Theos-Talk Archives (October 1996 Message tl00322)

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> From: Bart Lidofsky <bartl@sprynet.com>
>
> 	Especially prominent in the Victorian era through WWII was the concept
> of the "white man's burden"; the idea that members of other ethnic
> stocks were currently inferior to that of the light-skinned
> Europeans/Americans, and it was the burden of those of the "superior"
> ethnic stocks to bring those of the "inferior" ethnic stocks "up" to
> their own "level". Bailey goes a little further, and blames the
> "inferiority" on the actions of the Europeans/Americans, but that does
> not change the fact that the concept is inherently racist.

You hit a nerve with me right here.  I came from an Eastern European
background, both my grandparents being immigrants.  My mother got off the
boat at Ellis Island in her early twenties.  I grew up with these
attitudes, which I did not personally understand.  To my mother's credit,
she managed to get beyond those attitudes, something which was especially
useful in that she taught high school in the inner city.   When I go over
to her brother's house for Christmas, I still have to listen to his rants
about other enthnic groups.  He never changed.

>
> 	It is true that "homophobia", like "racism", is a word that has
> suffered much from misuse and abuse. Bailey, however, makes the
> assumption that homosexuality is entirely a matter of choice, and it is
> specifically the choice of those who also choose the path of evil. That,
> in my opinion, goes beyond rationality, which makes "homophobia" a
> reasonable sobriquet.
>
I was not aware of this in the material.  Could you tell me exactly where
this is located in the book(s)?

> 	What I meant is that, in the reading of theosophical topics, one has to
> understand the prejudices that are so ingrained into the author's
> society that the author is not even aware that they have these
> prejudices. And you have to filter these out in order to truly what the
> author is saying. The problem is that the more repugnant these
> prejudices are to you, the harder it is to filter them out.

Considering my family history, I can well understand that.

-Ann E. Bermingham