Disaster Area

Hypocrisy and Just Desserts

If I were to write about it, I'd hardly be the first person to remark on the Eliot Spitzer scandal. It's just such a nice round story, though. The Mr. Clean crusader who swooped through the finance markets turns out to have spent in the neighborhood of $80,000 on high priced call girls. Little wonder his exposure was greeted with cheers on Wall Street. One could perhaps feel sorry for him in other circumstances, but those who play holier-than-thou have basically set themselves up to be judged by higher standards than mere mortals. And don't even get me started on Dr. (not really) Laura Schlessinger who, on NBC's Today Show, managed to actually blame Spitzer's wife for not taking care of her man's needs. More specifically:

"It's interesting. what you said about what men need -- men do need validation. When they come into the world they're born of a woman. Getting the validation from mommy is the beginning of needing it from a woman. When the wife does not focus in on the needs and the feelings sexually, personally, to make him feel like a man, to make him feel like a success, to make him feel like our hero, he's very susceptible to the charm of some other woman making him feel what he needs. These days, women don't spend a lot of time thinking about how they can give their men what they need."

"Susceptible to the charm of some other woman"? She was a $5,000 an hour call girl, Dr. Laura - are you some kind of moron? Oh wait, you don't have a book due out this week, do you? You do? Oh, quelle surprise! Of course, Dr. Laura ripped this off directly from Mark Driscoll, who used this defense on behalf of Ted Haggard, whose wife was thrown unceremoniously under the bus too.

Speaking of holier-than-thou, it doesn't get any more so than at the Vatican, where the seven deadly sins have been revised to include accumulating obscene wealth - something the Vatican has more experience with than any body on the earth, so I guess they know whereof they speak. I'm guessing Archbishop Gianfranco Girotti, the Vatican's number two man in "sins and penance", probably signed the order with a solid gold fountain pen, and the irony would be completely lost on him. Far too many people have made hay with that, too, so I hardly feel original here.

There's another heaping portion of hypocrisy lying around waiting to be stepped in in the good old Church of England. There's the case of the Bishop of Horsham, who is apparently just another good ol' (sort of) closeted gay Anglo-Catholic bishop who just loves to support our ever so lovely gay bashing so-called Anglican renegades from the Episcopal Church. Now, even this wouldn't be so bad, if it wasn't for the fact that the Bishop of Horsham is still welcome to fulfill all of his episcopal duties without hindrance. He will also be off to Lambeth without a care in the world, and with the full blessing of the Archbishop of Canterbury - unlike a certain Bishop of New Hampshire. "Don't ask, don't tell" was a stupid policy when the US military adopted it, and it remains a stupid, hypocritical policy today, but apparently it's still alive and well in the Church of England and the wider Anglican Communion.

All of which just makes it sadder to see a series of posts from Maggi Dawn about a very nice visit to Cambridge a couple of weeks ago by the Archbishops of York and Canterbury. It's nice to see the personal and human side of public figures, espoecially ion the wake of Rowan's Sharia Law Escapade (now there's an idea for a TV show...). However, at some point the Archbishop of Canterbury surely has to realize he can't appease Rome, and the rabid conservatives in the Anglican Communion, and move the church into the 21st (dare I even say the 20th) century.

I've said it before and I'll say it again - it took a woman in Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts-Schori to begin dismantling the old boys network here in the Episcopal Church, and it will probably take a woman to do it in the Church of England, except... fat chance of even getting a female bishop there within the next ten years or so and maybe fifty before we see a female Archbishop of Canterbury.

Strangely enough, hypocrisy isn't one of the seven deadly sins, and it's also one the Vatican managed to miss the second time around. Maybe it's because they don't have mirrors there...

International Women's Day - Hurrah!

It’s been a busy couple of weeks, what with the work trip to the UK a couple of weeks ago and then last week being occupied mostly by a not so fun medical procedure (nothing serious, and maybe more later - oh wait, no, sorry, I promised a friend I wouldn't - never mind).

The important event this past weekend was International Women’s Day on Saturday March 8. I’m not a big fan of special days or weeks or months for things (The International Day for Three-Legged Blind Dachshunds being a case in point), but this one is important.

