Theos-Talk Archives (February 1997 Message tl00154)

On Mon, 3 Feb 1997, Einar Adalsteinsson & ASB wrote:
>
> It's my experience that TS workers are not at all enviable of their
> Work, at least not  money-vise, and by reading the posts on this list,
> their work doesn't seem much appreciated otherwise either. Of
> course there are human problems inside the TS. In the management
> of any society there are always traces of revelry, envy, jealousy,
> etc. and it seems to be an "universal law" that those that never
> won't do anything but talk, always know best how NOT to do
> things!
	As others have said, I don't think anyone has complained about
staff members ... it is the leadership that is taking heat. And some of
the most vocal critics on this list are *not* those that just "talk", but
those working in the field, running branches and study centers, that find
themselves not only not being supported by HQ, but actually inhibited in
their work.
	If you wish to (rightly) praise the efforts of underpaid staff
members, it needs to also be mentioned that (at least in the US) the vast
majority of TS activity is at the branch level, and not only do those
people not receive any money, they often wind up spending their own on
Lodge activities.

> If you are so unhappy about your position within the theosophical
> movement, as some of you seem to be, pick yourself a position or a
> field of work, and make that however small field an example for
> others to see. If you are really good at it, you will eventually end up
> being a "lamp unto others". But don't go about it by digging shit
> and throwing it on others, because then you will never get out of
> the mud-pool yourself.
	Unfortunately, some of us *have* picked a field of work - let me
give you an example .... Montana is a very sparsely populated, spread out
state, and while there has been a TS presence since the 1930's, it goes in
cycles of relative activity and relative quiet. The Montana Federation
chair, Terry Wallace, myself, and three or four other met last month
and decided that the tone was right, and wanted to re-activate activity in
Montana ... to begin holding some public meetings, perhaps forming some
study groups on specialized topics and etc. While we have been quite upset
about the antics of the HQ clique, we still decided to operate within the
ATS ... that is, any memberships generated by our activity would have been
paid to Wheaton, etc., etc. To begin the activity we planned a mailing, we
were going to inform all current members in Montana that we wanted to
begin another cycle of public work, invite them to participate or
contribute if they wished, or at least attend the meetings. We were
going to pay for the mailing ourselves. To this end,
Terry Wallace wrote a letter to Wheaton, as the Montana Federation
President, requesting a list of Montana members. We just received the
response. The National Secretary refused to give Terry the list, saying
he hadn't heard of any activity by the Montana Federation and didn't (in
essence) consider it to exist. The curious thing about this is that Terry
receives mail from other Federations, and in fact from Wheaton itself,
addressed to him in his role of Montana Federation President.
	Now please understand, Terry is a *long* time Theosophist, joined
in India after a conversation with John Coats (the International President
at the time); had been President of the Missoula (Montana) Branch for a
decade, helped run (and fund) a Quest bookstore, held meetings in his
home, spoke publically on behalf of Theosophy, put up, drove around, and
fed travelling lecturers, etc., etc. Much of Theosophical activity in
Montana during the last couple of decades would not have existed were it
not for Terry's continual persevering energy. He is a life member. During
part of this time, he was building a law practice as well as raising three
children alone. More than that, I've seen him do a good deal of legal work
pro bono - for poor folks he thought needed defending ... he conceives his
profession to be a *spiritual* discipline, and quietly lives altruism at a
level I've seen few match. In word and deed he is a *Theosophist*.
	He also, however, has been very critical of what the TS leadership
has done over time - and in fact was going to represent Bing in a wrongful
discharge case against Wheaton after that fiasco. He, as well as Sy (in
Florida), both being attorneys, understand in perhaps too great a detail
how crooked some of the HQ activities have been ... that they have broken
their own by-laws, etc., etc.
	And so, the mystery of why Terry was refused a mailing list
intended to spread Theosophy in Montana is solved. What will we do?
Well, probably just organize activity ourselves ... leave (as increasing
numbers are doing due to similar reasons) the ATS loop. Why should *we*,
after expending a good deal of energy to organize and present public
Theosophy, draw in newcomers & etc., *why* should we then give them
membership forms - forms that would be sent, along with *money*, to a
Headquarters that will not even give us a damn *list*?
	So please, don't assume the people "digging up shit" are those who
only sit around and complain ... most of them on this list are those that
are the opposite, tireless and consistant workers on behalf of Theosophy,
who have committed the ultimate sin of thinking independetly of what the
HQ clique believes Theosophy to be. They don't need to "dig up shit", they
are usually just trying wipe themselves clean of what HQ throws at them
whenever they try to actually get support for Theosophical activity.
	We are in an age of incredible freedom and dissemination of
information. The leadership had better learn damn quick that the
membership now needs them far less than they need the membership.
						Regards, -JRC