#as a white atheist born to protestants

[fuckbrained]

i watched netflix’s “you people” and i cant ignore the antisemitism

like the part where eddie murphy’s char is really dismissive of the HOLOCAUST threw me for a loop, he was basically like “you have generational wealth so jews aren’t oppressed.” that was very yikes to me. anyway other than that its just a  midtier movie netflix made to pad its catalog, not too noteworthy, but that scene was really bothersome

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Ryan Burge

Published: Jun 22, 2023

Which group is the most ostracized in America? If you grew evangelical like I did, you were told that conservative Christians were the most marginalized group in American society. It was almost a badge of honor. I can’t tell you how many times I heard preachers quote James 1:12, “Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test.” If you are being persecuted, it means you are living boldly for Jesus.

However, I think at least some of that persecution was (and is) imagined. At least that’s the conclusion I’ve arrived at after seeing a bunch of disparate pieces of data from a variety of sources over the last decade or so.

When it comes down to it, I think the most empirically defensible conclusion is that atheists face more persecution and animus in American society than another other “religious” group.

Let’s start with some data from the American National Election Study. They asked a series of questions back in 2012 that provides some illumination. A feeling thermometer asks respondents to place a bunch of groups on a scale ranging from 0 (meaning very cold) to 100 (meaning very warm). A score of fifty represents ambivalence. I subdivided this by political partisanship, too.

Working class people are beloved, along with the military. So, if you are a working-class veteran - the world is your oyster. Also, the middle-class scores well, too. There are a bunch of religious groups in these thermometer questions - that is great for our purposes.

Which religious group scores the highest? Christians, easily. Among Democrats, the average is 68. It’s 65 for Independents. For Republicans it’s 78. That’s higher than Democrats rank the military. Catholics score a bit lower, but still are far above average ranging from 54 to 65.

There are several groups who score below the midpoint, though. Muslims score 49.6 for Democrats and just 38 for Republicans. Mormons are pretty much in the same range, as well.

How about atheists?

Democrats put them around 43. That’s just 1 point higher than their score for Christian fundamentalists. Atheists score 39 for Independents and 33 for Republicans. That puts them in the same category as the federal government and Congress. Great company!

It’s completely fair to say that no religious group faces more universal disdain than atheists.

Here’s another look at this using data from the Pew Research Center. I really like the setup for this question. It’s, “how would you feel if a member of your immediate family was going to marry…”

The two options they present are:

1. A born-again Christian 2. Someone who doesn’t believe in God.

I am just showing the share who said “unhappy” here and keep in mind that this data is from 2014.

About half of Americans would be unhappy if a close family member married an atheist. That’s crazy high! In comparison about one in ten folks would be upset if their family member married a born-again Christian. Pretty hard to square those numbers with the narrative about evangelical persecution. To be fair, 57% of people said that it wouldn’t matter if the person that was joining their family was born-again, but that’s a lot more ambivalence than outright anger.

Who would be the most upset? Christians, primarily. 77% of white evangelicals don’t want an atheist in their family, it’s 67% of Black Protestants and 55% of Catholics. Mainline Protestants are the hold outs - only 46% don’t want their family member to marry an atheist.

Here’s what I think is really interesting, though. Among non-religious people, there’s not a clear answer about who is worse: an atheist or an evangelical. For instance, 28% of atheist/agnostics don’t want their family member to marry an evangelical. But 13% don’t want them to marry an atheist, either. Among nothing in particulars, they would actually be more likely to be upset if an atheist joined the family compared to an evangelical.

What about some more recent data, though? In November of 2022, YouGov polled 1000 respondents about their feelings on 35 religious groups. They include the whole gamut here from Protestants to Satanists. A lot of folks rightfully didn’t know much about some of these groups, so I excluded them from the analysis. These are just people who had an opinion one way or the other.

No one likes Scientology. Well, actually just 12% of America. Given the recent spate of exposes and documentaries about the group, it kind of makes sense. Fundamentalist Latter-Day Saints aren’t really popular either. Having your prophet arrested and convicted for sexual abuse of children which was detailed in a popular Netflix series may have some bearing on those views.

Islam and the Latter-day Saints are seen fairly equally by the public - about 42% unfavorable and 20% favorable.

Atheists score just slightly better than that. 38% of Americans have an unfavorable view of them, while 24% are favorable. But nearly forty percent are ambivalent. Agnostics are a bit more liked. Their unfavorables are just 29%. But their favorables are 24%, which is no different than atheists.

The only mainstream Christian group that comes close to that level is the Southern Baptist Convention. Their unfavorables are 33% compared to just 27% who are favorable toward the SBC.

The General Social Survey also asked about atheists in the 2018 wave, and the results aren’t really as stark as I would have guessed based on the other data.

34% of Democrats have a positive opinion of atheists, compared to just 23% who have a negative view. Republicans are the exact opposite of that - 34% negative/23% positive. But there’s another way to look at this: two-thirds of Republicans don’t express a negative view of atheists. That’s not what I would describe as overwhelming disdain. There may be some social desirability bias or even acquiescence bias happening here, but I still think this finding tempers the conversation just a bit.

But I wanted to leave you with one more data point from the PRRI 2019 American Values Survey. This question is not posed about atheists specifically but gives another perspective on this issue. The statement is, “It is necessary to believe in God in order to be moral and have good values.”

The only group where a majority agree with that statement is white evangelicals. In the entire sample, it’s just 41% are in favor. I just don’t think that huge majorities of Americans think that atheists are immoral folks. They just don’t like atheists that much as a social group. Which seems hard to square, but that’s public opinion.

For what it’s worth, I think that all these persecution narratives are a really important part of social group cohesion and that’s why they will continue.

It all started to make sense a bit more when I read this great book by Christian Smith called American Evangelicalism: Embattled and Thriving. In it, he uses survey data and interviews to argue that evangelicalism has grown so much and become so influential in the larger culture primarily because it continues to engage mainstream society on a regular basis. As Smith explains it, fundamentalists are fine being pious in their own enclaves, while evangelicals want to transform the world for Christ.

Obviously, American society rejects those advances more often than not and that provides evangelicals substantial fodder for the persecution narrative. That story they tell themselves makes them feel embolden to continue their kingdom building quest - the struggle means it’s worth it. But the constant tension with the world at large also deepens the social ties they feel with each other and increases social cohesion. That’s a pretty good motivation for this rhetoric to continue. For both evangelicals and atheists.

[ Via: https://archive.li/A7c3m ]

[catboybiologist]

Wait, you're Slavic?

Any perspectives on how that interacts with queernes, that is definitely not a thing I know a lot about. (feel free not to answer if it's too personal).

Not really. I'm American born and raised. My parents are technically immigrants, each from a different eastern european country. But they each came over here when they were kids, and have had interesting on and off connections with their home countries. Neither have accents, and typically don't look or act much different than standard white americans. I have noticed some pervasive quirks and values, however, and talking to my more fully Slavic friends, they seem rooted in the same place.

I can absolutely comment on how this has affected me, but I want to be abundantly clear: I cannot speak to an actual, lived Slavic queer experience. I'm not even bilingual (thank you, weird desire of my parents to make me "more american" by not teaching me their languages). I can comment on the cultural norms that it seems like my family has passed down, and the small amount I've seen in the immigrant communities they're a part of here. However, its pretty much impossible for me to untangle these from the quirks of just my family and family friends. That's my disclaimer, and if actual Slavic people want to comment about this (especially with what's happening in Russia) I would love to hear it.

Obviously I'm also not going to completely air my family's dirty laundry as well, so hopefully this won't get uncomfortably specific for me. I do want to talk about it though.

If there's anything I *can* comment on here, I can divide it into two things: atheistic conservative social values, and immigrant academic culture.

As I've said, I was raised atheist. While the orthodox church and other local Christian branches are still culturally relevant forces in Eastern Europe, from my understanding it hasn't been near the level of Catholicism or various Protestant movements in other countries. Most Slavic immigrants I've interacted with are atheist. They do, however, still carry extremely strong conservative cultural values despite that, and are often politically right wing as a result. The most strong and deeply rooted representation of this is the vehement protection of the "family unit" above all else. Which, as I'm sure you all will agree with, sounds nice on its surface but has a lot of branching consequences. Resolving conflict between family members is more paramount than actually resolving the hurt of individuals. There's a sense of forced closeness much of the time. And of course.... queerphobia. Anti gay marriage sentiments, regressive opinions about reproductive rights, anti-trans opinions based on preservation of the ability to reproduce.... yeah there's a lot to unpack there. A lot of this is a common theme, but most of the time, it's rooted in religion. This is very easy to completely excuse in your head. Slavs, however, typically seem to frame the root mentalities that drive these in terms of "survival", the stability of society and the societal purpose of these values, and also weird, lopsided scientific explanations for them (eg, I've heard multiple times independently that gay people are "evolutionary errors"). Which, I'm sure someone way more qualified than me to comment could write a book about how this relates to post-war and post-Soviet collective trauma, but that would be WAY outside of my scope. This makes it... always just a little different than the types of homophobia that people talk about in more classic american families, and its interesting to compare and contrast.

The other one, which I talked about more in my previous post, is high academic standards. This I think is a shared experience of children of immigrants from many places, even a couple of generations out. The stereotype of the "Tiger Mom" is the typical example, even though the scope is well beyond that. But there's a very simple explanation: the United States put harsh immigration restrictions on many countries that were seen as non-allies for the majority of the 20th century. The best way around them was, and still is, being highly educated. It's no accident that my educated family was allowed to immigrate to this country during an arms race with Eastern bloc countries. Brain Drain policies were a factor, and the cultural expectation for immigrants to be "useful" was another. What this creates is a massive cultural message to immigrants: education is the key to everything. When someone's entire current life is dependent on being high achieving and well educated, its going to create some fucky expectations for their kids. I've compared this experience with some of my East Asian friends growing up, and there's a lot of unexpected parallels.