In my opinion, the two most important Millennium Development Goals are Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women and Improve Maternal Health. The evidence from around the world shows that educating women has the largest positive effect on societal development. The effect is particularly evident in reproductive health, where sex education, and in particular birth control, always results in women having fewer babies, thereby stabilizing entire communities. Getting off the constant pregnancy/birth treadmill does wonders for not just the health of the women but the communities they live in, too. It's no big secret that the most godforsaken places on earth feature the highest birth rates and highest infant and maternal mortality rates.

Marking International Women’s Day, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Louise Arbour had this (among other things) to say:

“Many States appear to have simply ignored the commitments they have made. It is shameful that, in the 60th anniversary year of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, fundamental rights are still not enjoyed by many women around the world.”

The leveling of the playing field needs to continue everywhere. Even in the enlightened West there is still a long way to go before women get a decent hold on what might be called equality. It’s a crying shame that one of the last bastions of male privilege remains "the church". Replace “States” with “Churches” in the previous quoted paragraph and you still wouldn’t be far wrong.

Kathy Escobar, a contributor to the Emerging Women blog, has a really great post about women finding their voice in the Emergent “conversation”. It’s apparently still a bit like trying to order two pints of lager and a packet of crisps in a crowded British pub where the barman doesn’t know you, but still, you have to start somewhere. In particular, she highlights these thoughts, and expands on them very well:

• The only way this (restoration and reconciliation in the church) can begin to happen is if power (aka: leadership, voice, value) begins to shift.
• Those without power need to begin to step into it.
• Power is not finite. If someone gives up power, it doesn’t mean that there’s now less power in the room. It actually means that there’s more power in the room.
• Don’t underestimate how much tending and nurturing this shift is going to take.

Number three strikes me as particularly important, because to too many people in power, power sharing is seen as a zero sum game, when in fact it isn’t. Acknowledging other smart people doesn’t make you less smart. It may make you feel less superior, but shouldn’t that be a good thing?

Well, it may be a day or two late, here’s to women the world round. You deserve more than a lousy single day anyway.

Coming Apart At The Seams...

Apparently, Mark Driscoll's Mars Hill is unraveling quite a bit. Old news to some maybe, but the publicity is gathering steam.

News from last November, and a blog from a disaffected member. In particular, check out the new Mars Hill bylaws, which precipitated the whole fiasco and this post from a member in the middle.

An interesting case study of what happens when you have new churches that have no roots and no accountability.

Absolute power still, apparently, corrupts absolutely.

Movies and Gender Roles

I just got back from staffing a diocesan youth weekend here in Seattle (appearances by both bishops - yay!). The theme was "Now Playing", basically a movie-themed weekend. I thought a fun game would be "guess the movie" based on a synopsis, a good review and a bad review - with any obvious details removed, of course. Well known movies only, of course.

I got my info from Amazon, as the bad reviews especially are easy to pick out with just a mouse click. One really interesting one star review was this one - see if you can guess the movie:

There's no way to put a good spin on this bad plot. The little meek heroine gives up her voice to get the man. Not too subtle, is it? The interesting woman in the movie is the smart, intelligent, proactive and powerful woman. Why can't they offer women role models who are powerful, smart and good? Powerful women are scary so they must be evil and seek to harm and diminish and denigrate other women. So much for sisterhood. It's very disappointing that in the 21st Century, we're still peddling this extremely negative message to little girls. And what must the heroine give up in order to have her man? Let's see...her voice, her talent, her home, her dreams, but alas, it's all worth it. Or so we're led to believe. Yuck. I am profoundly disappointed that these type of movies are still popular amongst parents and children alike.

At first I was taken aback, but quite quickly I was taken with how accurate the review was. Any guesses as to which movie it is? Answer after the jump...

Shock, Horror! Nigerian Elections Fail to Go Smoothly!

How surprising. Nigeria is normally such a well adjusted place.

This:

"Violence and widespread disruption have marred presidential and parliamentary elections being held in Nigeria. Many of the 120,000 polling stations failed to open for hours and polling was extended in many places beyond the official closing time. There were a number of killings, thefts of ballot boxes and an attempt to blow up the election headquarters."

...was entirely unpredictable. (insert eye-roll here...)

And this is one of the shining examples of African progress. Heck, even Florida did better than this..

Not Just The Church...

As much as the gay issue has preoccupied the church for years now, it's easy to lose sight of the bigger picture out in society. Even in the allegedly "gay friendly west" (at least in Archbishop Akinola's eyes), there are some pretty tough issues to deal with. The latest example comes to us from the world of women's college basketball.

