#Quaker Roots

[elgallinero]

Education

haverford college – Google Search — Read on…

[yardsards]

can i ask about your experience as a quaker (or growing up as one? i just saw you mention bein one in some tags)

i jus don't know much about them

so i was not raised quaker, i was raised baptist. which was. 0/10, do not recommend. all the guilt of catholicism with none of the stained glass lmaooo

like, i did resinate with the idea of there being some sort of higher power and i liked the idea of getting together with other believers to discuss spiritual matters but as i got older and started thinking for myself i realized i really didn't like a lot of things about the church. i hated the bigoted beliefs of its members. i hated the emphasis on blind obedience to authority. i didn't believe that the whole literal truth could be found within one book, specifically one group's interpretation of said book. and the idea that people were born inherently bad and sinful and that a supposedly kind and just god would condemn people to eternal suffering just for not believing the "right" things just did not sit well with me at all

when i went off to college i decided to try out a few different churches around town. i ended up settling on a progressive presbyterian church. the community was great and very accepting of queer people. i had some minor qualms with the theology but it wasn't like with my parents' church where every sermon made me feel increasingly nauseous, and i generally felt *good* during and after the services

and then covid hit and while they did stream their sermons, i lost that sense of community and just kinda... fell away

throughout all this i was researching different faiths online, both christian and non-christian. and one faith that kept popping up a lot that i liked the sound of was quakerism. like at one point i remember taking some online quiz of like "what religion do your values most align with" and quakerism was very in the lead. (before this, i'd only really been exposed to quakerism in history textbooks and assumed the religion died out alongside puritanism)

in the end what got me really interested was actually a video by a youtuber i liked, a queer/disability advocate and historical fashion enjoyer who also happened to be quaker

and after looking more into it, i decided to try attending a quaker meeting. which was easier due to covid cuz i could find a church online (located physically hundreds of miles from me) that did their sunday services over zoom

and so i attended and the people there were great and were doing actual good in their communities. and the way services were run, and their beliefs about what god *was* and all of that just hit me with an intense feeling of like. holy shit this is what i've always wanted from religion.

the video explains the sort of core beliefs and practices of quakerism better than i can but the main belief is that like. every person is godly. as such, it's our job to treat all living people as equally and kindly as possible. additionally, since we all have god inside of us, we need to look inwards and come to our own conclusions about our own religious beliefs and practices (and generally respect other people's religious beliefs even if they differ from our own, so long as they're not causing real tangible harm)

i haven't attended any meetings in a while, due to that group going back to semi in person (they still stream it out but it feels more like being a spectator than a member) and there being no quaker meetinghouses in the tiny town i currently live in, coinciding with me being too depressed to regularly attend anything. but i'm planning to start attending quaker meetings again once i move to a real city

[designdental1]

Root canal treatment

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[supreme-leader-stoat]

Where does "turn the other cheek" leave Christians in terms of self-defense?

Alright, so, big asterisk up front: we've been arguing about this among ourselves for about two millennia and it shows no signs of stopping. A Quaker is liable to give you a much different answer than a raised-Baptist.

First, some context. The "turn the other cheek" verse is specifically part of the Sermon on the Mount, where Jesus takes Old Testament law and raises the ante. The law says not to murder, He tells them not to let their anger overtake and control them to begin with. The law says not to commit adultery, He says not to even look at people with lustful intentions (this is the poke out your eye, cut off your hand passage). The law says that a man divorcing his wife has to give her the legal protections of a certificate of divorce, He says that anything short of cheating isn't valid grounds for divorce to begin with (this has a lot to do with the protections or lack thereof for unmarried women at the time, but that's a whole tangent I won't go into here). The law says to keep your oaths, He says to be such a straightforward and honest person that you don't even need to give your oath to begin with. And so on.

Now, with all that in mind; "turn the other cheek" is Him upping the ante on the segment of Mosaic law that literally gives us the phrase "an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth." It was half legal prescription on the just punishments for certain crimes, and half laying down the rules and restrictions of what constituted acceptable proportionate retaliation. If someone punches you, you can punch him back. Someone kills your brother, you can execute him. What you can't do is go and slaughter his entire family, because that's how you get blood feuds, and that doesn't end well for anybody.

Looking at it from that angle, "turn the other cheek" is a commandment against retaliation and vengeance, and this is the interpretation I've grown up around most of my life. Someone hits you and you've got the opportunity to walk away, then you take your lumps and go, and you don't stew and think about what you're gonna do to get back at him the next time you see him.

Active and immediate self-preservation is another matter. To the best of my knowledge, there is no clear prohibition in the Bible against such actions; even "he who lives by the sword shall die by the sword" is immediately followed by "Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels? But how then should the Scriptures be fulfilled, that it must be so?" The rebuke isn't for acting in the defense of others, it's for getting trigger-happy when Jesus isn't in any true (immediate) danger and because it's ultimately a pointless fight; Jesus has to go to the cross.

If you'll pardon an older example, let's take a look at Esther Chapter 8. King Ahasuerus gives the Jews leave to form militias to protect themselves and their property against the lynch mobs that would be attacking them as part of Haman's genocide plot, and this is presented to us as an inherently just and sensible course of action.

So, to answer the original question, I don't believe that there's anything wrong with Christians practicing self-defense, "turn the other cheek" notwithstanding.

But.

There's one more thorny patch to consider in this whole argument, and that's the one bit of Matthew 5 that comes after "turn the other cheek": "Love your enemy, and pray for those who persecute you." The safety that Christians enjoy in the modern west is an anomaly both geographically and historically. Christianity is, at its very root, a religion of martyrs. Many and maybe even most of those martyrs have gone to their deaths, if not willingly, then at least peaceably. It's worth noting that we don't tell the story of Stephen, who made a valiant last stand against the mob that tried to stone him. We tell the story of Stephen the martyr. "Lord, do not hold this sin against them."