Of course, my parents are a lot more Americanized than most immigrants, so this also falls under the umbrella of "if I'm speaking on something I actually have no idea about please correct me".

Together, I think this manifested in me not as classic internalized queerphobia, but more as a distinct sense that I shouldn't care at all, and shame for wanting to develop an aspect of myself. I didn't really hate the queer aspect of myself specifically, I had a nonspecific distaste for any aspect of my being that didn't comply with the things I said above. I haven't had that much queerphobia directed at me specifically- moreso, its a topic thats not talked about at all, as if its not real. I can only infer an opinion when loose lips start saying things after some alcohol. Which of course, there's a lot of.

Politically, I'm actually very proud of how my parents and grandparents act. They vote in left leaning ways- but they're oddities in their communities because of it. They also do so very begrudgingly (except my grandma, who has strong progressive whoop-your-ass vibes [I love her so much]), and I'm pretty sure its more about the current state of the Republican party as opposed to their actual values. With everything I've said as well, I also have very little idea how they would react to my queerness on a personal level. I'm not out to them, and I know that there's a huge difference in many people's minds between supporting queer rights as a political movement, vs how you engage with a queer person in your actual life. I've heard some very nasty things said by my parents in that regard, and the way there's a rift between "consenting adults doing whatever they want with themselves" vs actually evaluating people as... yknow. People. The "family unity above all else" aspects are particularly scary for me, and I have no idea how they'll react if I ever bring a man home to them, much less when I come out to them about gender. But that's a tangent.

Would love to hear more experiences related to this!!!! Again, its very difficult to untangle how much of this is Slavic cultural values trickling through the generations, and how much is just quirks of particular people I know.

[apollos-olives]

Hi, this is the anon who vented to you earlier. I'm really sorry I put all that on you when you're struggling yourself. I can't imagine how you must be feeling being Palestinian yourself. It wasn't right for me to do that I'm so sorry.

I really appreciated your advice. I was born into a white, atheist/christian family so I've never known religion, but after reading your reply I might consider looking into Islam. It sounds like it's helped you maintain your sense of hope for justice and a better future. I'm glad you have that.

I'm of the belief that there will be justice. And one day our future generations will look back on this in history books and wonder how any of this was ever allowed to happen, in the same way they speak about the holocaust today. Those responsible will be vilified, it's just a question of when.

But remind yourself that you're doing everything you can and you have made a difference. I've been living a dull, meaningless life but your posts have ignited a spark in me. I had no idea how horrific things were until I saw your posts and they've given my life meaning. Your posts have been the reason why I'm taking my friends to a pro Palestine protest outside our local representative's office this Thursday. So even when you feel small and powerless, know that the information you've shared has made a difference. Because of you there will be 5 extra protestors this Thursday. It may not seem like much but there's no doubt in my mind that you've motivated so many more.

And remember to go easy on yourself. Take a break from the news from time to time. I know it's so hard and every minute spent not doing something makes you feel useless. But just for an hour or so. Give your mind a rest. You need to live too. I hope that doesn't seem rude. I just want you to be okay.

awh anon don't apologize at all. i absolutely understand your grief and how you must feel so utterly powerless right now. believe me, i understand. but you're not powerless. here you are, taking you and your friends to a protest. that in itself is wonderful, and every single palestinian in the world right now appreciates you. don't apologize for sharing your struggles, we all need someone to help us sometimes.

i'm so delighted you're looking into islam! even if you don't feel like it's right for you, just learning about it can help you educate yourself by tenfold. i truly think islam is one of the most beautiful things in life, and often times it's the only thing that keeps me going. even if not everyone believes in it, doing some research and learning about other ways of life will only benefit you and others around you. islam has helped me through so much, and i only hope that it can maybe help you find some peace as well.

and you are right for your belief in justice. there will always be justice in the end. no matter how long or how hard we must fight, there will be justice, and palestine will be free. the world will keep making the same mistakes and keep committing horrific crimes but we MUST stay strong and fight injustice in the face of our oppressors.

i'm so delighted that i've helped you in some way. sometimes i really do feel like a speck of dust compared to the sun, but your message is genuinely so heartwarming, so thank you. i'm glad to have inspired you and your friends to take action. things will get better inshallah. thank you for your kind words, and don't worry about it. you are always welcome here <3

[hvrbingers]

[‘apo’ nattawin wattanagitiphat | cis man | he/him | twenty-nine ] ——   welcome to grimrose, lennon saetang. it’s cool that you’re here, you know. haven’t you heard of the history of this place… anyway, how’s being a newcomer who has been in town for five months, especially since you spend most of your days as a photographer for grimrose post? also, not that it’s a bad thing, of course, but i’ve heard people say you can be a little vague more than you are gentle… but that’s just coming from people who are bored here, i promise. to me, you remind me of iris by the goo goo dolls and a camera and skateboard always on your person, wanting to believe there’s good in everyone, a love for your father that you don’t know what to do with. hope to see you around, lennon.

full name — lennon saetang nickname(s) — len, lenny ( his dad only ) name meaning — lover, blackbird, cloak age — twenty-nine date of birth — october 25th place of birth —   boston, massachusetts current location — grimrose, new hampshire gender — cis-man pronouns — he/him sexual orientation — homosexual religion — atheist / it’s complicated occupation — photographer for grimrose / freelancer education level  — bachelors in photojournalism   family —  boribun ‘bobby’ saetang, veronica hayworth ( surrogate ) finances — could be better  spoken languages — thai / siamese, english voiceclaim — apo nattawin  powers — the ability to manipulate magnetism and magnetic fields

inspos: peter parker ( marvel ), erik lehnsherr / magneto ( x-men ), dani clayton ( bly manor ), tk strand ( 911 lone star ), charlie kelmeckis ( perks of being a wallflower ), jonathan byers ( stranger things ), luna lovegood ( harry potter ), peeta mellark ( the hunger games ), marianne sheridan ( normal people ), fleabag ( fleabag ) 

tws: alzheimers mentions, death of a parent

your dad doesn’t talk about where he grew up very much, but from what he does say it was magical childhood, his own father and mother wanting to give him the very best when they moved from thailand. start a new life, raise their son, it might not have been a white picket fence kind of childhood but it was a very happy one before ‘the unknown.’ you were born out of love, out of friendship, on purpose, is what your father would used to say when kids would ask why you didn’t have a traditional ‘mom’. it never used to bother you, and it still doesn’t. you are your father’s son, gentle and kind in such an unforgiving world. 

lennon was given the world from his father growing up, it had always been his father, his best friend veronica and her wife, where one went the other two followed. boston was big but it brought a lot of opportunity for a tiny rambunctious child that could never truly stay still. lennon picks up skateboarding after seeing some kids down their street, he wanted to be just as fast. his dad buys him his first skateboard at six, learns how to ride it for himself and then teaches his son. a couple of bruised knees and palms but he never cries. he’s brave when he needs to be, wants to show his dad that he can keep up with the other kids. 

it’s a happy childhood, lennon is a kid that likes to get his hands on everything, loves to learn and see the world in multi-colour, it’s no surprise when he starts picking up his dad’s old camera and shoots whatever his little eye can see. it comes the skateboard and then the camera, and when his dad takes him to his first protest the pictures that come from it are nothing short but spectacular ( as much as they can be for a child just becoming a pre-teen ). these are the two interests that take up most of lennon’s time an energy but he liked painting too but it was always a little messy. 

when lennon comes out at sixteen his dad makes him a cake and treats it like a second birthday. lennon is loved and cared for in ways that he knows most people are not. there’s kids always shuffling in and out of the saetang house because his dad was a dad to all. it makes sense, because his father was a teacher, and a good way. taught everything that he knew to his young boy who had a thirst for knowledge. 

lennon’s teenage years are not as dark and angsty as they could be but his father starts forgetting things, lennon’s solution is to put sticky notes on the things that he forgets, and reminds him gently that, yes you did tell me that, but tell me it again. 

the world doesn’t flip upside suddenly, it’s a slow and agonising flip that’ll take many years to come. lennon grows older and goes to umass and excels. he has a keen interest in photographic journalism and travels all around the world for the things that he finds important, his dad is proud of him, even if sometimes he forgets to remember him. 

lennon lives in a lot of places before finding homebase in nyc and his dad moves to grimrose to try and find his roots. it’s different now, but bobby always comes to visit lennon for the holidays and vacations, claiming new york city has much more to see than his old hometown.

near the end of his dad’s life does his dad find a permanent fixture in lennon’s new york city apartment, it makes sense because lennon finally has a stable job in the city and can take care of him better there. veronica and her wife visit more and more when lennon has to travel for work, what used to be their unconventional family is brought back together again even amidst the slow-burn of his dad’s declining health.

when his dad dies, the world finally flips and lennon doesn’t know what to do with himself. nothing feels like home anymore because his home had always been a person–his dad. lennon was born on purpose, with a purpose, but he suddenly feels directionless. he takes time off, tries to figure out what to do with himself and his life. 

he ends his lease in new york, packs up his things, and whatever left that his father brought, and he moves to grimrose in the search for finding a sense of purpose, but all that he gets is a house that looks like it was left untouched and memories that he tries to reconstruct back to his dad, and a power that he doesn’t know that he has. 

grief sometimes feels like anger and chaos, for such a gentle boy with gentle hands, it doesn’t make sense. 

headcanons: 

he moved into his dad’s childhood home now that he’s passed but keeps fucking up and making a big mess of everything. he’s been finding out a lot of things about his dad that he never told him. his father’s own parents died when lennon was young so he never had much of a solid relationship with them but from what he knew, they had just about as much love as his dad did. 

