supergee: (mogen david)
[personal profile] supergee
The eruv may be my favorite example of "the spirit killeth, the letter giveth life." Because people can be insane about all sorts of things, it is occasionally treated as a plot by the Elders of Zion, but San Francisco has managed to get one without stirring up that particular cesspool.

Thanx to Mary Mactavish on Facebook.

Date: 2009-06-23 08:38 pm (UTC)
weofodthignen: selfportrait with Rune the cat (Default)
From: [personal profile] weofodthignen
Awww . . . blast. That makes me very sad.

I can understand your POV, since you regard all gods as imaginary. But I serve gods other than the one Jews serve. For me to go into a place holy to a god other than mine is a serious step that I try to avoid. And on a purely secular level, they are declaring public spaces their "home." That is a taking. In New York I had to consciously carve out a space from their "part of our home, belonging thus to our god" space in order to worship my gods in my own apartment and on the roof of my own building. It's a hostile act and an imposition on others, and from my POV it is not harmless.

One more place I shall have to be careful when I go, one more piece of selfishness by zealots. I would never force them to follow the rules of my religion or even to recognize my gods. They are effectively people to do those things, and reducing their rights in their own homes, workplaces, and shared streets and parks. Which matters if you are a believer.

Thanks for the info. Sad.

M

Date: 2009-06-23 09:43 pm (UTC)
weofodthignen: selfportrait with Rune the cat (Default)
From: [personal profile] weofodthignen
A few can--like the purely archetypal gods of the wiccans, and some of the neo-pagan gods. But it depends on the religion. For the most part, religions require a dedicated space, which I explain to newbies in my religion as like a marked landing strip. That is the original point of the Jewish purity rules; if they did not believe such things are important, they would not require themselves to follow the rules. I would not desecrate a religious Jewish home by praying to my gods in it; they are overriding my right to pray to my gods in whole neighborhoods and cities, let alone to walk the streets without being under their law. In England, I grew up legally within Church of England parishes. The rules of the Church of England are less onerous in many ways, but I was still theoretically--in the view of those who care about the Church--subject to its rules even in the public streets. The US is supposed to be a place where one is not subject to that in public places and one's residence. They care about that, and so do I, for similar reasons.

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Arthur D. Hlavaty

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