Thread by @ErikMKort

School is out, but that doesn't mean that class isn't still in session. While you need to make time to study the Bible, apparently God's Word just ain't enough.

Finally, @davidpmurray and I agree.

Christian Man Academy says that "Real Men Study".
christianmanacademy.com/learn/

@Sparkle_Heretic continually astounds me with their insight, compassion, and humor. They work to deconstruct toxic narratives, focus on healing, and tearing down the burning wreckage that is Evangelicalism.

You can read up on their work on Dr. Dobson's miserable work and life here:
twitter.com/i/moments/1069…

They're currently working on tackling Elisabeth Elliot's Passion and Purity here: twitter.com/i/moments/1094…

If you found this week at all helpful, please consider supporting Sparkle by giving here:
CashApp - $BethanySparkle
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paypal.me/BethanySparkle

Also, did I mention I write books? ErikKort.com

Today, we step away from the Bible into the realm of Christian-esque helpful advice. Murray quotes Piper (barf, why though?) in talking about how many books one can learn by reading a little every day, but this advice is in the secular world as well.

It's true - little drips can fill up a bucket if you're consistent. It's one of the secrets in writing books, and more commonly, reading them.

I'll note that Murray would love to guilt trip you if you don't read a little every day. Which is stupid. People's schedules are different, and their energy is also different.

For some people, reading a non-fiction book in the evening takes more energy and concentration than they have.

Cool. Don't read at night. Or give yourself a day off. Do whatever makes you joyous.

The more I go through this CMA stuff, the more I realize that while Murray claims that he's writing for ALL MEN, he's mostly thinking of YOUNG Christian Men. He's just afraid of arbitrarily narrowing his audience.

Murray does note that one ought to read at least one book on Leadership every year. I imagine he says this because he wants you to be a MAN, and MEN lead.

Bullshit, of course. Though, if you'd like to learn more on leadership, please add that in.

He has other generic Christian categories for you to focus on, which I won't give him shit about except for this: "Christian biography to learn about great men of the past."

Murray is obsessed with the idea that MEN can only learn from MEN. This kind of categorized ideology is categorically bullshit. I've learned just as much about being myself (a cis-male) by reading insightful women as I have men. Sometimes more, because dudes are frequently awful.

Since we have space, I'd like to talk about what one ought to study/learn. Murray just says "Christian Things" and wants to keep you in that ecosystem.

However, since Evangelicalism is morally bankrupt (and has always been, and if that's news to you, maybe you ought to study that first), I'd like to suggest alternative things to study.

I'm going to be including links and lists, and my disclaimer is that I haven't read all (or the majority) of the books on these lists. Please use your discretion when choosing reading material, and if you spot a problematic book on a list, please shout it out to inform others.

Also, if you have resources that have been useful and beneficial to you, please shout them out. The more we can spread helpful resources with each other, the better!

What is Privilege? This is an excellent place to start! You may want to walk through this Toolkit first: msw.usc.edu/mswusc-blog/di…

Here's a helpful inventory exercise to do on your own, or in a group, to help take stock and identify your privilege:
differencematters.info/uploads/pdf/pr…

If you're White: You really ought to research Whiteness, white fragility, and how racism is baked into the American experience. There are a lot of excellent resources on this.

@ToriGlass asked for white folk to share their resources, and got many excellent responses in this thread:

https://twitter.com/ToriGlass/status/1112396212404023296

If you're non-Native: The American government is one of terror, control, and colonization for those who called this land their home before colonizers arrived.

The dynamic between Native Tribes and us is one filled with important tension, and must be based on respect. Start building that by increasing your understanding: firstnations.org/knowledge-cent…

If you're Male: You really ought to research the Patriarchy, and how its sexism forms Rape Culture and how Feminism isn't a swear word. I haven't read every book on this list, but I recognize many of them and it's a decent start: medium.com/@Dissident/the…

If you're Able-bodied: This is a major privilege most people take for granted. Some, like myself, forget that just because we have some disability, it doesn't excuse or erase how we treat others with different disabilities. Get started here: research.lesley.edu/c.php?g=844421…

If you're Cis: Feeling at home in the body you were born into (or assigned) is a privilege that many of us cis folks take for granted. It's important to understand other people's experiences. pflag.org/resource/trans…

If you're Not Fat: The more I read, the more aware I am that America and the health industry hate fat people. Like, they really hate them.