Honestly, I don't know that I'd have the courage to die like they did. If there's someone who's trying to hurt you, trying to hurt your family, I won't be the one to look you in the eyes and say you have to stand down; I'm already well aware of the decision I'd make in that situation. But from the moment we accept eternal life, our old lives here on Earth are forfeit. Any time that could be taken from us with our death is on loan to begin with. A hypothetical attacker in a self-defense situation isn't guaranteed that same benefit. They might very well have far, far more to lose than we do.

I don't believe Christians are forbidden self-defense, but I think we are expected to weigh the costs.

[lonelywretchjervistetch]

The State Birds Initiative: Pennsylvania (#2)

Welcome to the second official poll of the State Birds Initiative! Before the poll, though, one thing real quick. My suggestion is that you read the post below before voting in the poll below. That's especially important if you're lacking any context about the birds being presented as the new (or old) State Bird of the Keystone State, Pennsylvania. This is to be fully informed as to why these are being presented, and to make your choices appropriately. Lastly, some of these birds, you will notice, may go against some of the rules listed in the introduction post. All is explained after the jump where the explanations are, I promise you that. But with that...OK! Here's the poll! More choices this time, but that's definitely a bit deceptive. Trust me, read the stuff after the jump, you'll see why.

LET'S GO PHILLY

Kidding on two fronts. One, not a massive sports fan, and not really a fan of any Philadelphia teams (I love Gritty, though. Always and forever.). And two, this is obviously not a post about Philadelphia. So, let's talk about the Quaker State, Pennsylvania! The capital is Harrisburg, while its biggest city is Philadelphia. Pennsylvania is, of course, the first capital of these United States, and arguably the seat of the country. It's the home of Benjamin Franklin (even though it wasn't his birthplace), the Liberty Bell, the Constitution, and Rocky Balboa. And of course, its perfect symbol: Gritty.

God, he's beautiful. The perfect mascot. Who cares about the Flyers; Gritty's who I'm rooting for. Anyway, amazing and unassailable symbols of chaos aside, we're here to talk about Pennsylvania's natural world. So, what are we looking at. Well, it's a mostly deciduous forest-dominated state, so we're looking at seasonal forests and probably seasonal birds...for the most part. At the very least, our ideal bird is a forest resident and breeder in the state. Nothing too unusual or difficult to find.

Birding in Pennsylvania is pretty stereotypical to that of the northeastern United States. There are a few major spots, especially those that graze the Appalachian Mountain Range, which runs through the state. As for conservation concern, habitats of focus are the Appalachian forests that are often deforested for development, especially in the areas near Philadelphia. No real surprise, but that's a good target for conservation focus.

As for Pennsylvania's culture, it's famously descendant of the Quakers, who founded the state under the leadership of William Penn. This isn't to say that Pennsylvanians are Quakers; if you've been to Philadelphia, you know that's not true. According to a few accounts I've seen, that essentially means there's an attitude of helpfulness to your neighbor within the state, as well as a cultivation of the value of hard work. It's also a state that prides its history pretty thoroughly, from Philadelphia's various museums and public historical monuments, to the historical communities that thrive in the state, like the Lancaster Amish. Not sure how either of those will translate themselves into birds, but...hey, we'll see, right?

I also saw somebody refer to PA as heavily into "snack culture". And I'm not entirely sure what that means, but I WILL take the opportunity to say one thing: do not waste money on the cheesesteaks at Pat's or Geno's. It's meant to attract tourists, and they aren't worth it, BELIEVE ME. There are better cheesesteaks in the city, from what I've heard, but those two are...not worth the money. Just trust me on this one.

That said, it's time to look for a proper state bird for Pennsylvania. There's some emphasis there on the "proper", and the first entry in the following section has an explanation by that. With that, let's go for it! State Bird nominations for Pennsylvania below the jump!

Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)

OK, let's start with the current bird highlighted by Pennsylvania, the Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus). Now, I love these guys. If you've never experienced it, walking through the woods and suddenly hearing a deep thrumming echo through the trees is...it's a unique sensation. You wonder where it's coming from, why and how it's so loud, what's making it, and then...it just pops up. Maybe it sees you looking for it, and you flush it out and watch a panicking male run away. Maybe he just looks back at you puffed up and stands his ground a bit (which is unlikely, but still). Either way, these guys never cease to put a smile on my face.

This behavior is called drumming, by the way, as pictured above. A male grouse will position themselves on a hollow fallen tree, and use it as a megaphone to send out these vibrations across swathes of territory. It is, unsurprisingly, a territorial behavior for the grouse, and iconic in its own way. Now, a few more facts about the Ruffed Grouse. The name, by the way, comes from the feathers on the sides of the male's neck, which are erected during courtship and territorial displays. It's obviously colored to camouflage in the fallen leaves of deciduous forests, where it resides throughout the year. They're granivorous members of the Galliformes (grouse, pheasants, quail, etc.), and fairly common in the Eastern United States. But with that said...here's the big problem with this choice for State Bird.

It isn't a State Bird. It's a State Game Bird.

Yeah, remember the Delaware Blue Hen from the last poll (assuming you read it, here it is if you didn't)? I suggested that it should be the State Game Bird of Delaware, rather than the State Bird. Well, right next door to Delaware, Pennsylvania already has a State Game Bird in the form of the Ruffed Grouse. Why, you ask? Well, first off, the Ruffed Grouse is actuall known as the "King of the Gamebirds" colloquially, crowned such by William Harnden Foster, the father of skeet shooting. Yes, actually. But anyway, the bird was declared the State Game Bird in 1931, but there was not real reason why outside of popularity with hunters. So...OK, fair enough. It just means that the Ruffed Grouse is not a State Bird. But should it be?

The question asked here is, should the Ruffed Grouse be promoted to a State Bird, since most Pennsylvanians seem to think of it as such anyway? Well, looking at the guidelines we've previously set and established...I don't know, honestly. And my main reason for doubt, personally, is the fact that the grouse, while found in Pennsylvania, is BARELY a breeder in the state. Only 0.4% of the bird's overall breeding population is in Pennsylvania, and only 13% is in the United States at all. And yes, that means the species is mostly found in...

