I am told that people want me to say something about the unrest in Ferguson, MO. All I can say is what I have been saying for months now: Pray for Peace. Pray for Love. Pray for Stability. People have said to me that we can never have total peace, and I tend to agree – but we can have MORE peace. More peace and less hate is still better. Granted, peace cannot come through prayer alone, but prayer is a good place to start. Prayer helps us to have focus. Prayer shapes energy. But understand -peace is not just the absence of violence. There are many places and situations where violence is absent but what is present is oppression, not peace. Peace requires the ability for everyone to have a decent life, if they are decent people. Peace requires that people can go about their lives without fear. If these conditions are not present you may have an absence of violence, but you do not have peace. I am told that people want me to say something about the unrest in Ferguson, MO. I am not so sure that is true. It seems to me that a lot of people are enjoying what is happening in Ferguson. That is not what they are saying of course – but I have seen a lot of people wallowing in hate and seeming to have a pretty good time of it. Not sorrow that things should come to such a state. Not sadness that there should be violence. Just plain old, garden variety hate. I use Facebook almost exclusively to promote my role as a Priest and Spiritual Teacher. I do not use Facebook to keep up with friends -though that may happen as a side-effect. I do not use Facebook to pursue social contact -though that too may sometimes happen. I use Facebook to disseminate information, and to facilitate communication with and between the people I serve as a Priest and teacher. I use Facebook as a tool. As a result, I rarely unfriend people. In my Facebook newsfeed you will see all kinds of stories representing every shade of political attitude, because I have friends across the board. I do not agree with all of these views, but I acknowledge that reasonable people can reasonably disagree, and if anything I am rather pleased to have such a diverse following. Today however, I have unfriended a few people. I did not unfriend them because of how they felt about the Ferguson verdict. I did not unfriend them because of how they felt about the unrest in Ferguson. I have FB friends on all sides of this issue, just as I have Tradition members on all sides of the issue. The people I unfriended were unfriended because they were wallowing in hate. Racism. Classism, Hate. No matter what you feel about Ferguson, hate is not the answer – it is the problem. And I feel, and have often said, that it is a problem that is being intentionally fomented. It is being fomented politically. It is being fomented through the media. And it is being fomented metaphysically. Hate makes people weak. Hate stops people from coming together. Hate divides, and divided forces are vulnerable forces. Hate does not build anything up. Hate only tears down. And when hate has torn everything down, what is there left to do but sit in the ashes -because what is left to rebuild with? I have watched this dynamic in the Pagan community for years. I have watched thriving local Pagan communities destroy themselves because of inter-Tradition rivalries they refused to rise above, and the constant practice of divide-and-conquer politics. Pagan events in the Chicago community once regularly drew hundreds and occasionally thousands – now they are lucky to draw fifty. Divide and conquer works exceptionally well – but it benefits only a very few at the expense of the many. When you see divide-and-conquer politics you should ask yourself “Who are the very few who are benefiting from this?” -because you can be sure that someone will be. If the hate we are seeing were only gathered around this one situation in Ferguson, it would be a simple matter to address. But we see it everywhere. We see it in politics. We see it in religion. We see it in celebrity culture. We see it in race-baiting and slut-shaming and fat-shaming. We see it in generational prejudice and gender prejudice. We see it being constantly and deliberately churned. It seems that for many people all they can do is talk about what they hate, focus upon what they hate, rail against what they hate day after day – without ever constructively addressing the things they hate, because hate is not constructive in nature. Hate is addictive in nature. And that addiction is being exploited. Watch the news -but also watch “fluff” stories about celebrities and fashion and top ten lists and such like. How many do you see that are focused on increasing division? How many do you see that are focused on judgment? How many do you see that are focused on encouraging people to hate those who differ from or disagree with them, and supporting the escalation of that hate? Hate is being packaged and produced as a commodity. Who does this serve? Let me tell you – its not serving you. You may see riots in Ferguson. I see media companies making millions. I see politicians making careers. I see a congressional pay raise and a tax cut for the very richest up the pipeline. I see ordinary people being chewed up and spit out. I see hopelessness. I see human misery being minted as coin. I do not see justice anywhere. In the end there is only one race – the human race. This is a race we are all in together. We are not doing so well with that. I am told that people want me to say something about the unrest in Ferguson, MO. Here is what I have to say. Pray for Peace. social.witchschool/profiles/blogs/a-few-words-about-ferguson-and-about-hate
Posted on: Wed, 26 Nov 2014 22:20:27 +0000
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