Rafiki's Cove

So I was watching The Passion of the Christ with my family a while back, and all I could think was “Damn, Jesus was sexy.” Is that sacrilegious?

Eh, who cares, I’m Pagan. :P

Ignorance.

Let me tell you all something:

The world is filled with ignorant people. Every single person on this planet is ignorant about something!

Ignorant:

You don’t need to read an entire book to know that it is a shitty book.

You don’t need to read all of Twilight to know it is shitty. Read the first few pages. Watch five minutes of the movie. See how the followers who adorn that book act. It’s a shitty book.

You don’t need to read all of the Bible to know it is shitty. Read the first few pages. Watch five minutes of the movie. See how the followers who adorn that book act. It’s a shitty book.

(Yes there are tons of movies based off the Bible.)

Stop telling people they need to read the entire thing to comment on it. No, you don’t.

Cultural appropriation….

You wanna talk cultural appropriation? Look at the Irish. Their entire culture is appropriated from Scotland…except for the excessive drinking and leprechauns. But the bagpipes, kilts, step dancing, celtic music…all of that originates from Scotland. They say that the ancient Irish peoples most likely come from Germania, and were in fact not a Celtic people.

You wanna talk prejudice and mistreatment based on culture? How about when the English raped and pillaged and murdered Scotsman, simply because they were Scotsman? They thought, “Hey, let’s just breed them out. So we’ll rape new wives on their wedding night, and make sure those bastards are ours.”

Or, can we talk about how Christians appropriated almost all of their holidays/traditions from Pagan cultures****? And then burned, hanged, drowned, tortured, and molested witches, and anyone who didn’t conform to Christian beliefs?

No, we can’t? Because that would involve “white” cultures getting appropriated too? White people are the root of all evil? All white people are ignorant? All white people are racist? All white people need to “sit down and shut the fuck up?” All white people say stupid things, and all the things they say are racist, or are tied to their “white privilege?” That sounds racist to me.

I’m not saying that racism doesn’t exist, or that it’s not a very real issue. What I’m saying is that it isn’t black and white, pun intended. There’s a whole range of in between, and I dislike being judged based on my SKIN COLOUR just as much as you do. My ancestors were also hated based on ethnicity, and culture. My ancestors were also poorly mistreated. But I am not my ancestors.

Can we give the cultural appropriation thing a rest now? Every culture has appropriated from another. Almost everything was appropriated at some point. Appropriation does not have to be a bad thing. It can be a very good thing. It can bridge the gaps between cultures. Yes, wearing religious symbols without knowing what they mean can be offensive (headdresses) and it’s understandable because all of the Native cultures have been practically erased by awful things done in the past. But I am NOT my ancestors. I am me. I didn’t do those things to you. I didn’t do those things to your ancestors.

If you want to talk issues, talk issues, but don’t bring cultural appropriation into it. Bring stereotypes into it (that would include “playing Indian” on Halloween). Bring actual mistreatment into it. But don’t blame the issues on cultural appropriation, because that’s not the root. People aren’t mistreated because of cultural appropriation. They’re mistreated because of racism, stereotypes, and hatred. That goes for all “races,” ethnicities, and cultures.

And on the dreads thing: IT’S THE NATURAL STATE OF ALL HAIR TYPES. Something that is NATURAL is not CULTURAL. Why do you think people have to brush their hair, and put conditioner in it? If they don’t, it locks up. That’s called the “neglect method.” It works.

That’s like saying that Europeans can’t eat pineapples because they come from South America. That’s stupid. If it’s natural…if it comes from Nature, it belongs to NO ONE, and no specific culture. This includes feathers, and stones, and specific cloth types.

****Edit: Pagan cultures. Meaning cultures that weren’t Christian. I’m not speaking of Neo-Paganism.

I could never be an atheist…

….it just doesn’t make sense to me. If there is nothing more than the physical realm, and when we die, that is the end….then what is the freaking point??

To be honest, Christianity makes more sense to me than atheism (and I’m not even Christian, I’m Pagan!). If there were only two choices (thank the gods that isn’t the case), Christianity and atheism, I would choose Christianity.

