Go outside. Let the world in.

Ask any traveller about his strongest experience and a story of an encounter invariably follows. When we meet people not only face to face , but ‘heart to heart’, we experience this as something special.

When travelling, each one of us recognizes the feeling of being out of one’s comfort zone.
Far away everything is different. Also the people. When we position ourselves at eye level of the ‘foreigner’ , we come to know him with an open mind , we enter his world and everything becomes different.

Trust that we give, we also receive.

Margot Kässmann responding to a question from the audience following her lecture on “Multicultural Society – Roots, Resistance, and Visions” at the University of Freiburg. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

When we accept that someone is different, a certain chemistry is created. We should not only look at the exterior, but we should keep listening. In this way prejudices and predispositions do not get a chance and the ‘foreign exterior’ will make place for a ‘recognizable interior’. We will experience that wealth is to be found in being different, exactly within the differences. In this sense, people we called ‘foreigners’ at first, are in fact a blessing. The only condition is that we open our heart and allow ourselves to be moved.

In this way foreigners become friends
If our society feels strongly about pluralism we should not be satisfied with an ennobled form of permisiveness that preaches tolerance. In our multicultural society pluralism only has a chance of survival if we go towards the other person and if we are really interested in who he or she is , regardless of whether he/she is a foreigner , of another religion or conviction.

Intercultural dialogue depends upon authentic pluralism
It is essential to allow the other person’s truth , in which a ‘ heart to heart’ encounter is the golden key. In this way a meeting close to home can become a rich experience worth telling. We are only asked to go outside and to let the world in.

Dutch version / Nederlandse versie: Ga naar buiten. Laat de wereld binnen.

Are you right down in the dumps? Stop digging!

Responses to Radical Muslims and Radical Christians

Tolerance Ends When There Is No Tolerance Shown Towards Us

My two cents on the refugee crisis

Stabbed victim parent’s hope for less hatred and more tolerance

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About going outside

1. “Sometimes our stop-doing list needs to be bigger than our to-do list.”
2. It’s Simple, Really, We Don’t Need Much
3. Going Outside: The Sunrise Edition
4. A wee tail
5. Learning to Longboard – Novice Shred Spots

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About meeting people

1. We are strange
2. Striving To Connect
3. Meeting new people, Amazing Experiences & Giving help
4. unexpected tips: ways to meet people
5. How can I start meeting friends
6. 5 Places To Meet People Offline
7. 10 Ways to Meet People in the London
8. 25 Small Ways You Can Bless A Stranger’s Life
9. A person worth knowing
10. Some Relationships Are Just Blips On The Radar (But They’re Still Beautiful)
11. The type of people you Do Not want to meet in life Again!
12. meeting horrible people and you’re complaining about it
13. No makeup – One-liner Wednesday #1linerWeds
14. Pumpkin Munchinskaij 🙂
15. Men with Machetes!
16. Moms have enough to worry about, let’s not make friendships one of them
17. Conversation, Where Are You?
18. Coincidental
19. Good date 8/10
20. Some Wine, Some Words, and Some Confusion
21. Another Source
22. Workshop # 3 – We are all the same
23. Being Religious and Spiritual 8 Spiritual, Mystic and not or well religious
24. Some one or something to fear #5 Not afraid
25. A participation in the body of Christ
26. Justification – salvation is by grace through faith – JI Packer
27. Disciple of Christ counting lives and friends dear to them
28. A Holy week in remembrance of the Blood of life
29. Atonement And Fellowship 3/8
30. What’s church for, anyway?
31. Gathering or meeting of believers
32. Vergadering – Meeting / Meeting – Vergadering
33. Congregate, to gather, to meet
34. Why we do not have our worship-services in a church building
35. Not trying to make the heathen live like Jews #2
36. The Magic of Books
37. Summertime Blues
38. Good Vibes
39. Thought Positions
40. Police Visit
41. A Stop In Mamou To See Fred’s and Tante Sue
42. in which we update our dating status, and talk about tinder
43. Dating Again After Divorce
44. Collective Dating
45. Better late than never
46. Met a new pagan group last night
47. Wading in the Sea
48. It’s all in my mind…

