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Living in Fear
July 11, 2022 at 10:53 am
I read a recent article and I wanted to poll everyone and start a discussion that's probably been had elsewhere.
The context was simple. Being African American includes, in part, living in fear of the cops. It was used to explain why innocent people run from the cops. It got me thinking about living in fear. Do you, whatever your demographic, live in fear for your life. What is it and why. This could include the recent topics of .. am I safe in America because of X,Y,Z.. Does anything trigger that fear in your day-to-day routine and does it change your actions?
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
always working on cleaning my windows- me regarding Johari
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RE: Living in Fear
July 11, 2022 at 11:11 am
As a transgender female, I experience some episodic levels of fear, unless I am wearing a tee, full skirt & sunglasses; I can blend in with no worries about my personal safety under that circumstance.
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RE: Living in Fear
July 11, 2022 at 11:15 am
(July 11, 2022 at 11:11 am)Jehanne Wrote: As a transgender female, I experience some episodic levels of fear, unless I am wearing a tee, full skirt & sunglasses; I can blend in with no worries about my personal safety under that circumstance.
So you live in fear when you can't blend in. What exactly are you afraid of? For instance, you're afraid of being targeted for violence, shunned publicly, fired, etc. And I'll assume that what you do to combat that fear is attempt to blend in.
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
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RE: Living in Fear
July 11, 2022 at 11:23 am
(July 11, 2022 at 11:15 am)tackattack Wrote: (July 11, 2022 at 11:11 am)Jehanne Wrote: As a transgender female, I experience some episodic levels of fear, unless I am wearing a tee, full skirt & sunglasses; I can blend in with no worries about my personal safety under that circumstance.
So you live in fear when you can't blend in. What exactly are you afraid of? For instance, you're afraid of being targeted for violence, shunned publicly, fired, etc. And I'll assume that what you do to combat that fear is attempt to blend in.
Some people hate transgenders, especially, transgender females. I got a clear, long stare from an older woman, a complete stranger, last year that communicated, "I would kill you if I could". I'll never forget it.
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RE: Living in Fear
July 11, 2022 at 11:30 am
When I lived in Northern Ireland, the notion that any time I walked out might be my last was ever-present, but I’m not sure if it counts as being in fear for my life (fatalism runs deep in NI). I got over that feeling after a few years in New Zealand - people here just don’t seem particularly interested in killing each other.
As far as fear of cops goes, that also changed when we emigrated. I was reared in the tradition that cops were to be hated as well as feared. Now, not so much.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
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RE: Living in Fear
July 11, 2022 at 11:43 am
Not fearful, mostly. In retrospect, taking walks from 3:30 to 4:30 AM (the only slice of time I could fit into my schedule when I was working) alone was probably not a good idea. Not because of people, but we have some mountain lions roaming our neighborhood. I didn't think that they came this far off the mountains. Not afraid of the police, though I heard that we had some bad eggs in the Sheriff's Department when I was growing up. That's anecdotal, as I never had a run-in with any of them.
If you get to thinking you’re a person of some influence, try ordering somebody else’s dog around.
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RE: Living in Fear
July 11, 2022 at 12:19 pm
(July 11, 2022 at 11:30 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: When I lived in Northern Ireland, the notion that any time I walked out might be my last was ever-present, but I’m not sure if it counts as being in fear for my life (fatalism runs deep in NI). I got over that feeling after a few years in New Zealand - people here just don’t seem particularly interested in killing each other.
As far as fear of cops goes, that also changed when we emigrated. I was reared in the tradition that cops were to be hated as well as feared. Now, not so much.
Boru
In NI what was the fear of, terrorist bombers, potato farmers, getting clogged to death...?
@ Fireball ok so fearless... got it.
Thanks for the responses so far from everyone btw.
"There ought to be a term that would designate those who actually follow the teachings of Jesus, since the word 'Christian' has been largely divorced from those teachings, and so polluted by fundamentalists that it has come to connote their polar opposite: intolerance, vindictive hatred, and bigotry." -- Philip Stater, Huffington Post
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RE: Living in Fear
July 11, 2022 at 12:28 pm
(This post was last modified: July 11, 2022 at 12:28 pm by BrianSoddingBoru4.)
(July 11, 2022 at 12:19 pm)tackattack Wrote: (July 11, 2022 at 11:30 am)BrianSoddingBoru4 Wrote: When I lived in Northern Ireland, the notion that any time I walked out might be my last was ever-present, but I’m not sure if it counts as being in fear for my life (fatalism runs deep in NI). I got over that feeling after a few years in New Zealand - people here just don’t seem particularly interested in killing each other.
As far as fear of cops goes, that also changed when we emigrated. I was reared in the tradition that cops were to be hated as well as feared. Now, not so much.
Boru
In NI what was the fear of, terrorist bombers, potato farmers, getting clogged to death...?
@Fireball ok so fearless... got it.
Thanks for the responses so far from everyone btw.
3500 killed, 48 000 injured. I’m glad you find the 50 000+ casualties of the Troubles a source for humour.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
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RE: Living in Fear
July 11, 2022 at 1:09 pm
I remember growing-up in the 80s watching the World News with Peter Jennings, who regularly talked about the violence in North Ireland. Seems that with the rise of secular atheism in Ireland that fewer and fewer individuals there give a shit about religion.
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RE: Living in Fear
July 11, 2022 at 1:52 pm
(July 11, 2022 at 1:09 pm)Jehanne Wrote: I remember growing-up in the 80s watching the World News with Peter Jennings, who regularly talked about the violence in North Ireland. Seems that with the rise of secular atheism in Ireland that fewer and fewer individuals there give a shit about religion.
It was as much a political fight as a religious one. The biggest change was when the Royal Ulster Constabulary became the Northern Ireland Police Force and (mostly) abandoned their policy of shitting on people with Irish surnames.
Boru
‘I can’t be having with this.’ - Esmeralda Weatherwax
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