Trump - "Illegal" immigration - Sam's view

[araucaria]

Posted by Ewan (here)

Posted by araucaria (here)
<snip>
Since the species in question started out with a reptilian brain, it has had two brain upgrades, not to mention countless other types of upgrade. I reckon another is in the pipeline.
<snip>

I don't think we'll get a third one until we've (collectively) better adapted our current version to handling the emotion sub-routine.

The Vulcans effectively incised their's by refusing to engage it, hence it atrophied away. Humans on the other hand have a wild horse that refuses to be tamed, breaking down the fences and running free at the most inappropriate times.

Thank you Ewan for this rather telepathic post. Yesterday I was at my daughter’s. Her neighbour’s horses had broken into her field again, leaving her lame filly in such a state that two hours later she was still crazily trotting up and down along the fence in another field and unable to stop even after sedation. The other horses and poneys were also in a funny mood, so instead of the usual peaceful scene, it was pandemonium. And meanwhile the dog was wearing an electric collar to train it to stop making matters worse by snapping at their heels.

You simply cannot put horses together just any old how in a field; it won’t work, especially when stallions are involved. But when you have ‘aliens’ breaching ‘border controls’ and ‘invading others’ territory’, it causes havoc. Any resemblance to human behaviour is worth thinking about. In similar circumstances, the reptilian brain kicks in perhaps too easily to override our less instinctive reactions. What is seen as racism is simply the fact that while some people are able to cope with this increasing bombardment against our traditional comfort zone, others are slower to do so. There is no nastiness on either side, the nastiness comes from the differential, with no right or wrong; the differential may be just too great, which would mean that it is the progressives who need to back off a little. A horse lover may find that a frightened animal is stupidly over the top in its reactions (highstrung), nevertheless they try to calm it down. This is not how we treat our fellow humans. Those with greater understanding should be able to react appropriately. Human evolution should not be rushed. Do we rush at the future, and leave almost everyone behind, or do we slow down and advance all together, that is the question.

In terms of brain upgrades, (notice head/brain transplants are in the news right now), it would seem that we are operating version 1.3 with successive patches getting too big for the basic system. I take Helene’s ‘wrong species’ comment to me earlier in this sense; in other words, her idealist is referring to a version 2.0. That would seem to be the fork in the road we are at, although I personally would tend to see the choice as one between analog and digital. See these posts:
https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...=1#post1073824
https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...l=1#post995849

[turiya]

[Forum Member Hat: ON]

Posted by araucaria (here)
A horse lover may find that a frightened animal is stupidly over the top in its reactions (highstrung), nevertheless they try to calm it down. This is not how we treat our fellow humans.

I would disagree. Humans do attempt & are attempted to be calmed down.

Often times, an unruly emotional child within a classroom, is sent to the psychiatrist's office, then prescribed such nice psychotropic drugs like Ritalin, Prozac, or any other of the countless number of anti-depressant pharmaceuticals. This, only because the child needs to vent the restrained expression of emotions, and is not provided a proper venue to be allowed to do so. SSRI Drugs are used as an attempt to have the child align with the rest of his classmates to keep the Main Stream Education system operating smooothly.

Unfortunately, this doesn't get to the root cause of the problem, as these pharmaceuticals are shown to have been linked to many school shootings, and suicides at that early age. Young minds tend to melt down over time, after prolonged usuage. Older, more mature minds tend to have their grip on reality somewhat loosened. (See SSRI Stories.ORG.)

The problem is not taken care of, but merely covered cover with a baidaid cure. Such people on these drugs are never allowed to come to grips with their own emotional difficulties. A venue to allow proper venting & release of pent-up energy is the only way such an individual will retain their proper mental health, which is also tied to one's physical well-being.

[Forum Member Hat: OFF]

[araucaria]

Posted by turiya (here)
[Forum Member Hat: OFF]

I have no idea what the above little game is supposed to mean, but you are both missing and making my point, namely that we deal better with certain types of behaviour coming from an animal than coming from a fellow human. We make huge allowances for their reacting differently to ourselves because they are so very different, but the more others look like us, the less tolerant we become. That is all I am saying.