So, when you think about it, is this truly the answer to the PA State Bird question? Well, it does represent much of the biome of Pennsylvania, a forest-dominated state squarely in the temperate and deciduous zone. It has a history and culture of hunting, and the grouse is certainly one of the most popular species on that front. And they're certainly iconic, and easy to hear in most forests, not to mention fun to look and listen for for beginning birders. The first time I stumbled on a Ruffed Grouse was, lemme tell you, a delight. And the second time, I LITERALLY stumbled on them, because a mother and her chicks were running away from me, and one of the chicks ran between my feet from behind me to join its mother, and I have NEVER BEFORE FELT MORE LIKE A DISNEY PRINCESS UNTIL THAT MOMENT IT WAS FUCKING MAGICAL

But, yeah, with that said, I submit the Ruffed Grouse for your deliberation as a State Bird. And as for a State Game Bird...oh, I've got a thought on that one, too. But I'll save that until the end, I think.

Scarlet Tanager (Piranga olivaceus)

So, as before, let's start the replacement options with a bird suggested by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, and a solid-ass pick for a number of reasons. The Scarlet Tanager is one of the most striking birds in the eastern United States, and there's no state with a larger breeding population of these birds than Pennsylvania. 13% of the species' global breeding population is found in PA, making the state a major staging point for the species. Native to and dependent upon the deciduous forests of the state, this is a hidden ornithological icon.

Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica)

Well, if I had the Ring-billed Gull (Larus delawarensis) listed for Delaware, it only makes sense to list the Chestnut-sided Warbler (Setophaga pensylvanica) for Pennsylvania! Similarly, it's the only species that have Pennsylvania as a state in the species name. And trust me, this is a rare luxury, either because most states have no bird species named for them, or a LOT of bird species named for them. Just wait for the Carolinas or California, believe me. But that said, is the Chestnut-sided Warbler a good fit for Pennsylvania?

Well, it certainly breeds in the state; the majority of the global population breeds in Canada, like the Ruffed Grouse, but a good amount still breeds in the deciduous temperate forests of the USA. The PA breeding population represents 3% of the global breeding population, and as compared to Michigan's 7%, Pennsylvania still doesn't have the majority. But again, let's put that statistic to the wayside. Is there anything else about the Chestnut-sided Warbler that represents Pennsylvania in a meaningful way? Well...no. Not, not really. There is a story of John James Audubon (yes, that Audubon, the racist one), and his first AND ONLY sighting of the Chestnut-sided Warbler, which took place in eastern Pennsylvania, alongside his hunt for the species throughout his life. So, hey, there's a tie. But other than that, this is another opportunity to choose an handsome looking bird that serves as a unique bird to look for for Pennsylvanians, any of whom can say, "Hey, I've seen that bird! Cool!"

...Wait, I just realized something about this category of choice. Pennsylvania has more species name reputation than I thought...indirectly. Hmm. Let's combine their entries.

Philadelphia Vireo (Vireo philadelphicus) Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) Mourning Warbler (Geothlypis philadelphia)

There are, in total, three species that are named after the great city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. And this is both the only one with the city name in its common name...and also the worst choice of the three. At least the Bonaparte's Gull (Chroicocephalus philadelphia) and the Mourning Warbler (Geothlypis philadelphia) breed in the state. And for the record, those are up for debate for this spot if anybody world prefer those go in there. But if those are better options (barely; both birds also barely breed in Pennsylvania), then why choose the Philadelphia Vireo?

Is it iconic? To birdwatchers, maybe, but mostly because it's a pretty difficult bird to get when you're starting out. I've seen them, but it's not easy to find them. And to the layman? It's a little green bird that lives in green trees. Oof. Hard sell for a state bird. At least Bonaparte's Gull (above) is visible on bodies of water, and a fairly common bird alongside being an unusual-looking gull for most people. Plus, hey, they're kinda handsome and cute in my opinion. What about the Mourning Warbler (below)? While also somewhat difficult to find by virtue of being a little green bird, has a notable and memorable appearance. But you could also argue that it belongs rightly to other states instead.

But the Philadelphia Vireo? Yeah, it's the worst candidate of the three, but...it's also the only warbler who once carried the name Brotherly-Love Vireo. Yeah. As in Philadelphia, the City of Brotherly Love? That is a good reason. However, you could argue that, given the fact that the work "philadelphia" is literally Greek for "brotherly love"...it's still a flimsy argument. But hey, I'd be remiss if I didn't include these guys on this list for State Bird, even if I...doubt they're gonna get any votes.

Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)

For one of two conservation-related entries of this post, let's take a look at the Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus). Now, to get this out of the way, the Pileated Woodpecker is all over the Eastern USA. These big, crow-sized woodpeckers (and these guys are HUGE when you see them for the first time; love 'em) are a common sight in deciduous and coniferous forests (the predominant habitat in PA), and are most certainly breeders in Pennsylvania. They're iconic enough, fun to find, and can be detected through signs they leave in trees. Namely, of course, I'm referring to the nest hollows they make in trees for their offspring, as well as holes made to search for insects. But, OK, same question as always, why suggest it for the PA State Bird?

The pileated woodpecker, as the big bird it is, is an ecosystem modeler. What this means is, those holes they carve in trees are used by other species, including owls, squirrels, weasels, ducks, and various others that live in the same areas. Pennsylvania's wildlife isn't above using Pileated Woodpecker holes for their own uses, making the birds extremely important for other species. Ecosystem architects are not uncommon in nature. Most of your probably think of the American Beaver (Castor canadensis) or the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) when that topic comes up, but there are many others. In ecology, there's a term for species that modify their environments in ways that become significant for the survival of other species. Because other species rely on them, they're referred to as keystone species.

Get it?