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About prejudice

1. Want to Stop the Contempt, Hate, and Violence?
2. Prejudices and Stereotypes
3. Arrest the prejudices
4. Things are rarely what they seem :: Why I scrambled to offer food to a stranger
5. Dirt Daubers, Humans, and Other Pests
6. Bias, stereotypes, and prejudice. Oh my?
7. Are You Contagious?
8. Dissolve The Barriers You Created
9. Why Is It Important To Have Opinions And Communicate Them?
10. Dealing with love burden
11. “Nowhere to Go”
12. Suicide blond
13. What is True Compassion?
14. our own guru
15. The Enemy Camp: Creativity vs. Logic
16. But You Can’t Shoot Them
17. The Kind of Christian I Am Today (with an addendum on Orlando)
18. Exceptions never ‘prove the rule”
19. Strip Yourselves from Social Masks
20. Heart for sale

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About tolerance

1. Religious Practices around the world
2. Christmas in the 1950s
3. Migrants to the West #10 Religious freedom
4. More Muslim children than Christian children growing up in our cities
5. Quran versus older Holy Writings of Divine Creator
6. Back from gone #3 Giving worries to God and believing in His promises
7. Where is the USA wanting to go with the freedom of their people
8. ISIL will find no safe haven
9. Holiday tolerance
10. If you have integrity
11. Integrity of the fellowship
12. If you want to go far in life
13. People who are always making allowances for themselves soon go bankrupt
14. God let my compassionate affection be tolerant and kind
15. Diversity
16. A social experiment
17. A Musing on Discerning Tolerance
18. Introducing Students To Disability- Year 2
19. Love
20. Making Peace with the Middle East
21. Learn and Live
22. Republican vs. Democrat “Tolerance”, Compare And Contrast
23. How religion can lead to violence – Gary Gutting

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Related articles

• Multicultural Sweden to Investigate Sex Lives of Swedes Amid Reports of Less Sex
• Different ethnic groups ‘not likely to join the same local clubs’
• ACT parliament passes religious vilification laws
• ACT parliament passes religious vilification laws
• Total Lack Of Racial Diversity In 2016 Men’s USA Olympic Basketball Team
• Liberalism Isn’t Tolerant, But This Beautiful Philosophy Is
• The Problem of the Canon

A last note concerning civil rights

Judaism, Christianity, Islam and Atheism in spe do not discriminate.

Human beings so much love the world to turn around themselves. The other human species which look different than them or act differently than them are often considered as a possible threat to their own individuality. They want to protect their own personality and consider another race as an infringement of their own being. All those who are not like the mainstream, showing other sexual feelings than the majority, are for lots of people elements which have to be avoided in their society.
They forget that all human beings are created in the image of God and that we should allow all creatures in existence to be here on earth because God allows them to be here.

Being different makes so many afraid. Not enough people are willing to know more, the why and how about certain matters, which makes that so many are excluded from our general society.

Much too often we hear that religion is the cause of the many problems and discrimination on this earth, but we should see that even when nobody would believe in a higher being, sexism, and all other forms of discrimination would still be social constructs born of fear and ignorance. Fundamental groups, when they would not be religious will still exist as has proven history where we can find enough examples of exclusions, torture and killing by others, not for religious but for political and for economical reason and most of all for getting the power, and that is it where it turns mostly around: Power.
It our those people who can reason who should be willing to use their brains and knowledge to open the eyes of others so that they would not in to the appeal of extremism.

