Scrim Nation

[JVO]

So I had a very strange experience during lunch which has sort of shaken me up a bit.

A friend of mine and I went to a local Asian food buffet for some afternoon grub. After getting our food we promptly sat down and started stuffing our faces. As I approached my seat, I noticed these two men sitting at a table behind us with a bunch of paperwork layed out on the table. I took very little notice and got straight to the grubbing, but my friend (who was sitting facing them) kept staring at them. When I asked her what was up she immediately shushed me, so I started to pay close attention to what they were talking about. Here are some pieces of what I heard:

"What additional responsibilites will I take on as Grand Wizard?"

"The Rolla Klux must do a better job recruiting, their numbers are starting to slide"

"We must work to get better discounts from our vendors simpathetic to our cause."

"The Supremisists need to be approached about joint funcitions."

"We need to stop watering down our (something uncomprehensable) rituals so that they are more in accordance with the National standards."

So finally I realized that we were sitting right next to two heads of the Ku Klux Klan calming discussing their business plans over a plate of sweet and sour chicken (which I find strange in and of itself).

When we finally got up to leave, I took a long look at them (two men in their 60's, one with a buzz cut, another with a slick bald head and both wearing Camo overcoats with strange patches and Big German Army boots) and both of them were staring right at me with this menacing look in their eyes. My friend contends that they were trying to recruit me, but I felt more like they were warning me.

Anyway this whole experience really freaked me out. To my knowledge, I have never met anyone who was affiliated with a hate organization, and as far as the KKK goes, I didn't even think they really existed anymore. When I came back to work we had a big conversation about race in Missouri and several issues were raised.

First of all, I have worked at three "white-collar" jobs in CoMo each at companies that had more than 100 people in their corporate offices. I honestly can't remember a single black person working at any of them for any amount of time, let alone any minorities who held Management positions.

Secondly, I almost never see any black people at the mall, grocery store, Shit-Mart, public parks, twilight festivals, or at any of the collection of crappy bars that I frequent.

Thirdly, I never see any groups of people that comprise of both black and white people together. The only time I ever see black/white combinations is white women with black men, but never black/white men or white men and black women or black/white women.

Forthly, with the exception of kitchen personnel that work for our company, I don't know a single black person, nor have I ever really had any friends who have close black friends. In fact, since I have lived in CoMO I can only remember 2 times in which a friend of mine introduced me to somebody who was black. Every other place that I have ever lived, I always had black friends.

Fifthly (probably not a word), because of work I am sometimes forced to go to Optimist and Rotary Club Meetings and of the hundreds of local members in each society I have not seen a single black person. Granted this may not be the most likely place to see black people (or anybody in their right mind for that matter), but I am sure that the Chicago/Miami/New York clubs have at least some black members.

Sixthly, in the random nearby small towns, during the day you see only white people and at night you see only black people, but you never see white people and black people at the same functions at the same time.

So basically what my experience with the Klan, and the conversations I had about it with coworkers, led me to believe that Missouri is one racist ass state. I mean you never, never, never see black and white people together. If there are white people around, you are pretty much assured that there will be no black people. This was not the case in other places that I have lived. Certainly there was racism in each of those states, especially Virginia, but there was no where near the chosen segregation that I see in MO. What is strange is that CoMo is a pretty liberal, open minded city, yet apparently the leadership of the missouri KKK is headquartered here, and no companies or professional organizations that I am familiar with, have any black people. I know several people in this area, and they all seem pretty open minded, yet the entire area seems to be mired in an institutionalized racism that nobody ever talks about.

MO natives what do you think? Am I over reacting? What about people who lived in MO but have moved? Have you noticed a difference where you currently live? Why do you think (if you think) that the races in MO have some sort of unspoken agreement to stay away from each other? What can we do to change this? Also are there any black members of the site? If so do you have any opinions about this?

[Soul Queen]

I have always believed that Missouri was a very racist state.