Pennsylvania is also known as the Keystone State. And, like beavers and alligators before them, woodpeckers are also keystone species. This isn't a commonly talked about aspect of woodpeckers, but the Pileated Woodpecker in particular is getting some recent attention as a keystone species. So, why not highlight this recently proposed classification and give the Keystone State a Keystone Species for its State Bird? It serves as a lesson in ecology for everyone, school kids or the uninformed, and it's a great way to make the State Bird about Pennsylvania's ecosystems. Conservation-focused, and an iconic species to boot!

Do I think the Pileated Woodpecker is the best species for Pennsylvania on it's own merits? I don't know, honestly. Like I said before, it's a fun-to-find iconic bird, it breeds in the state, and there's not real reason it shouldn't be the state bird. But I really like the idea of giving the Keystone State a keystone species, and not a lot of North American birds act in that role. If anybody has a better suggestion, I am all ears, but I think this one works pretty well. Plus, hey, there's only one woodpecker amongst the State Birds, which is a shame! Who doesn't love woodpeckers?

American Goshawk (Accipiter atricapillus)

For the other conservation entry of this list, we once again turn to a raptor, and a damned cool one at that. Previously referred to as the northern goshawk, the American Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) is a silent and efficient predator. One of the most skilled forest flyers amongst the accipiter hawks, these birds specialize in rodents and birds that live in the trees, and are amazing at weaving through the understory to catch their prey. I adore goshawks, and they're honestly a bit terrifying. I used to work at a raptor rehabilitation facility which bred these guys in central New York, and they're beautiful and terrifying. Also, I've held one in a towel burrito, and that was a highlight of my life.

Now, with that said, the goshawk is barely found in Pennsylvania in recent years, although it used to be quite common. The Fish and Game Department, alongside Audubon, have this as a species of major concern and focus in Pennsylvania, despite (for because of) a very small breeding population. But there's a sad reason for this, making this a VERY good candidate for State Bird. See, in the 1900s, goshawks were considered pests, due to their love of chicken and wild game birds. Therefore, they were regularly shot, and Pennsylvania in particular offered rewards for their bodies.

By 1931, goshawk populations in Pennsylvania plummeted. This was also when the early 20th century environmentalist movements started, and this issue in particular was noticed by environmentalist and suffragette Rosalie Edge. To save hawk populations in Pennsylvania, she purchased a piece of land to bar the hawk-hunters on the property. This was called Hawk Mountain, and was founded in 1934 as the world's first raptor preserve. Yeah. Not only was it the first of these, but one of the first (if not THE first) created by a woman. Let's fucking go. Rosalie was a known bad-ass in conservation, and regularly did shit like this for what she believed in. An unsung hero of conservation and ornithology.

The hawk hunts ended alongside the Pennsylvania Game Commission in the 1950s, and raptor conservation continued on as a major movement in the state of Pennsylvania. Hawk Mountain in particular became a massive centerpoint of this, and today, it's maybe the most famous place in the United States to watch the annual fall and spring migrations of raptors. The raptor counts at Hawk Mountain Sanctuary are an annual bonanza, attracting birders from near and far. Haven't made it there yet myself, but it's on my list of must-bird locations. I implore you to learn more about this wonderful place. Check out their YouTube channel if you want to know more from their perspective! And it's all based on the impressive conservation story of the American Goshawk. I think that makes it a pretty goddamn good candidate for State Bird. Brings attention to conservation history, and on a major natural phenomenon that can be seen every year in Pennsylvania. Pretty goddamn cool.

The hell is even left after that? Well...

Wild Turkey (Melagris gallopavo)

OK, hear me out here. Of ALL the birds in the USA, if there is any state should have more federal recognition, it's the Wild Turkey (Meleagris gallopavo). It's the only bird that essentially has a holiday dedicated to it (OK, dedicated to killing and eating it, but you get what I mean). It's also, notoriously, the alleged runner-up for national bird, having lost to the Bald Eagle (Halieetus leucocephalus). To be fair, here, that's a potential urban myth, but an important one regardless, especially to Pennsylvania.

Other than this, though, everybody knows what a Turkey looks like. It's arguably one of the top 5 iconic wild birds of the USA, and is very common throughout the country. It is, in fact, found in every one of the Lower 48, and in Hawaii (introduced there). Not Alaska, though. Which is good, because frozen turkey is dangerous. Ha ha ha. But is that an argument for Pennsylvanis to have it as the State Bird, or even as the State Game Bird? Because that's also an option, for the record. I argue, though, that Alabama, Massachusetts, Oklahoma, and South Carolina already have it as a State Game Bird, which especially makes sense for Alabama, which is prime turkey-hunting ground. As is, for that matter, Pennsylvania. Turkey season here is longer than in most places, and according to HuntStand, it's basically a culture there in and of itself. So, yeah, appropriate on that front alone. But that said...Pennsylvania should own the turkey for one more important reason.

I mean...Benjamin Franklin. Come on. You gotta give it to Pennsylvania's favorite son. I've been to the Franklin Institute, I KNOW how beloved he is in PA. And Benjamin Franklin, famously, loved two things: wild sex parties with older women, and the Wild Turkey. AND I QUOTE:

For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. ...For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird, and withal a true original Native of America… He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage, and would not hesitate to attack a Grenadier of the British Guards who should presume to invade his Farm Yard with a red Coat on.”

Now, contrary to popular belief, this is not Franklin saying the Wild Turkey should be the national bird. This is, instead, Frankling saying that he fucking hates the Bald Eagle, whom he sees as a lazy, thieving, selfish, disrespectful, manipulative asshole. So, yeah, in retrospect, not an inappropriate symbol for some parts of the country. But regardless, he's right about turkeys: they do not give a shit about your boundaries if you're on their land. Trust me, I live in an area of New England where there are some BIG fuckin' turkeys, and they WILL CHASE YOU if you mess with them. I SEEN IT

With that, though, I think we've covered the major candidates for the State Bird of Pennsylvania. Any I've missed or forgotten? Any suggestions you may have? I'm all ears! Make sure to vote, and come back for state #3: New Jersey. Which...I think a lot of us have thoughts on. Although, hey...I don't hate the State Bird. Well, as a bird, anyway; I'm indifferent to it as NJ's bird. More context next time, I promise.