truly his dad was just about as much of a wanderer in terms of place as lennon, both never liked staying in one place for too long. his dad loved new york city and so he never minded just kind of dropping out of his life at grimrose to live with lennon or even veronica and her wife in california when they moved

lennon never really was an angry or angsty child, though a lot of things were confusing for a boy that couldn’t exactly stand still in one place for too long which was a burden on a lot of teachers trying to calm down a very hyperactive kid 

was and still is, really big into photojournalism but takes on much smaller projects now, doesn’t really want to go out of town too much because its just the last little remnants of his dad 

he’s been taking on photograph commissions on the side for extra cash, some people have even asked him to document their paranormal experiences with his camera even if he’s a little skeptical about all of it

i’ll eventually dive into his powers when it comes to play but it’s essentially magneto from x-men’s powers and that’s a lot for a gentle guy !! literally doesn’t know why he’s so angry all the time but he is 

still kind at heart, wants to give people the benefit of the doubt and second chances

[rasalhague888]

PROOF: Donald Trump is THE Antichrist

What you are about to read below, verbatim, has been absolutely shadow-banned on all YouTube channel comment sections. Fortunately, I have been able thus far to post on Rumble.com -- for how much longer, I know not.  But the question remains: Why is YouTube banning it?  I even created a new account, but alas, the banning continued.  Meaning, of course, they are blocking by my I.P. address.  If the post was false, or foolish, why would they censor it with such absolute determination?  Clearly, they seek to prevent the wider audience which YouTube would otherwise facilitate. [ And now, as of January 8, 2024, Quora has also shown themselves to be a member of the "ban the truth" cabal. I am not surprised in the least, as others have experienced the same with them: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quora#Content_moderation I can only expect the trend to continue all the more elsewhere.] The censored post is all about Revelation 13, the coming "great deception".

A brief preface:  Barack Obama was neither born in Hawaii, nor in Kenya.  To quote Ezra Pound: "The technique of infamy is to start two lies at once and get people arguing heatedly over which is the truth."  Obama is a clone -- from cells taken from the "missing" mummified remains of the sun-worshipping Pharaoh Akhenaton.  https://www.brown.edu/Departments/Joukowsky_Institute/courses/greatheresy11/files/15241359.pdf Now, the censored post: ==================

Be on the lookout for FIVE figures that are described in Revelation:  (1) The Red Dragon/Antichrist, (2) the First Beast, (3) the Second Beast, (4) the False Prophet, (5) the Whore of Babylon.  [ ed. It is truly astonishing how many Christians conflate the Antichrist and beast as one and the same -- a clear lack of literary comprehension. ]

The most likely candidates:  (1) Donald Trump  (2) Barack Obama -- he is a clone with 7 heads/copies, and an 8th copy which will be destroyed (3) Jared Kushner, (4) Pope Francis, (5) Taylor Swift... (yes, the "Eras Tour" idol, as "crazy" as the notion may at first sound).

The NAR ("New Apostolic Reformation" i.e. HERESY) is based on what they call the "FIVE-FOLD Ministry".  Not an insignificant coincidence.

[ ed. On brief reflection of the demographics associated with those "celebrities", you will find a carefully crafted UNIVERSAL appeal:  male, female, GQ-BLT (☺️), young, old, Catholic, Protestant, Muslim (N.B. "Barack Hussein Obama"), Jewish, black, white, Republican, Democrat, and SECULAR (Swift has many "new-age" and atheist fans without doubt). ]

In the near future, either during a staged debate or inauguration, they are going to perform a mock resurrection.  Obama is going to receive a "mortal head wound" by sacrificing himself to "save" Trump from the attack, and he'll be "miraculously" resurrected (a clone-swap via traditional trap-door stage magic most likely).  Jared Kushner, Trump's "senior advisor" and son-in-law, will demand that all worship Obama, because Trump will give Obama all his authority.  It is quite laughable that Trump self-identifies as a Presbyterian.

[ ed. there is quite a bit of online media innuendo lately concerning the possibility of Trump being a target for "assassination".  A quick YouTube search will suffice. ]

Historically, the "Holy See" has been the arbiter in authenticating miracles, so Pope Francis will legitimize the false resurrection.

As for Taylor Swift, the incarnate manifestation of the "whore of Mystery Babylon" (New York, that "great city"/"big apple" of America), she has been a VERY outspoken supporter of Obama.  She is the scarlet whore that "rides" the beast.  She also happens to be a CLONE of the daughter of Satanist Anton Lavey, nee Zeena Lavey, and by marriage Zeena Schrek. This ought to suffice as evidence: https://rumble.com/v1kj1o1-satanic-elites-exposed-part-7-music-industry-militarized-microwave-mk-ultra.html?start=608

The "mark of the beast" is the digital RFID embedded in every man, woman and child, without which nobody can buy or sell anything (possibly evolved from a rice-sized capsule to GRAPHENE NANO-BOTS). The further miniaturization of the RFID transceiver tech would create a false sense of security -- the mRNA jab may very well be MORE than a mere precursor, albeit receiving the jab is already a sure sign of FAITHLESSNESS. )

The evil genius of Trump lies in the fact that HE will rule by PROXY through Obama, who is not only a clone, but a CYBORG connected to the "Internet of Things", including the computers that run DEW (directed energy weapons).  That is the technology which will permit him to bring fire down from the sky.

https://coverjunkie.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/1289931572.jpg =========================

And there it is -- the censored post (minus the ed. notes)

You can easily prove it to yourselves -- visit any YouTube channel, esp. Christian channels, and try posting it to see how long it will remain before being taken down. Use a VPN or I.P. blocker to protect your own devices/identities. Better yet, another PC altogether. If you see fit, recommend the same to others in your network of believers.

Brothers and sisters, would it surprise you if I told you that many self-professing Christians consider me to be "mad" for making this witness?  I most sincerely pray from the depths of my soul that you are not among them. After all, we have SCIENCE and PROPHECY backing us on this. Because so many Christians do not read the Holy Scriptures for themselves, but rather "heap up teachers to themselves, having itching ears"... esp. Roman Catholics... many are UNAWARE that Jesus Christ does not return UNTIL AFTER the "man of sin", the "son of perdition" is REVEALED, as St. Paul wrote in 2 Thessalonians 2:3 And that man is Donald Trump... a casino-operating mobster and criminal of criminals.  If Joe Biden is crooked, it is Donald Trump that BENT him!

I have heard Trump say in his 2024 election campaign speeches, and I mean nearly ALL of them -- " I am the only one that can prevent World War 3 ".  [ not to mention on a few occasions: " I am the chosen One". ] "Rabbi" Jonathan Cahn prophesies of Trump, the coming "King of Israel":

[ ed. Matthew 23:8 "But be not ye called Rabbi: for one is your Master, even Christ; and all ye are brethren." ]

Speaking of "chosen", who, ultimately, chose to write this 1981 film, "The Omen III: The Final Conflict"?  I saw this when I was 16, and back then I wrote it off as mere fantasy. Not so today!  And we are not alone in our assessment:  https://youtu.be/zyXsjLMnYic?si=b-TiWN5qeUAAHW3u

By what power, then, would Trump be able to prevent WW3?  Nothing less than by the power of performing a MOCK RESURRECTION of the CLONE/CYBORG "Barack Hussein Obama". i.e. "God" power. "“Who is like the beast? Who is able to make war with him?” Meaning: SURRENDER. For those who take the "mark of the beast", their fate is horribly outlined in Rev 9:6: "And in those days shall men seek death, and shall not find it; and shall desire to die, and death shall flee from them." How so?  The RFID biotelemetric feedback monitoring can intercept any motor impulse, because there is a 50 - 60 ms delay between the brain's motor impulse and its discharge to the skeletal muscles. In other words, the A.I. controlled 5/6/7G wireless network can prevent any attempt at suicide.  Although 50 ms seems a very short interval, compared to the speed of modern computers, it is a very LARGE window of opportunity for interception. Data available here:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nerve_conduction_velocity

Just how evil is the devil's agenda? Have a listen to Yuval Noah Harari, an openly degenerate sodomite promoting the "beast" system of "transhumanism". BUT... do not despair:

2 Peter 3:10 But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.

God bless and protect you all in these last days, as we await the NEW JERUSALEM and our incorruptible bodies.  Forever and ever, Amen.

[automatismoateo]

I am a Black agnostic-atheist. When do I speak up? via /r/atheism

I am a Black agnostic-atheist. When do I speak up?

Ya know, they say no one is special. However, I have reason to believe I might be after living quite a unique human experience.

Background: I’m African American (M/24) born in southern Georgia and raised in Baptist/Protestant churches (2x’s/week) for 18 years. I am also gay and early on questioned the doctrine, my faith and especially the anti-homosexual teachings within the church. I was tired of hiding in the closet; the guilt and shame so I came out to everyone 6 months ago with support from friends. :) Unfortunately, my family acted like I never revealed anything and are ignoring it entirely. I haven’t lived with my parents for 6 years. (Waited until I was financially dependent before coming out.)

So I’m gay and black but it gets better. I stopped going to church very soon after I left for college. Didn’t particularly love hearing I’d be ‘damned eternally for loving men’ every week. This time away from home allowed me to look deeper at the world and myself. I slowly converted to agnostic atheism. It was honestly quite easy for me to convert given the amount of homophobia I witnessed in church. No amount of ‘praying the gay away’ worked so I can thank being queer for this necessary revelation. Being a black, gay, agnostic-atheist is definitely a triple whammy in life. Very few people identify with those 3 labels at once. Not belonging to a major social group is quite lonely and socially alienating. Crazy to think that if any one of these labels was changed my life would be completely different. As it is, I’m an anomaly and need to engage in these conversations while I’m a living, walking example.