And it's a constant Thing if you don't fit into the size and shape of the Powers That Be. If this seems confusing, I'd start reading: bitchmedia.org/post/size-matt…

If you're Straight: While LGBTQ* rights and visibility have increased dramatically in the last few decades, our society is still phobic as fuck. Bi-erasure is a very real problem. Recognizing straight privilege and understanding it is quite important: buzzfeed.com/kithaggard/boo…

If you're Not Poor: America loves the wealthy, and it loves telling people that they're always more wealthy than someone else. This is all toxic bullshit.

Hell, when I was trying to find a reading list online, all I got for a while were how-to-get-rich books. America needs to knock it off: libguides.library.umkc.edu/DEI_Reading_Li…

There are other privileges that you can research, such as not being a native speaker of the dominant language, not being a legal resident, being a first or second generation immigrant, and not holding "pretty privilege".

As you've probably figured out, sometimes, you can be discriminated for more than one thing at a time. The term "intersectionality" was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw to describe the discrimination that black women experienced.

For example, businesses who wanted to hire women hired white women, and those who wanted to hire black people hired black men.

Our systems of power and oppression interlock, and being aware of how prejudice and bias can weave together different stigmas is an important step to understanding how to be a good human in our world. blackfeminisms.com/intersectional…

Unpacking our privilege is hard and difficult. It requires a lot of complicated questions. The above isn't an exhaustive list of resources and topics, but it's a place to start.

Another aspect of working on our privilege is diversifying our communities and the voices we listen to. @ToriGlass rightly points out that people are not resources - reducing them to such is a form of oppression.

However, it's also important to include a wider range of voices into our daily experience.

Go into the people you follow here on Twitter. How many of them look like you, and hold your experiences?

These are the natural people that you're inclined to follow and listen to. This is who you choose to hear and see. I'm not judging you for this, and neither should you feel shame for it. It is a chance to find people on Twitter (and elsewhere) to listen to, and include.

When you do this, understand that these people are not your resources. It's not their job to educate you on what it's like to live in their skin and their world. Before you ask a question of them, stop and do the research yourself.

My general rule of thumb that I try to follow is this: Before I ask a question, I estimate how long it'll take them to answer it. I then spend twice that long trying to answer it myself.

This reminds me that their time is valuable, and it'll let me ask a more informed question if I have to ask a question at all.

If the person has more than one step away from my experience, I'll add on another unit of time. For example, as a white cis-male, asking a question of a white cis-female or a black cis-male is one step away from me. A black cis-female is two, and so on.

If you do end up needing to ask them a question, it's helpful to be as respectful as you can, refrain from becoming defensive, and accept whatever answer you're given. If they're good enough to spend the time educating you, find a way to repay them for their time.

If you can, find their paypal or other ways to give them money and tip them. If you can't - and that's fine, money is tight! - then find ways to pay it forward. Once they give you an answer, do what you can to educate people like you with the information they gave.

This saves them time and energy, and it's the least we can do to pay their kindness forward.

Finally, when listening to others, sometimes they'll complain or criticize public figures on Twitter without including their handle. Replying to them with that person's handle is extremely dangerous and an all-around dick move. For more, read this:

https://twitter.com/ReignOfApril/status/1094662191930884097

May you move through the world with your attention and focus directed inward, and outward. Experience life to the fullest extent possible, and be kind to those around you. We've all got this one shot, and we owe it to each other to help make everyone's life as joyful as possible.

Be good: to yourself, to others, to the world.

EDIT: I fail at twitter sometimes and included this tweet in a way none of you saw:

@ToriGlass asked for white folk to share their resources, and got many excellent responses in this thread:

https://twitter.com/ToriGlass/status/1112396212404023296