[turiya]

[Forum Member Hat: ON]

Don't pay any attention to the man behind the curtain...

The more animals are dominated by human beings the more they take on human-like diseases, and the more schizophrenic they have & will become. As a dog kept on too short a leash, it will become aggressively hostile. Its all about energy. Energy needs to move, that is why the name 'e-motion'. If emotions are not allowed to be expressed properly (repressed), then one will soon become overwhelmed with pent-up emotional energy that needs releasing like a pressure valve that is used on a pressure cooker.

[Forum Member Hat: OFF]

[Chester]

It is really tough when you desire (and maintain) good relations with so many excellent members here and then see one or two get a little emotional where it appears that misunderstanding and/or misinterpreting some posts gets a bit tricky.

Hey Ewan... reading your posts enticed me to respond -

I agree with your point which I feel is properly described as "over-emotionalism" and perhaps even a suggestion that maybe humanity might get past these matters if we eliminate emotion altogether from the stream of humanity as we further evolve. Yet you used the Vulcan example and so this prompted me to have two thought streams to develop.

First, I recall Spock's mother, Amanda Grayson, was human. I had always wondered why Spock's father, Sarek, had married her... and the conclusion in the Treckian world is that it was logical for him to do so because he was the Vulcan Ambassador to Earth.

Checking this link hints that emotion was not completely eliminated from the Vulcan lifestream.

Yet then... After Amanda's death Sarek married another human named Perrin.

I found this comment which, if true, suggests Sarek did indeed possess some emotion -

Perrin was a xeno-linguist, who had met Vulcan Ambassador Sarek at a diplomatic circa 2326. She had asked for and was granted an interview with the ambassador, and the two met regularly during the following year. Sarek surprised her by opening up about his loneliness following the death of his wife, Amanda Grayson, and eventually asked her to share his life.

found here.

And note loneliness is indeed an emotion - loneliness... see here

Two - the concern that the total loss of emotion results in a completely sociopathic society. I have observed, with concern, some of my friends who identify as serious Buddhists and/or those who have achieved quite a state of non-dualism also seem to have lost compassion and empathy to a degree that concerned me. Just an observation and trust me, I have had dozens of discussions on the matter with these friends as well as observed discussions on this forum and others regarding the matter... so I am hoping not to invite another here in this thread.


Three... do we risk losing our real creative abilities if we eliminate emotion from the human lifestream? I ask this because it is generally believed that our creative ability - and I do not mean the 3D creations that we create with our 3D bodies, like a chair or a piece of art or something we write on a piece of paper or computer screen... though with emotion... what we produce in this way may actually assist in accomplishing the very thing I am actually referring to next which is why sigils, etc. are created - and what I am actually referring to is what we "manifest" through what some might call "magical (or magickal) means... which I simply refer to as functions I, the individuated being, possess which I have come to know through my studies of "the science of being."

And here's an additional "rub." So humans sometimes magickally create such that what they then create is misinterpretted by either the creator(s) and/or others? And that this then leads to things that sometimes eventually evolve into religions? Ugggghhhh, I did not mean to go so far (yet).

[Flash]

I am so happy for you Sam to see you all reunited - and your little one is a true llttle darling, you must be soooooo happy. And I am happy that Cristina and her daughter finally with you full time, throught real immigration - no fence jumping, although I do understand the poors ones who do jump the fence.

Say hi to Cristina from me and my heart if full of joy for her and her daughter.

What I do not understand, is Nazi/fanatic thinking/behaving and separation, Jihad/fanatic thinking/behaving and separation, Warlike/fanatic thinking and separation, and they all seem to be promoted by the same spirit, and the same bunch of people worldwide.

You are the prime example Sam of someone who was pretty bad and went inside to turn around and did it not only for himself, but for all those around him, giving endlessly love and support. I honor and thank you for this.

Posted by Sam Hunter (here)
The four most important females in my life right now...

