where is the problem? I am the problem.

"where is the problem? I am the problem." It's from the autor of Blue like Jazz and now I can totally understand why he gave up the social justice work.

Our passion to serve the justice starts from a documentary named Not for Sale. We are heart-struck while noticing the slaved population and injustice around the world. All what the other people have done really encouraged us to put into some action for the justice. It begins with passion and we believe it will end with fruit. But social justice is such a huge topic. I have no idea how to begin: it's like there is a problem right there, disordered, dark, but no way to clear it out.
So, I couldn’t stop asking myself some basic questions: Where is the problem?
1. I started looking for the problems among communities and people groups and I figured out that every society has problems of injustice and they exist from the beginning of the civilization. Not only societies, but also single person, we all can be the source of the problem and I am the hugest problem because I know myself the best! And China is the hugest problems since I know China the best, and Christians are the hugest problem since I know Christians the best.
...take my home for example: the minorities H.R., welfare for the people from rural China, floating population, Hukou policy, family violence, people with disabilities, … it's too heavy to think about and I felt from my own point of view, the place I called hometown was such a messy in social justice, how can I serve the social justice internationally? Then I reached the point that if I am not free from anxiety, how can I be able to bring some justice hope for the weak and mistreated people?
It's hard. And it's heavy. Can I be that strong, be free from things so that I can state myself as free being?
Easy to say than practice...=)

2. So I decide to think lighter and do something fast & good: website & poster. It's the easiest way to contribute directly to the awareness of the social justice and it's the most efficient way for my personal preference. I can tell people: look, there is a problem we ignore and there is a hope to ensure; I can care about this and you can do the same. I believe that awareness is the beginning of the change. Still, really admire and appreciate those who are serving in the frontier of injustice.
3. Justice and charity.
Before, I thought charity can change the world and I still believed so. But justice seems in a higher position. Even they are similar -- both are for good changes, but they are very different. As Jordan Seng quote from his friend that social justice is system wide fixing while charity is single personal supporting. Justice is carrying power.
It's easy for women to put effort on charity because women are emotional and personal (which is the beauty of the soul). But Mother Teresa of Calcutta's journal told us that charity is challenging.
There is a good example to show that charity is individual: a lady travelled to Africa and found out a kid was sold for slavery by the parents. So she bought the kid back and returned him to his parents and she started an organization to buy back the children from the traffickers, return them home and educate the parents. I would have done the same thing as the lady did if I was in that situation, but would also feel awful since what I had done also engaged into that slavery trading chain.

so, charity is individul while Social justice worker may bring the system wider solutions … but sometimes: it will turn to be : ----

4. Communism! It jumps into my mind and I don’t like that system really. I was told it's good and I knew it's good because it's a system promising abundent life for everyone, but after I read some stuffs from ourside world, it sounded like violently forcing people to be justice even if they don’t want to.
Yes, communism is aiming for building the heaven on earth and the theory is beautifully inspired by the Eden, but the result turns to be painful and violent. To be honest, only two of my friends are faithful communists, my parents may doubt the communism & never told me about communism, but they are content with what they have from confucius philosophy, and my grandpa lead all his life like a saint.
So mentally, if people believed in communism, it's a kinda heaven on earth.
But the fight between Tibet and Communist in history looked actually like a war between religeous group!
So, social justice is powerful and misuse of this power may cause disarster.


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Didn’t know it’s that hard…
I should wear a shirt with “where is the problem?” in front and "I am the problem" in the back...=)