Growing up in a small rural town there were 2 black people in my class. One moved to Fayette. The other dropped out because she got pregnant. I remember she told me the principal encouraged her to stay at home instead of finishing school.

I also worked at the library in COMO. My boss was black and worked in an all white office. I am sure this had a crazy affect on her mentality. She was crazy! Could have it just been the library or working with crazy white people? Maybe it was a combination of both.

It seems like it would be difficult to be anything but white in Missouri. People always pull out stereotypes. They automatically think you are on welfare if your black, working in the fields if your hispanic... I don't believe that I ever encountered an asian in rural Missouri. Alot of the times you probably don't even notice the racism because people make little comments here and there all the time.

One of the reasons I like being in Miami is because there are so many different people here. Not just black, white, but people are from everywhere. I have met people from Greece, Cuba, Ethiopia, Belise, Bolivia, Peru, Haiti...you name it.

Sometimes its nice to be the minority instead of the crazy white majority.

[bubz_bluez]

i have heard when i was just a kid that the KKK still exsisted... i have heard of shady charectors who were related to kids a grew up with parents were in it... <<--- that last part could have been boys making up tall tales

bubz

i hope i worded that correctly

[mrjohnchimpo]

my dad had a problem in smirna [sp], tennesee when he was active duty. him and one of his buddies went to a diner and they wouldn't serve the dude cause he was black. and they actually said "we're not serving you because you are black" so it wasn't like he was seeing things.

up here in the North, i think most people i know (myself included) assume anyone south of the Mason Dixon line is a racist. which i guess is a stereotype in and of itself.

[professor booty]

Yes. Missouri holds the legacy of slavery to this day.

There many racist jokes and no black people in my elementary school. Ignorance through segregation allows a lot of it to perpetuate.

Rememeber the movie "Malcolm X" and all the T-shirts that came with it? One good ole boy wore a shirt with the confederate flag to school that said "They got their X and we got ours" Was he told to change his shirt or suspended...not to my recollection. [side note to duckplucker and all GHS grads--recall that duckplucker was given one day ISS for (correctly) stating that some musical christmas lights in the hallway "sucked" yet blatant racism was ignored]

And for those who get the Glasgow Missourian, I am sure that you noticed that there are two separate (but equally lame) columns for the "News around Glasgow"--one for the white people and their small town gossip, and one for the black people.

I think that people are slowly changing, but most of the people who are outraged by rural Missouri leave it.

[slam]

Glasgow kids, did you ever see a black person in Henderson's drug store?

Me neither.

When we were little kids, black people weren't allowed in the swimming pool. It was private, and they thought that meant they could discriminate. They, of course, were wrong.

The KKK is very much alive in Missouri. It's underground, and quiet, but there. When a black family moved into my Dad's hometown of Milan, MO (way up north by K-ville) a couple of years ago, the local KKK arranged to have a different member drive their truck into the family's driveway, every hour, on the hour, 24/7, until they moved away. Subtle. Effective.

Our old chem teacher, Mr. Beersman (sp?) claimed to have been asked to join when he first moved to town. He may have been completely full of shit, though.

[zero2056]

Glasgow kids, did you ever see a black person in Henderson's drug store?

Me neither.

When we were little kids, black people weren't allowed in the swimming pool. It was private, and they thought that meant they could discriminate. They, of course, were wrong.

The KKK is very much alive in Missouri. It's underground, and quiet, but there. When a black family moved into my Dad's hometown of Milan, MO (way up north by K-ville) a couple of years ago, the local KKK arranged to have a different member drive their truck into the family's driveway, every hour, on the hour, 24/7, until they moved away. Subtle. Effective.

Our old chem teacher, Mr. Beersman (sp?) claimed to have been asked to join when he first moved to town. He may have been completely full of shit, though.

Mr. Beersman.... wow... theres a person I haven't thought about in a long time. What a strange, strange, individual he was.

[bighead_42_1090]

Apparently its not too hard to get into the national ranks of the KKK. A friend of mine, Arlandis Glasgow, claimed to be a card carrying member. However I don't think I ever saw the card to verify his claim. I did however think it was funny as hell.

