Roses are Red…
Originally I had told Gloria that she had inspired this week’s newsletter article. But something else has come up and next week will be the one that Gloria inspired. It’ll be a good one too- I hope.
Different colors have come to represent different things. And I don’t want to blame this on our elementary teachers back in the 90s who had us use specific colors for specific subjects. Math is red, English is blue, science is green. At least, that’s how it was at my school. Though if you heard some of the arguments betwixt my middle classmates and I, you might know there was no standard from school to school.
And colors have come to represent other things. If you see a stadium awash in pink, you know it’s a night to do with breast cancer, yellow ribbons are active duty military (though I’ve also seen flag themed ones, but I’m not sure what flag code says about that), and green ribbons for mental health awareness. Seems like every color has at least a couple of people who have called dibs as it representing them. Even in the church we use about four liturgical colors. White for Easter and Christmas, purple for Advent, Green for most of the year, and Red for Pentecost.
And we can’t act like this is anything new. Colors have been used to distinguish between groups and teams and status for a very long time. In ancient times wearing robes of bright colors indicated wealth and sometimes specific status, like being a Roman senator. In looking at the Pharisees and Sadducees, one group wore purple robes to indicate the wealth of their faith and one group dressed in plain linen. Easy to tell apart (though there was also a headdress system indicating hierarchy too within the groups.) I even have played a video game in which you could dye your clothing to match the different regions regalia. Or wear the wrong cloak with the wrong sigil and be immediately notorious to the guards of that area.
And colors are the same as they’ve ever been. Well, actually, that’s not accurate.
Tumblr user marzipanandminutiae responded to a complaint that “roses are red, only that part is true, but violets are purple , not freaking blue” with the following:
“They are indeed purple,
But one thing you’ve missed:
The concept of “purple”
Didn’t always exist.Some cultures lack names
For a color, you see.
Hence good old Homer
And his “wine-dark sea.”A usage so quant,
A phrasing so old,
For verses of romance
Is sheer ****ing gold.So, roses are red.
Violets once were called blue.
I’m hugely pedantic
But what else is new?”
Colors vary (shoutout to my color-blind friends!). And colors can easily represent more than one group or organization. Watched a Valley View game in green jerseys against a different green team at one point this year. But theoretically colors help us identify quickly what is dangerous. Though remembering the poem about red and yellow kill a fellow isn’t always easy in the moment.
So, if you saw a big red handprint, what would be the first thing that sprung to mind for you? Would it be women and girls from indigenous groups who have gone missing? Or would you think it was supposed to be part of a child’s craft project? This year the United Women in Faith have chosen two mission projects that they think are vital for furthering the kingdom of God. One is connected to Missing, Murdered Indigenous Women and Girls (MMIWG). You can read more about their mission efforts here. These red handprints represent a bloody and violent history in which women have been erased, forgotten, left behind. And although there are many things it is safe for us to leave behind and progress from, the lives of our fellow humans are not the sort of thing we just abandon. To quote the United Women in faith, “A red hand over their mouth symbolizes the silencing and oppression faced by Native communities”. And this Friday, May 5th, is a day to stand in remembrance with those who are still so often the victims of violence. I hope this Friday you’ll join me in wearing red so that we can remember, honor, and cry out for justice (just like that biblical widow) for those who are so often forgotten or hidden.
