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Books |
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| Chilli Burn Me Tongue |
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Kicking the Elephant’s Ankle |
| An allegory that critiques the
impact of colonialism on Indigenous peoples globally |
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Kicking the Elephant’s Ankle is a children's
storybook that examines bullying and processes to combat
it. It is made up of an allegorical narrative that critiques
colonialism (as a form of bullying) and its impact on
indigenous people globally. It follows the relationship
between "Euro" the elephant and "Adam" the ant and his
colony (tribe) of ants. |
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Euro the elephant asked Adam and his tribe if he
could graze on their land ‘cause the trees were
real ripe. Adam said, “Sure thing, as long as
you share the fruit. Just watch out where you
step and be careful where you poop. But when
Adam returned the next day to his mound he found
that his anthill had been squashed to the
ground. The imperial elephant kept all of the
wealth, and had posted a sign claiming the trees
to himself.
Now Adam and his ancestors had forever toiled
this land and they refused to be displaced, so
they took a firm stand. They shouted and
demanded that the elephant shift but the
hegemonic beast did nothing but resist. |
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| They could not understand why Euro
would not share but the ants soon realized that it just
did not care. They chewed on his ankle and they chomped
on his toes but the behemoth kept on eating only
stopping to doze. So Adam put the word out to the other
colonies around and begged them to come help his tribe
take back their mound. |
He texted
and he emailed, he blogged and he tweeted, he
was ADAM-ANT that his colony would not be
defeated. They came from the west, and they
marched from the east, North and South came
together, to get rid off the beast. They crawled
up the ankle and marched up his shin. In a
matter of hours they had covered his skin.
In a synchronized attack they all a bit him on
cue, Using razor sharp teeth they began a
unified chew. The elephant screamed and dropped
to his knees he cried and he pleaded and
admitted defeat. |
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The ants retreated humbly
and returned to their homelands leaving Adam
with Euro to work out a plan. The two of them
negotiated a treaty that was fair in which the
elephant and ants would get an equitable share.
Euro would eat from the tree but would knock
down some fruit and he would be careful where he
stepped, and careful where he pooped. I wish I
could say that the treaty was honored forever
but history is proving that this could be a life
long endeavor. |
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| Why Are All the Taxi
Drivers....? |
One day while Dakota was watching
T.V., she suddenly jumped up and said: "Hey Mommy, why
are all the taxi drivers brown?" And her mother thought
about the question and frowned and she was about to
reply...but Dakota interrupted her and said: "Why is it
always a certain suspect that the person on the news is
looking for? Mom, I've started noticing it more and
more..." and her mother thought about the questions she
couldn't ignore and she was about to reply...but Dakota
interrupted her again and said: "Are people treated
differently because of the color of their skin or
whether they are tall or short or large or thin?" "And
why aren't there more couples like Daddy and you, on the
T.V. shows and commercials we view, where the Daddy is
brown and the Mommy is white, and the children they love
are a beautiful sight?"
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And her mother realized it was gonna
be a long night...and she was about to reply but Dakota
wasn't done yet: "And...and why is the leader of the
country always a man? I thought you said women could do
anything they can. And where are the wonderful people in
wheelchairs? How come I hardly see them anywhere,
working in the banks and stores that we go to, aren't
persons with disabilities part of the community too?"
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And Dakota's mommy heaved a few
sighs, because the answers were complex to all of these
"why's?". But this is what she said: "Dakotabear, the
points that you make are only partially true, because
the world's slowly changing but we've got work to do.
Every judgment we make about the people we see, has to
include that they are unique, no matter their size or
the faith they believe in, or where they were born or
the color of their skin. We have to believe every person
on earth, is a gift to behold and has incredible worth.
And they have the chance to achieve anything they
desire, whether it's driving a taxi or putting out
fires."
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