I understand that religion is an important part of black culture but in many cases it's doing more harm than good within families' social dynamics. I know I can't be the only black person feeling this way, we're all just hush-hush out of fear. They really brainwashed us good and it takes a lot of strength to stand against it. We could get so far as a race if everything wasn't so black and white. So one sided. A religious ‘coming out’ if you will is necessary for our community to tear down these bigoted walls. They need to see we are still lovable/worthy even if we don't share the same beliefs. Change has to start somewhere and we may never see change unless people reveal their truth, wholeheartedly and shamelessly. Maybe then people will come to better respect differences among all facets of life.

So I guess my question is when is it ok to vocalize my sentiment? When is it ok, if at all, to let my people know about the dangers of religion within our community? My purpose in life appears to align with being a beacon of hope for young, black, queer individuals growing up in religious households. If you can relate to those labels; I deeply empathize. I know firsthand how convoluted it can be and sure as hell wished I had someone - anyone to talk to. ~I know change isn't happening overnight I just want to try.

Submitted December 05, 2022 at 04:07AM by EnderVerse1 (From Reddit https://ift.tt/UdEZi64)

[rainbow-femme]

Randomly stumbled upon and subsequently binge-read your converting to Judaism tag. First of all congrats for pursuing your best life, what a journey you're undertaking! Second, I am so curious about why you decided to pursue religion and how you decided on Judaism I'd love to hear whatever thoughts you're willing to share.

I'm mostly curious because I'd love to understand a perspective different from mine. Personally, even though I've experienced "contact Christianity" my whole life as a middle class white Canadian I'm pretty atheistic. And the people in my sphere of observation seem to be tending away from religion as well. (Except my aunt who converted to Catholicism in her 60s, though I'm convinced that was at least 50% a fuck you to my grandmother who hates Catholics).

It’s a bit of a long story, but that’s probably good given it’s a big decision, so I’m gonna put a Read More.

My grandparents on both sides are Irish Catholic (except my born again grandpa but he doesn’t like us so he doesn’t count) and my parents both ended up non religious, my dad an atheist my mom a semi-spiritual agnostic “it’s none of my business” person.

Growing up I dabbled in both areas and neither were for me, for just personal belief reasons not because I felt there was something wrong with them.

So going into college I decided to explore my options, the university library had introductory books on all sorts of religions so I worked through them. Buddhism, Taoism, Sikhism, Catholic and Protestant Christianity, Islam, even went to a meeting for a Wiccan club.

Now you might be thinking “Wait a second how did you just not look at Judaism?” Well I grew up in a really Catholic town with very little Jewish presence and actually was interested when I was younger but I’d been told you can’t convert to being Jewish unless you’re marrying someone Jewish so I figured well that’s either not an option or a bridge I’ll cross when I get there. And given I was under the impression I couldn’t even if I wanted to I didn’t really think to.

I’d describe the religious discernment process for me kind of like dating. I thought each of the religions I learned about were beautiful and very interesting but there just wasn’t that click for me.

School got busy and I was discouraged so I put it indefinitely on hold. Then it was winter break of my second year and I was super depressed. I’ve always had it pretty bad but for whatever reason that year it hit hard and all I did while on break was pretty much just sit around alone staring at nothing.

And then out of nowhere I remembered my grandma owned Joseph And the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat and for some reason I latched onto this as something that could help. I had seen it as a little kid and all I remembered was it was funny and colorful and had music so worth a try. I borrowed it and was watching and the music was fun and it was colorful and about what I was expecting.

And then it got to the scene of Joseph in prison, singing about being at the lowest possible point in his life, and then getting hopeful because even there he didn’t feel abandoned by his people and g-d. And that song fuckin’ hit me in the chest and for days I listened to it and the rest of the soundtrack on repeat because my brain had latched onto it as something good to stay afloat with.

I then remembered I’d never looked into Judaism and thought what the hell I’m on break, I’ve got time, and I don’t know much about it. I quickly learned you could in fact convert so long as you committed to a pretty involved process. And then I learned about the centrality on community and peoplehood, the encouragement to ask questions, the fact that it embraced disagreement and didn’t put forward a unified set of Correct Answers for everything and I really got interested.

Notably I didn’t mention g-d there because by that point I didn’t really know what I believed with g-d. I’d been raised in a house where it was just always put forward as fact that obviously there was no such thing so it was harder than I expected to get into that frame of mind.

So I went back to school and saw a flyer for the Jewish club and thought I’d go just to see if I could ask some questions and hoped it wouldn’t be seen as too weird. About five minutes in I was invited to the local chabad rabbi’s house on Friday night for Shabbat dinner. (Chabad is a Hasidic Jewish group who set up in different cities and towns and provide for the community’s Jewish needs. There was no nearby synagogue so they were the de facto synagogue and center of Jewish life in the town.)

I was super nervous, I’d never met anyone who I was aware had any Jewish observance and I was very afraid they’d be mad I was there and ask me to leave or ignore me. But they welcomed me in with the other college kids, asked questions, and when they heard I was looking into Judaism they told me they’d both done the same and had themselves converted while in college and welcomed me to be as involved as I wanted to be.

So for the next two years I went to Shabbat dinner at their house at least once a month, was invited to their holiday services, helped clean their house for Passover, took the different introductory Jewish classes the rabbi offered once a semester, went on the trips each semester to big gatherings of Jewish college kids and rabbis where they held different seminars on different topics, including the one to Crown Heights.

And I just never got bored, never lost interest even when the honeymoon phase ended, kept exploring it and also my personal feelings about g-d and the different ways you can even conceptualize the idea of g-d.

So I graduated and ended up in northern New Jersey which was the exact opposite of where I grew up and there was every level of observance everywhere you looked. So I got involved with a synagogue and started converting. Worked with the rabbi, went to services, went to Shabbat dinner with various community members and was involved in community life.

Then I lost my job and had to move back to upstate New York. Then covid hit and getting back to the process was off the table. But then summer of 2021 I saw a Facebook ad for a job at a Jewish non profit and ended up working there and it really got me determined to start again as soon as I could.

So this past September when stuff opened up enough for me to reach out I got started again. Meeting with the rabbi for lessons, taking a Jewish class, going to services, starting to work observance into my life as I went along.

And now we’ve determined I should be ready in September so we’re planning on some more in depth lessons over the summer and hopefully more involvement in synagogue life as synagogue life becomes a thing again, and then 7 years after I initially started looking into it I’ll be Jewish.

[wangisking]

𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋𝐋𝐘  𝐋𝐎𝐍𝐆  𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐑𝐀𝐂𝐓𝐄𝐑  𝐒𝐔𝐑𝐕𝐄𝐘

