June 24, 2021, Carson City- Several years ago a person, who claimed to be an adherent to the belief in Progressive Revelation, nonetheless made comments about people needing to be “in their place”. At the time, I just agreed to disagree, quietly sensing that time and circumstance would change that person’s heart.
My father, a fervent believer in the free enterprise system and in the right of individuals to make, and live with, their own choices in life, passed those beliefs on to the four of us who were of competence. I give a bit more leeway to non-capitalist systems, provided they avoid the top-down authoritarianism, to which most Marxist nations have subscribed; but I digress.
At the meeting I attended today, the very same group, who years ago acquiesced to the notion described in the first paragraph, had advanced, by leaps and bounds, to a place of broader mindedness-recognizing the imperative that society embrace all of its ethnicities and show more compassion towards immigrants.
Thus is the way of healing. Thus goes the path to true reconciliation. As a kindergartner cannot, customarily, comprehend calculus, so can a person raised in a largely homogeneous environment not, without a full-range of life experiences, comprehend the vastness of humanity’s variations. A well-read person can appreciate this multivariance, to some degree, and one who is truly well-traveled, who has mingled with many different nations and ethnicities, can appreciate it even more. The basis, the foundation, for such understanding, however, is set in childhood and cemented by experiences in adolescence and young adulthood. It requires a solid spirituality, albeit of the person’s own choosing. Otherwise, the healing that one must undergo, later in life, is a slow, tortuous and sometimes painful path.
The gathering this evening was a vindication of all that Baha’u’llah teaches us, in His Writings, and all that ‘Abdu’l-Baha showed us, by the example of His life. The group will now find its way to a very special place, as will any person, or group of people, who embrace the healing.
A Sagittarian Seeker 
Having an open mind and an open heart make it easier… I’m reading a book “The Sum of Us: What Racism Costs Everyone and How We Can Prosper Together” by Heather McGhee. It is excellent!
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That is one of many excellent treatments of the varied costs of racism and discrimination.
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“In your place” has to be “in its place,” too. A lot of people should stay in their place and don’t come into mine. As usual with my culture, things are flip-flopped and put into the hologram know as Hollywood. I don’t know if you’ve had classes or environments where there are obvious differences in social rank. I took a culinary class where “Mise en Plas” was firmly drilled into us. Many would become higher-end chefs and waiters and waitresses, not me though. At work, young females are often accused of wanting superiors to scare them away from it. For example, nurses can’t date or hang out with doctors. Look too long and get the look. Out. In the military, you can’t sleep with an officer, or you go to jail or are immediately chaptered out. In regular society, it isn’t as emphasized. We don’t have strong social customs, and I am usually the one who pays for it. I’ve gone mad before due to it and the tricks people use on autopilot instead of a simple lesson here and there. It’s like, you just destroyed me. My motto is, “Instead of putting me in my place, stay in yours.” Personally, I’m all for places. It doesn’t matter here, however. CrazyChains and CrazyCretin have given up.
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We each find our niche, and can either remain there in comfort, or choose to push the boundaries, a bit. No one person, however, has a right to impose their choices on others.
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I agree. “In your place” needs to be, “put that phrase in its place” There are awkward times for people. I once had to set up a party for pretty high up there officers as a detail when I was in the army. Never did it cross my mind to get warm and fuzzy over them nor talk to them. I usually have a pretend man or celebrity crush. I won’t get into my flinging… Some guys are full of themselves, even if they’re only millionaires or in the army, I will say. It takes like two seconds to deal with, “Security, we have a problem.” It’s usually not that simple for me. That’s seems like the best solution to me.
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I am fairly good at dealing with self-important people, in a diplomatic manner. That does not mean I kowtow to them, but I will state the rules in a way they can understand, and feel like a fig leaf is being extended to them.
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I’ve gotten a bit aggressive, too. In class, my partner and I, he was already a chef, got a recipe for a leg of lamb and called for a a gallon of vinegar. I think our teacher wanted a joke. Those dang entitled jerks will be their dinner if they pull that ever again and destroy me.
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Anyone who eats anything marinated in a gallon of vinegar gets what they deserve. Glad you had more sense than that.
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