[Previous entry: "Emptiness"] [Main Index] [Next entry: "Losing My Religion"]

05/19/2001 Entry: "Ku Klux Kristians"

Yesterday and today some old friends showed up outside of the Shoreline Amphitheatre. If you're from San Francisco or Berkeley you probably know them. Maybe you've seen them around Powell Street Station? I don't believe these folks are the immediate family of Fred Phelps, but they're kissin' cuzzins.

During the noon break yesterday, I headed out to the car to retrieve a pen and some paper and to get rid of a jacket that I wouldn't need during the afternoon. As I walked from the Amphitheater to the parking area, I encountered some folks who were worried about my soul. They held up signs that indicated that Jesus was the only salvation. They suggested (complete with graphic depiction of flames) that I would burn in hell and only Jesus could save me. Today, I saw them again. I think because tonight's teaching was intended to be a large public talk they had mustered more sign holders and sideshow barkers to let everyone know that the Dalai Lama's [Please note that Buddhism is nontheistic] god is the Devil and that he had owned slaves and that he'd killed people (maybe children) or eaten them or something. The barker guy who was so concerned for my soul, hollered that the Dalai Lama's people (Tibetans) are not free and will always be enslaved because they don't believe in Jesus. One got the sense that this gentleman was not speaking in any metaphoric sense, but literally addressing his truth.

I was reminded of the Ku Klux Klan, the American Family Association, the Traditional Values Coalition, Focus on Families and their theologically based tirades against queers in Gainesville. One of those groups called for our death at the hands of citizens of fair Gainesville. The others did so indirectly with their distortions and fear mongering.

I was impressed with the ability of folks to walk past the hateful folks without engaging them, without expressing anger toward them, without giving them the satisfaction. I felt pain for the Tibetan born monks who walked past them and had to endure their vitriole, knowing that their mothers and sisters and bothers may well be in Tibet unable to worship freely under the tyranny of the Chinese. [Note these guys, the Kristians, also hate the Chinese and have condemned them to Hell as well.]

The rebellious adolescent in me wants nothing to do with their Ku Klux Kristianity and felt considerable resolve to study Buddhism. As I walked on and considered the teaching of His Holiness, I resolved not to let these poor people play a role in determining my religious orientation or spiritual path.

Posted by Godot @ 07/25/2001 10:06 PM PST