See you soon, and happy birding!

[finnlongman]

Keep thinking about that one KJ Charles interview where she's talking about the challenges of being a historical romance novelist when you sort of believe the whole aristocracy should've been executed, and the delicate balancing act of writing historically accurate and interesting characters who don't have awful politics and values. And, crucially, she challenged the typical rich love interest idea by asking, "But where does the money come from?"

Once you think about it, you can't stop thinking about it. Every historical romance I read now, I can tell whether the author has thought about it. Sometimes they've thought about it but tried not to deal with it and hoped we wouldn't notice that the rich aristocrat probably owns a plantation. Sometimes they've actually dealt with it. And sometimes they have not considered it and It Shows.

But I also don't want historical novels where characters have modern sensibilities! I want them to feel historical... I just also want the "desirable" characters to not be, you know, involved in the slave trade or whatever, because that seriously undermines everything the book is doing to make them seem attractive. (One does not generally read this flavour of historical romance for morally grey antiheroes, and even if you did, that would be a fairly tasteless way of developing such a character, imo.)

I really enjoyed a detail in one of Cat Sebastian's books where the love interest is a Quaker, and he refuses dessert because he's boycotting sugar. It's a way of signalling to us that this character has particular values, but one that's rooted in the historical context and doesn't feel like a modern character wearing period clothing. His Quakerism also influences a few other details – his use of first names rather than titles, for example – but it's not a major plot point and he's no intense political campaigner. It's just one facet of his character, and one that made me like him more.

This sort of thing becomes a problem, too, with medieval settings and retellings and anything where you start having to deal with kings. A king of some tiny little pseudohistorical country whose major concerns revolve around not getting invaded and ensuring his people survive the winter is a very different prospect from a king intent on conquering his neighbours and expanding his glorious kingdom, of course. Still a king, though. What do you do with that, if you're someone who doesn't approve of kings?

I ran into this problem with a book I was working on a few years back, and it's one of the reasons I shelved it. I was trying to write a book about community and friendship. I was also trying to write an Arthurian retelling. And while a brotherhood of knights is a great starting point for a story about community and friendship, in order to have knights, you need to have a king for them to pledge fealty to. Problematic. My Arthur figure did not believe in hierarchy, but the story demanded that he perpetuated one anyway, because it was baked into the building blocks of story I was using to build mine. Eventually I realised I could not write that story as an Arthurian retelling without stripping it of everything recognisably Arthurian, and set it aside to be remade into something else.

I still think about this, though. I think about my Bisclavret retelling, which by necessity has a king in it. Bisclavret is a story about feudal loyalty, about oaths, about hierarchies. Take that away and you no longer have Bisclavret; it is a story that cannot exist without a king for the knight-wolf to be loyal to. Does that mean that as a story it always inherently supports a monarchist ideal, though? Or is its portrayal of kingship (a relationship that is, crucially, reciprocal) sufficiently detached from colonialist systems of monarchy to be distinct from those?

What systems and ideals form the assumptions a story is rested on? What happens once you start to question them? Can you still tell the same stories once you ask where the money comes from, or why the king is owed loyalty? Or does there come a point where you realise there are ideas woven into the very fabric of those narratives that you can't see past?

I don't have answers. I'm just thinking aloud. Thinking about having written a book with a king who isn't the bad guy, and what that means when I approve of neither kings nor hierarchies in general. Thinking about writing the past with the eyes of the present. Thinking about the unexamined assumptions in so many historical novels I've read, and how it feels as a reader not to be able to stop examining them.

(I have also read a number of contemporary romance novels where, after working my way through half an author's backlist, I've been forced to acknowledge that despite everything, the author does in fact think rich people are inherently attractive. Not sure what the solution to that one is, but it's certainly a different, if related, problem.)

[todaysjewishholiday]

22 Sivan 5784 (27-28 June 2024)

Today, New York City has the largest Jewish population of any urban area in the world, with three times as many Jewish residents as Jerusalem and four times as many as Tel Aviv. It’s without a doubt one of the great Jewish cultural centers of the modern world, and is famous worldwide for its varied and diverse population. Today, on the 22nd of Sivan, we celebrate the first Jewish immigrants who helped create that multiculturalism.

Four hundred years ago, Amsterdam was an early European testing ground of religious freedom, having thrown off Spanish rule and celebrated in part by accepting Sephardi refugees. The Dutch were also a mercantile powerhouse determined not to let the British outdo them at overseas colonization.

The Dutch West India Company was established by Dutch merchants to organize colonial ventures in the western hemisphere. The company appointed Peter Stuyvesant as Director General of its overseas operations and Stuyvesant set out for the Dutch Colony of New Amsterdam. Ironically, much like the English Puritan settlers who left Amsterdam for Massachusetts because they were distressed by the wide cultural toleration of Dutch society, Stuyvesant yearned for life in the new world in part because he wanted to build a new society in which religious and cultural toleration had no place, ruled strictly by and for members of the Dutch Reformed Church. Stuyvesant had no interest in creating an inclusive religious environment for fellow mainstream Protestants such as Lutherans or new sects like the Quakers, much less Catholics or Jews.

But Stuyvesant’s ambitions of intolerance almost immediately ran up against the ideals and mercantile values of the company that paid his salary. The Dutch West India Company had Jewish merchants among its stockholders and didn’t want to risk offending any potential settlers willing to bring their capital to the new colony. In 5414, the first Jewish settlers arrived. They included a small contingent of Ashkenazim who had come directly from Amsterdam, and a boatload of Portuguese Sephardim who had begun practicing Judaism again in Dutch occupied Recife, and then fled to avoid the Inquisition when the territory was again seized by Portugal. Stuyvesant was horrified, and immediately wrote to the West India Company board seeking permission to expel the Jewish arrivals before a Jewish community took root. The board refused Stuyvesant’s request.

