Ink Blot

Everyone has it. Some people won’t admit it, but it’s there. Whether you are a redneck hick from Appalachia or a black dyke from San Francisco. Ugh, I could barely type that. What can we do to combat our own internalized bias? If Knowing Is Half the Battle, is it enough? Interestingly, redneck hick is much easier to type than black dyke. I COULD NOT type a worse euphemism than that. I tried. That says a lot about my bias, I think. I can more easily slur white, poorly educated folk than I can black gay people. A bit of reverse discrimination.

My two biggest ‘groups’ that I tend to discriminate against are Bigots and Christians. It is fairly PC these days to discriminate against Bigots, first since being biggoted is more of a choice than being a minority, disabled or gay is. Also, the conception is that the Bigots held the power for the longest time and now us liberated folk are seeking our revenge. However, in the interest of tolerance for all…aren’t bigots entitled to their opinion like the rest?

Christians too. Yeah, I’m sorry if there are any Christians among the 7 people who know about this blog, but that’s how it is. And obviously I can’t discriminate agaisnt ALL Christians, or else I would not talk to 75% of the people in this country, my family among them. But in the whole ‘getting to know you’ stages of any personal relationship, if it comes out that you are Christian, it’s a mark against you. This is one of the things I have the hardest time with. It’s not that I don’t like Christianity in general. The Bible has a lot of wisdom, more so than any other book I have read. So then it boils down to interpretation and execution. I have my opinions on the Bible, but since Christianity is not a religion I practice, they aren’t really relevant. Kinda like my opinions on the Koran. I have had some downright awful experiences with those who did what they did either in the name of Christianity or simply doing evil things while identifying as Christian. I guess that first group is more of an issue. If you spew hatred and fear and ignorance, you are NOT Christian. Hear that, Pastor Grove? The second just boils down to the fact that any group has people who identify as members, but in reality are anything but. Also known as Fluffy Bunnies.

I should add that I have known a few (ok, several) Christians who live the tenets they preach. They have an open-mindedness that is comforting. Gives me hope.

So…how can I overcome these biases? That IS the goal, is it not? Maybe I should learn to turn the other cheek? *is run over by the irony*

Forgive me for the bit of geek-speak…or maybe it’s common knowledge that ‘!=’ means ‘does not equal’. I’m not sure.

Either way, this is one of the ideas that I’ve been playing with recently in my head. We have seasons that come and go and come back. We have a 28.5 day lunar cycle that ever-so-cleverly matches a woman’s menstrual cycle. We have this planet that we live on that goes careening around the Sun every year or so. We even have Haley’s comet, which will come back eventually and I really hope I get to see. We have these HUGE cyclical events. So, given the cyclical nature of, well, Nature… it stands to reason that the little things are cyclical too. Yeah, I mean us. We live, we die, we live again. Whether always as human or as anything else, who cares? I personally think that it would be cool to be a Sequoia tree for a few thousand years. So it’s true for all life, not just the people kind of life.

If death != end; and this is fairly accepted in much of the world, I find the Western fear of death rather…morbid. Death is sad. Sad for the survivors. The dead person isn’t gone, just on the next leg of the trip. Case in point: Mr. Ink’s Uncle died 4 years ago this month. The night we buried said Uncle, we conceived my son, Bear. Despite all precautions, and significant odds. In the course of playing with this idea, I see two possibilities. 1. My son is my uncle (in-law). Or 2. Said Uncle had a hell of a say in an event that happened 4 days after he died.

And the seasons, they go ’round and ’round…

From another blog I wrote:

Allies
Current mood: Itching for a fight

I have a difficult time distinguishing between Friends and Allies.

Friends are those you can chat with, relate to on some level, hang out with, and can rely on in times of trouble.

Allies are those with which you share a common belief, or goal, or situation. Not all beliefs, but at least one. You don’t actually have to like the person.

Now often, these groups overlap, but not always. I’m not great at telling the difference. I want all allies to be friends. Not just in my life, but all lives. You share a common belief with me…you should be my friend…yeah, yeah, I know… it doesn’t work like that.

I find myself in a place where allies are proportionately rare. We stand alone amidst a sea of, well, non-allies (some are out right hostel) So in these Us Against The World situations, are allies more valuable? Or should we be friends? Can we work toward a common goal?

Are you my ally? Are you my friend?

There is more to this, but I am still working out the details. *hunts for a sharper pen* Something about the futility of a common goal in a herd of cats…

Seasonal Mood Disorder is something that I honestly have a hard time wrapping my head around. I do understand that people take the change of seasons and daylight and weather very hard and it can and does affect people’s lives in a real way. But it is more foreign to me than most things. I ‘get’ schizophrenia… multiple personalties….bipolar etc. without having to live with these illnesses. I can see how a person can live in that reality. I don’t necessarily understand that not everyone feels a steady drizzle is their preferred choice of weather. It is for me. I’ve talked to people who like thunderstorms, snow, even fog…and all these things are cool too. But the best thing ever is a solid, steady drizzle. The kind that goes on for DAYS. Having grown up in Oregon I suppose this was trained into me from a young age. Perhaps the rainwater has seeped into my brain. Winter is not 3 ice storms in 10 days, it’s rain from Oct 11 to April 14. Maybe I need to go to Juneau to appreciate the fullness of seasons, or Aarhus or somewhere. For now, I’ll deal with my bright, sunny, snowy February and wish for rain.

Yes, I know. The point of Blogging (as opposed to journaling) is that it is not, in fact, secret. However, having an unknown address and doing absolutely NOTHING to promote said unknown address… effectively keeps it secret.

So my blog is coming out of the closet. From here on out, I promise to advertise (hopefully not too obnoxiously). Also, from here on out, I plan to focus on spirituality, feminism as I see it, and sharpening my pen so to speak. Please bear with me as I stumble around WordPress.