Alternative Spirituality

» RichardSpeaks - Not Conclusive

In response to Not Conclusive posted by pink101:
Having been a Pentecostal, I know what it's like to be a Pentecostal. Being male, I know what it's like to be male. Being white, I know what it's like to be white. Being born an American, I know what that means. But even with all that, I don't really know what it means for any other human being to be Pentecostal, male, white, or American. They can tell me, we can discuss. But I am not having their experience. For me to say I know exactly what it means to be Pentecostal, white, male and American for all who happen to fall into those categories is to deceive myself. Now, if I don't and can't know exactly what it means for others to be like I am, then how can I possibly know what it means to be black, female, born Catholic, or an immigrant? I have been an immigrant: I lived in Canada for a few years (legally); I have attended Mass, I have dressed in female clothes for effect (costumes and such) but I still have no clue what it means to be black, female, Catholic or an illegal immigrant. I can judge, cast aspersions, demand, even condemn, but I cannot know what it means to be anything or anyone but myself. And even that has taken many years to learn. The journey isn't over yet.

To say an entire group of people is wrong about themselves and their place in culture is naive at best. If you're not gay, your opinion is not based on firsthand knowledge, even if you're pro-gay.

As far as a "spirit" being created between two people, you are correct. And a similar spirit is created between a person and her pet, a person and his mother, a person and her shrink, a person and his car. Get it?

One last thing: you may be a bit uninformed as to what contitutes intimacy for men as opposed to women. It is not the same.

-- posted by RichardSpeaks