I just can’t imagine a life where I wouldn’t believe in anything. That sounds so depressing. My spirituality is such a large part of who I am…

And you know, I think it’s great that it works for some people. That’s the beautiful thing about life, we’re all so different!

But seriously, I couldn’t be an atheist. I do rely on logic, and I also rely strongly on science, but logic and science can’t tell you everything, and do not work in every situation. That’s why we have two sides to our brains! (Brains sounds funny, haha)

For those certain times when science and logic don’t apply, I turn to spirituality.

Also, I’m not the type of person that believes if something is true the opposite must be false, and vice versa. I believe there are many different levels and planes to reality, and to focus on just one is ignorant.

The end, haha. :P

Speaking up for gay rights…

….Man, sometimes I get on a roll, haha. For example, on the legalization of gay marriage this guy said to me (direct quotation from a message he sent me):

“Yeah i don’t think it should be legal because marriage is for a man and woman.
Marriage is a religious thing, and im pretty sure the bible is against homosexuality.
So changing the law to allow it would make a lot of people upset, mainly the bible bashers.

I’m not religious so dont think im some sort of preacher etc.”

In response, I said to him (again, direct quote):

“Well, I personally think that religion and politics should remain separate. I understand if a church doesn’t want to marry a homosexual couple because it’s against their beliefs. That’s fine. But the government shouldn’t make it illegal on account of religion. Then there’s no freedom of religion, which is wrong. People should be allowed to believe as they wish. Also, there are religions that are okay with gay marriage. Shouldn’t those religions be allowed to marry a gay couple? Also, the bible is not the only religious text. There are many different religions with many different beliefs. For example, my religion has nothing to do with the bible, and is totally cool with gay marriage. My religion should be allowed to practice those things as it pleases, for they don’t hurt any body. I think the only things that should be illegal are the things that hurt other people and the things that impose on other people’s rights. Gay marriage does neither of those things. It’s simply two people who love each other who want to join in matrimony. I see nothing wrong with that. Gender has nothing to do with love. Love has to do with souls. Let me ask you something…when you fall in love with a woman, do you love her because she has a vagina, or do you love her for who she is as a person? Also, what about atheists? By your argument, they shouldn’t be allowed to get married either, because you claim that marriage is a religious thing. Well, it’s not just a religious thing. It’s a political thing too. Married couples get so many political benefits that unmarried couples don’t get. It isn’t fair to deny those to gay people just because it’s against one religion. Eating animals is against my religion, yet that’s still legal, and I wouldn’t try to make it illegal just because I don’t like it. Make sense? :P”

Life With Gills (Religion/Spirituality Metaphor)

Life With Gills (Religion/Spirituality Metaphor)

-Short Story-

Life under the Sea was grand. As long as I avoided the bottom of the sea, and avoided the shore, there were no worries to be had. There were times when I would float, water all around me, with my eyes closed. I would revel in the sensation of the water upon my skin. I never grew tired of that feeling; I was weightless, and small. I could look out and see the great big Blue stretching far beyond what my vision could behold. I felt connected to the Sea, as she was my Mother. She provided the water I needed in order to breathe; she provided the food with which to sustain myself. She took care of me. I also knew that by being in the Sea, I was connected to all other beings in the Sea. We were one.

There was a day when a man came to me, while I was contemplating the creation of the Sea. He looked strange. There was a mask over his eyes, yet it did not obscure them. He was wearing some type of other-skin over his body, and there was a machine on his back which was attached to his mouth. I knew at once that he was a Land-dweller. This man told me that there was a world I could not see, far beyond the Ocean. He told me that there were answers to all of my questions. He told me that life above the Sea was better than life in it.

I became confused. Of course I had heard of these Land-dwellers. They were at a constant war with the people who lived at the bottom of the Ocean. How could a society steeped in a never-ending war be better than my peaceful life under the Sea? Yet, I knew that until I had seen the place myself, I had no right to judge. I told the man I would follow him, and see what his people had to offer.

