#Humanists

[ashtonderoy]

I went to the Belleville Ontario anti-Genocide protest. #FreePalestine

Written by Ashton Deroy In the midst of a Genocide in Israel which USA continues to support almost unconditionally. For the benefit of weapons manufacturers I attended an Anti-Genocide Protest in Belleville Ontario 4/28/2024 at 2:00PM on Bell Blvd . This is what was said during the Protest. ‘Unfortunately we ask that you not take pictures of us personally. Only are message. As Anti-Genocide…

[thiswaycomessomethingwicked]

if messenger apps existed in the late 14th and early 15th century, Poggio and Niccoli would have crashed them repeatedly because they could not stop writing each other and I think that’s very sweet 

[theexodvs]

If you're a self-described humanist, your opinion is worth 1/3 of a normal person's opinion.

It's like an unspoken rule.

[datasv]

31.07.23_2

Написал в Гуманисты, Австралия.

Если придет ответ, отредактирую.

[lenbryant]

h/t to Humanists of UK for this Zora Neale Hurston quote. It's from their Little Book of Humanist Funerals.

[troncelliti]

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by RLLRBLL👁artistᎣᏜᏯ✂️🧿 (@maestarr)

[djthomas-ca]

Talking to Governments

I'm back, and hope keep you up to date about the non-believer world in Canada.

Since 2011, I have learned a number of things about talking to governments. A general rule that applies to all of these ideas is that one needs to talk to bureaucrats as well as to MPs, Parliamentary Committee Members, Parliamentary Secretaries, and Cabinet Ministers. This applies to both federal and provincial governments. the titles are different, but it also applies to municipal…

[puppyboygf]

[celine-song]

Humanist Vampire Seeking Consenting Suicidal Person (2023) dir. Ariane Louis-Seize

[unsolicited-opinions]

Bro no one hates jews for ethnicity, news are hated for faith.

If you are an atheist "jew", no one gives a shit about you.

Stop pretending to be a victim and trying to appropriate antisemitic struggles.

I'll address these point by point.

Jewish readers, please share your thoughts!

You wrote: "No one hates Jews for ethnicity, [J]ews are hated for faith."

"Hitler...defined the Jews as a race and not a religious community, characterized the effect of a Jewish presence as a “race-tuberculosis of the peoples,” and identified the initial goal of a German government to be discriminatory legislation against Jews."

[Source]

More here

As David Baddiel put it, "I'm an atheist, but that would get me no free passes out of Auschwitz."

The Jews are a people. Judaism is the traditional religion of that people. A Jew who does not engage with that religion does not cease to be a Jew by Jewish definitions OR by antisemitic definitions.

You wrote: "If you are an atheist Jew, nobody gives a shit about you."

First, see above.

Second, you're incorrectly assuming that a Jewish atheist is not engaged with Judaism.

Here's the thing:

Judaism isn't necessarily theistic.

Let's set aside the explicitly non-theistic movement of Humanistic Judaism for a moment (huge topic for another time) and just talk briefly about theism in Judaism.

Most kinds of Judaism, while certainly encouraging faith, do not require it. There are no thought crimes in Judaism, no crucibles of faith, and no requirements that one announce or perform proof of belief for witnesses. Those things are often parts of Christianity and Islam, but in Judaism...not so much.

In Jewish thought, it is not what you believe about metaphysics which lifts you up, ennobles you, improves you, or makes the world a better place. In Judaism, you pursue those things by how you behave.

Sola fide is a Christian concept which Judaism does not share. Judaism is a profoundly existential religion with ethics which are overwhelmingly humanist.

I was raised in Reform and Conservative congregations...and non-theistic/atheistic/humanistic views were very common there.

When I was studying to become Bar Mitzvah, our congregation's Rabbi made crystal clear to me that there was no contradiction between my identity as a Jew and my inability to swallow the idea of an anthropomorphic, sapient, interventionist God who cared at all about petitionary prayer. He felt that wrestling with God was a very Jewish thing to do. He introduced me to Maimonides' apophatic theology. Decades later, I'm still grateful.

Many Jews pray, I believe, not to be heard by God, but so they can hear their own hearts and minds. This is why kavanah is important and why I disliked (and still dislike) prayer-by-rote and rituals performed for the sake of ritual. It's more mindfulness meditation than petitionary prayer.

There's a famous Hasidic story, recorded by philosopher Martin Buber in his "Tales of the Hasidim," about how Judaism views atheism:

The Master teaches that God created everything the world to be appreciated, since everything is here to teach us a lesson.

One clever student asks "What lesson can we learn from atheists? Why did God create them?"

The Master responds "God created atheists teach us the most important lesson of them all- the lesson of true compassion. You see, when an atheist performs an act of charity, visits someone who is sick, helps someone in need, and cares for the world, he is not doing so because of some religious teaching. He does not believe that God commanded him to perform this act. In fact, he does not believe in Goda at all, so his acts are based on an inner sense of morality. And look at the kindness he can bestow upon others simply because he feels it to be right."

"This means," the Master continued "that when someone reaches out to you for help, you should never say 'I pray that God will help you.' Instead for the moment, you should become an atheist, imagine that there is no God who can help, and say 'I will help you."

You wrote: "Stop pretending to be a victim and trying to appropriate antisemtic struggles."

I invite other Jews to advise if I have appropriated anything which is not mine.

Your opinion, though? Your view, as a non-Jew, about what is or isn't Jewish? On what is or is not mine in my heritage? Your claim, framed by your obvious and absolute ignorance of my life, my family's history, Jewish history, Jewish theology, and Jewish philosophy, that I have not experienced antisemitism and am "appropriating?"

