WHITE PRIVILEGE

 

I really cannot remember when I first heard the perjorative "white privilege". Like a dog with a bone, I have (consciously and unconsciouly) chewed on the idea. At no time has anyone clearly and definitively identified what "white privilege" means. Adding to the unclearness of what is meant, we learn of "white" men and women railing against "white privilege". So, what are we to make of this example of cognitive dissonance? Or am I the only one who recognizes something "ain't" right here?

 

Without a doubt, we can point to many people who have filled exalted places in society and have been for the most "white". When we look at the people who have attained to Forbes' exalted list of the wealthy we do see many "white" individuals.

 

At this point I see there is more to this idea than just "privilege" in terms of having more than non whites. In fact, it really has nothing to do with the color of our skin; it goes much deeper than that.

 

Truth is we are in a battle between good and bad; right and wrong, darkness and light. The greatest definition of "white privilege" I can think of has to do with those who believe in a living God Who, created all of creation and, is able to cleanse sin and make a person "whiter than snow". When we look at this definition, we see why there is such a clamor to do away with law; to decriminalize sin and lawlessness. We can now get a picture of the "white" men and women lamenting "white privilege" without ever giving up everything they have. Isn't that kinda like the bottom line? If you really despise "white privilege" and are in fact "white" should you not totally disown anything you have gained? Yet, we see these plaintiffs doing nothing but shouting and pointing fingers.

 

All down through the history of creation, and mankind, we can find numerous examples of people intent on destroying; removing all semblence of belief in a living God. That is not unique to today. The battle between light and dark, right and wrong, black and white is still being waged with vigor on the side of darkness. Thus we are able to see how "black lives matter" (have publicly declared their underlying principle is Marxism) is so strongly pursuing eliminating anything good. Do not be mislead; all the anarchy, rioting, destroying property, killing police and firefighters all have the intent of destroying any belief in a living God.

 

None of us are exempt. When I look at the orderliness of creation and all we are aware of, I realize there is a lot more to this existence than merely a freak of nature caused by an unexplainable explosion that happened somewhere somehow.

A Fairytale

 Earlier today, I was reminded of the story of the Warm Fuzzies. I looked it up, and since it is now in open domain because it is 50 years old, I decided to post it here so I would always be able to find it without going through all my files.

    Grossmont College

    A FAIRYTALE
    Claude M. Steiner, Ph.D.

Once upon a time, a long time ago, there lived two very happy people called Tim and Maggie with two children called John and Lucy. To understand how happy they were, you have to understand how things were in those days. You see, in those happy days everyone was given at birth a small, soft, Fuzzy Bag. Anytime a person reached into this bag he was able to pull out a Warm Fuzzy. Warm Fuzzies were very much in demand because whenever somebody was given a Warm Fuzzy it made him feel warm and fuzzy all over. People who didn’t get Warm Fuzzies regularly were in danger of developing a sickness in the back which caused them to shrivel up and die.

In those days it was very easy to get Warm Fuzzies. Any time that somebody felt like it, he might walk up to you and say, “I’d like to have a Warm Fuzzy”. You would then reach into your bag and pull out a Fuzzy the size of a little girl’s hand. As soon as the Fuzzy saw the light of day, it would smile and blossom into a large, shaggy, Warm Fuzzy. You would then lay it on the person’s shoulder or head or lap and it would snuggle up and melt right against their skin and make them feel good all over. People were always asking each other for Warm Fuzzies and, since they were always given freely, getting enough of them was never a problem. There were always plenty to go around and as a consequence everyone was happy and felt warm and fuzzy most of the time.

One day a bad witch became very angry because everyone was so happy and no one was buying her potions and salves. This witch was very clever and she devised a very wicked plan. One beautiful morning she crept up to Tim while Maggie was playing with their daughter and whispered in his ear, “See here, Tim, look at all the Fuzzies that Maggie is giving to Lucy. You know if she keeps it up, eventually she is going to run out and then there won’t be any left for you”.

Tim was astonished. He turned to the witch and said, “Do you mean to tell me that there isn’t a Warm Fuzzy in our bag every time we reach into it?”

And the witch said, “No absolutely not, and once you run out, that’s it. You don’t have any more”. With this she flew away on her broom, laughing and cackling hysterically.

Tim took this to heart and began to notice every time Maggie gave up a Warm Fuzzy to somebody else. Eventually, he got very worried and upset because he liked Maggie’s Warm Fuzzies very much and did not want to give them up. He certainly did not think it was right for Maggie to be spending all her Warm Fuzzies on the children and on other people. He began to complain every time he saw Maggie giving a Warm Fuzzy to somebody else, and because Maggie liked him very much she stopped giving Warm Fuzzies to other people. As often and reserved them for him.

