Theos-Talk Archives (June 1997 Message tl00566)

On Sun, 22 Jun 1997 23:14:33 -0400 (EDT) kymsmith@micron.net writes:

>The hatred for the poor, the disadvantaged, the non-Theosophists, etc...

>that I have heard expressed lately on this list doesn't bring to mind
>manners as my first priority.  I take it personal when I hear racism,
>sexism, anti-Semitism, xenophobia, and other such views spewed in
>rabid abundance.

One problem with cynically making all these false accusations is that, by
being responsible for the creation of such thought forms, it tends to
create the very thing it is making the accusations about, strengthening
the very attitudes it claims to be opposing.

My first post on this list, more than 6 months ago, asked what was meant
by sexism in a way that retained its negative connotations.  I still have
yet to hear an answer from anyone.  When it is used to mean "believing
there are differences between men and women," or when racism is used to
mean "believing there are differences between races," they become useless
as tools for criticism, since there is nothing wrong with being aware of
such differences.  And when they are used in this reckless way, it only
creates the need for new words to mean what they used to mean, and, as
happened in the story of the boy who cried "Wolf!," it deafens listeners'
ears, exposing authentic victims to ridicule.

What's xenophobia, anyway?  I've heard of homophobia, which seems like a
misnomer, since I believe it is meant to mean prejudice against
homosexuals, but it literally seems to mean fear of homosexuals.  Is it
the same situation with xenophobia?