As we neared the top of the Ocean, the man turned to me and said “For your safety, we must put you in this tank of water. You are unaccustomed to the air, and it might be painful for you.” I complied, and entered the large glass tank which had just been lowered before me. A large machine pulled the tank out of the water, and placed it (and me) on the shore. Every day this man, and others of his kind, came to my tank. They told me stories about their people; how they lived, what they ate, and how they adapted to their climate around them. After a long while, the man came and told me that I was to be moved. I was put into a larger tank, this time with others of my own kind.

They came to me and told me how excited they were to see this Land, and to experience its people. Many, like myself, were afraid. How would they adapt? But the man came and assured us, constantly, that all Life had come from the Sea. He assured us that this was the next stage, that there was a higher purpose for all Life, and it was the Land.

Eventually, the “lessons” (as I now recognized them to be) became more complex. We were told that it was wrong to live in the Sea. He told us that those who live in the Sea are to be condemned and damned creatures, and the only way to save ourselves was to denounce the Sea. He told us that we were lied to, and the Sea was not our Mother, nor our friend. He told us that the Sea boils with Evil, and to have any association with the Sea is to be evil. He told us of strange rules we must follow, in order to make the Land happy, such as wearing clothes, and pairing of into twos. Many of my kind were convinced, but I was not. I remembered life in the Sea very clearly. It was a beautiful place, full of Life and Laughter. The only “evil” I had ever seen was committed by those who dwelt at the bottom of the Sea, and fed on the darkness.

I voiced my concerns to this Man in Charge, and he looked at me with venomous eyes. I knew then that this Man confused the entire population of the Sea with those at the bottom. He believed we were all the same. He told us that there were only two paths, “Right” and “Wrong”. He told us that if we even put one toe into the Sea, that we had sinned, and must be purged of our sin.

Finally, he told us we were ready. He began to take us out of the tank, individually. Days had gone by, and finally it was my turn to leave the tank, and enter his world. I was pulled out, and found that I could not breathe! My gills fluttered violently as they tried to gulp in oxygen. I screamed at the man, “I am dying, I am dying!”

A group of Land-dweller women came and took me into a secluded room. They turned on a bright light and I screamed, for the unnatural rays burned my eyes. They robed me in clothing fashioned like their own and I screamed, for it scraped at my skin. I began to feel dry and itchy. This world was not for me. Eventually my mouth learned to gulp in the air, but it was harsh, and it scalded my chest. I was laid upon a “bed”, which was hard and uncomfortable compared to the rocking waves of the Sea.

Every day, I begged and pleaded to be sent back to the Sea. After each plea another person was sent to me, to tell me the greatness of the Land, and how blessed I was to be in the graces of the Land. I cried and cried as they told me that I was chosen by the Land, and that I could not refuse my “righteous purpose”. After days and days had rolled by, new people came to me. They were shriveled, crumpled beings who sat in chairs with wheels on them. I was told by their handlers that they had once been Sea-dwellers like myself. “Look how well they have adapted!” They cried at me. “You can have all this glory and happiness if you succumb to the ways of the Land.”

I cried even harder, because to me, they looked dead. I knew the land was not meant for me. I needed to return to the Sea at once. I began to comply with the Land-dwellers, but inside I was plotting for escape.

I cannot begin to describe with words how beautiful the Sea felt to me when I had jumped into Her arms once more. I ran from the Land, and plummeted into the Sea. I cried and cried, with a mixture of joy and sorrow. I asked the Sea, “Why does such a horrible place exist? How can they stand to live on the Land?”

The Sea responded to me, “My child, to you the Land seems horrible because you were not meant to tread there. You were born with gills, and a burning desire to be interconnected with your brothers and sisters. The Land is a paradise to those who were meant to live upon it. They were born with strong lungs, and a burning desire to serve the Land. Sadly, this desire has made most of them feel as though all beings should serve the Land, and this is where they are wrong. There will be a time when all peoples of the world can embrace each other, and love one another for their differences. What you must do now, is learn to love them. You must love even those who have wronged you. For without love for them, the connection between our two peoples will die, and then all of Life will die. There must be a Yin and Yang. One cannot exist without the other.”

That was when I learned to Love, even those who were so different from me that I could barely understand them, and even when they did not try to understand me.