The Creation Spirituality Lineage Calling All Social and Environmental Activists, Mystic Explorers, Justice Makers, Cosmic Thinkers, Earth Keepers Daily Meditations with Matthew Fox |
Watch for Matthew Fox's video meditation -- now appearing every Monday! |
Juneteenth: Survival in the Face of Racism, Sadism, Domination 06/21/2024 |
FROM THE ARCHIVE: 6/19/2020 Juneteenth is a celebration of the end of slavery, a day to honor the survival and resilience of Black people throughout 400 years of sheer inhumanity: from the profound sadism of slavery, through the Jim Crow laws, lynchings, and segregation, to the racism of today. |
Sadism is a kind of tyranny, a kind of domination. So is racism whether we see it in individual instances or whether we recognize it as baked into our institutions, the “conditions,” as Dr. King put it, in which so many people of color find themselves after centuries of colonialism and domination. |
A man stands over his table of protest signs at the Juneteenth festival of Evanston, IL, the first US city to approve reparations to Black people. Photo by Rising Thermals on Flickr. |
The photo seen
round the world of a white armed policeman killing another man smiling and self-satisfied on top of his “prey,” reveals a deep sadism. It raises questions: “How much of our society and so-called civilization is, at the core, sadistic?” Isn’t this what “domination” means, a word dear to patriarchy itself? Taking pleasure in the pain of others includes taking pleasure in the death of the Earth. Denial about climate change is in fact sadism extended to future generations wanting to live healthily on this planet. |
In a landmark case, a Montana state court has ruled in favour of 16 youths who sued the state, claiming its use of fossil fuels violated their right to a clean and healthy environment. CBC News: The National | Is sadism part
of what keeps haves and have nots so far apart? Is sadism present in every win/lose proposition? Every claim that “we’re #1” and “we’re exceptional” (and you aren’t). The triumph of the reptilian brain. Racism is another form of power-over and sadism. |
Sadism is not just a psychological condition—it is a sociological and structural condition. It is baked into much of academia and an educational system which teaches us how to make it in a sadistic system. Institutionalized sadism is Institutionalized Violence which is Susan Sontag’s
definition of Fascism. |
How deep is it, this necrophilia? This hatred of life? This pessimism? This patriarchy? This victimizing? Do we misuse our creativity putting it to the service of building more weapons, more killing machines, supreme courts that prefer injustice
to |
The Atlanta History Center honors
the resistance and persistence of young people in the 1963 Birmingham Children’s Crusade as they nonviolently protested for change. |
justice and
power-over to power-with and domination to play, joy, delight and justice? King’s strategy included appealing to the conscience of white people by exposing the sadism of the system at work. Police dogs attacking children on television changed the day. We are told that even hardened segregationists recoiled from the sight of
a police dog lunging at a child. By exposing that kind of evil, King had indeed opened the boil of segregation to the medicine of air and light…* |
See Matthew's original YouTube reflection on this topic HERE
(scroll to the bottom of the essay).
Responses are welcomed. To add your comment, or read other comments and enter into dialog, please click HERE to go to our website and scroll down to the Comments field. |
Queries for Contemplation |
Do you see sadism or a compulsion to control alive and well and at work in our institutions today? How is that feeding racism and other forms of oppression including sexism and homophobia? |
Sins of the Spirit, Blessings of the Flesh: Transforming Evil in Soul and Society
Visionary theologian and best-selling author Matthew Fox offers a new theology of evil
that fundamentally changes the traditional perception of good and evil and points the way to a more enlightened treatment of ourselves, one another, and all of nature. In comparing the Eastern tradition of the 7 chakras to the Western tradition of the 7 capital sins, Fox allows us to think creatively about our capacity for personal and institutional evil and what we can do about them.
“A scholarly
masterpiece embodying a better vision and depth of perception far beyond the grasp of any one single science. A breath-taking analysis.” — Diarmuid O’Murchu, author of Quantum Theology: Spiritual Implications of the New Physics |
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In the Beginning There Was Joy: A Cosmic Celebration for Kids of All Ages
The first book in the Father Fox’s Fantastical Fables series tells the story of the big bang and how humans fit into the awesome, fantastical,
cosmic picture! With artwork curated from illustrators around the world, this book expresses the joy and wonder of all peoples and cultures, planting seeds of respect, cooperation and hope to work together for the healing of our planet. "This delicious book for children of all ages celebrates joy as the essential truth of
reality." - Andrew Harvey, Author of The Hope and Radical Regeneration "I absolutely LOVED reading this beautiful, creative, stirring story—a charming, whimsical, powerful, parable." -
Robert Holden, Author of Happiness NOW! and Higher Purpose |
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UPCOMING EVENTS See Matthew Fox's full calendar
HERE |
MONTHLY: Join Matthew Fox, Mariko Middleton, and Skylar Wilson of the Order of the Sacred Earth in a free virtual meeting for connection and networking with other mystic warriors. Last Tuesday of every month, 4:00-5:00pm PT.
Join Zoom Meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/88665302478
Meeting ID: 886 6530 2478 Learn more at www.orderofthesacredearth.org Join Matthew Fox in a new, live, 7-week video course hosted by the Shift Network, Cultivating Compassion in Spirituality: What Meister Eckhart & Other World Mystics Can Teach Us About Navigating Collective Turmoil. Tuesdays, May 7 – June 25, 5:00pm - 6:30pm PT. Register HERE. |
Join Matthew Fox and 11 other speakers for a 6-week course on Cosmic Water: The Radical Roots of Mystical Christianity hosted by Advaya.Life (Matthew speaks on June 18). Tuesdays, May 28 - Thursday, July 4, 10:00 am - 12:00 pm PDT Register HERE (for 10% discount use code
FOX-WOW) |
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Join Matthew Fox as he discusses his book Prayer: A Radical Response to Life in an Our Lady of the Prairie Retreat, Thursday, March 21, 4:00-5:30 pm PT.
Register HERE. Creation Spirituality Conversations |
Matthew Fox speaks on "Preserving Things in the Good" at the Unity of Walnut Creek Earth Day worship service held on April 21, 2024. |
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