The children watched this and soon began to get the idea that it was wrong to give up Warm Fuzzies anytime your were asked or felt like it. They too became very careful. They would watch their parents closely and whenever they felt that one of their parents was giving too many Fuzzies to others, they also began to object. They began to feel worried whenever they gave away too many Warm Fuzzies. Even though they found a Warm Fuzzy everytime they reached into their bag, they reached in less and less and became more and more stingy. Soon people began to notice the lack of Warm Fuzzies and they began to feel less and less fuzzy. They began to shrivel up, and occasionally people would die from lack of Warm Fuzzies. More and more people went to the witch to buy her potions and salves even though they didn’t seem to work.

Well, the situation was getting very serious indeed. The bad witch who had been watching all of this didn’t really want the people to die, so she devised a new plan. She gave everyone a bag that was very similar to the Fuzzy Bag, except that this one was cold while the Fuzzy Bag was warm. Inside of the witch’s bag were Cold Pricklies. These Cold Pricklies did not make people feel warm and fuzzy but made them feel cold and prickly instead. But, they did prevent people’s backs from shriveling up. So from then on, everytime somebody said, “I want a Warm Fuzzy”, people who were worried about depleting their supply would say, “I can’t give you a Warm Fuzzy, but would you like a Cold Prickly”? Sometimes, two people would walk up to each other, thinking they could get a Warm Fuzzy, but one or the other of them would change his mind and they would wind up giving each other Cold Pricklies. So the end result was that while very few people were dying, a lot of people were still unhappy and feeling cold and prickly.

The situation got very complicated because since the coming of the witch there were less and less Warm Fuzzies around, so Warm Fuzzies, which used to be thought of as free as air, became extremely valuable. This caused people to do all sorts of things in order to obtain them. Before the witch had appeared people used to gather in groups of three, or four, or five, never caring too much who was giving Warm Fuzzies to whom. After the coming of the witch, people began to pair off and to reserve all their Warm Fuzzies for each other exclusively. If ever one of the two persons forgot himself and gave a Warm Fuzzy to someone else, he would immediately feel guilty about it because he knew that his partner would probably resent the loss of a Warm Fuzzy. People who could not find a generous partner had to buy their Warm Fuzzies and had to work long hours to earn the money. Another thing that happened was that some people would take Cold Pricklies - which were limitless and freely available - coat them white and fluffy and pass them on as Warm Fuzzies. These counterfeit Warm Fuzzies were called Plastic Fuzzies, and they caused additional difficulties. For instance, two people would get together and freely exchange Plastic Fuzzies, which presumably should make them feel good, but they came away feeling bad instead, since they thought they had been exchanging Warm Fuzzies, people grew very confused about this, never realizing that their cold prickly feelings were really the result of the fact they had been given a lot of Plastic Fuzzies.

So the situation was very, very dismal and it all started because of the coming of the witch who made people believe that some day, when least expected, they might reach into their Warm Fuzzy bag and find no more.

Not long ago a young woman with big hips born under the sign of Aquarius came to this unhappy land. She had not heard about the bad witch and was not worried about running out of Warm Fuzzies. She gave them out freely, even when not asked. They called her the Hip Woman and disapproved of her because she was giving the children the idea that they should not worry about running out of Warm Fuzzies. The children liked her very much because they felt good around her and they too began to give out Warm Fuzzies whenever they felt like it. The grown-ups became concerned and decided to pass a law to protect the children from depleting their supplies of Warm Fuzzies. The law made it a criminal offense to give out Warm Fuzzies in a reckless manner. The children however, seemed not to care, and in spite of the law they continued to give each other Warm Fuzzies whenever they felt like it and always when asked. Because there were many, many children, almost as many as grown-ups, it began to look as if maybe they would have their way.

As of now it is hard to say what will happen. Will the grown-ups join with the Hip Woman and the children in taking a chance that there will always be as many Warm fuzzies as needed? Will they remember the days their children are trying to bring back when Warm Fuzzies were abundant because people gave them away freely?

Copyright 1969, Claude M. Steiner, 35 Westminister, Kensington, CA 94708
Transactional Analysis Bulletin, October 1970, pp. 146-148

Interesting but not earth shattering

Came to me this morning while getting breakfast together.

 

Once upon a time, there was a song on the radio that did very well on the rock and roll charts. I have come to see that perhaps it started out to be an anti rock and roll song. Flying Purple People Eater appeared to be a song showing how popuar rock and roll was, because a critter that spent its life eating people was willing to forgo that passion to play music in a rock and roll band.

 

Now, for the other side of the story. The artist that brought the song up in the charts was Sheb Wooley. A country music artist in his own right. Consider the ramifications of a interterrestrial critter coming to earth; not just any critter, but one that eats people. Now add to that, he has a horn growing out of his head, and he is able to play rock and roll music through this horn.