Coach Dana "Pokey" Chatman was a player, then assistant coach and lately head coach of the women's basketball team at Louisiana State University (LSU). March 7th she abruptly resigned, for vague reasons that quickly clarified down to "improper (i.e. sexual) relations" with a former student player. The details are still very vague, and not likely to clear up any time soon, but the facts such as they are don't appear to be in dispute.

Relations of any kind between someone in a position of authority over anyone else is quite improper, regardless of whether the relationship was consensual (yes, I'm looking at you, Bill Clinton.) I came across a very well written piece on 365gay.com on the issue, that I think captures the essence very well, as well as providing some insight into the church situation. Here's a key paragraph:

If there is one truth                 that has emerged in this entire situation, it is that life in                 the closet can be destructive and unhealthy. When will the Don't                 Ask, Don't Tell climate that permeates women's basketball give                 way to a more open, accepting environment? The fact that Chatman                 is a lesbian apparently was an open secret at LSU — a secret that                 was accepted as long as it remained unspoken. Perhaps that is                 the problem. If Chatman could have lived her life openly and without                 fear of reprisal, her social circle might have expanded beyond                 the small orbit of her basketball team.

My emphasis. Hmm, replace "women's basketball" with "the church" and you could make the same argument. Secrecy is, in and of itself, harmful to the soul. This next quote is searingly on target, and tough for the gay community to hear, I would think:

"Beneath the                 general uneasiness about lesbians in women's sports is the unreasonable                 yet pervasive fear among some parents that their daughter will                 be influenced to become gay if her teammates and coaches are openly                 gay. Since recruiting top talent is such a fundamental factor                 in building a winning team, this issue will continue to be a sensitive                 one. Chatman's actions, if proven to be true, certainly don't                 help dispel the lesbian-as-predator stereotype.

How can such stereotypes                 be effectively countered if the issue of lesbians in women's basketball                 is only discussed in the aftermath of scandals such as this? One                 never sees stories about the many highly successful Division I                 women's basketball coaches who are gay and manage to have healthy,                 long-term relationships with partners who are not their players.                 Such positive role models will never be acknowledged as long as                 the closet door remains tightly shut."

That's Bruce Bawer-ish in its forthright evaluation of the situation.

Meanwhile, LSU went on to lose today in the semi-finals of the women's NCAA tournament. It was amazing they made it this far, really.

Africa: Where the Fun Is

A UN news release today notes that:

LOCUST INFESTATIONS IN HORN OF AFRICA PROMPT NEW ALERT FROM UN AGENCY New York, Mar 23 2007  4:00PM Eritrea, Sudan and northern Somalia are strongly advised to carefully monitor “a developing and potentially dangerous situation” arising from second-generation locust infestations that are now developing, according to the latest United Nations update on of the crop-devouring insects.

Or, on the West coast:

WEST AFRICAN MENINGITIS OUTBREAK SPARKS WARNING FROM UN AID AGENCIES New York, Mar 23 2007  5:00PM United Nations humanitarian agencies are stepping up their efforts to combat a deadly outbreak of meningitis across West Africa, warning that the highly contagious disease could spread even more rapidly in coming months during the traditional annual migration period within the region.

Or this, from further south:

Britain asks UN to send investigators into Zimbabwe
By Basildon Peta, Andy McSmith and Anne Penketh
Published: 16 March 2007

Britain will try high risk diplomacy by demanding that the Human Rights Council of the United Nations sends a team of investigators into Zimbabwe to gather evidence on the ground about the brutality of Robert Mugabe's regime.

The decision, agreed yesterday by Tony Blair and the Foreign Secretary, Margaret Beckett, is a sign of Whitehall's confidence that patience with Mugabe across Africa, and particularly in South Africa, is wearing thin. Mr Mugabe has responded to every British criticism of his government by reminding his followers of Britain's past as Africa's colonial master - a line which British ministers frankly admit has resonated with other black Africa leaders.

