Thursday, July 06, 2006

The Fear Factor

More great stuff from Louie's "Do Justice" site ... from a piece called "Help With Tomorrow's Sermon" by James Edward Mackay

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Fear. Fear-mongering, even. I think that was what happened to get B033 through. After all, getting the resolution even considered in both houses requiried extra-ordinary means (e.g., suspension of rules of order, unprecedented joint session for a new, last day resolution, the House of Bishops meeting in executive session, no roll call vote, the presiding bishop-elect speaking during the debate in the House of Deputies).

I believe that fear was at the root of this -- and all the '-isms' are rooted in fear.

Homophobia: Fear of the GLBT 'manner of life'.

Mysogny: Fear that the 26th Presiding Bishop would not be accepted because she's a woman and, therefore, we need her to have all that amunition in order to keep her in the conversation.
Sexism: Fear that the 25th Presiding Bishop's full-court press wasn't enough, so send in the 26th Presiding Bishop, a woman, and gosh-golly some people will do what she says just because she's a woman, gotta give her that amunition.

Classism: Fear that the developing countries where much of the anti-GLBT rhetoric has emerged -- with Americna help -- won't listen to us or accept our new female presiding bishop because we're the wealthiest nation and we really want them to be able to accept our monies for projects and they won't unless we keep them in the conversation.

Agism: Fear that the 26th Presiding Bishop -- who is only 51, has only been a bishop for five years, and so forth -- might not be taken seriously unless we give her all that amunition so that she can get a foothold in the conversation and have a chance to be invited to Lambeth.

Racism: Fear that because the 26th Presiding Bishop is an educated white woman, who attended an prestigious university, she needs all the support we can give her so that those who would not accept her ordination, or that she's stated categorically that she's for GLBT full-inclusion, or that she is young, or that __________, and that because of all of these fears that those African men and those Asian men and those South American men won't give her a good listen or take her seriously unless we show that we're willing to make a sacrifice.

The Resurrection ultimately trumps everything else. [I need a big blackboard to write that on a thousand times.] My hope -- and you'll note for the record that my "hope" is as at an all-time low at the moment -- is that the 26th Presiding Bishop, Katharine Jefferts Schori, will be able to pick herself and others up from this mess and be the Magdalen running from the Empty Tomb back to all of those who have locked themselves in that Upper Room of Bishops and tell them that the LORD IS RISEN.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Would that set have the member "inclusivism", I wonder?

All -isms based in fear? That's a mighty large brush and more than enough tar to cover everybody! Just like sin - "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God".

But I suspect you just meant the -isms you don't like, right?

SUSAN RUSSELL said...

inked .. help me understand how inclusion is fear based

Anonymous said...

Who is trying to objectivify people so that they can depersonalise them to just labels.

I thought that was a conservative flaw, not the christian way we should be modelling.

Peter M. Vermigli said...

Looks like the author of this post thinks that all who disagree with our PB-elect are afraid, and that fear comes from our participation in one of these -isms. An interesting argument: if you can't engage your opponents intellectually, attack their motivations.