Attachment 35246

Cristina, with the sunglasses on her head - to me she's the Queen of Colombia. From the heart of Medellin. The more she reveals her story, the more I understand true real courage, perseverance and unselfishness can be.

Hollie, to the right with the clear glasses, with the clear glasses... tells me I am the only father she's ever really had. She is my son, Anthony's, wife. Her Mom is from Viet Nam. Her mother's mother too. Her grandfather, a GI from the US back in the day... her father's parents both Vietnamese as well. She never knew her dad.

Alejandra on the left, Cristina's only child... whose father, when he was told Cristina was pregnant with his child did what too many men seem to do... ran off after five years with Cristina.

Kim, with the bow around her head... my only (so far) grand child. She owns my heart.

I just thought it was a good time to share about these amazing women from my wonderful family. I am just feeling very grateful tonight... apologies.

[abmqa]

Posted by Sam Hunter (here)
It is really tough when you desire (and maintain) good relations with so many excellent members here and then see one or two get a little emotional where it appears that misunderstanding and/or misinterpreting some posts gets a bit tricky.

Hey Ewan... reading your posts enticed me to respond -

Me too! Sam your post also enticed me to respond. I thank both of you for your
thought provoking posts.

Posted by Ewan (here)

Posted by araucaria (here)
<snip>
Since the species in question started out with a reptilian brain, it has had two brain upgrades, not to mention countless other types of upgrade. I reckon another is in the pipeline.
<snip>

I don't think we'll get a third one until we've (collectively) better adapted our current version to handling the emotion sub-routine.

Humans on the other hand have a wild horse that refuses to be tamed, breaking down the fences and running free at the most inappropriate times.

I have reflected on some of my posts and recognize that I have erred in this manner.

While replying to posts here, I have at times let my emotions overpower my logic.

For that I apologize to any member here who I may have offended or made to feel uncomfortable in anyway or thought my replies discourteous.

After reflecting on Ewan's and Sam's posts I've realized that harsh tones and inciting language of any sort only instigates the same.

I intend in future posts to be more wary of my emotional state of mind and make a better effort at maintaining an encouraging tone.

If there is any meme out there worth repeating Mahatma Ghandi said it best "Be the change that you wish to see in the world."

For me, I wish to see Peace For All In The World. Even those that may wish me harm.

[TargeT]

Posted by araucaria (here)
we deal better with certain types of behaviour coming from an animal than coming from a fellow human. We make huge allowances for their reacting differently to ourselves because they are so very different, but the more others look like us, the less tolerant we become. That is all I am saying.

I think this is because animals are almost always authentic & rarely deceptive.

The deceptive animals, we tend to fear and eradicate (wolves for example).

Humans are often deceptive,, thus we give far less leeway.

[Helene West]

While we are subjected to 24/7 Trump-a-rama-drama as usual real news goes on quietly away from the talking heads. Behind the stage it's as if trump was never elected. Below is an article on a proposed bill by two Republicans to allow states to bring in up to 500,000 per annum (at least for the 1st year) foreign workers plus automatic amnesty!! I myself never go to Breitbart's site as I feel it yells at me but I have respect for G. Edward Griffin, the man who alerted the world to the history of the Federal Reserve via his book, "The Creature from Jekyll Island". I received the article forwarded from his site.

Though the bill will bring in professional foreigners to replace americans the vast numbers will be very low wage earners geared towards making everyone eventually low wage earners. On top of the usual tripe that there are no americans that will work for low wages (they don't know my folks!) the latest twist is that americans are too busy being doped out on opioids. I've read on other financial sites that as much as americans love their plastic, credit card applications are down and americans are having hard time paying their car loans. In order to pay these immigrants people need to buy the goods and services of these businesses and won't be doing so if they don't have disposable income. Though many of these immigrants will get crap jobs i believe many of them will be unemployed soon upon entering the country. As I've said previously, it's not Immigration, it's Colonization...
ARTICLE:

Two GOP legislators are introducing legislation to let states annually import 500,000 foreign blue-collar workers and white-collar professionals to replace Americans who have fallen out of the workforce and into drug addiction.
The American replacement bill is needed because companies can’t hire the employees they want amid the massive decline in the number of Americans who are seeking work, Wisconsin Sen. Ron Johnson told an event hosted Wednesday by the CATO Institute.
“Why can’t Wisconsin manufacturers, why can’t small businesses, find enough people to work?” Johnson asked during a speech in a Senate hearing room with supporters of the replacement bill. He continued:
You got to ask those hard questions… it is not going to be a government program that is going to solve that [worker decline], but smart government policy, things like the bill we’re going to be introducing with the help of CATO today … is a really good direction to move. Give a it a shot. Let’s see how much better the states do. My guess is that they will do a whole lot better than a one-size-fits-all federal [foreign worker] program.
The bill would allow states to each get 5,000 visas for additional foreign workers per year, plus a population-based share of another 245,000 visas, plus a share of any visas not used by other states. The inflow of foreign workers would start at 495,000 in the first year, not counting the additional family members of each imported worker.
The bill would also create an amnesty, because the visas could be given to 11 million plus illegals living in the United States, including those who returned to the United States after being deported.
The Senator said he has 50 co-sponsors, but acknowledged the likely unpopularity of his American replacement bill, which is formally titled the “State Sponsored Visa Pilot Program of 2017.”
The acknowledgment came at the end of his statement when he thanked the CATO group and his House counterpart, Colorado GOP Rep. Ken Buck, for backing the replacement bill. “Let’s face it, to have the courage… we’re probably a lightening rod on this bill,” Johnsson said in his videotaped speech.
Buck said he will not formally introduce the bill yet. “I’m not ready to sponsor it in the House yet… it is important to take the bill out of the oven when it is baked.”
In November 2016, Donald Trump won the presidency partly because many blue-collar Americans — including many in Wisconsin — oppose the economic impact of cheap-labor immigration. In January, Trump emphasized that his administration’s mantra is “Buy American, Hire American.” Since then, he has sharply reduced illegal immigration and has proposed popular plans to reform legal immigration and the contract-worker programs.
In his Wednesday statement, Johnson spoke at length about the “new plague [of opioid addiction] in our country,” and quoted from an article describing the huge extent of worker drop out amid the post-2008 combination punch of recession and mass-immigration. According to the article by demographer Nichols Eberstadt:
The collapse in work rates for U.S. adults between 2008 and 2010 was roughly twice the amplitude of what had previously been the country’s worst postwar recession, back in the early 1980s. In that previous steep recession, it took America five years to re-attain the adult work rates recorded at the start of 1980. This time, the U.S. job market has as yet, in early 2017, scarcely begun to claw its way back up to the work rates of 2007—much less back to the work rates from early 2000 … U.S. adult work rates never recovered entirely from the recession of 2001—much less the crash of ’08.
The subsequent “social pathologies … I would argue are being driven by government policy,” Johnson told the hearing room, and he cited Medicaid’s distribution of free opioids throughout much of the country.
But “it is not going to be a government program that is going to solve” that worker drop-out problem, Johnson continued. So the new visa bill, he said, is targeted to “making sure that American businesses have the labor they need.”
The new bill is required because “we need a strong and vibrant workforce,” said Buck, as he declined to discuss any effort to fix the worker-dropout problem:
I think we’ve got to deal with able-bodied individuals in this country who are not working … we still need to address the feeling among Americans that are workers in the country… who are not working and need to be working.
Both Buck and Johnson are former business executives.
The Buck-Johnson replacement bill would amplify the federal government’s employee importation policies.
Under current law, the federal government annually imports roughly 1 million legal immigrants plus 1 million contract workers, such as H-1B therapists and professors. The immigrants and contract workers do grow the economy — but they also compete for jobs against each year’s cohort of 4 million American high school and college graduates.
The flow of cheap immigrant labor has many effects. It does expand the consumer economy as it also shifts $500 billion from employees to employers and Wall Street, and it amps up state and local government spending by $60 billion a year. It also reduces the incentive for employers to recruit disengaged Americans or to build new facilities in high-unemployment areas, reduces businesses’ demands on schools to rebuild vocational training departments, and reduces business investment in labor-saving technology.
Nationwide, roughly 10 percent of American “prime age” men, or 7 million men aged 25 to 54, have stayed out of the nation’s workforce of 160 million amid the glut of cheap immigrant labor and the resulting low wage rates. Many working-age Americans are not trying to get jobs, and are not participating in the nation’s labor force, largely because of low wage rates, according to an August statement by Jason Furman, the chief economic advisor to former President Barack Obama.
That huge population of non-working rural Americans is a major part of the opioid epidemic. In 2014, roughly 47,000 in the U.S. died from drug overdoses, especially from heroin and other opiates. Heroin overdose deaths more than tripled between 2010 and 2015.
Johnson said the bill would allow the additional incoming workers — and their families — to get the hugely valuable prize of citizenship after several years of work. But that offer of citizenship creates a compelling incentive for companies to discriminate against Americans by hiring the foreigners eager to work long hours at low pay for the future reward of citizenship.
The prize of citizenship already acts as a government-provided deferred bonus for many foreign contract workers, such as H-1B white-collar professionals, who compliantly work long hours at low pay for several years in the hope of getting citizenship. In contrast, Americans can only get paid from companies’ pre-profit accounts, so companies have an incentive to hire foreign workers by offering them the citizenship bonus that is paid by government and taxpayers.
The Johnson-Buck replacement legislation is backed by the self-described libertarian CATO Institute, even though the legislation would give state legislatures huge power over the life or death of many companies. For example, the legislation would give the state government the power to provide at least 5,000 low-wage workers each year to company executives who cooperate with state political leaders. It would also give the state politicians the power to ruin executives by suddenly withdrawing the imported workers from companies who disagree with the preferences of state politicians.
Follow Neil Munro on Twitter @NeilMunroDC or email the author at NMunro@Breitbart.com

