RE: Cohousing-L digest, Vol 1 #1054 - 9 msgs | <– Date –> <– Thread –> |
From: TR Ruddick (truddickearthlink.net) | |
Date: Fri, 26 Sep 2003 20:57:17 -0600 (MDT) |
> Message: 8 > From: "Jeanne Goodman" <GoodmanJ [at] jpcohousing.org> > > Jeanne> Perhaps Jews feel it more necessary to remind people that we exist, > Racheli> Wow, it sounds like you have a serious chip on your shoulder: > > I don't think so. I just don't like it when I feel forgotten or ignored. I > don't think that's a chip. I don't think most people do. For what it's worth, the original statement bothered me also. It "sounded" like you had a serious chip on your shoulder to Racheli and me. It's a matter of perspective. After the topic came up, I was trying to come up with an idea about why Jewish holidays were different from those of other religions', which might have led to some understanding of the individual needs involved. Having taught world religions, I'm not entirely out of touch with a range of beliefs. However, "remind people that we exist" and "I feel forgotten and ignored" is not IMO a valid reason for having one person's religious choices play a role in everyone else's schedule. Especially not coming from a religion which, after all, has enjoyed widespread acceptance in the USA compared to most others (and if you wish to dispute the validity of that conclusion, show me the latest Pagan or Muslim vice-presidential candidate). If we're not careful, this discussion will descend into "which faith needs attention the most." That's not to dispute your real personal needs here, but to convey the tone that your message carried. I understand it was unintentional. > > Racheli> I think that you must realize that if *everyone's* holidays were > taken > into account, the possibility of finding times to meet will be reduced to > somewhere around zero > > Again. I disagree. We're not talking about any holiday. It's the most > important holiday. In my view, that's a more reasonable statement. There are different expectations for holidays in different religions. In my experience, Muslims continue to work and follow normal routine during Ramadan as much as they can, and they make generous allowances for those who can't (for health or practical reasons) obey the expectations of fasting. Pagans are even more flexible, and frequently move their solstice/equinox/quarterday celebrations to the nearest weekend. I don't think you've thought your examples of sacrosanct days completely through. As noted, nobody schedules on Christmas (which, friends, is not a Christian holy day as practiced, but one of our biggest secular celebrations) or Easter (which is after all on a Sunday--which, thanks to lingering Christian bias, is still the day when relatively few things get scheduled). Nothing gets scheduled on New Year's Day or Eve, or on Thanksgiving, which are not specifically attached to any known faith in any way (though Thanksgiving has strong Christian tones as it's practiced.) Nor on July 4. Some of those days may once have carried a strong Christian message, but only Easter retains it. I was thinking that the devout Jews among us would be speaking up more often because more of them are faithful to ancient tradition that demands extensive ritual on their holiest of days. I would accept that as a good reason for special consideration in scheduling--but I would hold the believer responsible for communicating personal needs in those cases. In other words, yes, let's accomodate reasonable needs for religious holidays. No, let's not all be responsible for understanding every known faith in the world and understanding without being told which days are most holy. TR Ruddick Dayton Cohousing _______________________________________________ Cohousing-L mailing list Cohousing-L [at] cohousing.org Unsubscribe and other info: http://www.cohousing.org/cohousing-L
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RE: Cohousing-L digest, Vol 1 #1054 - 9 msgs TR Ruddick, September 26 2003
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Religious Practices in Cohousing Sharon Villines, September 27 2003
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Re: Religious Practices in Cohousing Jeanne Goodman, September 27 2003
- Re: Religious Practices in Cohousing Sharon Villines, September 29 2003
- Re: Religious Practices in Cohousing Racheli Gai, September 29 2003
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Re: Religious Practices in Cohousing Jeanne Goodman, September 27 2003
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Religious Practices in Cohousing Sharon Villines, September 27 2003
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