Become a Peaceblogger – Click on the picture to know more 

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Find also to read:

1. Religion, fundamentalism and murder
2. Christian fundamentalism as dangerous as Muslim fundamentalism
3. Gender connections
4. Anti-Semitism ‘on the rise’ in Europe
5. Full text of Pope Francis’ Interview with ‘La Vanguardia’
6. Discrimination in Black Country
7. Consequences of Breivik’s mass murder
8. Idaho wedding chapel to either perform same-sex weddings or face jail time and up to $1,000 in fines
9. Stand Up

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Related articles

• Unbelief in an angry god (futurehistoryx.wordpress.com)
  Sin-consciousness is false consciousness. It is a world of illusion separated far from truth.
• Here is the test (angryarab.blogspot.com)
  If Westerners insist on the right to mock Islam and its prophet, then they should tolerate Muslim mocking of Judaism and Christianity is they wish; similarly, if Muslims object to mocking of Islam and its prophet, they should then refrain from mocking Judaism and Jews–qua Jews.
• Very often we can find articles like Religion: Not the cause of violence (meta.ath0.com) where they want to believe their readers that the Christian Bible is full of exhortations to stoning, burning, slavery and slaughter. They do not see the whole picture what is going over the whole Book of books and do not listen to the words given in those books about the law, which makes them to consider that “most people you know would qualify for the death penalty” and come to say “The same can be said of the Quran. The same can be said of the Torah. Believers who claim that Islam or Christianity or Judaism is a religion of peace are speaking a half truth—and a naive falsehood. »
• Franklin Graham on the US: ‘Christians Are Being Pushed to the Back of the Room (gunnyg.wordpress.com)
  The Rev. Franklin Graham, head of Samaritan’s Purse and son of renowned evangelist Billy Graham, feels that other religions are being brought to the forefront in the U.S. while Christianity is being pushed back. Graham appeared on WNCN News to discuss his recent comments on Duke University’s decision to end its policy on having an Islamic call to prayer at the campus’ Christian chapel.
• In one sense, Islam is Judaism, minus the sense of humor. But Charlie Hebdo alone can’t help them….. (thecatholicthing.org)
  The Christian faith does not hold that in a perfect world we would all be monks or nuns – such that marriage, business, and politics are a sad compromise with sin. Many clergymen have taught that over the centuries – and have been rightly mocked by raucous laymen. Let’s give John Henry Newman credit for understanding this. When he was asked by Bishop Ullathorne whether the Church needed the laity, he quipped: “the Church should look foolish without them.”
• Fundamentalism is Never Legitimate (bishopcraig.com)
  The recent terrorist attack in France adds yet another exclamation point to the truth that fundamentalism is never a legitimate expression of any of the great historic religious traditions. It is always a perversion of the original teachings, most often twisted in a desperate attempt to achieve some political end antithetical to the tradition itself.
• The Importance of Blasphemy By Daniel Greenfield (ruthfullyyours.com)
  As a deeply religious person, I don’t like blasphemy. My religion and its holybooksare sacred to me. And I understand perfectly well why a Muslim would not care for a cartoon of a naked Mohammed.But the debates over freedom of speech andthe sensitivity of religious feelings also miss the point.For non-Muslims, the right to blasphemy is also the right to believe. While we may think of blasphemy in terms of the Charlie Hebdo cartoons, each religion is also mutually blasphemous.
• Isis releases about 250 Yazidis from captivity (kmov.com)
  Dozens of people who were being held captivebyIslamic militants in Iraq for months are now free.Officials in Iraq say Isis released about 250Yazidis without explanation.Many of them are children and elderly people.
• Town Hall Discussion on Islam: Is There a ‘Moderate’ Branch of Islam? (ambrosekane.com)
  Muslim activist, Anjem Choudary, addresses the question of whether muslims can be ‘moderate’ when it comes to Islam. Credit goes to him for pointing out that muslims are either being faithful to the Quran or they’re not. There’s no middle ground, and he does a good job of shaming Daisy Khan, a ‘moderate’ muslim woman who absurdly declared that “Islam is a religion of pluralism.”

Study says highlighting gender leads to stereotypes

When parents are trying to let their kids figure out who they are they have to be careful not to let them hear their biased ideas. Some parents may have such ‘blocked ideas about gender roles‘ that they may impose their ideas of boys and girls roles, way of behaviour, clothing onto their kids.