[Flash]

Interesting Helene,

Do you think I could get a job in the US with this Bill? (kidding)
t
I did not know the opioid problem was so prevalent in the US and worst, that 10 % of male workforce is not working. This is real bad.

[turiya]

Posted by Helene West (here)
As I've said previously, it's not Immigration, it's Colonization...
Breitbart ARTICLE:

Two GOP legislators are introducing legislation to let states annually import 500,000 foreign blue-collar workers and white-collar professionals to replace Americans who have fallen out of the workforce and into drug addiction.

In my opinion, these two GOP legislators are, like Paul Ryan, i.e. globalists & anti-Trump. Open borders, flood the labor force with foreign immigrants. Blaming the lack of workers in the labor force is due to drug addiction.

The real issue is that the Deep State / Central Banking System is the cause for the illegal drugs to flow into this country. NAFTA has not helped the manufacturing base within this country.

These guys are opposed to Trump's credo: "Buy American & Hire American."
Best to keep in mind, its the Democrats on the left & the Republicans on the right that make up today's "Status Quo Establishment", which is oriented towards Globalism, Open Borders, flooding the country with Undocumented Workers, and setting up Sanctuary City-States where they can seek protection from being deported.

This country is in a mess because of the liberal movement away from the Rule of Law.
The Central Banking System has to be taken down & broken into bits, as its been a haven for the laundering of drug money for far too long. Once that is done, then the Deep State will dissolve away on it own accord, and with it the flow of heroin, cocaine & other drugs will come to a halt. Bringing back the manufacturing base to this country will not be an instant coffee fix. Its taken a long while to tear it down, it will be a long time to build it back up. Flooding this country with cheap labor is not the way to go. To think that this is the way to go is being delusional.

Another reference: website

Enough said.

[Carmody]

CATO=KOCH brothers = Nietzsche/Ayn Rand= Oligarchical fascism.... being paraded around wearing a John Galt mask.


The most out of touch pair of nutbar brothers you can imagine.

