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A6 March 5, 2020 The Chronicle OPINION The Chronicle James Taylor Jr. Publisher Managing Editor Associate Editor Sports Editor/Religion Senior Reporter Advertising Manager Office Manager Administrative Assistant Our Mission Bridget Elam Judie Holcomb-Pack Timothy Ramsey Tevin Stinson Shayna Smith Deanna Taylor Paulette L. Moore 10 ways to make the change you want The Chronicle is dedicated to serving the residents of Winston-Salem and Forsyth Coun ty by giving voice to the voiceless, speaking truth to power, standing for integrity and encouraging open communication and lively debate throughout the community Guest Editorial Learn and teach your children about anger If you can name it, you can tame it. Anger is an emotion and should not be ignored. Teaching childrenhow to handle anger is better than telling them they are not angry and ignoring their hurts. Here is an example in preschool: One toddler takes the other toddler’s toy that he was playing with and he starts crying and yelling, “Give that back to me.” The teacher hears.this and says, “Now, now, you must learn to share. Stop crying and play with something else.” At this point the teacher teaches the toddler to ignore his hurt and pain, to move on and get over it. As this toddler becomes older, he continues to learn to stuff and suppress his hurt and pain. Some of the behavioral symptoms can be: breaking things, causing property damage, disregard of other’s property, verbal and/or physical aggression, road rage, frequent fights, etc. As, time passes, he has learned ways to handle his anger inappropriately, by possibly becoming a bully and/or a very angry boy who turns into a very angry man. As a teenager or adult, he may be diagnosed with intermittent explo sive disorder (IED). Uncontrolled anger can lead to other disorders such as: attention deficit hyperactiv ity (ADHD), oppositional defiance (ODD), anxiety, depression, bipolar, along with some personality disorders. As a result of anger, the individual will experience some physical symptoms such as tightness, tension, pressure in the head or chest.- After an anger episode, the individual may experience tiredness, tremors, rac ing thoughts, inability to focus or concentrate, poor performance in school or at work, or become easily frustrated, moody, irritable, sad and possibly exhibit blind rage. Learning to deal with the above signs and symp toms can help toddlers avoid a difficult life. If a toddler goes.without learning how to control their anger, it can lead to requiring medication and or therapeutic inter ventions for years to come. The toddler must first recognize when someone does something to cause bad or inappropriate feelings. By addressing those negative feelings with a trusted guardian, parent or friend, they learn to verbalize their feelings and are in touch with their emotions rather than wondering about the physical response. Don’t ignore the negative feelings; talk about what he/she is feeling. Slow down their racing thoughts and action by having them take slow deep breaths and communicate what is happening. They can begin to visualize the incident and figure out how they want things to turn out. Dealing with anger can easily be rectified earlier rather than later. Either way, anger can be controlled; it will just take longer in adults because they have developed entrenched behavioral patterns. Here is a tip for children and adults. If you can name it, you can tame it. Feelings are noticed in your body before you verbalize them, but once you say, “I’m angry” and notice the feelings associated with that emotion, they subside more readily than when they are not acknowledged. Knowing that you cannot change anyone but yourself, you have to take charge and learn techniques to quiet the storm that is raging inside. The choice is yours. Stop, think and breathe. This will give, you an opportunity to think about your story. And remember, you are the star and the director of this production called life. Dr. Linda McNair, The Buckeye Review Newspaper We Welcome Your Feedback Submit letters and guest columns to letters® wschronicle.com before 5 p.m. Friday for the next week’s publication date. Letters intended for publication should be addressed “Letters to the Editor” and include your name, address, phone number and email address. Please keep letters to 350 words or less. If you are writing a guest column, please include a photo of yourself, your name, address, phone number and email address. Please keep guest columns to 550 words or less. Letters and columns can also be mailed or dropped off at W-S Chronicle, 1300 E. Fifth St., W-S, NC, 27101; or sent via our website: www.wschronicle. com. We reserve the right to edit any item submitted for clarity or brevity and determine when and whether material will be used. We welcome your comments at our website. Also, go to our Facebook page to comment. We are at facebook.com/WSChronicle. As the editor of Non- violence News, I collect 30-50 stories of nonvio lence in action each week. Each .story offers us a take away lesson for our own work for change. These lessons offer us best prac tices and pro-tips from our fellow human beings who are working for change around the world. We can learn from their successes and their setbacks. We can let their brilliance - inspire us and we can stand on their giant shoulders as we strive to make.a difference in our own way. Nonviolence is one of humankind’s greatest achievements - and it’s just getting started. It’s up to us to take it further, use it more skillfully, and discover how nonviolence can help us be -and make - the change we wish to see in the. world. Here are 10 pointers for changemakers from this week’s news: 1. The ripple effect of the L.A..teachers’ strike In the wake of last year’s strike by Los An geles teachers; random searches of students are coming to an end district wide — landing a blow against racism and racial profiling in schools. The L.A. teachers’ strike was a successful campaign for a set of economic jus tice goals, but its impact continues, showing how powerful strikes can have an on-going effect. Some times, this is true even when campaigns don’t succeed in achieving their stated goals. The 2011 Oc cupy protests didn’t end inequality, but they did break the issue through mass consciousness in an unprecedented way that continues to affect every thing from wages to presi dential campaigns. 