Here's a picture of the white supremist: http://www.flickr.com/photos/mof/16611315/

[bangg trimm]

Glasgow kids, did you ever see a black person in Henderson's drug store?


well, shit, slam, i was only ever in there 5 or 6 times myself.

come to think of it, i always knew he sort of hated farm fags.. :biker:

[nerdy girl]

Here's an odd sidenote to the racial discussion. I grew up in CoMo, and although my dad was somewhat of a bigot, I feel like I'm a very open-minded individual. It's interesting to me how some racist ideas and terms are so ingrained in our upbringing, that we don't even realize they're there. I was talking to a friend of mine who grew up in New York, and she was talking about overhearing coworkers refer to someone as "mixed". She was totally shocked that this was an acceptable term. I felt very weird after that, because I had never thought about that as being offensive. I guess bi-racial is more correct, but it made me feel very insensitive that I had never even thought about it.
Here's another odd thought: My dad (Missouri born and raised) had always told me that the worst thing that could happen to him, as a father, was for me to date a black man, or for my brother to date a man. One time I pressed him on the issue, and asked him how he would feel if I dated a black woman. He said that was OK, but not a black man. I didn't ask how he'd feel if my brother dated a black woman. Hmmm...

[duckplucker]

missouri was a slave state. so as sure as night follows day....

don't worry though.

the world is black.

have you turned on the radio lately? its all rap.
have you seen mtv lately? have you listened to the slang that every one in america uses? you even hear old timers use the word cool, now.
have you seen a basketball game? football? baseball? blacks have taken over the majority in these sports. (latinos might edge them out in baseball) i just dont think its a big deal any more.
it does seem that here in missouri, whites and (humans of african decent) keep in thier own separate groups. but, remember just 150 years ago we had slaves working in these fields that are right out my window. the separation is just an in between step.
first ,we stopped killing each other. then, we ignore each other. eventually the people will mix up like in urban areas. but things move slowly here.
my theory is that the girls are going to breed out racism. eventually, there wont be black and white. everyone will have mixed ancestry and we will all be grey. right now, blacks are "those people over there". in a few generations, blacks will be....your uncle. your grandpa, your niece, etc.
i have lived in rural missouri my entire life and i have never seen a lynching or a cross burning.

jod

[mrjohnchimpo]

ah, so are you saying it's alright if whites just think and speak racist thoughts, as long we don't act on them?

[JVO]

I think if there is one contribution our generation (aka the "Slacker Generation") will make to society, it's that we will dramatically decrease the instances of racism. For Ex. Nerdy Girl sited that her father "was somewhat of a bigot" yet she is not a bigot at all. I think that is true for many of us. We have been able to transend the racism of our parents and evolve into a more accepting society.

I think the idea that only former slave holding states exhibit racism is b.s. I guarentee you that if a 1000 African Americans moved into suburbean Concord, New Hamshire, there would be racism there too. Obviously the reason why there is more racism in the south is because there are actually black people in the south. Now I certainly agree that the history of slavery prevalent in the south is a key ingredient too, but racism is a national problem, not just a southern problem. Remember Brown v. Board of Education happened in Kansas; a nonslave holding rural state. I think the difference is much more urban/rural as opposed to north v. south. Certainly Chicago, Miami and St. Louis are probably much more racially friendly than any of the backwood small towns in Florida, Missouri or Illinois. I also think that the best and brightest that small towns have to offer, immediately leave when they are old enough. I certainly don't blame them, but I think this the reason why things will never change.

DP, I disagree with you that the popularity in Black culture and the high number of minorities in sports is any indication that racism is ending. For many generations whites have been entertained by blacks. How many black owners are there? Black GM's? How many Black network directors? Film Studios owners? Recording company owners? Successful Producers? Directors? Certainly there are some, but there is still a huge gap. All this is, is another instance of whitey exploiting the talents of minorities for their own financal/entertainment purposes.

