Feminist Peace Network

This week the FPN blog will be celebrating mothering in the broadest most inclusive sense of the word. This first post is a letter that I received a few weeks ago from Janie Rezner, writer, artist, musician, friend and phenomenal woman.

Her thoughts about the need for outrage echo my own. I hear so often that we should be the peace we want to be, that we should focus on the positive. As Janie says below, that is needed, but it is not sufficient. Outrage is truly necessary, not as a negative energy but as the positive fierceness that we need in these trying times.

As a prelude to Mother’s Day, please visit Janie’s wonderful website where her homepage greets us with these inspiring lines:

“When the world was at peace and love did reign
When we dwelt in the land of the sacred and revered the gift of life
When we loved our Mother Earth
We listened to the wisdom of our grandmothers.”

Here is Janie’s letter:

Dear Friends,
The following are some of the points that I took away from the Dalai
Lama’s recent talk in Maui–
and my gut response to what he said:

• the cultivation of altruism:
• practice humility- be vigilant for feelings of superiority
• be vigilant for frustration & resentment (they are the precursors
  to anger & hatred)
  pay special attention to segments of society that need special
  care- provide them with ways of enhancing self esteem and dignity
• in dealing with jealousy & other kinds of injustices that are
  directed towards you, respond with a sense of compassion &
  understanding, so as not to continue the cycle
• all phenomena exists in a matrix of interdependence (don’t
  believe the illusory perception of independent self)
• the mental exercise of the study of altruism will eventually
  transform negative emotions into positive

My (Janie’s) response:

I would take issue with some, not all, of the Dalai Lama’s teachings.
His points are all well and good in a world where all are equal. That’s
not the world we are living in: rather we live in a world where domination, violence
and war prevail. Injustice doesn’t seem to be on the D. Lama’s radar.

For 5,000 years women, dark skinned folks and anyone who is vulnerable,
including the earth herself and her creatures have been at the mercy of the
patriarchal white males in power, suffering horrific abuse, torture, and
destruction.

I think we’ve waited quite long enough for the “transformation of negative
emotions into positive.”

OUTRAGE at the horrific injustices being perpetrated upon the earth is a
more appropriate response, I would say, and necessary if we expect things
to change.

His is a patriarchal message in my opinion-which nicely maintains the
status quo.

Blessings,
Janie

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