tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post1018174280773086350..comments2023-05-12T08:42:43.744-07:00Comments on Cosmology of Whiteness: Reflections on Whiteness and the Ecospiritual MovementGregoryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03033878961196858381noreply@blogger.comBlogger13125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-39029649386577360262016-03-05T04:53:32.407-08:002016-03-05T04:53:32.407-08:00This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.Roman lesnarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18036851073128899830noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-33944208983595304352015-02-04T12:25:33.883-08:002015-02-04T12:25:33.883-08:00Sorry for typos. Running out of time and battery...Sorry for typos. Running out of time and battery low.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15782509944282903372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-92080335167409709082015-02-04T12:23:45.474-08:002015-02-04T12:23:45.474-08:00Many blacks are involving themselves in a similar ...Many blacks are involving themselves in a similar new spirituality movement which has it's origins in ancient Africa called Igbo, and which offers personal afirmation and a sense of their origins. It appears to be similarly eschatological and earth centered. We need to learn and reach out this movement, and create a conduit of understanding. So look up IGBO!Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15782509944282903372noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-37479794958763437982011-07-11T21:27:44.409-07:002011-07-11T21:27:44.409-07:00Hi again Gregory,
I just thought I'd let you ...Hi again Gregory,<br /><br />I just thought I'd let you know that I just posted an entry over at my own blog that elaborates a bit on the experiences I allude to in my above comment in case you're interested in reading: http://acreativeresponse.wordpress.com/2011/07/11/deconstructing-myself-to-death-or-when-essentialism-stops-being-strategic/<br /><br />Best,<br />KaitlinKaitlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03556839053657016388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-8768875727224233452011-07-11T21:25:47.937-07:002011-07-11T21:25:47.937-07:00This comment has been removed by the author.Kaitlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03556839053657016388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-25980852906648566122011-07-08T23:19:20.592-07:002011-07-08T23:19:20.592-07:00Hi Gregory,
Thank you so much for linking back to...Hi Gregory,<br /><br />Thank you so much for linking back to my blog! I greatly appreciate your willingness to share your reflections on this important yet very complicated subject. Though I think I have a slightly different perspective than what you've shared here, witnessing your willingness to put your challenging ideas out there really helped me gain the courage to start my own blog. So thank you!<br /><br />Coming to terms with this issue that you've articulated above is an ongoing process for me. On the one hand, it's clear to me that certain principles from the HPM, certain eco-spiritual communities, parts of the "New Age", and the like have something important to contribute to the societal and individual transformation that we so desperately need today. Though initially empowered by social, critical cultural, and systems-focused anti-oppression theory, my relationship to these frameworks as a woman of color eventually became a profound source of disempowerment and alienation from myself and others. Despite my knowledge of some of their blindspots, I found a number of the principles contained within HPM, even such apolitical and ahistorical concepts as the Law of Attraction, absolutely instrumental in helping me to address my internalized oppression and paralyzing, reductionist self-interrogation and regain my personal sense of agency and possibility. At the same time, I too have made observations about the prevalence of unacknowledged privilege in HPM & the New Age and the way these movements have retained (and even spiritualized) a neoliberal focus on the individual, dismissal of the material conditions of existence, and also promoting so-called indigenous ways of knowing without employing any significant self-reflection (not because they don't wish to but because it requires knowledge of the sociohistorical context that's buried in marginalized discourses). I think this crucial lack of social identity development in the larger society, and thus in the HPM, makes it very difficult to have generative conversations on this subject. I'm happy that you've begun one here, though, and I'm currently trying to figure out how to broach related subjects on my own blog. Though I also do not hold any complete answers, I hope that through greater discussion, deeper understandings can be reached.<br /><br />Thanks again!,<br />KaitlinKaitlinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03556839053657016388noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-84657164270875420072011-06-22T09:56:35.325-07:002011-06-22T09:56:35.325-07:00Thanks for the comments so far. Tomas, I agree wit...Thanks for the comments so far. Tomas, I agree with everything you said. Sarah, I'm not sure what you mean by "development economics". I'm certainly aware of the IMF and World Bank and their claim to be working to eliminate poverty. And, I'm sure you must be aware of what their critics say about them. BD, find me on facebook.Gregoryhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03033878961196858381noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-43091359806652872302011-06-21T15:28:09.204-07:002011-06-21T15:28:09.204-07:00Blessings Greg!