BASICS. FULL    NAME  :  Augustus Alexander Wang  NICKNAME  :  August and Gus ( in general ), Auggie, Ice Prince, and Guggie ( by Aurora ). Aug and Lestat  ( by Jack ),  NAME    MEANINGS  : Augustus is  Latin for  the great / the magnificent.  Alexander is also Latin and means defender of mankind. From what I know, Wang in Chinese means king.  HISTORICAL    CONNECTION ?  : Though, his dad did think of the Roman Emperor Augustus when they named him, they liked the meaning. It seemed to fit him. They weren’t wrong, he was an emperor and he still has that energy.   AGE  :  22. Like Aurora, he can’t age past 22. He wouldn’t have minded either way.    BIRTHDAY  :  5th  April ETHNIC    GROUP  :   Augustus is half Korean and half Brazilian.  NATIONALITY  :   British LANGUAGES  :   fluent  in  English and French. Conversational Latin. Broken Korean. Learning Urdu. SEXUAL    ORIENTATION  :  demi-heterosexual ROMANTIC    ORIENTATION  :  demi-heterosexual RELATIONSHIP    STATUS  :   Single and doesn’t want to mingle. He had only one serious relationship in the past with Aurora Shams from 2017-2019.  CLASS  :  Upper  class,  Wealthy but not private-jet kind of wealthy.  HOME    TOWN  /  AREA  :  London till he was 10 and Vancouver till he was 17 CURRENT    HOME  :  Los  Angeles PROFESSION  :   Drummer, songwriter, model, and student.    PHYSICAL. HAIR  :  long  and  wavy.  Chestnut brown. Here is an example. It goes down his earlobes in length.    EYES  :  piercing, almond-shaped eyes. Naturally brown, but he wears blue or green contact lenses.  NOSE  :   a Greek nose, straight without bumps. FACE  :  Oblong shaped, sharp and chiseled cheekbones, strong jaw. Masculine features. Example.  LIPS  :  not  full  nor  thin, heart shaped.     COMPLEXION  :  pretty pale. Example is same as the face section.  SCARS  :  one on his chest. TATTOOS  :  a very small ‘10/17′ on his left rib.   PIERCINGS:  earlobes HEIGHT  :  6′5″  or  195cm.   BUILD  :  Inverted triangle. Broad, tapered shoulders. Muscular. Defined, sculpted abs. Long limbs. Broad chest. He was naturally towards the muscular side with broad shoulders and chest. He’s never been on the skinny side. Example one and two   USUAL  HAIR  STYLE  :  he lets his hair do their thing, he styles them a little, but he prefers a messier vibe.  USUAL  FACE  LOOK  :  He looks generally bored. His eyes have a piercing look that seem to be drilling into the person before him. Like he can see right through you. There is an insolent smirk tugging at his lips like he thinks you’re amusing. Almost proud, like he thinks he is above you. There is depth and intensity in his eyes that stare skywards in thought. There is also mischievous, radiant glimmer in his eyes.   USUAL    CLOTHING  :  prince charming meets rockstar. Lots of jackets, darker colors, boots, necklaces and rings. Here is his wardrobe.      PSYCHOLOGY. FEARS  :  claustrophobia and the fear of ending up alone. He always had this creeping feeling that he’d be alone in the end and that he was always meant to be alone.  ASPIRATIONS  :   he doesn’t have any set aspirations. They change every now and then. However, his goals are just to keep his found family happy.  POSITIVE    TRAITS  :  extremely charismatic, intelligent,  academic and studious, alluring and attractive, quick-witted, charming and captivating, articulate and eloquent, adventurous, desirable, analytical, brilliant, friendly, enthusiastic, adaptable, observant, kind, mellow, competent, extremely caring and protective over those closest to him, clever, loyal, clear-headed, confident, humorous, courageous, imaginative and creative, a visionary, refined tastes and manners, daring, dignified, ebullient, deep, remarkable, surprisingly he’s very forgiving, forthright, gallant, logical, gentlemanly and sophisticated, perfectionist, popular, self-reliant, shrewd, witty, suave, curious, and resourceful.    NEGATIVE    TRAITS  :  egocentric, self-obsessed, idle, indifferent, selfish, defiant, arrogant, argumentative, rebellious, kinda lazy, stubborn, distracted, doesn’t really care for morals, blunt, can appear insensitive a lot, is insensitive at times, no filters, can be cold for those he doesn’t care for, emotionally immature, deflects emotions, suppresses his feelings, sorta detached, kinda pessimistic, and unknowingly self-sacrificing because he thinks it’s fair and he deserves it.   MBTI  :  ENTP  (  Ne  dominant,  Ti  auxiliary,  Fe  tertiary,  and  Si  inferior  —  this  means  she  can’t  use  Ni,  Se,  Te,  and  especially  can’t  use  Fi). He  perceives  the  world  by  connecting  dots,  thinking  of  never-ending  possibilities,  looking  for  pieces  of  a  puzzle,  and  finding  meaning  in  abstract.  He  makes  judgments  on  if  what  he  perceives  fits  his  internal  logic.          ZODIAC  :  Aries sun, Gemini rising, Sagittarius moon.  TEMPERAMENT  :  sanguine choleric  ANIMALS  :  parrots and cats because they’re both intelligent but little pieces of shit who enjoy making your life hell.  VICE  :   it’s either his ego or how he ends up detaching himself FAITH  :  currently, he’s Mu.slim. He was born protestant, became an atheist when he was 13, agnostic at 14. Bud.dhist at 15. Taoist at 16. Confucianist at 17. Mu.slim at 19. Doesn't practice it though.     GHOSTS  ?  :  yep.. AFTERLIFE  ?  :   yep REINCARNATION  ?  :  he guesses so. Went  through  it, but doesn’t remember. ALIENS  ?  :  hell yeah. POLITICAL    ALIGNMENT  :  liberal. ECONOMIC    PREFERENCE  :   upper class or upper middle class is good with him.  EDUCATION    LEVEL  :   MSci in Physics from the University of Cambridge. Is opting to specialize in astrophysics soon. FAMILY. FATHER  :  Edward Wang, owner of a chain of fine dining restaurants  MOTHER  :  Elisa Violeta Wang, psychiatrist, deceased  STEP MOTHER :  Chaeyoung Wang, lawyer.  SIBLINGS  :  Cassandra Wang, athlete EXTENDED    FAMILY  :  he is not close with his external family and doesn’t know his birth mother’s family at all. They never wanted him.  FAVOURITES. BOOK  :   Crime and Punishment by Fyodor Dostoevsky, Galactic Dynamics by James Binney, Kafka on the Shore by Haruki Mukarami, Slaughter house Five by Kurt Vonnegut, War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy, and Lord of the Flies by William Golding. MOVIE  :  Scott Pilgrim vs The World 5    SONGS :  All You Want - Dashboard Prophets, Tokyo Smoke - Cage the Elephant, Where is My Mind? - The Pixies, Sparks - Coldplay, Lithium - Nirvana, and Mr. Blue Sky - Electric Light Orchestra     DEITY  :  none.  Let him argue with one and ask for proof of their deity-ness. HOLIDAY  :  Halloween. It’s dramatic and fun. MONTH  :   October, because he met Aurora and Jack this month in 2017. SEASON  :  spring  and  summer. PLACE  :  he doesn’t have a specific place, but he prefers European architecture.  WEATHER  :  cloudy and windy. Sunny if it isn’t too hot. SOUND  :  drums and percussions, the sound of aurora and jack’s laugh, guitars, violins, the sound of wind roaring, music boxes, and the clinking of bangles and jewelry.  SCENTS  :  sage, rosemary, and damascus roses. TASTES  :  chocolate, strawberries, chilies, and fried food.       FEELS  :   the feeling of hitting the drums, wind in his hair, the cold night air, warm morning sun, grass against his fingertips, silk, and touching long hair.   ANIMALS  :  cats and dogs. NUMBER  :   8 COLORS  :  white, cherry red, pink, maroon, wine red, black, and silver. EXTRA. TALENTS  :  he is an extremely talented drummer, good at guitar and the piano, he is talented at songwriting, composing music, he’s exceptionally good at mathematics and physics, analytical skills, storytelling, knows a lot of facts, near photographic memory because he remembers all important historical events with dates and details, academic writing, and brainstorming ideas.  BAD  AT  :   cooking, not very good at driving because he gets distracted, doing one task at a time, playing videogames, actually listening to what people say, being humble, and actually being a good leader.  TURN    ONS  :  this is a complicated question. He needs a very strong emotional connection to feel sexual attraction towards someone. And he only felt it for one person in his whole life. But, what sparked that attraction was a brilliant mind and the ability to connect with his mind on a very different level. It’s not going to repeat with anyone else.  TURN    OFFS  :  literally everyone else. He’s not sorry, but I am. HOBBIES  :  playing the drums, writing and composing songs, reading, solving problems, listening to music, watching shows, getting people to do weird shit, and annoying people.      AESTHETIC  :  crowns, drums, broken drumming sticks, abstract art, the vast space, chess boards, album cases, thrones, the echoing sound of pianos, Greek sculptures, galaxies and nebulas, early morning sunrise through curtains, libraries, equations scribbled on napkins, empty museums, unmade white sheets, polaroid cameras, conspiracy theories, VHS tapes, antique books, cobblestone alleyways, night skies, cluttered books, calloused fingers, crumpled composition pages, guitar picks, vinyl, telescopes, and planets.      Basically: abstract, chaotic academia, cryptid academia, dark academia, indie, kingcore, light academia, musical academia, science academia, spacecore,   QUOTES  :   it’s weird but i can’t decide which one fits him.  FC  INFO. MAIN    FC  :  victor han  ALT    FC  :  n/a. OLDER    FC  :  he can’t age past 22, so he doesn’t need one. YOUNGER    FC  :  none  yet. VOICE    CLAIM  :  both speaking and singing (his accent is posh British with a slight hint of Canadian) MUN  QUESTIONS. Q1  :    If you could write your character your way in their own movie , what    would  it  be  called ,  what  style would it be filmed in, and what would it be about ?    A1 :  The same answer as Aurora, The Tale of Solis et Lunae that stars him alongside Aurora, Lunae, Jack, and Tate, plus more. A cosmic adventure / fantasy / coming of age / superhero / the reluctant hero / the chosen one.  His role is of Aurora’s best friend and her greatest support in emotional and supernatural dangers. He is the time traveler who ascends time and space, so he often also gives her insight and information like the sage. It’ll  expand across dimensions, worlds, and different states of existence. The scenes would be cinematic with a strong soundtrack. I imagine him to have some scenes like Quick Silver in the X-Men movies.       Q2  :   What would their soundtrack / score sound like  ?     A2  :   He would have a 90s grunge or spacey dream rock sound. It ties in with the end of the last answer because i see him in one of those scenes with 90s grunge or maybe classical music ?    Q3  :      Why did you start writing this character  ? A3  :    I made Augustus just a bit before Aurora. They were a two part deal. I don’t know when it began, I just had this image of a tall, long haired boy with piercing, intelligent eyes who’s a smart-ass and likes being a know-it-all nuisance. This character has been the same since he began in 2019 and refused to change. He was always a drummer, he always had the same fashion sense, the look, Gus was always half-Korean, he always had long fingers he wore rings on, and he was always Aurora’s best friend/partner in crime. He remains unchanged and that's why I wanted to write him. This very vivid image of this boy was something I had to pen down. And just my luck, I found a fc who looks exactly how Gus looked in my head.   Q4  :    What  first  attracted  you  to  this  character  ? A4  :   Augustus is just extraordinary. It’s something I always felt about him and Aurora and I don’t see any of my other characters coming anywhere close to them regardless of how much I spent time on them. But with Augustus, his entire image and looks and personality — down to his wardrobe and jewelry was always so vivid in my head. Like I knew this very chaotically handsome boy who was going to turn the world upside down.  His story is interesting, but what interests me more is his perspective on his story. The way he looks at his life and how he is quiet and doesn’t show his pain. How confused he always is. How much he aches but never seems so. The way he loves but doesn’t say even a quarter of the intensity he feels. And how sometimes he believes he deserves suffering because it makes sense to him. I also love the connections he makes and the way he loves so deeply and profoundly but underneath the surface. His connection, love, fears, and hopes with Aurora and Jack for their respective reasons are extremely beautiful.   Q5  :      Describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse.  ? A5  :  Augustus is unknowingly self-sabotaging. He let go the only relationship / love in his life that made him feel like real love just because he thought he didn’t deserve it. And because when he was provoked, it made “sense” to him. He bottles his emotions and pain so much despite their intensity. He never shows how much he really cares and really hurts. And how sure he is that he’ll end up alone without friends and that it makes sense to him. Q6  :      What    do    you    have    in    common    with    your    muse  ?   A6  :    Here’s a fun answer, because I bottle my emotions like him. I also interact with the carefree way he does even if I don’t feel peachy. He’s smart and witty and really hot and I don’t even have that going on for me. So, yikes. Only of Gus’ bad things I share.  Q7  :      How  does your muse feel about you  ?   A7  :  Gus loves interacting with people so he’ll definitely show up to annoy me. Maybe, he might think I’m fun to annoy? Or maybe, we’ll have a similar sense of humor. I think he won’t dislike me. Not sure if he’ll like me. I think he’d think I’m funny in a strange sort of way.  Q8  :      What    characters    does    your    muse    have    interesting    interactions  with  ? A8  :    Aurora, first of all. They have this same brain wave-length thing going on where they’re partners in crime and bffs forever more. He knows how she is feeling and what she’s thinking even before she utters it. If she is about to sneeze, he’d get a tissue ready. He can tell if she is hungry or sleepy with one glance. She can do the same, so they sorta have this weird understanding of each other.  Jack is this older brother figure Augustus loves. He won’t admit it, but he kinda wants to make Jack proud of him. He also wants to provide love and care to Jack that he thinks he deserves but never got. They’re his family now and he’ll never be alone or sad again. He annoys Jack a lot but behind it all, he just wants Jack to think he is needed and he belongs. That if he thinks Augustus is reliant on him, then he has this family he has to protect and care for. He can’t stand the thought of Jack feeling unloved, forgotten, alone.  Tida is another one. There’s this great respect and adoration Gus has for him. Almost like he looks up to him in some ways  He also has a lot of hopes and expectations attached. He feels Tida is everything that Gus himself lacks. He is the ideal boyfriend, kindest person, shows his emotions vividly, and is like a warm and cozy blanket personified. He is probably Tida and Aurora’s biggest supporter and first one to know. He can’t be happier than he is that Aurora found someone as good and perfect as Tida.   Taewon is one really fun character. Their two-way frenemy jealousy spans over years and started in Cambridge when they were both in love with the same girl they claimed to be best friends with. Though, trying to be calm, Augustus was constantly provoked and hurt, made to feel inferior and constantly in fear of his relationship being broken by Taewon’s schemes that he couldn’t say out loud. This dark period ended with a fist fight and baggage of guilt they both carry to this day for hurting each other and the one they claimed to love. Today, they’re way past that and frenemies who have funny quips and arguments for each other. They say they dislike each other. But if the lighting is good, one would be the photographer of the other. Q9  :      What    gives    you    inspiration    to    write    your    muse  ? A9  :  Music  helps  me  imagine  scenes  with  perfect  visual  details.  Any  scenes  from  shows  that  remind  me  of  my  storylines. Q10  :      How    long    did    this    take    you    to    complete  ?   A10  :  I don’t remember. It was many days and I didn’t count because it was in bits and pieces.

