Sausage

I have finally scoured the scent of sausage and campfire off me. Things that smell good when you are camping with middle schoolers seem a bit putrid once you get home. 

I love middle schoolers. Actually, I love all ages, but one of the delightful things about the pastor gig is you don't hang out with just one age group all the time. We all get a bit tedious at times. But, middle schoolers make me giggle and remind me about the dangers of sarcasm.

They don't quite have the hang of humor and sarcasm yet, and it makes me question my own use of sarcasm. Since so much of my humor is stuck in middle school, I have to be aware that my sarcasm might also be dangerous and hurtful.

Every Lent, I think of giving up sarcasm just to see if I can do it.

But, this year, Elizabeth Peratrovich saved me. I've always loved her, but remembering her story as we celebrated her day on February 16 reminded me what a powerful tool sarcasm can be.

My favorite quote is in her testimony before the Alaska Territorial Senate that exemplifies the power of sarcasm to unveil the prejudices or perspectives we take for granted.

“I would not have expected that I, who am barely out of savagery, would have to remind gentlemen with five thousand years of recorded civilization behind them of our Bill of Rights.”

Sarcasm can be hurtful, but it can also be a way of subverting the assumptions people make. You can't always confront prejudices head on, sometimes you need to mock them.

For those who don't live in Alaska, an excerpt about Elizabeth Peratrovich from the National Museum of Women's History:

Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich (1911-1958)

Elizabeth Wanamaker Peratrovich, a Tlingit Native Alaskan, worked to end racial discrimination against Alaska Natives.  Born in 1911 and raised in Alaska, Peratovich attended college in Bellingham, Washington, where she met and married her husband Roy in 1931.  They returned to Alaska ten years later to raise their family.  They were shocked by the blatant discrimination against Native Alaskans similar to the discriminatory policies toward African Americans.  For example, many storefronts and businesses displayed signs stating "No Natives Allowed" and "No Dogs, No Natives."  Many Natives faced unemployment and poverty due to segregation and discrimination based on their race.  

In February 1945, the Territorial Senate met as a Committee of the Whole to discuss equal rights and a bill that would prohibit racial discrimination in Alaska.  Many senators spoke against equal rights at the committee, refusing to recognize that there was a problem.  Some of what they said included statements like, “the bill would aggravate the already hard feelings between Natives and whites,” and “the bill was unnecessary,” and “the real answer was in the separation of the races.” 

The legislative custom at the time was to open the floor to anyone present who wished to speak on the bill.  Peratrovich was present as a representative from the Alaska Native Sisterhood.  She was the final speaker of the day.  She opened her eloquent speech about prejudice and injustice by saying, “I would not have expected that I, who am barely out of savagery, would have to remind gentlemen with five thousand years of recorded civilization behind them of our Bill of Rights.”  Peratrovich spoke about what life was like for her and other Native Alaskans as second-class citizens.  At the end of her speech she condemned the men’s “superior race” attitude.  Her speech was met with thunderous applause.  The Senate then passed the Alaska Civil Rights Act by a vote of 11 to 5.