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10 years ago I was shunned as one of Jehovah’s Witnesses (JWs), and I am now researching JWs hegemonic practice of disfellowshipping (excommunication). When I look back on my entire journey from when I was a practicing JWs, to being a community college student, to UCLA, to now a McNair Fellow, I am deeply appreciate of my experience, including being shunned, and glad that I am now here. #jw #disfellowshipped #sociology #ucla #research (at UCLA Pauley Pavilion)

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Disfellowshipping was not practiced in its current form by the Watchtower Society until 1952.

As late as 1947, the Awake January 8 page 27 described the practice of excommunication as an unscriptural, pagan practice, using Hebrews 10: 26-31 to show it should be left to God to judge individuals.

For more information please visit: http://www.jwfacts.com/watchtower/disfellowship-shunning.php#1

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it’s time, the moment you’ve all been waiting for.........icon pictures from the revelation book

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The Potter and The Sunken Place

The essential materials that a Potter needs for its finished object are clay, water, and a pottery wheel. Clay can be formed, with the assistance of other elements, into virtually anything: bricks, dishware, musical instruments, pipers, paper, and many other things. This flexibility of clay makes it one of earth's most important building materials.  When watching the film "Get Out", I could not help but notice the similarities between pottery and racism. Jordan Peele did a wonderful job in continuing the conversation about racism that is so ever prevalent in our society by utilizing the metaphor of the Sunken Place. 

The purpose of the Sunken Place is to manipulate an object so that it becomes malleable ultimately. ln, the film that object was Black bodies and the process of making such object malleable (hypnosis) was used as a means/desire to inhabit black bodies. Blacks, thus, are the figurative clay in the hands of the potter-Missy Armitage a physiatrist- who chooses what form or purpose Chris was going to take. I am not proposing that Blacks are inferior to whites, no, on the contrary. This film highlights how well-intentioned liberals on some level believe that they are superior. Historically and contemporarily the U.S. modes Blacks to suit whatever proposes it deems necessary. Slavery, Jim Crow, and Mass Incarceration are iterations of the Sunken Place. Such systems of oppressions were and are used to rob blacks of their agency and dominate them, making them slaves. In our present day, it is no different. We are expected to be empty vessels only to be shaped according to the design of the Potter. We are molded for whatever purpose and desire the potter wishes. Both interiorly (referring to the mind/consciousness) and exteriorly (referring to the physical body) we are told how our vessel (mind and body) are to be operated. We are taught and socialized not to question authority, not complain about inequality, feed into a false hope of an American Dream, encouraged to be emotionless, told who to marry, and told what forms of dress and grooming are appropriate.  While we profess egalitarianism and colorblindness in our present society, unfortunately, white supremacy is still alive and well. Hopefully, Jordan Peele's use of the Sunken place will allow our society to see how prevalent racism is and more importantly how such effects those victimized by its existence.

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The Concept of Sacrifice in the Black Community

When watching the film "Get Out," I could not help but notice some subtle themes. For example, Chris while experiencing microaggressions was expected to suppress (i.e., sacrifice) his feelings and to keep the peace and ultimately for whites to inhabit his body. After watching the film, I begin to reflect on what exactly accounts for such a sacrificial character that is apparent in the black community. The Bible in Jeremiah chapter 10:23 states, "man has no power of guiding his steps" (BBE). In the same book chapter 17:9 Jeremiah says, "The heart is more treacherous than anything else and is desperate..."(NWT). Now, this is not a theological debate over the intended meaning of these verses. However, what is clear from these scriptures, and a common theme in the Bible overall, is that God's blesses those who listen to his word and reprimands, punishes, and even kills those who are disobedient or seek their direction in life. In fact, God makes it clear, for example to the Israelites, "…I have put life and death before you, the blessing and the curse; and you must choose life so that you may live…by loving Jehovah your God, by listening to his voice, and by sticking to him. Thus, choosing life is tantamount to listening (being obedient), sticking by God (being loyal), and loving him which also means hating the things he hates. 