 

Quite an interesting picture of rock and roll musicians. Obviously, I have no proof that this is so, but as the pundits of old might have said, the facts speak for themselves.

CinC

This morning I am struck with the thought of the awesomeness of God.

 

Here, in this country, we have the Commander in Chief; God is the Commander in Creation!

 

Consider this world we live in. There is so much we do not see, know, or understand about our world or universe. There are some who posit this world, universe came into being by a fluke explosion somewhere back in history. To my military mind there is too much minute integration involved in what we do know, see, or understand. Consider how coordinated life is: Humans breathe in oxygen, and breathe out carbon dioxide; trees, plants and grass take in carbon dioxide and expel oxygen. If that is not a balance, I have no idea what is.

 

Consider the human body. Science informs us of the materials which make up the human body. Scientists know these materials but are not able to put them together to create a human body. I recall a joke I heard years ago: A consortium of scientists agreed they were now able to create a human being. One scientist was elected to go to God and prove that God was no more relevant. After explaining to God what they could do, God said, go ahead and show me. The scientist reached down and grabbed a handful of dirt, and God said, get your own dirt!

 

To my mind I find believing in things I have heard regarding evolution to be impossible and improbable. Consider, we are advised that somewhere, perhaps milions of years ago, a fish flopped up on land and developed legs in order to walk on land. I suppose that could be believable, but consider the intelligence of fish. Throw a hook in the water with a wiggling worm on it and fish will grab it; oops!

 

Now, consider: "In the beginning God created". My mind wonders how, a world that came from a freak explosion in nothingness is able to maintain for all these millenia. Think about it. The One who created is able to sustain creation. In spite of all the created beings are able to come up with to destroy.

Beam me up Scotty

So, it appears, professor Patricia MacCormack, United Kingdom, has come forth and declared the best way to save the planet is let humans become extinct.

 

Unfortunately, this is not new with this prof. This mind set has been around for a long time. Sadly, those who profess this idealism are never ready, nor willing, to lead the way in humans becoming extinct.

 

Scripture tells us love is laying down your life for others.  What the prof is saying is love is you laying down your life for me.

 

The popular mythology dictates that man is destroying the earth. Truth be told, the mythology doesn't address how the earth came into being, or how it is sustained or maintaned. Of course in order for that to come to light would be to admit that man has no ability to create or destroy.

 

Scripture also informs us not to trust in man. We have chosen to worship man, especially those who claim to be more intelligunt than the rest of us, or even more gifted. We have definitely, collectively, lost our way.

 

No wonder I woke up this morning singing in my mind, "There is joy in the camp a sinner has come home...there is joy wonderous joy in the camp.

The time's they are a changing

How interesting...Loretta Lynn has mentioned that country music is dead.

 

I could have told her that years ago.

 

Having been born in the 40s, I grew up on country music @ KLAK radio in Denver. I vividly recall how the music transitioned to rockabilly and into rock and roll. Which was followed by heavy metal, acid rock, disco and what we call rock and roll today.

 

For the past twenty years I have been here, and listened mostly to KXRB the local country station. I guess it was probably in the 80s but moreso in the 90s when country music began sounding much like the rockabilly of the 50s. It didn't take long for the music to start sounding like the beginning of rock and roll.

 

Probably two years ago or so, KXRB had a change of ownership/leadership and came up with an additional FM station. Since there was a lot of music played during the week that sounded so much like rock and roll I reserved my listening to Saturday when the day was committed to country classics. Even that changed somewhat because the classics were no longer played by the original artists but by covers of more recent artists and claimed to be classics.

 

Perhaps the debarkation point came for me last year when the station implemented "country variety". Yes! variety. I suppose we could sit and debate, all day, what variety might mean. In my mind, it was an open door to transitioning to a more rock and roll format.

 

Then, about half way through last year, the format changed again, and classic Saturday became classic Saturday afternoon, from 12 to 6. Most recently, classic Saturday is no longer a part of the programming.

 

Yes, I know, change is the only constant. Didn't someone, somewhere, say there is nothing new under the sun, what has been will be?

 

Well, that is enough for today.

Whatever will be

I have been living under the assumption that squirrels hibernate for the winter. That just isn't so.

 

As I sit here at the computer and look out my window, I can see the squirrels running around and cavorting in their squirrely way, in spite of the sub-zero temperature and the snow on the ground.

 

Perhaps this is a manifestation of the "glow-bull worming" or "Klimate change" we have been hearing so much about. Perhaps the old "Wendy's" commercial is coming back to haunt us..."It isn't nice to fool mother nature!"

 

Whatever it may be, up here in the southern frozen tundra we have squirrels being squirrely all year long.