What were you THINKING?

[DocCathode]

@echoreply

So anything that is religious to anyone is off limits to everyone else?

I explicitly addressed this in the other Pit thread.

@DocCathode

I agree with this. Saris are just one of the varieties of clothing women, and hijras, wear. They belong to the culture of a specific area. But are worn by members of different cultures living in that area. If you see a woman in a sari, or a salwar kurta etc you cannot say if she is Hindu, Muslim, Christian, atheist or something else.

Bindis have religious significance. Different bindis mean different things. I often ask my beloved if she should be wearing them. Yes they look great on her. Nobody ever says anything because she is clearly Desi (rough translation- from India or of Indian dsecent). However, she is not a Hindu. She is Christian. Collecting Hindu devotionary art? I have no problem with that. Just treat it with the proper respect. You want to listen to pagans (pronounced pah -zjahns. basically Hindu hymns sung and accompanied by traditional devotional instruments) fine. I enjoy those as well. Wearing an item of religious significance when you are not a member of that religion? I don’t like it.

@needscoffee

think a big issue is @DocCathode’s need to control people’s behavior when it doesn’t meet up with his notions of how it fits into his world.

I disagree. Yet again, Kabbalah is based on certin basic assumptions. Ignoring or altering any of those assumptions show a very basic lack of understanding.

@needscoffee

The following is a prime example, probably worth a thread all on its own.

Yeah, we probably should take this to another thread.

@needscoffee

A woman steps out of the hours-long queue ahead of him at the DMV to rest while waiting, and he refuses to allow her back in, despite seeing her sitting at a table nearby the entire time and knowing she was resting up.

More or les true.

@needscoffee

He physically blocks her from getting back in line, because somehow she didn’t know she had to clear it with him first, even though he knew exactly what she was doing and why.

Again, yeah more or less true.

@needscoffee

His excuse? “Well, I was really uncomfortable and neglected to bring a stool, and she looked healthy to me, so why should I let her back in when I was tired of standing? And besides, her husband looked well dressed.”

Here you get a few things wrong.

I was indeed experiencing a lot of pain and having dificulty standing or walking by the time she got out of line to sit down. If she was experiencing any pain at all, or having any dificulty standing or walking- there were no signs of any kind. She did not seem to have any need to sit down. She simply wanted to sit down.

She did not check with me, or any of the people behind me in line, to be sure that she would be let back in line. This is a separate issue from whether we should have let her back in line. She assumed that, even though nobody else was leaving the line to sit down, we would let her back in. Had she asked, I and others would have communicated that if she left her place in line to sit down, she would need to go to the end of the line.

She not only didn’t ask us anything before leaving the line to sit down, she walked off so quickly I was unable to get her attention, call her back and convey any of this.

I was trying to figure out what to say and do if she tried to take her previous place after she stood back up. The two women directly behind me spoke up. Before I said or did anything, they expresed surprise at what she had done, and that they felt strongly she had given up her place in line,

When she stood up and attempted to take a place directly in front of me, she did not explain why she had left the line to sit down or even acknowledge that she had left the line to sit down. She just attempted to get me to move backwards so that she could stand in front of me. I politely said no and pointed to the back of the line. This had no effect on her behavior. She kept saying “Excuse me” and attempting to take back the place she gave up when she got out of line to sit down. I did eventually physically block her. I was not trying to be angry or threatening. She was not changing her behavior at all, and was clearly not getting the message.

After I blocked her, she finally understood that I was not going to to let her stand in front of me. She then said “Excuse me” to the pair of women directly behind me and attempted to get into line ahead of them. They were openly rude and hostile. Finally understanding that they would not let her in line ahead of them either, she went to speak to security.

@needscoffee

And besides, her husband looked well dressed.”

Techically, I would describe him as “well dressed”. But that description is misleading. I noted his suit and shoes not because they seemed expensive. Indeed, I would not have noticed or cared if they had. I noticed them because they had flair.

As I have often said, I do not like suits or formal clothes. I have never owned any that weren’t overpriced, uncomfortable and boring. In general, I have no idea how much other people paid for suits and formal clothes, or how comfortable they are in them. I can easily see that nearly all of them are boring. I have no idea how much his suit and shoes cost. I have no reason to assume they were more expensive than the usual suit and shoes. I really could see that they pizzaz. The last time I actually saw a suit that had flair and was not boring was back in college. That was 1994 or so.

Yes, I did mention that she and her husband had smartphones. I did not mention this as a sign of wealth or even financial security. Smartphones have not been a sign of either for many years now. Right before the woman walked away to speak to the security guard, I tried using my iPhone to do something she should have tried immediately. I was attempting to use Google Translate to cross the language barrier.

@TroutMan

I’m still not really seeing why drinking water during a fast is offensive to anyone. Yes, it’s changing a practice that might be important to you in its original form, but respect doesn’t mean everyone must practice something exactly how you do it

I find that particular change more confusing than offensive. He chose this ritual out of all the things he could have decided to do. Why pick this ritual in partcular? I asked that a few times in the first thread and never got an answer. Why choose a ritual that involves fasting when you are medically unable to fast?