Although these messages are found in the Bible, can we not all agree that such subtle messages are found in our larger society. On some level, we are all taught to respect and not question/challenge authority, that listening is equated with being a good citizen. That loyalty is equated with patriotism. Further, we are expected to be uncompromising in our submissiveness to work, religion, and government. All these messages in my opinion, on some level, keep us from living up to our full potential. It stifles us from pursuing our passions, dreams, and aspirations. We are often told to sacrifice ourselves, our endeavors for the benefit of work, religion, and nation. What's strange; however, is that these institutions which socialize us to be selfless and self-sacrificing are the very ones who stand to benefit from such devotion and sacrifice. The question then becomes, are these institutions teaching a philosophy for the betterment of humanity or is such teaching for the benefit and maintenance of their interests? As I see it, usually the very ones preaching the philosophy to be obedient and self-sacrificing fail themselves to be such. In fact, these very ones who make the rules are often the ones who transgressed in the most insidious way. 

Thus, following societal expectations will never secure freedom and joy for you because in doing so we go against our inner voice, our intuition. This is a fatal mistake because listening to the expectations of others is like trying to fulfill their fantasies-their ego. Who can live up to the demands of one's ego? Once one becomes a servant of another's ego they are now under obligation, hence the word expectation. You are under no obligation to anyone but yourself. In fact, if you are neglecting yourself, how can you be of any value to anyone else? Being obligated to someone means you are no longer living according to your desires but that of another. And that is not living.  

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The Sunken Place & Mass Incarceration

The purpose of the Sunken Place is to facilitate the control over another ultimately. In the film, "Get Out," the mechanism of the Sunken Place was used to inhabit Black bodies. The key to entering the Sunken Place lies in the magic (hypnosis) of Missy Armitage, a white female psychiatrist. Once in the Sunken Place, Chris felt powerlessness as he lacked agency over his body and mind.  In our contemporary society, a similar mechanism of control that robs individuals of their agency is a phenomenon known as mass incarceration. According to Joy Moses, a contributor for the Washington Post, the criminal justice system attempts to get US (Black America) to believe that it was our perceived failures in life, not systematic racism, that explains our so-called lazy, uneducated, lack of family/community ties, uncivilized, immoral behaviors. But of course, all of this is a lie. Black America is rich in culture, education, resilience, perseverance, values, and morality. After all, did we genocide Native Americas? Did we kidnap, murder, rape, and separate millions of people and brought them to "the land of the free" to become slaves? Like Chris' character, instead of allowing others to define who we are we out to be proud of what we have overcome as a people. 

Mass Incarceration has many sociological consequences on communities of color as such reinforces racial hierarchy, where whites remain at the top. Now I won't bore you with the details as I am sure you know, that in the land of the free, The U.S. incarcerates more of its people than any other country in the world. However, the most prominent feature of this phenomena-mass incarceration-involves who are imprisoned. For example, Black men account for 40 percent of the prison population while only accounting for 6.5 percent of the U.S. population (13th). The Bureau of Justice reports the lifetime likelihood that a white man will be imprisoned is between 1 in 17 chances. The same report shows the likelihood of imprisonment for black men in his lifetime is 1 in 3 chances (13th). Thus, a system that unjustly criminalizes blacks gives way to racial hierarchy, where blacks are automatically placed at the bottom, while those who are white are not subjugated to unlawful persecution and are allowed to remain at the top. Justice is stratified in looking at the way various races are persecuted throughout society (O'Connor and 13th).  Once in prison or the Sunken Place, inmates are powerless in the face of this monstrous system that devours black and brown bodies. This can be likened to a monster because inmates are unable to gain agency over their body as they are told what to do, how to do it, and where to go. Only a Monster could expand this amount of energy on such a pointless endeavor. Inmates are silenced, no matter how hard we fight and forgotten about in larger society which allows for the perpetuation of racial hierarchies. It is also monstrous because it creates a socially-dead. For example, the enslaved Africans in the U.S. not only submitted to the power of the colonizers but by doing so also acquiesced in their powerlessness which reinforced power dynamics in a society that viewed slaves as unequal to whites. This pacification, although could have spared enslaved individuals from immediate death served only to commute such a physical death (Jones 2016). With all said thus far, although Chris was able to escape the Sunken Place, there are currently millions of our brothers and sisters who are not so lucky. If the key to accessing the Sunken place lies in getting Black America to focus on our perceived failures, then we must be vigilant and unweaving in our commitment to not allow anyone in life to make us feel guilty for things not in our control.