I do think that as previously generations die the problem will continue to get better. We need to be very careful about political correctiveness though. If we take it too far, it will set us back instead of helping us to actually deal with issues.

[zero2056]

ah, so are you saying it's alright if whites just think and speak racist thoughts, as long we don't act on them?

I didn't read that at all in DP's post, Chimpo.

I've hung out with a somewhat diverse crowd over my brief years thus far during my time on the planet, and it's only been more diverse as of late, since my GF is from Paraguay.

As a white individual I have a real problem with how racism seems to always be a minority saying how the white majority is racist. I've seen both sides of the coin, and at least from what I've seen personally, latinos and afro-americans seem to be much more racist... not necessarily to white people, but to each other and then to themselves.

I've witnessed firsthand how my GF's father (who is 100% south american... darker skin) is treated himself less favorably when compared to other latinos, just because he has a darker skin color. It led me to jest, that all other "races" (is that even the correct term anymore?) all seem to be trying to get whiter, except for white people, who pay money to tan.

And the latino world..... they never ever want to be associated Mexicans? Who would have thunk it? Apparently Mexicans are like the rednecks of the latino world.

I think that racism will continue to slowly die out as the melting pot keeps melting, but will never be gone. Some areas will take FOREVER for this occur (read... deep south), but sooner or later they'll get acclimated as well. My grandparents have some streaks in them of racism that comes through every once in awhile, but that's how they were raised. Some of that comes from life experiences they've had rather than, beliefs that we're ground into them. For instance, my grandfather doesn't like Asians much at all..... why? About 40-50 years ago he was called away from his family to have to go and kill them. Understandable, in my book.

Another interesting topic came up the other night. I've been watching the first season of Lost through netflix on DVD. On that show, there is an ex-Iraqi soldier that is also on the Island. He and this white chick start hooking up, and the white chick's brother had a problem with it. I was asked if I would have a problem with it if my sister was dating an Iraqi, to which my response was an unequivocable YES! After thinking about it for awhile later on, I realized my answer was yes.

This make me racist? Guess so. Do I think I'm the worse off for feeling that way, nope. During my conscious lifetime that area of the world has been a cluster fuck of epic proportions. I'm tired of it, and thus negative associations go along with the territory for the mostly innocent inhabitants of that region.

So in a long-winded response, I think each and every one of us has racism streak in us to some degree. Most of us just don't want to go out and burn people on crosses or take any other drastic measures. I think that anyone that claims they are 100% not racist is either 1) lying, or 2) haven't really taken a good look within themselves.

I believe organized Religion (the root of all shit... well that and money) causes more problems, than piddly little hate organizations like the KKK.

[duckplucker]

there is no human who has never thought a racist thought.

you have thought racist thoughts. all of you. even if you are a "minority".

and i never said (typed) that anything, specifically, was ok. words are being (typed) in my mouth.

i just think that racism is a dying idea. the civil rights struggle was a major event in our history. but, the fight is won. and unless you are at least thirty years older than myself, i bet that you have never seen a lynching either.

sure, some old coots are gonna sit around at thier meetings and talk about hate. but if they really went and killed some blacks, the cops would come get them and the system would lock them up.

if you are really concerned about the next cultural battle front it will be fought over the color green. rich vs. poor. the dying midddle class is fighting for survival. the corporation will own you all in a few generations and they wont care what your color is.
in short, stop worrying about the shadow of the kkk. start worrying about big business.

[mrjohnchimpo]

I didn't read that at all in DP's post, Chimpo.


i'm hoping somebody will back me up here, but DP edited his post. it doesn't read what it originally said. and i withdraw my comment since the edit.

[JVO]

if you are really concerned about the next cultural battle front it will be fought over the color green. rich vs. poor. the dying midddle class is fighting for survival. the corporation will own you all in a few generations and they wont care what your color is.
in short, stop worrying about the shadow of the kkk. start worrying about big business.


True!

[JVO]

i'm hoping somebody will back me up here, but DP edited his post. it doesn't read what it originally said. and i withdraw my comment since the edit.