The next ten years, right up until the English conquest of the colony, consisted of Stuyvesant’s repeated attempts to impose restrictions of one kind or another on the Jewish colonists, Jewish protests against these restrictions through the courts or through appeals to Dutch Jews with influence on the company, and a string of letters from the West India Company reiterating the policy of toleration and insisting that Stuyvesant give the Jewish community of New Amsterdam all the rights that Amsterdam’s Jewish community enjoyed.

The 22nd of Sivan 5416 is the date of the board’s third letter to Stuyvesant overturning his attempts to restrict the rights of the Jewish settlers. In classic Dutch fashion for the period, it emphasized the rights of minorities to “quietly and peacefully” engage in business, and to privately practice their religion so long as doing so did not intrude on the public sphere. This final limitation meant that although New Amsterdam’s Jewish community regularly met for prayer and Torah services in each other’s private homes and had two licensed kosher butchers, the first official synagogue wouldn’t be built until seventy-six years after the first Jewish colonists arrived.

So today we celebrate the first Jews of New Amsterdam, who continued to fight for their rights through numerous bigoted attempts to restrict them, and for the victories they won. Their efforts laid the groundwork for a vibrant and thriving city that Jews—and many other minorities— now consider a beloved home.

Today is also Erev Shabbat. Prepare to welcome the sabbath queen when the day is almost over and the sun starts dipping under the horizon.

[mariacallous]

He dreamed of a career in the Israeli military. Instead, ironically, he co-created an iconic cereal brand which bears a distinctly military name and rank — Cap’n Crunch. The man behind the cereal is food technologist Chaim Gur-Arieh. He not only was on the laboratory ground floor bringing Cap’n Crunch to supermarket shelves, but Gur-Arieh brought us multiple other blockbuster brands and products — Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing, Tiger’s Milk Bar, single serving pudding and gelatin cups, and wine coolers.

Ninety-year-old Gur-Arieh is a non-stop innovator not only of foods, but of himself. He’s lived on three continents and pursued three distinct careers. Born in Istanbul, Turkey to a family that traces its roots there to the 1500s, he moved on his own at 14 to Israel. A high school dropout, his hopes of a life in the Israeli army ended when an explosion caused a hearing loss. Undeterred, he returned to school and earned a B.S. in chemical engineering.

In Israel, Chaim changed his last name from Mizrachi, a common name there, to Gur-Arieh, meaning “lion cub.” But this wasn’t the only change he made. After working at a rubber factory, Gur-Arieh decided chemical engineering wasn’t for him, he explained in a recent interview. So, he reinvented himself once more. He moved to the U.S., earned a master’s degree and Ph.D. in Food Science at the University of Illinois, and became a food technologist.

His first job was at Quaker Oats Company in the Midwest. It was there Cap’n Crunch was born. At the time, Quaker Oats had another cereal on the market. It also had a problem. That cereal, Life, was infringing on a patent owned by Ralston Purina Company, according to Gur-Arieh. So, Quaker Oats needed an alternative manufacturing method, and while working on one, came the idea of developing a sweet cereal for children, namely Cap’n Crunch.

While Cap’n Crunch is famed for its sugary taste and distinctive cartoon character, Gur-Arieh’s contribution was technical and industry trend setting. He co-developed the cereal’s manufacturing process called extrusion, the mechanical process when grain is forced to flow — under one or more varieties of conditions of mixing, heating and cutting — through a mold which shapes and/or puff-dries the grain. Before extrusion became the most common method of processing cereal, grains were typically rolled.

In the six decades since its introduction by Quaker Oats (now a subsidiary of PepsiCo), the popular corn and oat cereal has spun off into numerous flavors and seasonal variations, including ones with berries, “vanilly,” peanut butter” and “choco.” 

As for Gur-Arieh, he too spun off into multiple ventures. He worked for Del Monte Foods and a company developing food for astronauts. After that, he ran his own companies and along the way hit another gastronomical home run — developing Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing or more accurately the dressing as we dip and devour it today. Years before, ranch dressing had gone to market in dry mix packets, but Gur-Arieh created the bottled liquid formula convenience-loving consumers didn’t know they craved. 

About this time, Gur-Arieh took on a partner-for-life, his wife Elisheva. After 35 years in the food business, at an age when many people might consider retirement, Chaim and Elisheva opted to fulfill a longtime dream of opening a winery. Their Di Arie Vineyard & Winery, located in the Sierra foothills outside of Sacramento, CA, grows 11 varietals of grapes. In addition to the vineyard, there’s a tasting room and a wine club. Chaim makes the wine, while Elisheva, a nationally exhibited artist, oversees sales and marketing. 

Now, 24 years into operating the winery and having just celebrated his 90th birthday, you might ask when does the man behind Cap’n Crunch start resting on his laurels — or at least on his vineyard? The answer: Not yet.

Since COVID, the vineyard faces new challenges and Gur-Arieh is innovating once again to meet them. Sales are down and consumer tastes are changing, he explained. 

“First, there’s a general decrease in the amount of wine people are drinking. It’s partially an economic decision, but it’s also generational,” he said. “Younger drinkers are turning away from wine and back to hard liquor and that’s having an impact.”

To combat the downturn, this nonagenarian inventor has created three wines that pair with sushi. This new Hikari line is being marketed to money-spending younger foodie fans to win them back to wine. It has three offerings including a specially formulated chilled red wine blend and comes in bottles and cans – again, a nod to a younger demographic. Hikari is already sold in supermarkets in the West and Gur-Arieh is negotiating with a major Midwest chain to place Hikari there.