[chestshot]

Race, Class, and Gender in the High School Curriculum

    I wanted to cover "wellness" from the female perspective. I wanted to feed two birds with one scone and teach about mental health while also providing female (race, class, gender) representation in literature. This year, a woman of color will be appointed to the supreme court, two years ago our nations first woman of color was elected vice president, and doggonit, I think women in the 2020's should have their own unit in English 9!

    Wellness is not linear, nor is the female experience. I chose: The Bell Jar (Plath), The Poet X (Acevedo), Jackpot (Stone).

    In The Bell Jar, Esther Greenwood navigates through young adulthood, as an aspiring author, who deals with depression. By the end of the novel, she has a better idea of what is good for her wellness. The students can discuss what Esther's life would have been like were she a male and how gender is dealt with in the book.

    In The Poet X, Xiomara Baptista grows up in Harlem and learns the love of poetry. It is through writing that she finds a catharsis, and creates an escape into her own wellness. This novel is written in poems, to tell a story of her year in high school. She is of Dominican Republic decent and was born into Catholicism. Her mother is strict and her father is uninvolved in her life. Students can discuss what her experience would have been like had she been born male, White, or Protestant (or Jewish, Muslim, Atheist, etc.).

    In Jackpot, Ricco (woman of color) struggles to balance school, work, and family, while making sure that her family does not get evicted in Norcross, or a suburb of Georgia. She lives with her mother, who works two jobs, and her six year old brother, Jax, who gets meningitis and has to be hospitalized. One day, she sells a winning lottery ticket (over $100,000,000) at her gas station job. Weeks go by and nobody has claimed cash prize. She teams up with Alex, a well off schoolmate, to hunt down the winning ticket and discovers that money can not buy happiness, but a hundred mill wouldn't hurt, either. Wellness is difficult for people who are socioeconomically disadvantaged. This book legit made me cry! Students can discuss what Ricco's life would have been like, were she born in the middle class, with two parents, or male. -Felix

[baeddel]

birlinterrupted

i feel like a lot of these conversations in the left (maybe esp including the 'religious left') conceptualize religious behavior in a utilitarian way, of being 'good' or 'useful' in the larger prosocial sense, which just seems strange to me to never like... even slightly address someone's belief in its truth

theres this part in Soul on Ice where Cleaver talks about how he read Thomas Merton, a Trappist monk, and was frustrated with him, saying “I was a Black Muslim chained in the bottom of a pit by the Devil.” The pit is Folsom and the Devil is, obviously, a personified ‘white man’. “Did I expect Allah to tear down the walls and set me free? To me, the language and symbols of religion were nothing but weapons of war. [...] I wished that Merton had stated in secular terms the reasons he withdrew from the political, economic, military, and social system into which he was born, seeking refuge in a monastery.”

Cleaver started off as a political atheist and became a Black Muslim and then became a Marxist atheist and then became a Chrsitian fundamentalist and joined the GOP. Eldridge Cleaver is psychogeography in religion. I think very early on in the journey one encounters the 11th thesis and from that point forward “all gods are dead but the god of war”, but we immediately slip into the kind of bad materialism that the other 10 theses are trying to warn us about. Things are not only their circumstances. If the failure mode of philosophy was ontologization, the failure mode of marxism is instrumenatlization. But anyway this is even a bigger problem than the left, right? Berkley & his manners, Hobbes & his natural law, Weber & his protestant ethic, etc. Church Militants no longer attempt philosophical proofs of God but insist that social stability depends on religious values, describe the Church’s role as a sponsor of progress, etc. Belief becomes my own private affair, your own private affair, unimpeachable but also impotent (this was the basis of early Marx’s irreligion; the abstract species-being rising out of the particularist signiories, etc.).

[starlightervarda]

Hi, I read your post on bullying in the TOG fandm and I 400% agree. I understand your frustration, I'm frustrated too, a lot, and I'm white! I'm grateful the fandom has people like you, so I hope you won't be mad if I say that condemning a whole religion (protestantism), and accuse a whole race for crimes committed centuries ago is not fair. I get what you were trying to say, but I must admit, put like that, it hurts a bit. it's a vicious cyrcle, you can't fight prjudice with prejudice :( Peace!

Hi nonny,

I don’t think you read what I wrote clearly, or understood what I was complaining about, let alone my frustration. I suggest you go read it again, carefully, without getting offended.

...Where did I accuse a ‘whole race for crimes committed centuries ago’? Kind of hard for me to do that because I don’t believe in the American concept of race. I don’t consider Slavs to be the same thing as Scandinavians. I don’t even think the Irish/French are the same as the English/Dutch/Germans.

Criticizing the damaging effects of White Saviourism is not me attacking ‘white people’. Criticizing the patronizing and stifling influence of Anglocentrism is not me being prejudiced against Northern Europeans. Me calling this behaviour social-imperialism is not supposed to be hurtful, it’s calling a spade a spade.

I really don’t understand where you got this idea from.

I didn’t ‘condemn’ the sect of Protestantism, I’m pointing the cultural issues it’s influence has on the quote-unquote Enlightened, Advanced and Progressive Western World. That the behaviour we see from Anglophones/WASPs in general and online is line with the Puritan values that were born from this kind of extremism.

Witch-hunts in Protestant lands like Britain, New England and Germany into the Early Modern Era, is not an opinion. It’s something that happened in these lands who since that time have constantly claimed to be more civilized and rational than others and this behaviour persists into this century. I even gave examples of how something dumb you could say as a child could be held against you and used to demean and destroy you decades later, how the demand for people to share their traumas to justify their actions then still be judged and spat on, is born of Puritanism. From a culture that doesn’t believe in absolution/repenting/purging your sins/that you are capable of change.

I literally said “It never fails to amaze me how the loudest collection of edgy atheists behave like the religious fanatics I grew up living in fear of. They see no irony in this.” I’m criticizing their mindset.

I really have to ask, why you think me complaining about manipulative racist behaviour, gaslighting and psychological harassment, is me ‘fighting prejudice with prejudice’? The ‘vicious cycle’ here is purity culture, ideological extremism, and the demand we all bow down to one mindset or perish. This is the kind of thinking that doesn’t allow for discussion or change, this is what I’m complaining about.

Do you get what I meant now?

Nonny, I need to sit, take a deep breath, and ask yourself why you had this response to all the points I made. Because if you’re not one of these people, I’m not calling you out. If you are, and felt called out by it, then don’t get upset, recognize that this is a problem and work on not doing these things and being better.

Hope you have a good weekend.

[religion-is-a-mental-illness]

By: Ryan Burge

Published: Oct 26, 2023

The nones are rising.

If there’s anything that I’m probably known for - it’s that simple statement. There are more non-religious people in the United States today than at any point in the history of the country. The best estimates put the share of folks who are non-religious right about 30% of the American population.