2. #NotAgainSU stu dents show why making (and revising) demands is important Amidst hate crimes, Syracuse University stu dents are pressing for ma jor changes in the institu ¬ tion’s approach to diversity and inclusivity. An earlier campaign created and achieved 9 out of 12 de mands. After that success, they revised some of the remaining demands, added a new set, and launched a new occupation of build ings. The checklist of de mands shows clearly how direct action is succeed ing, where the university is dragging its feet, and what work remains to be done. Demands can be power ful - as these students are proving. 3. Climate Victory Gardens embody the pow er of constructive program Gandhi would appreci ate the thousands of people who are fighting climate change one backyard gar den at a time. It’s a con structive program - a type of action that everyone can do, builds strength and community, and address es the problem all at the same time. Constructive programs, like the 2,000 Climate Victory Gardens, have the added benefit of involving people who might not otherwise get involved in the movement. Plus, you get fresh veg gies. What’s not to love? 4. Sunrise activists tell us to quit playing by the rules More than 150 middle and’ high school students from across the United States gathered to demand that senators “stand up or step aside” on the cli mate crisis. “We’re done playing by the rules,” they say. Their boldness reminds us that when the rules of the game are meant to make some peo ple the perpetual winners and .others the losers, it’s time to quit playing by the rules - and perhaps it’s time to change the game entirely. Nonviolent ac tion puts the ball in our court and gives us a whole different way to push for change than through con ventional channels. 5. Spain’s women’s soccer shows us the power of organizing for everyone Following the play ers’ strike in November, female soccer players in Spain have won the league’s first ever collec tive bargaining agreement and league-wide con tracts. Their story shows the power of organizing for - and with - everyone instead of petitioning for individual pay raises. It’s a team sport, after all. 6. Extinction rebel lion’s “Lawngate” shows how property destruction can backfire The notorious climate emergency rebels stirred up controversy by digging up the lawn of Cambridge University. The press dubbed the blowback as “Lawngate.” Was “Lawn- gate” nonviolent direct action or vandalism? Did it serve the climate jus tice movement or backfire on Extinction Rebellion? Property destruction is often controversial, both inside movements and among the general popula tion. When considering its worth as part of an action, it’s important to consider how it will be perceived by your society. Will the reaction serve your cause or detract from it? Did the property destroyed have a negative image that would make the public sympa thetic, or was the action taken seen as simply in choate destruction? 7. Red-state Utah’s Climate Crisis Plan proves speaking beyond the choir matters: In a surprising shift, Utah Republicans are sup porting a plan that aims to reduce emissions over air quality concerns and global warming. “If we don’t think about it, who will?” they say. How did that happen? By talking “common cents,” eco nomic sustainability of ski slopes, and clean air quali ty. When we’re organizing for change, it’s helpful to speak the language of the people we want to change, not our own framings and phrasings. After all, we’re convinced it’s the other people we’ve got to per suade to make a shift. 8. Colombian National Strike Committee’s re newed protests teaches us to go beyond single ac tions Colombians have been campaigning for change for months. They’ve used a wide variety of tactics, mobilized rotating sec tors of the populace, and launched several waves of mass action. Why? Be cause single marches or one-up" demonstra tions aren’t enough. Real change comes from sus tained, creative, strategic sets of actions designed to ' achieve specific goals, and then keep building. 9. Sudan reminds us to protect those who refuse to hurt protesters Sudan recently had a successful nonviolent revolution. The victory did not come without sacrifice - more than 100 people were killed in just one of the violent crackdowns by the regime. Recently, they’ve been campaign ing to protect soldiers who were fired for refusing to hurt the people. Why does this matter? Because it’s helpful to build allies with the very people who are ordered to crack down on your movement. And, it’s important to make sure that soldiers who refuse to hurt their people are re warded, not punished. It sends an important mes sage to their fellow sol diers, leaders, and others about the society’s expec tations around mass move ments. 10. Anti-Gentrification fight demonstrates why collecting solutions helps Half the battle is find ing a better option. The effort to halt and end gen trification recently shared a set of best practices for fighting gentrification, in cluding everything from Community Land Trusts to Tenant Buy Options. The list highlights success stories, offers solutions to entrenched injustices, and comes in handy when you need to come up with an alternative for your com munity These are just 10 of the 50+ stories in this week’s issue of Nonviolence News. There’s a lot to learn from our fellow hu man beings’ efforts toward peace and justice. If we pay attention, stay alert, and take notes, we might find our own work for change grows in power, strength, and wisdom. Rivera Sun, syndicated by Peace Voice, has written numerous books, includ ing “The Dandelion Insur rection.” She is the edi tor of Nonviolence News and a nationwide trainer in strategy for nonviolent campaigns. Have an Opinion? Let us Know letters@wschronicle.com
Winston-Salem Chronicle (Winston-Salem, N.C.)
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March 5, 2020, edition 1
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