Yeah that confused me too. But it is all good. I suspect that we all basically agree with each other.

[duckplucker]

i often edit my posts.

i find that the first thing i type is usually more angry than i want to be.

so i go back and soften it up around the edges.

[mrjohnchimpo]

haha, no problem.

for some reason when you wrote that last post about softening your posts i got an image of that channel 11 painter guy. the one that always said "okay, folks, today we're gonna learn how to paint some nice trees."

i dont know why. :D

[professor booty]

Typed a lengthy post that was lost...that'll learn me.

Bob Ross was a gentle soul whose paint brush and white boy afro touched many of our lives. Here's to Bob!

'bout scrim nation...I don't like being called racist because of the universality and thoroughness of hatred it implies. I will admit to being predjudiced, sometimes stubbornly so.

However, I am delighted when my predjudices are pleasantly exploded by exposure to others who stand as counter-examples.

As to wealthy/poor being the new divide, I see it as a direct connection to the cherished capitalistic democratic model in which all individuals are in perfect competition with one another. It is a model based on desire and desire-fulfillment primarily as a monetary transaction, not a social or emotional or spiritual one.

Us/Them distinctions rely on dualism. Unify your attention. Seek what the buddhas sought if you want to get out of the trap!

Professor

[mrjohnchimpo]

http://www.schizocentral.com/images/BigBadBobRoss.jpg

[duckplucker]

very cool story that started this one jvo. what a good discussion. i've been thinking about it all day long.

in another thread, about td dances, i used the term, "hip hop guy". this was taken as a racial slur. i didn't mean it that way. but upon further review, it seems that it was. this is just one example of the inherent prejudices that infect us all.

i dont know how to use the damn quote thingy that everybody uses. but please elaborate on your last paragraph, professor.
"us/them distinctions rely on dualism. unify your attention. seek what the buddhas sought if you want to get out of the trap."

[Soul Queen]

[quote=duckplucker]

i dont know how to use the damn quote thingy that everybody uses.quote]

Have your pressed the quote button? You have to leave the beginning quote box and the end quote box.

For example (quote=duckplucker) what it says, blah blah blah .quote)

[Soul Queen]

after a second look, maybe I don't know how to put the box thing together either????:help:

[mrjohnchimpo]

after a second look, maybe I don't know how to put the box thing together either????:help:

theres a blue button on the lower right of every post that says "Quote". pressing that should start a new entry for you with the person you want to quote already tagged properly.

[Soul Queen]

I do use the quote button, but it doesn't place the post in the cute little box. Note I used the quote button in my reply to duckplucker.

[bangg trimm]

i dont know how to use the damn quote thingy that everybody uses. but please elaborate on your last paragraph, professor.
"us/them distinctions rely on dualism. unify your attention. seek what the buddhas sought if you want to get out of the trap."

ha ha i can use the quote button and you can't. i am good and you are not.


which, i suppose, leads us to dualism. i am not speaking for the prof, but i admit to being inspired by the booty.

ideas such as us/them, right/wrong, left/right, good/evil, north/south frequently depend on a polarized paradigm to maintain their meaning, yes? "it's one or the other" you frequently hear. "you're either with us or against us". in my view, these poles are only directional cues (it's more north than it is south) than they are absolutes (it's north).

"north" doesn't exist. "south" doesn't exist. "homosexuals" do not exist, nor do "heterosexuals", "good" or "evil". rather, existence lies on vast spectra that have ideas rather than real things as their poles--platonic forms, not observable, empirical concretes.

we are constantly evolving beings in a constantly evolving society. we are alike in this way. we are all part of Life. together with rocks and minerals and chemicals, we are all part of Existence. ( the film"I Heart Huckabees" has a funny model of these ideas). i am another yourself. our similarities and unities far outnumber the differences. if we accept in our consciousness an idea of our interdependent connectedness, our fundamental oneness, we see that, in some ways, there is no "me" or "you"--just variant expresssions and extrusions of that oneness.

