Bombing and Cholera: Yemen. Talk to Senators

RantWoman went to a powerful panel on the war in Yemen featuring Rep. Adam smith, one speaker named Kate from an organization called Win Without War, a different speaker named Kate from the Friends Committee on National Legislation, and a fourth speaker whose name RantWoman is not going to look up here.

Wait. Here are a couple links:
http://winwithoutwar.org/3941-2/
RantWoman finds comments about the cholera academic absolutely stunning and horrifying. Readers who just want to DO SOMETHING are encouraged to stop here and contact their Senators as suggested in the article above.

https://www.fcnl.org/updates/bombs-the-blockade-and-the-humanitarian-crisis-in-yemen-1216

What? Readers had no idea there is a war in Yemen? Readers have been too busy tracking the justifiable teenage outrage after the #FloridaShooting to pay any attention to an obscure Middle eastern country with a humanitarian crisis and a war that is part civil war, part sectarian shooting match, part geopolitical proxy spat. Guess what: aside from bombing in Yemen and supplying arms to one party to the conflict the US is trying to help broker peace. In other words there are headaches from many directions.

RantWoman vaguely aspires to extract something insightful from a forum at Kane Hall about this very war. RantWoman was impressed by all the speakers even though nuggets did not really linger. RantWoman was impressed that Q&A featured mention of two organizations whose representatives sometimes make RantWoman cringe; this time both  people asked thoughtful and insightful questions, one about self-determination for those in the middle of the conflict and one about, basically people who get tired of fighting and decide they need to work things out. Tweets about the event and  containing Yemen came with sometimes vehement comments attached to things in several languages. RantWoman finds herself wondering whether an academic environment like the UW might be a place where people holding the divergent views represented in Twitter could find space to talk to each other. RantWoman would hope.

But first a visit to Planet RantWoman and the subject of #canetravel. RantWoman thinks she knows her way around the UW campus pretty well. RantWoman frequently is reminded of gaps in actual knowledge and need for general fogging around. RantWoman was already late and took a phone call before she found Kane Hall. RantWoman found the lecture hall where the forum was held. First RantWoman found a door to the outside, but RantWoman did find the lecture hall. RantWoman arrived late and the hall seemed full, or at least full enough close to RantWoman that RantWoman decided it made sense just to stand. RantWoman is very grateful someone brought her a chair.

The big #canetravel anxiety occurred after the lecture. RantWoman found the door she had found earlier to the outside.It was almost dark. Crap. RantWoman is not super confident she knows cane cues on Red Square. RantWoman knows there are steps somewhere and RantWoman prefers to find the steps some other way than falling on them. Okayyy. Just follow Kane Hall around to the steps up from Red Square. Go up the stairs, find the road that comes into campus from NE 45th street. Be glad to have enough vision to find sidewalks that will take one to NE 42nd street. Oops. There is a curb that is more of a parking barrier than a curb, but look, there is sidewalk and it comes out on NE 42nd Street, an easy peasy walk RantWoman does all the time to her faith community.

Next stop: world peace?

Um, no. Not so fast. Of course we need world peace. The world's various wars are way too efficiently increasing the number of people with disabilities in the world. Do not forget starving services for people with disabilities to pay for weapons of war.

But the Twitter hashtag #DisabilityInChurch reminds us of other unpleasant realities which get their own rants separate from the fast-growing cholera epidemic in Yemen!