tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584967099548529614.post1672006010364623194..comments2023-07-27T02:30:16.617-05:00Comments on Social Class & Quakers: ComfortJeannehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00905850036743973387noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584967099548529614.post-38218777167866107392008-07-24T19:27:00.000-05:002008-07-24T19:27:00.000-05:00In all the churches with which I have been associa...In all the churches with which I have been associated (Methodist, Presbyterian, Congregationalist) as well as with Quaker meetings, those attending have all been very monolithic in economic, cultural and ethnic background. The one exception was perhaps a Congregational church in which everyone acted the same but some were middle-class and some were much wealthier. :(<BR/><BR/>So although I understand that for Friends there is a special problem with lack of diversity, I think it is a problem for many other denominations as well. I found a similar problem in an interfaith group to which I belonged. <BR/><BR/>Part of this has to do with geography. Not lots of diversity in rural America where I live to begin with. But it does go beyond that and even when folks are a little different, they often pretend they are not. And when people are afraid of conflict, they miss opportunities to bring about needed change. Sometimes being uncomfortable with your neighbor is an important first step in even acknowledging that you have a neighbor in the first place! Another important step is laughter. Laughter has the power to break facades and encourages people to take chances trangressing "niceness" rules. Nice people don't laugh enough.Hysteryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02044678910937934731noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584967099548529614.post-10420996100829656172008-07-23T18:31:00.000-05:002008-07-23T18:31:00.000-05:00Tania, I'm looking forward to your next blog post ...Tania, I'm looking forward to your next blog post about these issues!<BR/><BR/>Allison, I'm glad you're happier, and hope you find a true spiritual home.<BR/><BR/>Gordon, thanks for stopping by. I think there are more people like you (and me) than Friends know about. This is what I'm hoping to change about the RSoF. I'm so attached because of the form of worship, of stripping away everything that gets in my way to hear and feel God's love.<BR/><BR/>By being so monocultural, we're really doing God and anyone else who prefers this form of worship but who aren't culturally middle or owning class.Jeannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00905850036743973387noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584967099548529614.post-75135095012326420452008-07-23T18:02:00.000-05:002008-07-23T18:02:00.000-05:00Thank you. The educated middle class monoculture ...Thank you. The educated middle class monoculture of Quakerism (certainly in Australia where I live) ultimately led me to resign my membership (having been a recording clerk and elder). Every culture has its blind spots; I think the two which characterise and blinker the middle class are the preference for comfort which you identify and a strong sense of entitlement. These show up in a blindness to levels of privilege, the Quaker ‘sin’ of niceness (and the dishonesty that goes with it) and deep resentment of any observations which might “upset people”. (The editors of the Australian Friend actually refused to publish a very mild article by a highly respected Quaker writer on these grounds.) The consequence in Australia, I believe, is often hypocrisy and spiritual decline.<BR/>The majority of early Friends were from craft and labouring backgrounds – hence the rural metaphors such as threshing. For these people distraint of goods could easily mean loss of livelihood – since their principle possessions were their tools of trade; Britain Yearly Meeting still has a standing committee called Meeting for Sufferings. Yet many modern Friends are not even willing to accept the mild emotional discomfort of spiritual challenge. I believe this issue is one of the major spiritual challenges facing not only Quakers, but most Westerners who claim to follow Jesus.<BR/>PS I’m a retired white male doctor who grew up in public housing in the UK; my early life made me acutely aware of hierarchy and privilege, but my adult life has been spent as a middle class WAS(P).Gordon Bennethttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06686408545919171082noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584967099548529614.post-47025884796749272502008-07-22T00:32:00.000-05:002008-07-22T00:32:00.000-05:00I'm a lot happier now that I'm a free agent again!...I'm a lot happier now that I'm a free agent again!Allisonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03583539336418817798noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7584967099548529614.post-1574294596060435492008-07-21T09:15:00.000-05:002008-07-21T09:15:00.000-05:00Actually, I do drink. I sort of smoke (medical mar...Actually, I do drink. I sort of smoke (medical marijuana) and used to smoke cloves "safely" (once a week and I quit when it became more than that).<BR/><BR/>But your point is valid, because this is the first time I've openly admitted to a Quaker those things. <BR/><BR/>Huh. There's been a blog post floating in my head for a while about our "sacred peculiarities" and how harmful I think they are, and this entry might have just been another nudge... Thanks, as always, Jeanne.Taniahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08779680819545525601noreply@blogger.com