[Helene West]

Turiya
Yes they are globalists in sheep's clothing. But one of my points is that they know many of these immigrants are NOT getting jobs, cheap or otherwise, but will be on welfare and food stamps but they will Vote and support any socialist/progressive sounding crap. The point is to dilute the american population that wants a constitution based republic. Immigration implies assimilation, Colonization is take over.
I have mixed thoughts at this point about your belief in trump collapsing the economy to get rid of the deep state. More shall be revealed...

Carmody
Agreed about Koch Bros and though many feel that way about them they will have an elevated opinion of the Cato inst.

[Dennis Leahy]

I don't like resurrecting this thread, but this is where these remarks should go.

Though the vast majority of what I said on this thread is part of my core being, and so I certainly do not apologize for the well of compassion from which these words of mine sprung, there are several things I do need to apologize for.

First, for, (in essence), not "taking off my mod hat" to make remarks in a way that are not part of Avalon's protocol for moderators. Without the "mod hat off" "disclaimer", when a moderator makes public remarks about other members and their posts, those remarks should follow moderation guidelines - and some of mine did not.

Secondly, I need to apologize to turiya for naming him among those who made remarks that I consider racist and/or bigoted. I believe that I dragged some of my vehement anti-Empire, anti-duopoly (which is anti-trump... and anti-clinton, and anti-sanders, etc...) political baggage into this thread, mentally amplified it, and made sweeping assumptions. I apologize, turiya.

Finally, to marique3652 and Helene West: there are statements and sentiments expressed in this thread that I believe are racist and/or bigoted, that I do believe needed to have the "light shone upon them", but when light is shown on an issue, it shouldn't be a laser beam that cauterizes people. I was emotionally triggered and became ineffective as well as harsh. Aimed at racism and bigotry, harshness (targeted to the issue) might be justified, but not targeted to people in a forum (where issues are discussed, not just published.) I didn't dig deeper into the fear-related genesis of bigotry. You certainly aren't going to explore my viewpoint once I have painted a red letter on you, so my approach was stupid and ineffective to boot. I hope you'll both keep growing on the issue, in spite of accusatory tone of some of my words. For the poor public moderation that you received, marique3652 and Helene West, and for naming and shaming you both as individuals, rather than dealing with the issue, I do apologize.

Expanding rings: When we are infants, our entire focus, our entire world, can be diagrammed as an individual surrounded by a small circle, a ring. As individuals grow, the ring expands, first including parents, expanding again to include siblings and close family, expanding again to include extended family and friends. For some people, that's it. For others, the ring continues to expand: to neighborhood and then community, then maybe to a cultural or religious group, then outward to some form of "bordered" pseudo-entity such as a state or a nation. For some, the expansion continues on to include all of humanity, and to all life forms on the planet - and ultimately, to "oneness." I see this ever-expanding ring of inclusiveness, of expanding our awareness and expanding our compassion, as critical for enlightenment and spiritual growth. I invite all of my brothers and sisters on this planet to keep expanding your ring as wide as you can. That should have been my take-away message.

Bill has been very kind and kept me on as a mod "past my expiration date." I am honored to have helped out Bill and Avalon in even a small way. I consider Bill a friend as well as a champion of humanity, and Project Avalon to be the premiere source for "alternate" (a euphemism for "truth", if we can discern it) information. Once some things changed for me that kept me from being able to be active online for the long hours necessary to read enough Avalon posts to really "have the pulse" of the forum, I should have stepped down as a moderator. I didn't, and that was a mistake. In my reduced capacity, I tried to help out a bit in the "back room", processing applications and such, which was fine, but again, without enough context in the forum threads, I was in no position to do public moderating, and shouldn't have. Effective immediately, (or as quickly as the admins make the change), I'm stepping down as an Avalon moderator. I am also taking a much needed sabbatical - not just from Avalon, but from much of my online activities.

-Dennis Leahy

[turiya]

Posted by Helene West (here)
I have mixed thoughts at this point about your belief in trump collapsing the economy to get rid of the deep state. More shall be revealed...

[@26:15]
Greg Hunter: I mean, this thing cannot go on forever.... I mean, really... Do we run into the risk of some sort of inflection point? And, I don't want you to make a prediction that this is ball is going to blow up... or whatever. But don't we run into the risk that this could come undone?

