August 14th, 2015
Do you generally point out the mistakes people make, or do you quietly let it go? What's one mistake people make that drives you crazy?
After spending a few hours nursing my horror at reading how the wannabe Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant uses women ( ISIS Enshrines a Theology of Rape - The New York Times ) i started to speculate about how complicit i am as a male living in a hierarchical, patriarchial society in this and other atrocities against women and girls.
There seems to be a continuum of evil that ranges from casual (or even " sacred ") murder and rape to the treatment of ordinary women by ordinary men in situations that barely budge an eyebrow in other than the most committed feminists.
I think that i could make a case for saying that there is no sharp and clear dividing line between gynycide and mansplaining. Simply a range of abuses and diistinctions that range from petty to inexcusable depending on a person or group's points of view. To say that such a continuum is not a potential "slippery slope" is to subtract all validity from that notion. The lifting up of the male at the expense of the female seems to be a standard feature of almost any society that has discovered the niceties of the division of labor. Social control of sexism's worst abuses , it seems to me, depends on control of hierarchy itself.
There seems to be a continuum of evil that ranges from casual (or even " sacred ") murder and rape to the treatment of ordinary women by ordinary men in situations that barely budge an eyebrow in other than the most committed feminists.
I think that i could make a case for saying that there is no sharp and clear dividing line between gynycide and mansplaining. Simply a range of abuses and diistinctions that range from petty to inexcusable depending on a person or group's points of view. To say that such a continuum is not a potential "slippery slope" is to subtract all validity from that notion. The lifting up of the male at the expense of the female seems to be a standard feature of almost any society that has discovered the niceties of the division of labor. Social control of sexism's worst abuses , it seems to me, depends on control of hierarchy itself.
Harvey is a scholar of mystic traditions. He envisions true spirituality to be the divinisation of earthly life through spiritual practice. These practices can take many forms and can be taken from religious traditions. Harvey sees six poets and religious figures as having universal appeal:
Buddha as portrayed in the Dhammapada
Jesus as portrayed in the Gospel of Thomas
Rumi, a 13th century Sufi poet
Kabir, a 15th century Indian poet
Ramakrishna, a 19th century Hindu sadhu
Aurobindo, a 20th century Hindu philosopher-sage
Harvey also emphasises the Divine Feminine, as expressed in the Virgin Mary, Kali, the Black Madonna and Mother Earth.
Andrew Harvey (religious writer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
But no actual, historical, flesh and blood women? Hmmmm
Not even Mother Meera? Or Dorothy Walters?
Could all those great male teachers have failed to teach Harvey something?
Buddha as portrayed in the Dhammapada
Jesus as portrayed in the Gospel of Thomas
Rumi, a 13th century Sufi poet
Kabir, a 15th century Indian poet
Ramakrishna, a 19th century Hindu sadhu
Aurobindo, a 20th century Hindu philosopher-sage
Harvey also emphasises the Divine Feminine, as expressed in the Virgin Mary, Kali, the Black Madonna and Mother Earth.
Andrew Harvey (religious writer) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
But no actual, historical, flesh and blood women? Hmmmm
Not even Mother Meera? Or Dorothy Walters?
Could all those great male teachers have failed to teach Harvey something?
Simone Weil, The Last Cathar | Tsem Rinpoche
I will return to this and add some text. In the meantime, enjoy the article.
I will return to this and add some text. In the meantime, enjoy the article.