I don't have a single fuck to give about any of that, and neither does any other Jew

Still, thank you for the writing prompt. It helps to crystalize my own thinking and provides an opportunity to educate.

[jesusinstilettos]

“Oh I’m just not the creative ty-“

Wrong, all humans are inherently creative in some way when their needs are met and they are given the leisure time to pursue hobbies. It came free with your being a social species wired by evolution to love doing stuff with your hands. Don’t define art through a consumerist lens where it’s only worth existing if it’s something someone would buy. Connect with your inner monkey, create to create and let it just be.

[goryhorroor]

humanist vampire seeking consenting suicidal person (2024) directed by ariane louis-seize

[theexodvs]

Terminology as a cultic marketing tactic

Oftentimes, cults and cultic movements will use flowery names for themselves in order to silence criticism. For example, the concept of neurodiversity, the existence of more than one distinct neurotypes among humans, is real. But a particular movement that promotes pseudoscience has taken the name "neurodiversity" for themselves. In this way, they can insist that any criticism of the movement is a denial of the concept. It is an offensive tactic, as a casual observer would likely not take the time to do the research and realize that the movement and concept are two entirely different things.

Other examples include:

Humanism: Since it has "human" in the name, humanists will paint their critics as misanthropic.

Men's rights: Since the movement has "men" and "rights" in the name, MRAs will paint their critics as haters of men (including male critics), or haters of rights. The same applies to men's liberation.

Transgenderism/trans rights: Since the movement has "transgender" in the name, transgenderists and TRAs will paint their critics as "hateful" towards trans people.

All Lives Matter: Since the movement has "all lives" in the name, its adherents will paint their critics as being misanthropic or apathetic towards people's lives, for much the same reason as humanists.

[datasv]

HUMANISTS INTERNATIONAL AND OTHER STRUCTURES HUMANISTS

Для чего они существуют?

Ни привета ни ответа. На сайте "нарисовано", мы вам поможем, даже описаны случаи, критерии, списки кому помогли весят. А теперь возьмите во внимание то, что за явление такое фашизм. Это международные бесчеловечные действия. Делается во благо того кто добрался до ресурсов планеты, присел на стул и не слпзит с него, делает все, что бы вам было "хорошо". Что бы новые поколения, вырождались. А "мы на троне оставались".

Никто не ответил ни на одно сообщение из этих организаций:

Humanists international, Humanists.uk

Видимо еще напишу в какую нибудь. Напишу - добавлю.

Скриншоты:

[crimson-and-clover-1717]

Stede Bonnet, Renaissance Man (Or an Exceptional Man who Thinks He’s Mediocre)

I’ve posted before about Stede’s love of beauty. He’s an aesthete, finding wonder in art and creative self-care rather than the transcendental. Stede’s a freethinker. He challenges the orthodoxies of his time, rejecting forced heteronormative behaviours, and even questioning the accepted traditions of piracy.

The thing about Stede is he often asks ‘why?’ It’s partly what makes him dangerous to some. This slant towards subversion is much of what Izzy observes and detests. It’s one of many reasons Stede must be kept from Ed. Like a number of Renaissance-style thinkers before him, Stede refuses to go along with the status quo. He is ‘doing something original’, questioning dogma. Many find it ridiculous, bizarre even. And it’s significant that instead Ed finds Stede enchanting, because it demonstrates who Ed might be given the chance to find his own path.

Stede is also a polymath and likely an autodidact - I doubt he learned about ‘insane foliage’ at school. He is self-motived and seems to have knowledge across a broad spectrum of disciplines. Literature, drama, botany, entomology, psychology, art, textiles. Stede’s very much about the life of the mind.

And he’ll approach areas at which he’s not so gifted, such as cartography and sword-fighting, with the enthusiasm of a dilettante; when he can’t succeed the traditional way, he simply subverts the discipline and does it his own. However, the most important thing for me in defining Stede as a Renaissance man is his humanism. People are front and centre. Sometimes that person is himself, and he loses sight of others. But it’s okay as that’s the point. Humanism is partly about being a messy individual who can do better. And Stede is someone who can learn and alter his position when circumstances change. He might not do so in the best way all of the time, but he is a quick-learner and highly-adaptable.

Stede also understands that no culture or institution is bigger than the people within it. The most important thing is human dignity - it’s what he shows and teaches Ned’s crew: that they deserve to be respected as people. Stede also has a strong moral core. When he messes up, he feels it deeply. He demonstrates strong ethics towards the natural world too - he’s absolutely disgusted by turtle vs. crab. Stede believes not so much in human superiority, but human responsibility, and this is the flip side of having dignity as a human being.

Another aspect of Stede’s humanism is his belief that culture should be accessible to all. Some of this might be naivety on Stede’s part rather than a well-thought out philosophy, but he believes in it intuitively. Stede wants the crew to have access to his library despite not recognising they can’t all read. He gives them musical instruments and sports facilities - he’s interested in what makes people flourish. And Stede practically invents art therapy!

His ship is also a safe-space for human relationships to blossom - romantic, platonic, and in between. Zheng’s ship might appear to offer collective harmony, but it’s mandated and dogmatically applied. Opting out of morning tai chi for a 24-hour shagathon might be viewed as an act of dissent. No such big brother is judging you on Stede’s Revenge.

And all of this is because of the man Stede is, and the influence he has on those around him. Sometimes it falls on deaf ears. Many don’t like what Stede’s offering. Others actively rebel against it. But anyone with an ounce of goodness will get what Stede Bonnet is about and embrace it. Stede doesn’t seem to understand his own power, it comes from such an authentic place. For me, it makes him all the more endearing.