And with that update on his business, our interview concluded. The man who never lost his stride, be it during relocation from country to country (or continent to continent) or industry to industry, put on his floppy hat and headed out the door. There were grapes to tend to, watered and watched. Another day of work for this constantly innovating continually enterprising food scientist-turned-vintner.

[heavensdoorways]

Mark Reigelman, “Threshold” (2023)

“Threshold” by sculptor Mark Reigelman will be a public artwork celebrating the principles of equality and community-building that have been integral to the history of New Bedford. Inspired by the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) who inhabited the city in the late 17th century as well as the aesthetic of New England’s archetypal colonial doorways, Mark Reigelman beckons viewers toward Threshold’s partially opened door, shining down on Custom House Square from its 17-foot-tall perch.

Threshold will draw on the unique architecture of the federal doorway of the oldest building in New Bedford’s Abolition Row Historic District, constructed mainly from wood and steel, an important site in the early Black freedom struggle. Its double-sided door references the community’s diverse history, with its blue façade facing the Wharf and rising sun as a nod to the city’s fishing roots. At the same time, its massive arched window is tiled with colorful mirrored pieces, capturing the various identities and cultures that have made up the city.

[theinwardlight]

[The Quaker] testimony to peace is deeply rooted in our experience of God over time, and we needn’t hide that. The earliest Friends testified in the first person, not counterfactually. This was grounded in worship, not a calculation of consequences. It was part of a God-saturated life, not a policy proposal... Jesus wasn’t much of a strategist; he just loved his enemies. Maybe that’s a lesson for us.

Matt Rosen writing in The Friend

[lightseed-chaplain]

Hello tumblr world.

I have some exciting news that I wanted to share with you.

This last Sunday, January 14th, I was officially welcomed as a Member of my local (liberal unprogrammed) monthly meeting of the Religious Society of Friends (also known as Quakers) and, by extension, the Religious Society of Friends at large. This community has also endorsed me for ministry as a chaplain. I experience this as a source of great joy and have found a deep sense of peace, integrity, and Truth in my convincement.

This journey has involved several years of discernment with Catholic communities, Quaker communities, my spiritual director, therapist, and some close friends - including many of you, dear internet friends. It is not a decision I have made lightly or one that has been at all easy.

I feel that finding a home in the Quaker tradition has made me more grounded and intentional in every area of my life, and, I feel, a better husband, a better chaplain, a better son, brother, uncle, friend, and all around better human being. I have also felt deeply welcomed as a married gay man, as our Meeting supports all “loving bonds between two people regardless of their gender.”

To summarize: this means that my primary religious and spiritual community is now in this tradition. I still maintain so much love and gratitude for my Catholic roots and continue to be involved in some parts of Catholic life, as this will always be a part of me. For me this journey has not been about rejecting the Catholic Church at all, but rather feeling drawn by God to a different spiritual community.

(That being said, there are, of course, many things that I have long rejected about the Catholic Church and continue to do so. But I digress.)

Thank you for all the ways, both big and small, many of you have supported me throughout my long journey of finding a religious and spiritual home, even if we’ve never directly interacted.

In Light and gratitude,

John

[vaspider]

Just throwing it out there, but I'm a Quaker (aka Society of Friends) (a lot of people consider us to be Christian but I don't - we're not expected to believe in Jesus or even a god, nor read the Bible, go to church, celebrate Christian holidays, any of that, though we're allowed to if we want to. Quakers are actually allowed to belong to any other religion, or lack thereof, which is rather un-christian. Like, you could be a Muslim Quaker or a Hindu Quaker or whatever, it's all good (I'm an atheist Quaker). We did start off as an offshoot of Christianity but there's plenty of offshoot religions that become their own thing, like Christianity itself). Context aside, it's literally, explicitly against my religion to try to convert people. We're not even allowed to suggest it to people, although it's not a closed religion. Like, if you ask me about becoming a Quaker, I'm welcome to talk about it, but I can't just tell people that they should do it.

So yeah, just adding to the anti "proselytizing is just a required part of religion" pile.

On a side note, the main tenets of Quakerism are Simplicity, Peace, Integrity, Community, Equality, and Stewardship, and in my experience, a frightening number of Christians (my parents included) balk at the "equality" bit. Like, people have legit gotten angry with me about it. Despite the "we're all God's children"/"all sins are equal in the eyes of God" thing that a lot of them talk about, because when *we* say equality, we actually do mean equal.

Also, fun fact since it's Coronation Day or whatever, Quakerism is inherently anti-monarchy as part of the "equality" tenet 😉

I attended multiple Quaker meetings (Lehigh Valley Friends Meeting, Lancaster Friends Monthly Meeting, Gwynedd Friends Meeting) for like... a total of about eight years of my life, and I was planning to marry a Quaker. My HS boyfriend was super active in Young Friends; we used to do a lot of the setup and teardown for the Peace Walk in December and before First Day Meeting. Emet and I used a self-attesting/Friends wedding license. I spent most of my life before 2019 living in the eastern half of Pennsylvania or in Maryland. I know what Quakers are, but I appreciate your thorough explanation for folx who might not know.

I ... have a lot of respect for the Society of Friends, and I applaud the Society's attempts to keep everyone under the same big tent, but to say that the Friends are not Christian is quite a stretch. 89% of Friends worldwide belong to Evangelical or Programmed Meetings, with a pastor and Bible readings.

It's probably more true to say that American Quakers of Friends General Conference do not have a Creed, that some Quakers are not Christian and that many Meetings, especially Unprogrammed Meetings in Friends General Conference in the United States, welcome diverse faiths as well as non-theist members.

I think it's important, however, not to look away from how deeply-rooted many Xian ideals and concepts are in Friends philosophy. Saying "Friends aren't Xian" kind of allows for a sort of magical thinking that all of those ideas - some of which are harmful or have been used for great harm - are just gone. That's not the case.

There's a lot of classism issues in many Friends Meetings, too, especially some of the older ones, because many of those Meetings are populated by people who have an awful lot of old money, and that can give people outsized voices when it comes to seeking consensus.