Looking to connect about your pos...Blessings Greg!<br /><br />Looking to connect about your post above (which was posted on my FB wall by a friend from CIIS and then re-posted by me). It's getting some interested/ing comments and I wanted to share them with you. Please contact, as I don't see a contact addy for you. Thank you!<br />b/dbdhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00641022735301832441noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-33716164702121040182011-06-20T10:16:28.372-07:002011-06-20T10:16:28.372-07:00Greg, this is a thoughtful article but I am suppor...Greg, this is a thoughtful article but I am supportive of Tomas's critique. I agree and support your idea that perhaps there are many things the ecospiritual movement could learn from crawling off their meditation cushions and working in disadvantaged communities where they would asurredly run into the people of color they so desperately want to impress.I am also glad that you pointed out that you didn't cite your sources, as I think if you actually did the work, you'd quickly realize that several of your claims about social movements and "advancements in human liberation" are incorrect. Development economics is a great place to start. I think you'd enjoy the research, and you'd prove a great advocate for dispelling some of the vagueness and inconsistencies around our discussions of white privilege and how to effectively advocate for social change.sarahpagehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04116001756000408300noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-8532712561037094472011-06-19T22:06:24.556-07:002011-06-19T22:06:24.556-07:00Gregory,
You definitely see the world through a pa...Gregory,<br />You definitely see the world through a particular lens, one I would contend is quite limited. Yet you are on to some truths.<br />At this point I would reference Gurdjieff who indicated that most of humanity is asleep and unable to make any real change because of our condition. This is a contention that certainly goes beyond race.<br />From this perspective the HPM would seem incomplete.<br />You might also check out Guy Duboard who made a biting critique of our mediasphere. <br />And I do agree with the above comments that class is a huge issue in America despite all the notions that America is a classless society.<br />There are many white people who are exploited, and disenfranchised.<br />America has also become a new locus of colonial exploitation ranging from resource exploitation from Pennsylvania to the far Southwest, to decades of wage stagnation, and financial manipulation by Wall Street.<br />The blind spot, and potential importance, of the Ecospiritual movement is that it is critique that comes from the inside of the machine. It's just a matter of realizing that white middle class people in America are being exploited like everyone else who falls under the sway of neo-liberal economics.<br />So, I think there are several facets of the world situation you are some how not integrating into your critique.<br />Your thoughtfully,Tomashttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00771511428267181835noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-78440976903114815892011-06-19T20:12:24.395-07:002011-06-19T20:12:24.395-07:00I really enjoyed reading your post especially cons...I really enjoyed reading your post especially considering I do not know much about the eco-spiritual movement. Nevertheless, many of the things you say about race are also applicable to class. (Meaning I would guess the movement is comprised mainly not only of white people...but of middle class/upper class white people. Working class white people are excluded much the same way as people of color (despite class background). I feel like it would be beneficial if conversations like this also addressed this point.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-88100421800475206132011-06-19T14:49:02.924-07:002011-06-19T14:49:02.924-07:00Really appreciate this, Gregory. Your analysis str...Really appreciate this, Gregory. Your analysis strikes me as right on, and I agree that the antidote is not to abandon our convictions but to build real relationships of solidarity with people who are living on the margins. This changes and expands what we care about and enables us to become allies in the justice struggles affecting people of color and poor people of all races and ethnicities. That is the only way to avoid irrelevance. I've been in conversation with the "peace and nonviolence" movement about the same issues.Nichola Torbetthttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05438791215584840825noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2322029416433364050.post-7531970846441537262011-06-19T11:32:41.768-07:002011-06-19T11:32:41.768-07:00Good food for thought Gregory. Thanks for posting!...Good food for thought Gregory. Thanks for posting!Marciahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10964258657772460153noreply@blogger.com