You can’t get to that share of the population without touching every single demographic group in a country. This can’t just be a phenomenon that impacts younger people, or white people. You name a niche demographic in the United States, there’s a very good chance that they are less religious today than that same demographic group fifteen years ago.

Obviously one of the biggest predictors of this phenomenon is age. Younger adults are way more likely to be non-religious compared to older Americans. The graph below makes that clear.

Among the Silent Generation (those born between 1925 and 1945), just over half are Protestant and nearly a quarter are Catholic. At the same time the share who are non-religious (atheist, agnostic, nothing in particular) is just 19%. Seventy-four percent are Christians and 19% are nones. Pretty big spread between those two groups.

But here’s that same spread - Protestant/Catholic vs Non-Religious by Generation:

• Boomers: 67% versus 27%. +40 points • Gen X: 56% versus 39%. +17 points • Millennials: 45% versus 48%. -3 points • Gen Z: 38% versus 51%. -13 points

Generation Z is the first generation in American history where it appears clear that the share who are non-religious outnumbers the Protestants and the Catholics.

A very crucial part of this conversation needs to be laid out, however. This is not happening at equal rates among generations if you break it down by racial groups. The religious composition of white Americans looks much different than the patterns exhibited by Hispanics or Asians. The graph below makes that really clear.

The white graph at the top is just such a consistent stair-step down for each successive generation. Each younger generation is significantly less likely to be Protestant. A typical decline is six or seven percentage points from one generation to the next. For Catholicism, the drop is still there but it’s way more modest, just 2-3 points per generation.

At the same time, the nones are just exploding. Nineteen percent among the Silents, begets 27% among Boomers, 39% among Gen X, 49% among Millennials, and then 52% among Generation Z. 19% to 52% - that’s the rise of the nones among white Americans by generation.

That same stair-step down is also clear among Black respondents, too. The share of Protestants among Silent Generation African-Americans is the highest of any category in this graph - 70%. There are still a lot of Protestants among Black Boomers, too - 67%. But then, it just falls off a cliff. Fifty-two percent among Gen X, 40% among Millennials and just 27% among Gen Z African-Americans. A forty-three point drop from the top to the bottom.

At the same time, the nones are rising. It’s about a quarter of older Black respondents, but leaps to nearly forty percent of Black members of Generation X. That seems to be the biggest leap for African-Americans, by the way, between Boomers and Gen X. Something shifted there, big time. Now, 52% of the youngest Black adult Americans are nones. Basically the same share as white Gen Z.

For Hispanics, it’s not Protestants who take the biggest hits - it’s Catholics. I think this is fascinating. Among Hispanic Boomers, 21% are Protestant. It’s the same share among Gen X. It does drop slightly to 15% among Millennials and Gen Z. But that six point slide is minute compared to the forty point drop between Black Boomers and Gen Z. That same number for whites is 22 points. Hispanic Protestantism is just not declining that fast.

The Catholics, though, are a much bigger story. Nearly three quarters of the oldest Hispanics in the United States are Catholic (72%). However, there’s a huge decline between the Silent Generation and Boomers - down nineteen percentage points. Then, the declines slow down some. It’s a six point drop for Gen X, a five point drop for Millennials, and then a huge dip - 11 points for Gen Z. The total decline in Hispanic Catholic share is 41 points from the top to the bottom.

The nones are the big gainers among Hispanics, clearly. Just 23% of Boomer Hispanics are non-religious. It’s 30% among Gen X and 40% among Millennials. Nearly half of Gen Z Hispanics are non-religious. Not that much different than white or Black young adults.

The pattern for Asians is just completely different, no other way to describe it. The share of Asians who are Protestant or Catholic by generation doesn’t really deviate that much. I think it’s very fair to say that younger Asian Americans are just as likely to be Catholic or Protestant compared to their older counterparts. That’s the only racial group where that’s the case.

In fact, there are just not these huge generational differences between older Asians and younger ones when it comes to religion. About the same share are from the “other world religions” category, regardless of generation. When it comes to the share who are nones, I can’t definitively say that the youngest Asians are more likely to be atheist, agnostic, or nothing in particular compared to older Asians. That really stands out in comparison to every other racial group in the sample.

[ Continued... ]

Unfortunately, the rest of the article is behind a paywall, and a cached/archived version doesn't seem to be available at the usual locations.

[humansofhds]

Don Abram, MDiv ’19

“In the same way that the Black Church has been queer through its very existence—by operating on the undersides of power, by existing in the margins, by advocating for the least of these—me advocating for LGBTQ rights is simply an extension of that tradition. It is an extension of that Black, freedom-loving tradition. I want to be able to walk congregants through this as we center the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ folks in the Black Church.”

Don Abram, MDiv ’19, is the founder of Pride in the Pews, a nonprofit that seeks to amplify the voices and experiences of queer Christians in the Black Church.

A Call to Identity and to Faith

I grew up on the far South Side of Chicago, and I was raised by a single mother and a very active Jamaican grandmother. Every Sunday I attended a hand-clapping, toe-tapping Black Church right down the street from my house, within walking distance. I attended every Sunday, initially reluctantly because I didn’t like waking up in the morning. I would come up with a myriad of excuses and reasons for why I could not attend on Sunday, including not being able to find matching socks or not being able to find the right tie. It never worked. 

At the age of 14, I was called to preach. I moved from the pews to the pulpit, which was really a paradigm-shifting change, especially in the Black Church, wherein the Black pulpit is often centered over and above other positions and places in the congregation. At the same time that I was called to preach, I was also introduced to my sexuality. But what I knew instinctively was that I could not embody both of those identities without losing both my community and my calling. 

So to put it simply, I did not embody both of those identities, at least not on Sunday mornings. When I would preach in my church or go to different churches for revivals, I was a straight preacher. Outside of the four walls of the Black Church, I was able to explore my queerness – still in the shadows, but not nearly as tucked away as when I was in the pulpit. Frankly, I didn’t have an opportunity to explore the theological foundations I was brought up under until I arrived at HDS. That was the first time I was able to take a deep dive into toxic theologies, unpack them, and reconstruct a theology that spoke to the fullness of who I am. And I did all of that from within the radical Black religious tradition. 

I was reading folks like James Cone and Martin Luther King Jr., as well as folks like Fannie Lou Hamer—all of these amazing scholars who took seriously the Black Church as an institution. Not just what transpired at the spiritual level, but the ways in which the Black Church showed up in the public square. And the Black Church historically showed up pursing justice and pushing back against systems of oppression. I was able to reconstruct this theology and I loved it. I was able to reconcile my faith and my sexuality. There was no distinction between the two. I saw them as inextricable. 

An Invitation In 

I would also travel back home, to the far South Side of Chicago, to the same old hand-clapping, toe-tapping Black Church, where folks did not have access to the same sort of conversations I was having at HDS, or to the same thinkers or luminaries who were engaging in prophetic critique of Black Church theology. I wrestled with how to invite my church into these conversations around the intersection of race, religion, and sexuality. 

At HDS, we didn’t talk a whole lot about how to translate what we were learning, or how to engage in conversations with folks who didn’t have access to that space. And that’s really where Pride in the Pews emerged. I wondered, how might we think of a sustainable way to engage congregants, on the South Side of Chicago and in cities like it across the country, in these conversations that are central to our theology and our understanding of ourself as an institution? That is where it began. 

And then came the George Floyd murder, after which I was protesting. Alongside me were Black pastors and clergy, and they were chanting along with me, Black Lives Matter. My immediate retort was, does my life matter to you? As a Black queer man who shows up Sunday after Sunday to a sanctuary where my sexuality is demonized and condemned? I realized that now is a great time for the Black Church to recommit itself to pursing justice for all people—for those who exist at the margins of society, for those who are on the underside of power. I launched Pride in the Pews in the hopes that in this particular socio-political moment, we would be able to take a deeper dive into our commitments and the way we carry them into the world. 

Different Faiths, Same Justice

Religious communities like the one I come from—Black Baptist, fundamentalist communities—are quite skeptical of “out-there,” liberal places like HDS. There’s this fear that you’re bringing folks of all different faiths together, and they’re just going to steer you away from Jesus. Steer you away from God. But what I found was that being in conversation with Buddhist, agnostic, and atheist colleagues, with folks who practice Indigenous African religious traditions, did not bring me away from my faith, but actually brought me closer to it. My colleagues were asking questions and framing the pursuit of justice in ways that pushed me to ask, how might Jesus see this? In doing so, it actually gave me permission, or offered an invitation, for me to think more critically about the values that I hold as a Black Christian—and more specifically, a Black, Queer Christian in the Black Church. 

For me, this was an opportunity to take a deep dive into my convictions, both theological and philosophical and spiritual, and begin to ask the scary questions. The questions that would lead to answers that I didn’t already have. Being willing to engage in that humble inquiry, that audacious questioning, presented an opportunity for me to say, ok, let me re-imagine the way I’ve interpreted the gospel. Let me reimagine the way I understand harm and violence and white supremacy and homophobia. 

I got to the place where I was able to see both my queerness and my faith as inextricably connected, but also where I was able to go broader than that. I was able to say, when I’m talking about the injustices caused by queerphobia in the world, those are intimately connected to white supremacy. Those are intimately connected to patriarchy and homophobia and transphobia. These things are not separate and independent from one another. What we are really talking about is interlocking systems of oppression. My colleagues from different faith traditions and I, we were able to work together and agree on the fact that we should be pursuing justice. We should be doing good in the world. Whatever it is that we deem ministry or our calling or the philosophical tenets that we subscribe to, it should all work toward a world where we are safer, more whole, and more free. 