It becomes more difficult when a person lets his or her parents know they are not feeling right in their skin and do want to have a different body. In case parents see their kids playing other roles than they themselves would be appropriate for the kid they have, they themselves may also become someone who can push the child into an other role. In such instance they have to be careful not to push them falsely or prematurely into decisions about being transgender.

” It’s precisely their presence in a liminal space between clearly defined end points that creates discomfort.”

When parents want to try to help keep their kids from being “different” and “standing out”, they themselves do have to accept the choices the kid itself makes and should give it full support, helping it to find its way in this difficult matter of “Who am I” “What do I want to be” “How may I feel”.

No matter which sex our kids have or want to be, they should feel they have equal rights and are equally accepted as fulfilling youngsters, receiving the time to develop and grow to worthy equal adults.
When “our boys and girls would like to stand out because of their excellent dance, drawing, or sports skills rather than because they look different” we are on the right way of showing society that everybody is created in the image of their Creator and equal in the eyes of God.

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Find also:  When Teachers Highlight Gender, Kids Pick Up Stereotypes where the study found that in classrooms where boys and girls line up separately — and even in settings where teachers say things like, “Good morning boys and girls” — children express more stereotypes about gender and even discriminate when deciding who to play with.

“The children in these classrooms expressed less interest in playing with children of the other sex,”

said developmental psychologist Lynn Liben of Pennsylvania State University, who conducted the study with graduate student Lacey Hilliard.

“Not only in surveys, but we also observed kids playing in free playtime, and there was a significant drop in the amount of time children in those classrooms were seen playing with children of the other sex.”

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Related articles

• Louisville, KY school votes to protect transgender rights (mydoorsign.com)
  “We have a responsibility to provide appropriate accommodations for transgender students,” said Thomas Aberli, principal of J.M Atherton High School. He added “this policy is something that really demonstrates our ability to respond to the needs of diverse students. Atherton was the best place for something like this to happen.”
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  The Department of Education’s recent guidance issued in April has accelerated the transgender rights cause in schools under Title IX. A proud Atherton alumni and director of policy at the National Center for Transgender Equality in Washington D.C., Harper Jean Tobin sees students and administrators standing up for transgender protections as an increasing trend, for better or for worse.

  This year, 13 other states joined California in issuing a non-discrimination policy for the transgender students in school including the ability to use restrooms and  play on sports teams that match their expressed genders.  Numerous districts, from Salt Lake City and Kansas City to Knoxville, Tennessee, and Decatur, Georgia, have adopted similar protections.

• Pastors rise up to challenge same-sex bathrooms (mobile.wnd.com)
  Rev. Dave Welch, founder of the U.S. Pastor Council, is leading a petition drive for a citywide referendum on the ordinance, charging the will of citizens is being ignored.The City Council’s approval prompted a mass exodus from the session of local black pastors who had come to speak against the ordinance.

  “It was clear that enough council members had decided to vote with Annise Parker’s personal agenda over the clear will of the people and basic decency in this act of thumbing their nose at respected black clergy who represented all of us,” he said.

  “Our only way of showing that we understood what had happened and to respond effectively was to vote with our legs,” he said.

• Transgender Activist Wants All Children Born Genderless (personalliberty.com)
  The left-leaning publication Slate published an article Thursday that offers unsettling insight to the primary goal of some militant LGBT activists: Defining every child as genderless from birth.

  In “Don’t Let The Doctor Do This to Your Newborn”, Canadian transgender activist Christin Milloy describes “infant gender assignment”— which means defining a baby as a boy or a girl based on basic biology— as some insidious practice that “might just be Russian roulette with your baby’s life.”

