The "I'm not a racist, but" myth

These days, the term "Social Justice Warrior" seems to evoke a mixed bag of feelings. Some folks wear it proudly as a badge of honor, using it as their declaration that they fully intend to fight injustice and inequality on every front. Other use it as an insult, implying that people need to quit fighting for others and work on becoming better people themselves.

I think those views represent the extreme edges of the term's usefulness. If we examine the term as a spectrum, I expect that the majority of us fall somewhere in between - we might have an issue or two that we are willing to fight for, but we aren't going to wall for everything.

Image by Gerd Altmann (Creative Commons CC0)

Running for Office Equals Personal Growth - Who Knew?

In previous years, when someone newer to ADF asked me for my opinions on the elections, I shared with them who I voted for and why.

But this year, as a candidate for the Mother Grove, I've found myself thinking about this a bit differently. I'm trying to approach this as a leader, rather than as "just another member." I am finding my change is attitude a bit fascinating, really. When asked by a grove member what I thought about the election and how they should vote, I paused before answering.

First and foremost, I found myself wanting people to make informed decisions when casting their votes. I want them to know as much as possible when casting their votes. Their votes mean more to me that way.

So I didn't just tell them about the people I voted for, I told them what I know about the people I did not vote for, also, and I tried to keep it as unbiased as possible. I pointed them to the questions answered by the candidates, so that they can read the responses for themselves, rather than getting the information through my filters.

And I thought about how to handle this going forward. If asked where a candidate stands on an issue, I will share their response to the questions. If they did not provide an answer, or if their position is still unclear, I will be honest and say that I do not know. But I will also suggest that perhaps they could ask the candidate directly, or offer to ask on their behalf.

So far, I have only had to reach out once to clarify something, for my own understanding, and I am happy that I did, because it led to a good conversation with another candidate. A conversation I might not have otherwise had.

The entire election process has already proven to be a source of personal growth in that it forced me to actually examine my own motivation in answering the questions. And now it has provided me with further growth in helping me define where my boundaries and personal integrity lie.

This makes me happy, my own personal Ides of March.

Teaching Consent ... with Dr Seuss?

We’ve all read “Green Eggs and Ham” by Dr. Seuss, where Sam follows our main character around trying to get him to eat the oddly colored food, haven’t we? As parents, we adore that book, because we use it to teach our kids that if they try new foods, no matter how “gross” they look, they will probably find out that they like them. Much like a parent, Sam offers a wide variety of incentives and enticements. However, in typical Seuss fashion, he goes to silly extremes, to teach with humor and rhyme. 

Image by  U.Leone (Creative Commons CC0)

Many years ago, I stumbled across a young author named Cory O’Brien, who has a knack for retelling myths and stories with a flair all his own (a style which he describes as “it's 3AM and I'm drunk on chat”). In August of 2015, he posted his version of the story, which he titled “Green Eggs and Ham is about the Nature of Consent.” My initial reaction was, of course, laughter. His retelling of all the ridiculous things that Sam tries to get this guy to eat the food was a more “real world “version, which is both scary and funny for being so extreme. When he reached his conclusion, though, I was a bit dumb struck: this children’s story is technically a tale of “relentless psychological torture.” 

More about the ADF Elections

Happy day, every one.

I promise that this blog will not always be about ADF elections. There are too many bridges that need to be built for that.

But before I can build bridges, I need to build foundations. And ADF is my foundation.

Image by Public_Domain_Photography/David Peterson (Creative Commons CC0)

In the interest of strengthening that, I am running for the position of Non-Officer Director. While I am hopeful that the folk will find me the better candidate, I think it is important that they be able to make an informed decision when voting. In fact, that informed decision is more important to me than "wining at any cost."

Response to Questions for the Candidates - Qualifications - Part Seven

Welcome back! I am continuing to respond to the questions from ADF members directed to the candidates running for office. 

Today's responses relate to the subject of my own Qualifications.

Image by Gerd Altmann (Creative Commons CC0)

Response to Questions for the Candidates - Reputation - Part Six

Welcome back! I am continuing to respond to the questions from ADF members directed to the candidates running for office. 

Today's responses relate to the subject of our Reputation.

Image by Gerd Altmann (Creative Commons CC0)

JA:  How would you work to make ADF as respected and legitimate as any other church in the USA, and the world.

I see respect and legitimacy as two separate things.

Respect is something that we work together to earn. It is a collective response by the rest of the world that is the result of our actions. We need to understand that we are being judged by others not only by our individual actions, but also by those around us. How often have we heard (or even used) the phrase “not very Christian” to describe bad acts by a member of that religion? When the Catholics were struggling with their priest/altar boy scandals, other Christian churches felt the impact, as well. But those churches that were quick to respond and affirm that their own beliefs and actions were not aligned with the scandal? Those were the churches which weathered the best. They did not expect respect to find them, they actively sought it. I think that ADF is in a similar position – we are a part of the greater Pagan community, and any event which rocks that community will at the very least bump against us. By solidifying our positions of no tolerance and building strong foundations of consent and caring for those around us, we actively earn respect. By maintaining public presence – through our public high day rites and our presence at various non-ADF centric events, such as Pantheacon, Paganicon, and ConVocation, we create respect.

Legitimacy, however, I see as a matter of legal viability and longevity. We are a young religion when compared to Christianity, and Christianity is still considered to be young in some Hebrew or Islamic organizations. In this sense, I believe that legitimacy is not something we will achieve in our lifetimes, but rather, it is the legacy that we are striving to provide for future generations. The foundations that we are building now – the structure of the Core Order of Ritual, the study programs, the networking of groves and persons, the training of our clergy – are the things that will secure that inheritance.

Post-ConVocation Thoughts

I've given myself a week to decompress from ConVocation, because there was just so much going on, I needed that much processing time.

Don't get me wrong - it's a great problem to have.

I made a brief post to FB immediately after the con, thanking the people and groves who helped make the Druid Fellowship Suite happen again this year, as well as those who stopped by for conversation since that is what truly made it a success. It is always a privilege to coordinate that suite, as well as the druid hallway arrangements, and I felt that this year it was even more so. I invest a lot of time and effort in order to insure that our Suite suitably demonstrates my understanding of Hospitality, and it is rewarding to see that same effort returned by our guests. I take it as proof that *ghosti  is alive and well.

Response to Questions for the Candidates - Environment - Part Five

Welcome back! I am continuing to respond to the questions from ADF members directed to the candidates running for office. 

Today's response relates to the subject of the Environment.

Image by Gerd Altmann (Creative Commons CC0)

BE:  How do you view environmental issues within the context of ADF? What, if any, goals do you have to change the current actions or lack of actions currently present within ADF?

Response to Questions for the Candidates - Members - Part Four

Welcome back! I am continuing to respond to the questions from ADF members directed to the candidates running for office. 

Today's responses relate to the subject of Member Involvement.

Image by Gerd Altmann (Creative Commons CC0)

EF: A secondary question: How will you encourage ways of making ADF accessable to children (with parental consent, of course)?