“Can I Get a Witness?” 

I started Pride in the Pews not only when this country was confronting a racial reckoning that was catapulted by state-sanctioned violence against Black bodies. It also happened when we were seeing unprecedented and historic attacks against the Black community, with a specific emphasis on attacks on the rights of trans-folks to exist. At the same time as we saw this racial reckoning, we saw these concerted attacks across the country on LGBTQ folks. That’s the intersectional context that Pride in the Pews emerged into. That intersectionality makes Pride in the Pews so powerful. We recognize that we’re fighting on multiple fronts. We’re fighting for our right to exist as Black people, and we’re fighting for our right to exist as queer-embodied people. For me, that context was key. It gave this push power. 

Context is important. Since I’m trying to reach folks in the Black religious tradition, any content that I create, any story that I tell, any voice that I lift up, needs to reside within that tradition. One thing that is central to our tradition is storytelling. It is with this in mind that we started with the Can I Get a Witness Project, which aims to capture the stories of 66 Black Queer Christians within the Black Church. Whether it’s my enslaved ancestors who didn’t have access to the scriptural texts to be able to read them, who accessed the word of God through story; or whether it is my African ancestors who were passing on sacred religious traditions, not by writing them down, but through word of mouth—that oral tradition is rich. That’s the one I’m centering in this project. 

When we’ve collected all 66 stories, we hope to take all of the wisdom, all of the insights we’ve been able to gleam from our conversations with Black queer Christians, look at the trends and salient points, and turn that into a curriculum. A curriculum that is shaped and fashioned by the Black religious tradition. 

The Black church was born fighting systems of oppression and dehumanization. I want to bring that history in. I want to bring in the history of folks like Reverend Jesse Jackson, who was the first Democratic politician in this nation’s history to ever advocate for LGBTQ rights. That’s a part of our tradition. And I want to bring in the history of Dr. King, the freedom fighter, truth-teller, and table-shaker who decided to speak truth to power, and in doing so, lost his life. These are the traditions we are part of. I want to lift that up and say, in the same way that the Black Church has been queer through its very existence—by operating on the undersides of power, by existing in the margins, by advocating for the least of these—me advocating for LGBTQ rights is simply an extension of that tradition. It is an extension of that Black, freedom-loving tradition. I want to be able to walk congregants through this as we center the lived experiences of LGBTQ+ folks in the Black Church. 

We are going to turn some of these stories into case studies. We are going to read and hear the stories of the Black queer folks as sacred texts. We’re going to take them seriously, to wrestle with them, and to create tools that combat queerphobia and transphobia and homophobia as it shows up historically in the Black Church context. 

A Call to Action 

I would like to invite folks to participate in the Can I Get a Witness Project. If they identify as Black, Queer, and Christian, we’d love for them to be a part of this work and of this project. We have just over 30 folks that we’ve interviewed, and we have just over 30 to go. And of course, for all the allies out there who don’t identity as Black or Queer, you can support us by following the work that we’re doing, contributing financially to the work we are doing, and sharing our work. Our work will spread by the willingness of folks to share their stories and to open up those spaces where liberation and love do not abound, so that we can make it abound.

Interview by Gianna Cacciatore; photos courtesy of Don Abram

[flashfuture]

Peter Parker: Is he Jewish?

This is a topic that comes up a lot. I just wanted to address it in terms setting the record straight. In this little blurb I’m going to be answering the question in regards to the 616 comic book version of Peter Parker. 

Many people state Peter Parker to be a Jewish man. I just want to state point blank that in the 616 comics as it is Peter Parker is not Jewish. I’ve read comics from practically every era and have looked a lot online for evidence of this and come up with nothing concrete. 

The point of this post I’m making isn’t to say Peter Parker shouldn’t be Jewish. I often HC him as Jewish myself. As well as gay/Bi/trans because well he’s a fictional character and I can. There is a lot of coding in the writing that lends its self to endless numbers of interpretations of his character. The coding is the main reasoning I have seen for Peter being Jewish. Specifically culturally but from what we know about him his family is most likely just British and Irish based on the last names Parker, Reilly, and Fitzpatrick (Mary’s surname)

He was created by Jewish men and written in a way that I have seen described as Jewish, I have many Jewish family members and friends but I’m still not sure that means tbh. I have also seen the fact that he lives in Forest Hills as evidence that he was Jewish and his parents being dead lending itself to the Jewish coding as it was written in the 60s. (of course later writings show they were born American, died undercover spies trying to stop the communists) I’ve also seen people state that he was always intended to be Jewish but they didn’t feel like they could write it that way, I’ve looked and couldn’t find evidence of this. If someone has any evidence please by all means send it my way. I’m super interested in all thing Spider-Man.

For example in the Into the Spider-Verse Universe he obviously is he has a Jewish wedding. And I’m sure there are infinite others where he is too.

The actual point of this post is just to draw attention to it because I don’t want people who might be getting into the comics to be disappointed or unsatisfied if they were specifcally looking to see a Jewish super-hero. For that I would recommend the x-men there are lots of culturally and religiously practicing Jewish heroes because of why the x-men comics were written. 

To make a note of it for anyone who is interested in the past couple decades or so Peter has expressed Protestant Christian and it is stated a few times that Uncle Ben and Aunt May were both devout Protestants. Peter himself has renounced religion and has proclaimed himself an atheist since.

I believe the lack of a concrete religion especially at the start of Spider-Man’s fictional life was due to the desire for him to be the “Everyman” and relatable. You as relatable as a super genius orphan of two super spies cis white guy living in Queens who gets super powers can be. But I digress.

TLDR: Peter Parker in the 616 comics is not Jewish. I state this just so everyone knows and is not disappointed if they delve into the comics not to gate keep or try and stop people from reading him how they like. Again I read him as Jewish myself but it is important to acknowledge the source material 

[trivial-tourist]

Trivial Pursuits

As a rule of thumb, I am just a man.

I was born in the South and moved to the North in eighth grade, and in that same transition my views on racial politics has changed drastically from subtle white nationalist principles to a far more hardened anti-racist position. I used to see the differences between people and try my best to look past them, to admit that black people were far more likely to commit crimes and that I had to avoid the criminality of blacks. Furthermore I was influenced by the people nearby me that while being gay was acceptable, it was not common, and that teenagers experience a desire to be gay to stand out. Depression to me was a cry for attention. The Catholic god was the true God; the Big Bang is a scientific name for “Genesis.” There were two parties and all else was radical trash or too noncommittal to matter. I was influenced largely into complete political apathy by memes that radicalized every political statement. Politics was a race of promoting the best character. 

Well, obviously I was wrong on every account aside from the last sentence.

It wasn’t until about 2015-2016 that I subtly shifted away from what I once believed. I began to learn a lot more about myself and everyone around me. I found out I was bisexual, that I happened to never have met a black person who was evil or wanted to be evil. I became more socially aware from the seat of my desk, and then later in the crucible of reality. Even so, I still subscribed to the “us and them” philosophy, pressured into a grouping of humanity solely for the community of it. Republicans were racist Christians. Democrats had harsh reforms but “it wasn’t Donald Trump’s America.” I wanted to duck out of all the politics and moral shit. I wanted to cling tightly to my fondness for mythology. As much as I found Donald Trump irrevocably evil and deserving of death, I was also whispered to by the right-side of politics to careen towards them. I was too persuadable; in my own fear of being considered an atheist for not believing in a Christian God or a Christian for believing in a god, I adhered to deism, because why not?

Then the coronavirus hit in 2020 and my metamorphosis began. I don’t know how it began, but I was suddenly aware of the miasma I lived in in the eyes of many. Everyone was picking sides, and I, like always, picked up on the idea that racists were inhuman scum, people who actively sought to destroy and dismantle the systems of America that made black people able to live in the country (barely).

But in the middle of my thought process that racists should be ostracized and kicked out of the country, my entire psyche shuddered because I thought back on myself, my life. I was once racist, and I still think I am in many cases. I thought black people were criminals, and I was still afraid to see them. And I looked to the news for once and found that what I saw affirmed that black people were criminals. But then, at the same time, I saw awareness being raised of peaceful protesting. My head was spinning. If there was “us” and there was “them,” why then, in “us” was there another “us” and “them” ideology? How could peaceful protestors exist alongside wrathful and angry protestors? How could there be some good policemen even if ACAB? 

I decided, for the first time, that generalizations were evil. 

To group an entirety of people and to name their actions for them was inherently detrimental to any rational reasons they may possess. To call even the violent protestors “looters” makes it irrational for them to be protesting violently. To call Republicans “racists” makes it irrational for them to disapprove of BLM. I hated it all. It made me sick to my stomach. I hated hearing my friends call racists as anything less than human. I hated hearing racists call my friends anything less than human. I hated the generalizations. 

I hated the dehumanization of someone’s psyche, the pressure put on them that they were seen as irredeemable. It wasn’t that their beliefs were wrong, it was that they were wrong. They as people were not people for the conditions that led them to become racist. NOTE: I am not saying racists are above being criticized and being told their beliefs are rude and horrible. I just mean that, in the same way that conditions in society can push a person to become a criminal, so can a person be pushed into being a racist. 

So for my first tenet to give on Trivia (named after the Roman goddess of the crossroads-- her name means “third way”):

"Generalizations often lead to the dehumanization and the demonization of the individual."

I think that's a fair assessment. I think humans (see, I'll try to lay off on giving my own generalizations) tend to generalize an entire ideology and apply it as the identity of someone else, as though Republicanism or Democraticsim is the whole of one's identity. Not the case at all.

I leave all the folks reading this to bear with me. While I may have lost inspiration for this post, I will be sure to dig into both my personal life and morals in later posts.

Thanks for reading.

Trivia