid=347

From their arrival in the new world, Quakers recognize the equality of Indians and honor the treaties signed with them. Indian tribes, in turn, recognize that Quakers honor their treaties and never shed Quaker blood: http://www.drwilliams.org/iDoc/index.htm?url=http://www.drwilliams.org/iDoc/Web-213.htm

Quakers found the Underground Railroad: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4p2944.html

In World Wars I and II Quakers are consciencious objectors, sometimes going to prison for refusing to take up arms, and providing humanitarian aide to conscripted soldiers and displaced families on all sides in Europe and Asia. For this, Quakers were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1947: http://nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/peace/laureates/1947/press.html

Those are just some of the highlights.

[Glühbirne]

Wow. I feel really ignorant. I had no idea the Quakers were still around.

I remember learning about William Penn the Quaker founder of Pennsylvania. I did a report on him in third grade, believe it or not. But I had no idea it was still an active religion. I was interested in the Quakers in grade school because I always liked the picture of the guy on the Oatmeal canister and my teacher told me he was a Quaker.

[Laurel Scott]

Puritans are gone. Quakers are still around, yes. He he.

[NYCwife]

Not being a Quaker (I am not even Christian) I had doubts about putting my daughter in a Friends school. She ended up going elsewhere, but I learned a great deal about Quakers and their history and there is much to be admired and respected. And Laurel, it so fits what I have come to know of your personality (superficially, I know) to find out that you are Quaker.

I like the idea of the meetings, too

nycgrrl

[Ana Maria Schwartz]

Yay Quakers! My college and also the colleges my 2 brothers went to were varying degrees of Quaker. Younger brother #1s college is the most Quaker where all or nearly all of their presidents have been Quaker (I went to the women's college so we were women first, Quaker second). These schools require that people take social justice courses in order to graduate. Younger brother #2s college even had a Major/Minor in "Peace studies." I took a bunch of those kinds of classes.

Brother #1 was on a tour of the Congress in Chile and the woman was explaining how they have a yearly meeting of all of the religious groups in Chile "even Zoroastrians and Quakers." My brother informed her he went to a Quaker school and she got wide eyed and had to know, "Do you only eat oatmeal there?" She was completely serious.

Annie

[Laura]

Brother #1 was on a tour of the Congress in Chile and the woman was explaining how they have a yearly meeting of all of the religious groups in Chile "even Zoroastrians and Quakers." My brother informed her he went to a Quaker school and she got wide eyed and had to know, "Do you only eat oatmeal there?" She was completely serious.

Annie

LMAO! You know, I really don't associate "the Quakers" with oatmeal?! Which is kind of funny, because until I moved to Madison, WI when I was 18 I don't think I knew anything about the Quaker religion, and I had eaten plenty of oatmeal. There is a Society of Friends near the UW campus so I later learned a little about it.