Catherine Austin Fitts: What we're going to talk about now is very important. So, I want to say this carefully.

I voted for Kasich in the Tennessee Primary, I didn't vote for Trump. Now, when it came down to the election I voted for Trump. And the reason I voted for Kasich is because Kasich is very experienced about the budget. He knows the budget in detail and he understands the politics of what it takes to turn the budget in a way that will make it easy for the establishment to work with him. Okay....

Now Trump doesn't have that knowledge, he doesn't have that experience, and if you look at his style, its a style that many people that you have to work with on the budget are uncomfortable with. Okay...

So asking Trump to do it, puts him in a dangerous position.

Now, the reason I voted for Trump - I became completely convinced, Greg, that Washington wasn't listening, and that we were at an inflection point & it would be better to destroy the whole system, than to let it keep going as it was.

So, we were better off with the U.S. government completely imploding than continuing along, you know... with another four years of disappointments.

So, not only would I vote for Trump again, I would vote for him... he's done much better than expected in the first month. Somebody with no government experience to do as well as he's done is quite extraordinary...

Greg Hunter: Wow! Coming from you, that's a big deal.

Catherine Austin Fitts: They're
Trying to Centralize Control
(Published on May 9, 2017)

Source: https://youtube.com/watch?v=Pc_Ofg3gGHE

[abmqa]

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
I don't like resurrecting this thread, but this is where these remarks should go.

Though the vast majority of what I said on this thread is part of my core being, and so I certainly do not apologize for the well of compassion from which these words of mine sprung, there are several things I do need to apologize for.

First, for, (in essence), not "taking off my mod hat" to make remarks in a way that are not part of Avalon's protocol for moderators. Without the "mod hat off" "disclaimer", when a moderator makes public remarks about other members and their posts, those remarks should follow moderation guidelines - and some of mine did not.

Secondly, I need to apologize to turiya for naming him among those who made remarks that I consider racist and/or bigoted. I believe that I dragged some of my vehement anti-Empire, anti-duopoly (which is anti-trump... and anti-clinton, and anti-sanders, etc...) political baggage into this thread, mentally amplified it, and made sweeping assumptions. I apologize, turiya.

Finally, to marique3652 and Helene West: there are statements and sentiments expressed in this thread that I believe are racist and/or bigoted, that I do believe needed to have the "light shone upon them", but when light is shown on an issue, it shouldn't be a laser beam that cauterizes people. I was emotionally triggered and became ineffective as well as harsh. Aimed at racism and bigotry, harshness (targeted to the issue) might be justified, but not targeted to people in a forum (where issues are discussed, not just published.) I didn't dig deeper into the fear-related genesis of bigotry. You certainly aren't going to explore my viewpoint once I have painted a red letter on you, so my approach was stupid and ineffective to boot. I hope you'll both keep growing on the issue, in spite of accusatory tone of some of my words. For the poor public moderation that you received, marique3652 and Helene West, and for naming and shaming you both as individuals, rather than dealing with the issue, I do apologize.

Expanding rings: When we are infants, our entire focus, our entire world, can be diagrammed as an individual surrounded by a small circle, a ring. As individuals grow, the ring expands, first including parents, expanding again to include siblings and close family, expanding again to include extended family and friends. For some people, that's it. For others, the ring continues to expand: to neighborhood and then community, then maybe to a cultural or religious group, then outward to some form of "bordered" pseudo-entity such as a state or a nation. For some, the expansion continues on to include all of humanity, and to all life forms on the planet - and ultimately, to "oneness." I see this ever-expanding ring of inclusiveness, of expanding our awareness and expanding our compassion, as critical for enlightenment and spiritual growth. I invite all of my brothers and sisters on this planet to keep expanding your ring as wide as you can. That should have been my take-away message.