At least, that's what caused me to come away from the Friends, though I went through multiple times of returning to Meeting because I was deeply Convinced at multiple points. I was drawn to Meeting very strongly by the ideal, and the reality pushed me away.

None of this is to say that Friends don't do wonderful things or that FGC's work isn't often lovely and commendable. I just ... object to the idea that Quakers aren't Christian. Well, no, many are, and the deeply Xian roots of the Society are still very visible to me. I love the Friends deeply (the design for a Publick Universal Friend pin is waiting for me to set up our next Kickstarter), and I'm very glad you find such joy and fulfillment there. I have confidence that if anyone can continue working on the issues within the conference itself and on the greater issues of the world with patience, consideration, and genuine consensus-seeking, it's FGC.

[betty-bourgeoisie]

You jest, but Alfred would make a decent candidate for Temperance if reversed (if you even use reversed card meanings; some don’t, I’m usually one of them).

Oh I think he would be great for Temperance reversed.

Actually I think Alfred really does represent a duality that would work well for temperance - The idea of temperance has heavily influenced American culture through various religious groups (Quakers, Shakers, Puritans - I won't list every itty bitty Protestant sect that hates fun, but there are/were a LOT of them in the U.S. The Temperance movement itself had religious roots too). Even the more generic flavors of American protestantism tend to emphasize not being too flashy or tacky.

And then on the other hand you have the conspicuous consumption, bigger is better attitude that is so heavily associated with American capitalism and the American entertainment industry.

These values are supposedly antithetical to each other, but they're both corner stones of the American over culture, and the tension between the two is ever present - in fashion, in foodways, in home decor, in language- the need to show off your wealth while still appearing humble and reserved (ie: godly) is always there.

As a personification of the United States I think Alfred's character could be uniquely positioned to represent both temperance and temperance reversed in a tarot deck for exactly this reason.

[generationexorcist]

The Power and Legacy of America’s Female Spiritualists

Given its roots in resistance, it shouldn’t be surprising that many of Spiritualism’s most well-known practitioners were black women. Sojourner Truth (already renowned as an abolitionist and suffragist) became fascinated by Spiritualism around 1856, when she was invited by a radical Quaker sect, the Friends of Human Progress, to give a speech on abolition in Battle Creek, Michigan. Within a year, Truth moved to Michigan, purchasing a home in the nearby village of Harmonia, and joined the Battle Creek Spiritualist community in 1867.

Historian Amy Lehman illustrates Truth’s influence by highlighting Cora LV Scott’s letter to Amy Post in the pages of her 2009 book “Victorian Women and the Theatre of Trance.” In it, Scott praised the power of Truth’s words with prophetic enthusiasm: “I cannot tell you the pleasure it gives me… to hear her talk — her words are like pearls cast from the crown of Truth — the world will long remember her when other names are forgotten.” The potency of Truth’s words stemmed from their authoritative immediacy, and her Spiritualism transformed her politics into something sacred…

GetPocket

[meandmybigmouth]

Thomas Garrett was born on August 21, 1789, in Upper Darby, Pennsylvania, into a family deeply rooted in the Quaker faith. The beliefs of equality, peace, and simplicity inherent in Quakerism would shape Thomas's worldview, instilling in him a profound sense of justice from an early age.

These beliefs he began putting into practice in his early years. In 1813, Thomas assisted in rescuing a free Black woman his family employed after her kidnapping by slave traders who intended to sell her in the South.

Then, in 1822, Thomas moved to Wilmington, Delaware. Here, he became a successful iron merchant, establishing a thriving business. And it was here that Thomas, fervently committed to the abolitionist cause, became a conductor on the Underground Railroad, a secret network of safe houses and routes used by enslaved people to reach freedom in the Northern states and Canada. Thomas's home in Wilmington, on the border between slaveholding and free states, was a crucial hub, serving as a station providing shelter, sustenance, and solace.

Operating in a border state placed Thomas at great risk, but he refused to back down, openly aiding those who sought refuge at his doorstep. He displayed extraordinary courage and resourcefulness, collaborating with other abolitionists such as Harriet Tubman, to whom he became a trustworthy ally.

Thomas's work was not without consequence. In 1848, he was sued for aiding the escape of an enslaved family, resulting in a trial that left him financially ruined. The presiding judge, an ardent pro-slavery advocate, demanded that Thomas be made an example of, and levied a fine that stripped him of his entire wealth.

In the trial, the judge said to Thomas, "Thomas, I hope you will never be caught at this business again." To which Thomas replied in his closing arguments, "Judge thou has left me not a dollar, but I wish to say to thee and to all in this courtroom that if anyone knows a fugitive who wants a shelter and a friend, send him to Thomas Garrett and he will befriend him."

After the trial, Thomas rebuilt his life and business and continued working on the Underground Railroad, doing so until the abolition of slavery. He continued to actively work on behalf of minority groups into his early 80s, retiring shortly after the passing of the 15th Amendment in 1870. He passed away the following year.

It was estimated that Thomas helped around 2,700 enslaved individuals escape to freedom.

[silenceandpsalms]

I've been struggling a lot recently to understand my Christianity and my Quakerism as the same thing. Or perhaps I mean that I've been struggling to see the Quakerism I find around me as rooted still in its Christian background. Or perhaps I just mean that I sometimes don't feel that my Christianity is a part of myself that I'm supposed to bring to Meeting. That Jesus is fine so long as I leave Him at the door.

Meeting doesn't nourish me the way it used to, and some part of me has begun to yearn for the Eucharist. I dearly want Christian community but I don't know how to find it. I caught myself thinking earlier ideally my faith community would also be a Christian community which seems like an absolutely absurd thing to have relegated to the realm of the ideal.

I don't know whether I've just arrived at a point of incompatibility or whether there's something I can do about this. I'm going to try to arrange a chat with an elder soon, and I'm really hoping that helps a bit. I don't know. Please pray for me.