my worst encounter with discrimination thus far.
International Justice Mission is a human rights agency that rescues victims of violence, sexual exploitation, slavery, and oppression. Along with Partners in Health, IJM is the organization for which i want to spend the majority of my future working.
well...wanted.
the other night, i was looking over their website, browsing the application, which i had intended to fill out as soon as school started with hopes of acquiring one of their offered internship for next summer. UVA's masters in public policy program requires an internship between our 4th and 5th years, and tied with PIH as my #1 ideal internship was IJM.
but then, while perusing the application, i noticed in addition to professional references, they wanted "spiritual references". similarly, they wanted a personal, professional, and "spiritual" statement to go along with the basic application.
so i shot a short email to the information address listed on the website, expressing my concern that my lack of religiosity would count against me when applying for the summer internship, given that IJM is a strong faith community. i already knew that much of their mission is based on Christian values, which never bothered me because although i am not a Christian, when it comes to philanthropy work i find that most good-natured people share the same big-hearted values...regardless of their denomination or belief system (or in my case, lack thereof).
my email ended with the following question: "Is the internship welcoming of all non-religious applicants?" and within 24 hours, i got my answer. the following is the email i received yesterday afternoon:
Dear Ms. Massey,
Thank you for your interest in the work of our organization. As with
Mother Theresa's ministry in Calcutta, IJM's mission and core values
derive from the teachings of Jesus Christ. For example, in addition to
our specific professional roles, our staff and interns at times join in
praying for our casework and for each other. So although a strong
commitment to the Christian faith is not required to do the general work
of seeking justice on behalf of the oppressed, it is required to do the
work in the context of our organization's core values.
Thus as a faith-based organization, we only hire Christian employees and
interns who embrace and contribute to our spiritual, as well as
professional community.
IJM attempts to respect the beliefs of all people, as evidenced by the
fact that we routinely collaborate with organizations and individuals
who do not share our faith. We serve our clients regardless of their
race, religion, creed or any other status. We also do not preach or
proselytize to our clients. For these reasons, many of our strongest
supporters are those who agree with the service we provide to our
clients, but do not happen to share our specific faith in Jesus Christ.
Similarly, we hope you will choose to support the work of our
organization. And regardless of any potential difference in views, we
are deeply encouraged to learn of your commitment to seek justice on
behalf of the oppressed and vulnerable.
Sincerely,
International Justice Mission
needless to say, i was A LITTLE FUCKING HEART BROKEN.
are they serious?! they won't let me work for their organization because i don't share the same beliefs? correction...we share enough of the same beliefs to get us both into the same career path, but not enough to participate and contribute to the larger picture?!?!?! ARE YOU JOKING ME?! FUCK YOU! regardless of whether or not i am a part of an organized religion, we're all still doing the same fucking work! we're all still trying to make some sort of difference! and you're gonna try to discourage me from doing so because i don't fit in with the cookie-cutter Christians?!
sure, i could lie - easily! i could paint so much bullshit on that application they'd think i was a new-age fucking saint! but is that what it takes to help now a days? there are RELIGIOUS REQUIREMENTS to fit the 21st century definition of good samaritan!? what is this?! seriously, somebody fucking explain it to me because i can't fucking understand it. anybody who knows me knows that this is exactly the kind of work that i would pour my entire heart into! i would work twice as hard as any of those fucking self-righteous Christians who are so intent on filtering me out just because i don't believe!
the last paragraph thrills me; as if working for people whose beliefs differ somehow justifies their blatant discrimination in their hiring process?! i don't know whether to laugh or fucking cry. if we all want to do the same work, why the fuck does it matter whether or not i pray with you?! separation of church + state...does that no longer apply?! or how about just plain old human decency...Christian values MY ASS! im pretty sure if there was a Jesus, the single most important message he tried to spread was ACCEPTANCE OF OTHERS' DIFFERENCES. and yet here i have an email (not even personally signed, fucking COWARD) from an organization that claims to have derived its mission statement from Jesus' teachings, telling me I CANNOT APPLY BECAUSE I'M NOT FUCKING CHRISTIAN. that doesn't seem very Christian-like, NOW DOES IT!? FUCK!
