Skip to main content

Celebrations and Negations



Today Muslims all over the world will be celebrating Eid.

Eid al-Fitr is one of the two official holidays in Islam. It is celebrated on the first day of the Islamic month of Shawwal and marks the end of the month-long fast observed during the month of Ramadan.

Eid al-Fitr (Feast of Breaking the Fast) is an extremely important religious festival observed by Muslims worldwide. It the former of the two Eid holidays in Islam, the latter being Eid al-Adha, therefore is is also referred to as the Lesser Eid.  - - Anyday Guide

Did you know that Monday, March 31st was originally scheduled as a day off for students in the Howard County Schools?  But, when the Board of Education looked at how they could make up school days lost to snow, they choose this day to be reinstated as a school day. 

Things I cannot tell you: if they understood how this would impact Muslim students, or if they knew and did not care. I can’t pass judgment on that because I do not know. I do know that this decision was extremely disheartening to Muslim families. 

Surely this is a decision that has made them feel invisible and unheard. Christian holidays are protected in our school calendars. We will never have school on Christmas or Easter. Apparently respecting Muslim holidays is just something nice you do if it’s not logistically inconvenient. 

I understand that making up school days is complicated. I don’t understand this.

*****

Today is International Trans Day of Visibility.

International Transgender Day of Visibility is an annual observance that occurs on March 31. It was created to celebrate transgender people around the world and raise awareness of discrimination they have to face.

International Transgender Day of Visibility was first observed in 2009. It was founded by Rachel Crandall, a transgender activist from Michigan, United States who felt that the LGBT community lacked holidays dedicated to transgender people. The only existing transgender-related observance at the time was the Transgender Day of Remembrance which mourned transgender victims of hate crimes but didn't acknowledge living members of the transgender community or address their issues. - - Anyday Guide

Last Friday the Howard County LGBTQIA Commission and the Howard County of of Human Rights & Equity hosted a community celebration of  Trans Day of Visibility at the Elkridge 50+ Center. 

Good for them. 

Forces outside of Howard County are demanding the persecution and erasure of trans Americans. Inside of Howard County we are continuing the work of acceptance and celebration. And thank goodness for that.


*****

I am not trying to create any kind of equivalence by posting these two things side by side. They happen to fall on the same day this year by chance. Both are a part of who we are in Howard County whether they impact us personally or not. 

Perhaps you are not a Muslim. You may not even know anyone who is a Muslim. Perhaps you are not transgender. You may not know anyone who is transgender. 

Are you human? Do you care about treating those around you with humanity?

Today is a very good day to do that. Tomorrow, too.


Village Green/Town² Comments

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting Fresh

One of my favorite days in the Spring comes when this year’s list of Farmer’s Markets is released. That happened this week. New this year are markets in Old Ellicott City and the “Merriweather Market” which, according to the address, will be located here . I mistakenly thought at first glance that it was in the new-construction part of the Merriweather District. I find the name confusing considering its actual location. I’m going to guess that this market is an initiative of the Howard Hughes Corporation because the name seems chosen more for branding purposes than anything else.  Alas, the market in Maple Lawn is gone. The thread on the markets on the County Executive’s FB page will provide you with quite the education in who actually runs the Farmers Markets vs what people often think is going on. Short answer: they are not  chosen nor run by the county. Each market is an independent entity, sometimes started by community volunteers, other times supported by local businesses...
1 comment
Read more

They Can Wait

This is not a typical Saturday post. That’s because, in my community, it’s not a typical Saturday.  Oakland Mills High School, after years of deferred repair, needs massive renovation. It’s pretty simple: when you don’t fix a problem it gets bigger. The school system itself said the the OMHS school building was  "no longer conducive to learning" back in 2018.  2018 .  But Thursday the Boad of Education voted to push it out of the lineup of important projects which will be given the go-ahead to proceed soonest.  In my opinion it’s a terrible decision and sets a dangerous precedent. To explain, here’s the advocacy letter I sent in support of Oakland Mills High School. I was rather proud of it. I am writing to ask you to proceed with needed renovation at Oakland Mills High School in the most timely and comprehensive manner humanly possible. I have read the letter sent to you by the Oakland Mills Community Association and I am in complete agreement. You are extremel...
1 comment
Read more

What Kids Are Thinking

  It’s a Monday in February, and if you guessed that a lot of Howard County students have the new cell phone policy on their minds, you’d be right. It will mean big changes and it will be stressful, no matter how much good we hope it will do in the long run. But on this particular Monday cell phones might not be top of mind, as amazing as that seems. Some kids will go to school wondering if they or family members will be seized by ICE. Some will fear that their parents’ employment will be purged by the ongoing rampage of Elon Musk and his cronies through Federal Government. Some fear heightened and renewed racism as programs that supprted Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion are vilified and destroyed.  Some worry that it soon won’t be safe for them to use the bathroom in school anymore. It goes without saying that some kids fear going to school every day because of the prevalence of school shootings.  And look! Here’s something new to fear. That old hate group, Libs of TikTo...
1 comment
Read more