Bill has been very kind and kept me on as a mod "past my expiration date." I am honored to have helped out Bill and Avalon in even a small way. I consider Bill a friend as well as a champion of humanity, and Project Avalon to be the premiere source for "alternate" (a euphemism for "truth", if we can discern it) information. Once some things changed for me that kept me from being able to be active online for the long hours necessary to read enough Avalon posts to really "have the pulse" of the forum, I should have stepped down as a moderator. I didn't, and that was a mistake. In my reduced capacity, I tried to help out a bit in the "back room", processing applications and such, which was fine, but again, without enough context in the forum threads, I was in no position to do public moderating, and shouldn't have. Effective immediately, (or as quickly as the admins make the change), I'm stepping down as an Avalon moderator. I am also taking a much needed sabbatical - not just from Avalon, but from much of my online activities.

-Dennis Leahy

Dennis - I am sincerely sorry to see you go. As for your actions in moderating this thread, I feel that you did an admirable job in most if not all of your replies. This reply below, I took as intending to cause all of us to think about how we should consider those that are different from us regardless of race. I thought that reply was Brilliant!! as it was non-attributable to any individual and only required one to examine their own answers for judgement.

https://projectavalon.net/forum4/show...=1#post1149600

Issues of racism and bigotry are unfortunately in today's climate hot button topics. I feel the fact that you did not stand by silently and spoke out in an extremely sensitive and articulate manner reflects positively on you and your moral character.

It's when we are silent in the face of reprehensible behavior that we too become complicit in allowing it to continue unchallenged. I for one will always speak out against such issues. As I often ask myself; If not me, then who?

I would also like to note that although you did not receive a cogent or any replies to your quiz from those who it was intended. One can only hope that your quiz did cause some to enter in to a period of self-reflection.

Though I must confess that I did not pass that test with a 100% score because I answered the question below with this answer, however I think I aced the rest of it.

Here's a quick self-test:

All women are _Crazy?_. <--- fill-in the correct word.

Just kidding!


Anyway, I will miss you and I feel all of PA will miss you also.

[Bill Ryan]

Posted by abmqa (here)

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
I'm stepping down as an Avalon moderator. I am also taking a much needed sabbatical - not just from Avalon, but from much of my online activities.

-Dennis Leahy

I will miss you and I feel all of PA will miss you also.

Amen to that.

Behind the scenes, over the last 12 days, the moderators have had an extensive, in-depth and (in my opinion) extremely interesting conversation about all this. Some of that, I believe, may be helpful if it were shared more openly.

None of this is easy, or given to glib summaries — which I think is the only thing most reading this can agree.

I think Dennis has made the right decision for himself just now. He has been way more than honest with himself, us, and now the forum members, one or two named individuals in particular. And multiple personal factors have played their part, as they often do.

Dennis has been at the very foundation of the forum, and its management, for almost as long as I can remember. We owe him a huge debt of thanks for all the heart and soul he's poured into the community here.

But like Arnie, he'll be back.

[RunningDeer]

Posted by Dennis Leahy (here)
Effective immediately, (or as quickly as the admins make the change), I'm stepping down as an Avalon moderator. I am also taking a much needed sabbatical - not just from Avalon, but from much of my online activities.
-Dennis Leahy

This maybe sound a bit woo-woo for you but...I'd describe the energy over the last many months to be strange (not only on-line). Fortunately, I'm in a position to pace where needed.

You will be missed, Dennis, and I look forward to your return.

Much love,
Paula ♡

UPDATE: Sierra, you're blue. Thank you for your time and energy. {insert squishy hug}

[Mike]

hey Dennis, your posts give me hope. truly. not alot of things that give me hope out there at the moment.

also, i feel an xtra confidence when youre around...confidence because i know we're on the same team, fighting this same battle. its comforting knowing youre in the fox hole with us. i selfishly hope youre not gone too long.

[ThePythonicCow]

Posted by RunningDeer (here)
You will be missed, Dennis, and I look forward to your return.

Much love,
Paula ♡

UPDATE: Sierra, you're blue. Thank you for your time and energy. {insert squishy hug}

Sierra and Dennis - two of the finest - it's been my pleasure and honor to serve with them.

I wish them both the best in their renewed focus elsewhere.

Until we meet again ...