by changing your consciousness from that of separation, conflict and exclusion to that of unity, harmony, and inclusion, you can begin to be in the world in radically different way.

but empirically--and seemingly paradoxically-- i can see that your skin is not my skin, my foot and the floor do not meld in indistinction.

i sometimes think about this in terms of my body's cells. we acknowlege them as a single unit, a wholeness... but we also recognize their component parts--mitchondria, nucleii, etc. these parts have different functions in the day to day. if we were to observe these parts as individuals as we do humans, we might ascribe to them personalities, traits, scenarios of conflict and of peace-making, etc. and if were to observe them from a larger perspective, we might forget about their parts all together and see them as a whole.

the same could be said for human society... the conflicts and the peacemaking, the personalities and emotions are all present on the micro scale, but on a macro scale what would we see?

i'm not trying to excuse oppressive treatment of people by zooming out in my perspective. but conflict is not a bad thing of itself..it is two (or more) ideas colliding to show a new thing. and we can only do as much as we can to control these forces.. the rest we have to learn how to deal with

before i ramble on forever i'm going to stop.
:coffee:

[duckplucker]

theres a blue button on the lower right of every post that says "Quote". pressing that should start a new entry for you with the person you want to quote already tagged properly.


see if this works.

ok. how do i quote only part of someones passage?

[duckplucker]

ha ha i can use the quote button and you can't. i am good and you are not.


which, i suppose, leads us to dualism. i am not speaking for the prof, but i admit to being inspired by the booty.

ideas such as us/them, right/wrong, left/right, good/evil, north/south frequently depend on a polarized paradigm to maintain their meaning, yes? "it's one or the other" you frequently hear. "you're either with us or against us". in my view, these poles are only directional cues (it's more north than it is south) than they are absolutes (it's north).

"north" doesn't exist. "south" doesn't exist. "homosexuals" do not exist, nor do "heterosexuals", "good" or "evil". rather, existence lies on vast spectra that have ideas rather than real things as their poles--platonic forms, not observable, empirical concretes.

we are constantly evolving beings in a constantly evolving society. we are alike in this way. we are all part of Life. together with rocks and minerals and chemicals, we are all part of Existence. ( the film"I Heart Huckabees" has a funny model of these ideas). i am another yourself. our similarities and unities far outnumber the differences. if we accept in our consciousness an idea of our interdependent connectedness, our fundamental oneness, we see that, in some ways, there is no "me" or "you"--just variant expresssions and extrusions of that oneness.

by changing your consciousness from that of separation, conflict and exclusion to that of unity, harmony, and inclusion, you can begin to be in the world in radically different way.

but empirically--and seemingly paradoxically-- i can see that your skin is not my skin, my foot and the floor do not meld in indistinction.

i sometimes think about this in terms of my body's cells. we acknowlege them as a single unit, a wholeness... but we also recognize their component parts--mitchondria, nucleii, etc. these parts have different functions in the day to day. if we were to observe these parts as individuals as we do humans, we might ascribe to them personalities, traits, scenarios of conflict and of peace-making, etc. and if were to observe them from a larger perspective, we might forget about their parts all together and see them as a whole.

the same could be said for human society... the conflicts and the peacemaking, the personalities and emotions are all present on the micro scale, but on a macro scale what would we see?

i'm not trying to excuse oppressive treatment of people by zooming out in my perspective. but conflict is not a bad thing of itself..it is two (or more) ideas colliding to show a new thing. and we can only do as much as we can to control these forces.. the rest we have to learn how to deal with

before i ramble on forever i'm going to stop.
:coffee:
i cant figure out how to quote just the one sentence that i want to respond to.

[mrjohnchimpo]

i cant figure out how to quote just the one sentence that i want to respond to.


you just have to delete what you don't want from between the quote tags.