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The Film Get Out: Suppression and Microaggressions

We all to some extent are conditioned to suppress our feelings. In many situations in life, we contain our inner voice and defer judgment to those whom we view as an authority figure: political leaders, professors, psychologist, or clergy/religion. The Milgram Experiment exemplifies this notion by demonstrating how vulnerable individuals are to those in positions of power. Milgram was interested in the relationship between authority and personal conscience. The study concludes that "ordinary people" are more than likely to obey authorities figures by following their orders even if those orders involve harming or worse killing other innocent human beings. In the film "Get Out," Chris' character is the personification of one who suppresses and defers his rather good judgment to authority figures, i.e., the Armitage family and their white guest. Although there are no orders to kill, he does; however, rationalize behavior by the Armitage family that is apparently life threating to him. 

The feelings that Chris suppress are the result of being a receipt of microaggressions. Microaggressions are "a statement, action, or incident regarded as an instance of indirect, subtle, or unintentional discrimination against members of a marginalized group such as a racial or ethnic minority" (google). Here are some examples you may recall: (Dean Armitage) "If I could, I would have voted for Obama for a third term, best President hands down"; Jeremy Armitage say's to Chris, "with your frame and genetic makeup, if you really push your body…you be a f****** beast"; Hiroki Tanaka (the only Asian in the movie), "Do you find that being African American is more advantage or disadvantage in the modern world"; Lisa Deets (middle age white women who squeeze Chris' bicep) says, "So, is it true? Is it better?" Lisa is asking Rose is black sex better. 

Chris' response to hostile remarks reminds me of my suppression. When faced with the numerous encounters of microaggressions, instead of acting on what he feels and "Getting Out," Chris rationalizes, apologizes and concedes to Roses' judgment and perception. Rose was the opposite of a supporting partner. Instead of listening to Chris' concerns she dismissed them as nonsense. Many times, in the film, Chris does what most of us do. We bite our tongs, or we say, "I'm sorry, it's all good." The consequence of suppression is a cautionary tale for all of us Blacks. Chris' suppression led him to the sunken place and near certain death. Although he was fortunate to escape the sunken place momentarily, we must all consider the consequences of suppression.

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Symbolic Meaning of the Sunken Place

Art has the ability to make what is seemingly invisible, visible to others. To unlock our perceptive powers where we can recognize, understand, and act on the things hidden in plain sight. In our contemporary society what remains unseen for many is the prevalence of systematic racism. Jordan Peele, writer and director of the film "Get Out," presents systematic racism in a way that allows audiences to reanalyze race and racism by use of a metaphor, "The Sunken Place." This article will analyze the symbolism found in the sunken place to understand its symbolic meaning. First, what is the Sunken Place?

The Sunken Place denotes an abode where an individual has been robbed of their sense of agency. It is a symbolic and literal representation of a process that suppresses the freeform of others. Thus, the Sunken Place is used by Armitage's as a means to gain mastery over Chris' body and mind. Although there is a key to accessing the Sunken Place, it was Missy Armitage (portrayed by a white female psychiatrist) who gave the authorization to send Chris there, against his will. When sent to this abode, Chris' physical body was essentially paralyzed. He subsequently experienced an out-of-body experience as he moved through an endless room of space and time, falling into an abyss of infinite dark matter. Once in the Sunken Place, sinking into a lower level of darkness exemplifies Chris' powerlessness while also denoting his subjugation and loss of agency. Thus, it can be discerned that the purpose of the Sunken Place is to aid in the control over another ultimately. But why gain control over Chris' body or Walter, Georgina, and Andre, the other black characters, who were robbed of their agency indefinitely? 

In the film, we see the purpose of the Sunken Place was to facilitate the Armitage's desire to steal and inhabit black bodies as a result of their perceived physical superiority. This notion is confirmed around 18 minutes in the film where Dean Armitage gives Chris a tour of his home. Dean mentions that his father lost to Jessie Owens in the 1936 Olympics, a defeat that his father "almost got over." This defeat then becomes the catalyze for the Armitage's desire to covet black bodies.  

Exploiting, occupying, and controlling black bodies is a common theme both historically and contemporary in the United States. Slavery, Jim Crow, and the Prison Industrial Complex relied on, and continue to build, on the Sunken Place for the maintenance and successful continuity of such oppressive systems. In a post-racial era that professes egalitarianism, the Sunken Place is essential because it masterly illustrates, through unconventional methods, a phenomenon- white supremacy-that remains hidden in our society. The symbolism represented by such a metaphor serves in continuing the conversation about racism, that is so ever prevalent in our society, with hopes of creating positive social change through art.