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1. Embed this notice
   Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 29-Jul-2024 02:13:53 JST Paul Cantrell

   • Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)

   I’ll second this from @suzannealdrich. As a person nonreligious by belief and by upbringing, it’s been easy for me to be dismissive of religion — but the fact is I’ve known •far• too many really kind, really intelligent, really •good• religious people to hold on to any kind of Dawkinsian smugness about my worldview. Finding acceptance for outlooks I don’t share has made some really important relationships possible that would not have been otherwise. +1 would recommend
   https://hachyderm.io/@suzannealdrich/112865091220889870

   • Embed this notice
     Jenniferplusplus (jenniferplusplus@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 29-Jul-2024 02:22:48 JST Jenniferplusplus

     in reply to

     • Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)

     @inthehands @suzannealdrich I've also known my share of individually good Christian people. But that doesn't mitigate the extreme global scale harm Christians as a group are actively doing. I'm not going to be the one to tell victims of that harm how to speak about it.

   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 29-Jul-2024 02:32:16 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)
     • Jenniferplusplus

     @jenniferplusplus @suzannealdrich
     Given that some of the people I know who are fighting most tenaciously against those harms are •also• Christians, I am quite willing to say to the world in general that we should be careful about making bad generalizations. I don’t chastise individuals who’ve been in the crosshairs, however.

   • Embed this notice
     William Pietri (williampietri@sfba.social)'s status on Monday, 29-Jul-2024 02:36:08 JST William Pietri

     in reply to

     • Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)

     @inthehands That's where I've got to as well, but it can be a long road. Trauma takes time in safety to heal. With so many loud Christian voices lining up behind state enforced harm right now, safety can be hard to find. Nothing wrong with asking for generosity, but I hope nobody's expecting it.
     @suzannealdrich

   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 29-Jul-2024 02:36:08 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)
     • William Pietri

     @williampietri @suzannealdrich
     Tolerance and good judgement are never things that can be demanded. Especially where personal trauma is involved.

   • Embed this notice
     Jenniferplusplus (jenniferplusplus@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 29-Jul-2024 02:43:53 JST Jenniferplusplus

     in reply to

     • Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)

     @inthehands @suzannealdrich I get that, but I'm also struggling to find the difference between this and "not all men."

     There is definitely a way to encourage, praise, and support the ones who are doing the work in their own community, and criticize the institution.

   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 29-Jul-2024 03:47:12 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • Exiled New Yorker - Connie
     • Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)

     @Pagan_Animist @suzannealdrich
     Yeah, shit like that is abhorrent, and deserves neither tolerance nor silence.

   • Embed this notice
     Exiled New Yorker - Connie (pagan_animist@beekeeping.ninja)'s status on Monday, 29-Jul-2024 03:47:13 JST Exiled New Yorker - Connie

     in reply to

     • Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)

     @inthehands @suzannealdrich

     I don’t feel any smugness.
     I’ve always been a “non-believer.”
     I tried so hard to BE a believer.
     Multiple times, multiple denominations *because* my family is very religious.

     I finally sat down & read this, cover to cover.
     What I learned horrified me.
     I know many people don’t take the book to be the literal Word of god. Many do.

     My good Xtian friends & family KNOW I’m “going to hell.”
     They pity me.
     The least I can do is pity them in return

     https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Life_Application_Study_Bible

   • Embed this notice
     Paul Cantrell (inthehands@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 29-Jul-2024 03:49:30 JST Paul Cantrell

     in reply to

     • Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)
     • Jenniferplusplus

     @jenniferplusplus @suzannealdrich
     Yes, just so. My only minor quibble with that would be to recognize that “institutions” here is plural.

     Again, per the OP, the invitation is for those to open doors who have the privilege of doing so — not to ignore trauma, or to prioritize the comfort of some over the trauma of others.

   • Embed this notice
     Dan Hulton (danhulton@hachyderm.io)'s status on Monday, 29-Jul-2024 09:40:40 JST Dan Hulton

     in reply to

     • Joby (chaotic good)
     • Suzanne Aldrich (she/her)

     @inthehands @joby @suzannealdrich I'm torn on this, because I've known some people I would normally call very good people who were also very religious, and I want to coexist in harmony, too. (1/4)