[duckplucker]

i understand what prof and trimm are saying on a philosophical level.

but this discussion started in a more real life sense. thats not a good description.

so , are you trying to tell me to not worry about big business because big corporate america is just another myself? are you saying that the ever widening gap between rich and poor is no big deal because the rich and the poor are all interconnected?

i have read extensively on eastern philosophy. i just think that its worth fighting for the middle class by supporting local, small businesses. and i believe in strengthening labor unions to help the lower classes to be fairly represented.

i find that my inner belief is a taoist model of understanding. go with the flow. dont stress over things i cannot change. but i dont shop at wal-mart.
btw i heart huchabees was a cool flick.

jod

[duckplucker]

if we accept in our consciousness an idea of our interdependent connectedness, our fundamental oneness, we see that, in some ways, there is no "me" or "you"--just variant expresssions and extrusions of that oneness.

by changing your consciousness from that of separation, conflict and exclusion to that of unity, harmony, and inclusion, you can begin to be in the world in radically different way.

this is the part here

[duckplucker]

Us/Them distinctions rely on dualism. Unify your attention. Seek what the buddhas sought if you want to get out of the trap!

Professor


thanx to sq and chimpo.
its hard to teach a cave man how to use one of these magic boxes.

[bangg trimm]

i understand what prof and trimm are saying on a philosophical level.

but this discussion started in a more real life sense. thats not a good description.

so , are you trying to tell me to not worry about big business because big corporate america is just another myself? are you saying that the ever widening gap between rich and poor is no big deal because the rich and the poor are all interconnected?

i have read extensively on eastern philosophy. i just think that its worth fighting for the middle class by supporting local, small businesses. and i believe in strengthening labor unions to help the lower classes to be fairly represented.

i find that my inner belief is a taoist model of understanding. go with the flow. dont stress over things i cannot change. but i dont shop at wal-mart.
btw i heart huchabees was a cool flick.

jod

duckie:

i'm with you.. i think i, in part, misunderstood the nature of your query. so i was outlining some interesting mental candy. the hard kind you can suck on. heheh.

i face the same questions you do regarding class and economics and the honorable actions to take with those questions in mind. the best personal response i can offer at the moment is:

1. the world is rife with paradox. learning how to navigate that world instead of copping to one of the poles of that paradox is effing difficult. but, to me, this feels the way i should go.

2. part of the paradox is that we must have our individual differences and beliefs to make a stable overall system. i'm not talking about The System, but about the dynamics i sense in most systems: biologic, economic, mathematic, emotional,...

3. i'm always skating the line between doing what i sense that i need to do for myself and what is sense i need to do for others. this is because of the interdependence: there is no community without individuals and no individuals without community. how i contextualize my actions depends on the situation; some people balance toward an individual contextualization and others toward a communal contextualization.

4. balance and equilibrium among the classes will happen. it may be violent at times and peaceful at others. Through both considerate and focused action by individuals and the process of time. The world does not long tolerate imbalance. i attempt to use some of my energy to help this equilibrium and equality sooner.

but who knows what other inequalities i create as i do so.

this is not a case for inaction or existential despair. just a crazy ass function of the world.

5. i like to try to make the world as nice for fellow living things as possible, and to allow for as much autonomy as possible for those individual beings. choice is paramount. sometimes that will mean giving up things i like. sometimes it won't.

that's a sort of summary anyway.
(i'll be in missouri from this saturday through may 1 or so.. we should talk)

bangg

[professor booty]

Duck--

If I spend too much time worrying about whether I am or am not percieved to be a "racist" I cannot rid myself of racism. I define myself in terms of it, instead of living without it.

The buddhas not only saw the buddha nature in everything, they lived it. In their compassion, they urge us to break ourselves of the dualistic thought by emptying ourselves and unifying our attention toward enlightenment.

John Lennon encouraged us to imagine a world without many of the things that loom large in our minds (religion, countries, etc.). He died, and these things are still here. Is this a failure of John Lennon or a failure of our imagination?

Do not mistake this as an entreaty for denial of reality. Simply give the mistaken visions of existence that enter your mind no lasting place to dwell in your consciousness. Have no doubt that you can live enlightened, then you will be enlightened.

Professor