i called my dad bawling. i couldn't call my mom, because ever since i told her i didn't want to be a Catholic anymore, she has done nothing but rag on me and not-so-subtly harp on me about how difficult my life will be in the future (particularly when it comes to marriage, etc) without organized religion as a backbone. i have tried on numerous occasions to explain to her that what worked for her doesn't necessarily work for me...not to mention her tendency to WARP all minor concerns into full-blown crises (which eventually lead to her insistence that i have a "spiritual disability"). mom likes to talk out of her ass...i remind her of that now and again. so obviously, she was not the person to call on this particular issue...
so i called my dad, a fellow "spiritually disabled" person for some comfort. he was as shocked as i was. i kept pleading with him, "how can this be fucking legal!?" and he had nothing to say except how sorry he was and how insulted he felt for me.
after listening to me vent for a few more minutes, my dad paraphrased the following Rocky quote:
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that.
cheesy as it may be, Rocky is fucking right. Rocky is always fucking right. dad, in more or less words, told me "Rach, if they don't want you - screw'em. you're not the one missing out, they are. we both know that you are gonna succeed in this line of work, with or without their snobbish organization, and anybody who isn't accepting of your personal differences in order to benefit from all of your potential professional contributions...screw'em. you're worth more than that. you're better than that."
i can honestly say that i haven't felt as close to my dad as i did yesterday afternoon on the phone with him in a very long time. my dad never really got that "parenting gene"...he was always more of the friend or the pal while mom did all the real parenting. but yesterday he totally manned-up. and i give credit where credit is due.
thanks, dad.
...........and to all the spineless Nazis at IJM, i hope your God burns you in the Hell i don't believe in.
well...wanted.
the other night, i was looking over their website, browsing the application, which i had intended to fill out as soon as school started with hopes of acquiring one of their offered internship for next summer. UVA's masters in public policy program requires an internship between our 4th and 5th years, and tied with PIH as my #1 ideal internship was IJM.
but then, while perusing the application, i noticed in addition to professional references, they wanted "spiritual references". similarly, they wanted a personal, professional, and "spiritual" statement to go along with the basic application.
so i shot a short email to the information address listed on the website, expressing my concern that my lack of religiosity would count against me when applying for the summer internship, given that IJM is a strong faith community. i already knew that much of their mission is based on Christian values, which never bothered me because although i am not a Christian, when it comes to philanthropy work i find that most good-natured people share the same big-hearted values...regardless of their denomination or belief system (or in my case, lack thereof).
my email ended with the following question: "Is the internship welcoming of all non-religious applicants?" and within 24 hours, i got my answer. the following is the email i received yesterday afternoon:
Dear Ms. Massey,
Thank you for your interest in the work of our organization. As with
Mother Theresa's ministry in Calcutta, IJM's mission and core values
derive from the teachings of Jesus Christ. For example, in addition to
our specific professional roles, our staff and interns at times join in
praying for our casework and for each other. So although a strong
commitment to the Christian faith is not required to do the general work
of seeking justice on behalf of the oppressed, it is required to do the
work in the context of our organization's core values.
Thus as a faith-based organization, we only hire Christian employees and
interns who embrace and contribute to our spiritual, as well as
professional community.
IJM attempts to respect the beliefs of all people, as evidenced by the
fact that we routinely collaborate with organizations and individuals
who do not share our faith. We serve our clients regardless of their
race, religion, creed or any other status. We also do not preach or
proselytize to our clients. For these reasons, many of our strongest
supporters are those who agree with the service we provide to our
clients, but do not happen to share our specific faith in Jesus Christ.
Similarly, we hope you will choose to support the work of our
organization. And regardless of any potential difference in views, we
are deeply encouraged to learn of your commitment to seek justice on
behalf of the oppressed and vulnerable.