Or, once more, Darfur:

5 Truths About Darfur
By Emily Wax
Sunday, April 23, 2006; Page B03
KOU KOU ANGARANA, Chad

Heard all you need to know about Darfur? Think again. Three years after a government-backed militia began fighting rebels and residents in this region of western Sudan, much of the conventional wisdom surrounding the conflict -- including the religious, ethnic and economic factors that drive it -- fails to match the realities on the ground. Tens of thousands have died and some 2.5 million have been displaced, with no end to the conflict in sight. Here are five truths to challenge the most common misconceptions about Darfur:

Africa: The prefect storm of bad weather, bad government, bad religion and bad luck. If it wasn't for bad luck, they'd have no luck at all.

And You Could See This One Coming...

... a mile away.

Lisa Nowak, crazy homicidal astronaut, is now Lisa Nowak, crazy homicidal ex-astronaut. The surprising thing is that it took a month to do it.

I guess HR departments still move pretty slowly these days.

Wacky Communists At It Again...

As part of my day job, I work for a large commercial airplane company that competes with the European Airbus behemoth. Now Airbus has been through its share of woes of late, mostly of its own making. The upshot has been that roughly 10,000 jobs will be cut, mostly in France and Germany. There are practical and pragmatic reasons for this, few of which are the fault of the workers being axed - more the fault of the hubris of governments and industry leaders - but still, it's going to happen. I just happened to come across this wacky communist rant about the situation...

The interesting thing to note is that it's exactly the kind of government owned business "screw the economics, we're gonna build it anyway" mentality that got Airbus into this position in the first place. Putting commies in charge would have exacerbated the problem no end...

Now, tell me where I've heard this before:

"Production must be removed from the control of the financial aristocracy and be placed at the service of society as a whole. The working class must break with its old, national organisations and unite on a European and worldwide basis to fight for a socialist reorganisation of society."

Um, yeah, we'll get right on that...

If you want to control your own destiny, start your own business.

An Acceptable Sacrifice? - The Full Story

I just finished reading An Acceptable Sacrifice? It's an intriguing book in many ways. I'll write more of an in-depth review soon, but for now, here's a few first thoughts.

First, it's the kind of intelligent inquiry into the "gays in the church" debate that should have been initiated years ago - more specifically in the US long before Gene Robinson's episcopacy was a gleam in anyone's eye. And given that Gene was an unsuccessful (but close) candidate for two episcopacies in the late 90's, sooner would have been better.

Still, on to the book at hand. Kudos to the authors for taking this on. Now, undoubtedly, they come from the sympathetic side of the great gay debate, yet they do it with a great deal of humility. Much of the content is framed as a question or situation to be explored, rather than territory to be defended.  That's refreshing in its own right.

That said, the book is written by high falutin' Cambridge bred theologians for the most part, so it can be heavy going in parts.  Apparently they don't  have a "writing theology for the mass market" class in the UK (Now there's another opportunity for Brian McLaren), so you have to gear up your brain pretty tight. 

The question of the title has different connotations depending on geographic location. To what extent are we sacrificing the gay community? In reality, the debate is about honesty. "Don't ask, don't tell" prevails in much of the west, while "don't even breathe a word because you might get killed" is the model that prevails in much of the global south. The debate in the west is not really about whether gay people should be in the church, but how far up its leadership ranks they can be permitted to go. This is the Gene Robinson/Jeffrey John question. What happens in Nigeria is something I can't even fathom.

The book is divided into four major sections:  The Use of Scripture  (could have been titled  "or misuse"), History and Tradition,  Reason and Personhood, and The Wider Horizon.

The first section, the use of scripture, covers how we read and interpret scripture, and delves into the old and new testament perspectives on homosexuality.

The second section, history and tradition, is fairly broad ranging, covering sexual, economic and political mores through the ages. It points out, as many have, just how modern a thing is the modern marriage. Marriage through the ages has been much more about maneuvering for political and economic advantage than it has been about companionship and relationship. So "tradition" isn't always what one expects.

The third section, reason and personhood, covers the physiological and psychological aspects of being.  The chapter on intersexuality is very thought provoking as we  contemplate the "not quite binary" nature of male and female.

Finally, the section on the wider horizon gets into global economics and its  role in gender politics and economics. I disagree on many levels with Malcolm Brown's chapter on globalization, but it was still an interesting and thought-provoking read - surely the litmus test of good writing? Michael Beasley's chapter on the global threat of AIDS and the response to it is also excellent. I also have some issues with that chapter, but I'm glad he wrote it.

So, for this go-around, I give the book full marks for intent and effort, slightly less for accessibility, and I commend it to you heartily if the subject is of interest to you.