• Activists call for gender equality revolution (dailystar.com.lb)
  “It is perfectly natural for the future woman to feel indignant at the limitations posed upon her by her sex. The real question is not why she should reject them: The problem is rather to understand why she accepts them,” wrote French writer and feminist Simone de Beauvoir in her book The Second Sex in 1949. For Lebanese feminists Hayat Mirshad and Alia Awada – wearing white T-shirts with the logo of Fe-Male, the non-profit organization they co-founded – this could not ring more true. The dynamic duo have been indefatigably championing women’s causes over the last few years, and explained to The Daily Star that the way to impose change was to revolt against injustice.“If you call yourself a feminist, and you do not believe that there needs to be a revolution, you need to change,” said Mirshad, 25. “The patriarchal society did not ask for permission when it controlled us and oppressed us, so we should not ask for permission to revolt against it.”
• Slate: Don’t Let the Doctor Assign a Gender to Your Newborn (str.typepad.com)
  Remember when I said that we should expect more attempts to erase the differences between men and women, and that the conflict in our culture over sexuality is, at root, a disagreement over “whether human nature is something in particular or a sea of possibilities bound only by what we can imagine for ourselves”?

  Well, Slate has kindly illustrated that for me in its article “Don’t Let the Doctor Do This to Your Newborn”:

• Gender Progress Ends Where Pinkification Starts (dissidentvoice.org)
  Boys and girls inhabit two separate worlds whose boundaries are created by the relentless onslaught of commercialism. The toy industry didn’t create gender segregation, but it certainly perpetuates and reinforces it by planting a link between gender and career choice in the minds of young children. The messages sent to toddlers through colours, wording and images remain the same across the board: while girls are encouraged to focus on their appearance and partake in nurturing activities, boys are veered towards more active pursuits. Let Toys Be Toys, a UK-based lobbying group, is advocating label-free marketing and sorting according to themes and interests rather than gender. Created in 2012 by a group of parents galled by the stereotyping of children’s toys, the grassroots movement has already persuaded numerous retailers to make the change, including Boots and Tesco. Let Toys Be Toys campaigner Joanne Watts sheds some light on the group, its goals and the challenges that remain.
• The Quiet Clash Between Transgender Women And Drag Queens (thinkprogress.org)
  Hillz’s point is at the center of the conflict, because Drag Race is a show that is not about being transgender but that clearly has implications for transgender people — a particularly vulnerable population. People who identify as transgender report incredibly high rates of discrimination across their lives, including in employment, housing, health care, education, and police interactions. The National Coalition of Anti-Violence Program’s recent study found that 72 percent of all violent crimes against LGBTQ people in 2013 targeted transgender women, who also made up 67 percent of LGBTQ homicide victims. One of the most alarming statistics, that 41 percent of transgender people have attempted suicide — compared to just 1.6 percent of the general population — reflects the mental health consequences that result from this discrimination, harassment, and violence.
• What’s stopping the spread of gender-neutral restrooms? (mydoorsign.com)
  A report by Media Matters collates opinions from 15 experts who unanimously quash the popular theory that trans people are a threat in public, gender-neutral restrooms as baseless and “beyond specious.” The expert group from 12 states includes law enforcement officials, government employees, and advocates for victims of sexual assault.

  In reality, trans people run a higher risk of being attacked in a restroom. Those in the middle of a transition, those who do not transition by choice, those who cannot afford transition, genderqueer, and those who do not live as either male or female are at the highest risk for attack. These people don’t identify with the socially-accepted societal genders and may fear using either single-gender restroom.

 

Pink Is for Boys

Parents with gender-fluid kids often work with schools, churches, and other institutions to use alternatives to gender for organizing kids in the classroom. Rather than dividing kids by boys and girls, use birth months or sneakers vs. sandals, or some other arbitrary distinction or characteristic. Sometimes schools are willing (and even grateful for the tip, which had often never occurred to well-meaning teachers to be problematic). Other times, schools are really uncomfortable with any implied ambiguity of gender. The same feelings are expressed that commenters here often report feeling:

*Why do you have to make such a big deal about it – are you just trying to attract attention, or letting your kid attract attention to him/herself? *Is this spoiling – no one student should get to throw a wrench in the cogs of the school day for everyone else. *Aren’t kids this age too young to even be thinking…

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