Sincerely,
International Justice Mission
needless to say, i was A LITTLE FUCKING HEART BROKEN.
are they serious?! they won't let me work for their organization because i don't share the same beliefs? correction...we share enough of the same beliefs to get us both into the same career path, but not enough to participate and contribute to the larger picture?!?!?! ARE YOU JOKING ME?! FUCK YOU! regardless of whether or not i am a part of an organized religion, we're all still doing the same fucking work! we're all still trying to make some sort of difference! and you're gonna try to discourage me from doing so because i don't fit in with the cookie-cutter Christians?!
sure, i could lie - easily! i could paint so much bullshit on that application they'd think i was a new-age fucking saint! but is that what it takes to help now a days? there are RELIGIOUS REQUIREMENTS to fit the 21st century definition of good samaritan!? what is this?! seriously, somebody fucking explain it to me because i can't fucking understand it. anybody who knows me knows that this is exactly the kind of work that i would pour my entire heart into! i would work twice as hard as any of those fucking self-righteous Christians who are so intent on filtering me out just because i don't believe!
the last paragraph thrills me; as if working for people whose beliefs differ somehow justifies their blatant discrimination in their hiring process?! i don't know whether to laugh or fucking cry. if we all want to do the same work, why the fuck does it matter whether or not i pray with you?! separation of church + state...does that no longer apply?! or how about just plain old human decency...Christian values MY ASS! im pretty sure if there was a Jesus, the single most important message he tried to spread was ACCEPTANCE OF OTHERS' DIFFERENCES. and yet here i have an email (not even personally signed, fucking COWARD) from an organization that claims to have derived its mission statement from Jesus' teachings, telling me I CANNOT APPLY BECAUSE I'M NOT FUCKING CHRISTIAN. that doesn't seem very Christian-like, NOW DOES IT!? FUCK!
i called my dad bawling. i couldn't call my mom, because ever since i told her i didn't want to be a Catholic anymore, she has done nothing but rag on me and not-so-subtly harp on me about how difficult my life will be in the future (particularly when it comes to marriage, etc) without organized religion as a backbone. i have tried on numerous occasions to explain to her that what worked for her doesn't necessarily work for me...not to mention her tendency to WARP all minor concerns into full-blown crises (which eventually lead to her insistence that i have a "spiritual disability"). mom likes to talk out of her ass...i remind her of that now and again. so obviously, she was not the person to call on this particular issue...
so i called my dad, a fellow "spiritually disabled" person for some comfort. he was as shocked as i was. i kept pleading with him, "how can this be fucking legal!?" and he had nothing to say except how sorry he was and how insulted he felt for me.
after listening to me vent for a few more minutes, my dad paraphrased the following Rocky quote:
Let me tell you something you already know. The world ain't all sunshine and rainbows. It is a very mean and nasty place and it will beat you to your knees and keep you there permanently if you let it. You, me, or nobody is gonna hit as hard as life. But it ain't how hard you hit; it's about how hard you can get hit, and keep moving forward. How much you can take, and keep moving forward. That's how winning is done. Now, if you know what you're worth, then go out and get what you're worth. But you gotta be willing to take the hit, and not pointing fingers saying you ain't where you are because of him, or her, or anybody. Cowards do that and that ain't you. You're better than that.
cheesy as it may be, Rocky is fucking right. Rocky is always fucking right. dad, in more or less words, told me "Rach, if they don't want you - screw'em. you're not the one missing out, they are. we both know that you are gonna succeed in this line of work, with or without their snobbish organization, and anybody who isn't accepting of your personal differences in order to benefit from all of your potential professional contributions...screw'em. you're worth more than that. you're better than that."
i can honestly say that i haven't felt as close to my dad as i did yesterday afternoon on the phone with him in a very long time. my dad never really got that "parenting gene"...he was always more of the friend or the pal while mom did all the real parenting. but yesterday he totally manned-up. and i give credit where credit is due.
thanks, dad.
...........and to all the spineless Nazis at IJM, i hope your God burns you in the Hell i don't believe in.