Started by Elijah Yarbrough
Dec 18, 2024
Dec 18, 2024
11
What I see when I see the cross
Dec 18, 2024
Before I get into what I see when I see the cross, I wish to apologize for my previous post. Lopez rocks is not the forum for such a conversation. It was hastily written and even more hastily posted. Indeed I tried to erase it minutes after posting knowing full well it was inappropriate, but Lopez rocks wouldn't let me. I truly (and please hear my sincerity) apologize for any upset I've caused.
That said, I feel that I must clarify my thoughts. It's my hope that in doing so you can better understand why it is that I've had such a visceral response to your sudden and prominent display of Christendom. These are my thoughts and are absolute in no way to suggest you have no right to worship. I never said that and would never say that.
So here it is (and please brace yourself because this isn't going to be pleasant).
What I see when I see the cross can be summed up in two words: crusade and genocide. And to back this up I have some numbers for you. These numbers are found by simply asking Google things like: "How many indigenous people prematurely died as a direct result of colonizing the Western Hemisphere?" After a few spins of its ai's "thinking" it spits out a number.
57million. That's 57,000,000 of God's children brutally dying at the hands of the Christian countries Spain, Portugal, France, England, the Netherlands and to smaller degree Denmark and Norway. All in the pursuit of conquest and material gain.
This, however, is only the Western Hemisphere. There's also New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Micronesia, Vietnam, coastal China, the entire Indian sub-continent and vast swathes of sub-Saharan Africa. Plus, I'm sure, other areas like Russia with its Orthodox Church.
Google was unable to give me numbers of premature aboriginal deaths for all these areas. But here's one number: between the rather recent years of 1881--1943 British colonial rule of India and Pakistan killed at least 100,000,000 (yes! 100million) Hindi, Sheik and Muslims. Their policies of starvation and subjegation perfected during the Irish Famine were seen as legitimate.
And why were they seen as legitimate? Rulers of these countries have told and continue to tell themselves, their populations and their soldiers that they--and they alone--are implementing God's plan. (Indeed, I bet a few of you Christian readers currently reading this post have already said to yourself that those premature deaths are regretable but none the less God's will.) There is no word for this unfathomable abandonment of humanist morality and your 6th Commandment.
There is, though, a symbol. At least as far as I'm concerned.
So I ask again, would you please reconsider such a prominent placement for your cross? Perhaps you can find a way to convey more of an inward reflection. This could be done by positioning the cross more inside the property and parallel to one of the roads. Instead of where it stands now at the pinacle of the corner with your signs flanking it at a 90 degree angle. The way it is currently placed makes a statement of outward expansion. I find it rather threatening. Imagine instead of a Christian cross it was the cross of the leviathan or sigil of baphomet. You would undoubtedly be as uncomfortable as I am.
Every time a development occurs in the Village the developers do extensive community out reach. I do not recall any effort on your part to prepare the island for such a major change to our Village's landscape. Your cross is now a defining feature. Please consider the sensitivities of other people.
To wrap up I'd like to answer one of the commentators to my last--and too hastily posted-- Town Hall post. Yes, I do know the history of my name. Elijah is one of only two people to enter your heaven without having died. And therefore is in his corporal form. The rest of us are waiting for judgement day which promises to be yet another horrifically calamitous event.
I also know the history of my last name. It comes from the Earl of Yarborough, one of the oldest English families and therefore complicit in an untold number of crimes against humanity. My ancestry also includes Andrew Jackson, who is our nation's first Hitler. Seeing as how he oversaw the Trail of Tears.
If anyone has an absolute abhorrent ancestry, it is me. And there is not a day that goes by that I'm not deeply and entirely ashamed of it. As it so happens, about 25 years ago I found myself randomly hanging out with a group of Cherokee. When I found out what tribe they were, I profusely--and I mean with tears--apologized for my ancestors. They laughed at my 22year old self. Told me to shut up. And bought the rest of the beers for the evening. It's the only time I've ever felt a measure of forgiveness. Your Jesus could never do that for me. Not with my ancestry. And your religion's appalling history.
I'm fairly certain that some of you will ostracize me for my words. I also doubt that you will move your cross. But at least now you know that you are indeed hurting someone. I find your cross and it's prominent location deeply painful. Please, again and again, please reconsider its current installation.
Best wishes and honest collaborative realization of said wishes,
Elijah Yarbrough
That said, I feel that I must clarify my thoughts. It's my hope that in doing so you can better understand why it is that I've had such a visceral response to your sudden and prominent display of Christendom. These are my thoughts and are absolute in no way to suggest you have no right to worship. I never said that and would never say that.
So here it is (and please brace yourself because this isn't going to be pleasant).
What I see when I see the cross can be summed up in two words: crusade and genocide. And to back this up I have some numbers for you. These numbers are found by simply asking Google things like: "How many indigenous people prematurely died as a direct result of colonizing the Western Hemisphere?" After a few spins of its ai's "thinking" it spits out a number.
57million. That's 57,000,000 of God's children brutally dying at the hands of the Christian countries Spain, Portugal, France, England, the Netherlands and to smaller degree Denmark and Norway. All in the pursuit of conquest and material gain.
This, however, is only the Western Hemisphere. There's also New Zealand, Australia, the Philippines, Micronesia, Vietnam, coastal China, the entire Indian sub-continent and vast swathes of sub-Saharan Africa. Plus, I'm sure, other areas like Russia with its Orthodox Church.
Google was unable to give me numbers of premature aboriginal deaths for all these areas. But here's one number: between the rather recent years of 1881--1943 British colonial rule of India and Pakistan killed at least 100,000,000 (yes! 100million) Hindi, Sheik and Muslims. Their policies of starvation and subjegation perfected during the Irish Famine were seen as legitimate.
And why were they seen as legitimate? Rulers of these countries have told and continue to tell themselves, their populations and their soldiers that they--and they alone--are implementing God's plan. (Indeed, I bet a few of you Christian readers currently reading this post have already said to yourself that those premature deaths are regretable but none the less God's will.) There is no word for this unfathomable abandonment of humanist morality and your 6th Commandment.
There is, though, a symbol. At least as far as I'm concerned.
So I ask again, would you please reconsider such a prominent placement for your cross? Perhaps you can find a way to convey more of an inward reflection. This could be done by positioning the cross more inside the property and parallel to one of the roads. Instead of where it stands now at the pinacle of the corner with your signs flanking it at a 90 degree angle. The way it is currently placed makes a statement of outward expansion. I find it rather threatening. Imagine instead of a Christian cross it was the cross of the leviathan or sigil of baphomet. You would undoubtedly be as uncomfortable as I am.
Every time a development occurs in the Village the developers do extensive community out reach. I do not recall any effort on your part to prepare the island for such a major change to our Village's landscape. Your cross is now a defining feature. Please consider the sensitivities of other people.
To wrap up I'd like to answer one of the commentators to my last--and too hastily posted-- Town Hall post. Yes, I do know the history of my name. Elijah is one of only two people to enter your heaven without having died. And therefore is in his corporal form. The rest of us are waiting for judgement day which promises to be yet another horrifically calamitous event.
I also know the history of my last name. It comes from the Earl of Yarborough, one of the oldest English families and therefore complicit in an untold number of crimes against humanity. My ancestry also includes Andrew Jackson, who is our nation's first Hitler. Seeing as how he oversaw the Trail of Tears.
If anyone has an absolute abhorrent ancestry, it is me. And there is not a day that goes by that I'm not deeply and entirely ashamed of it. As it so happens, about 25 years ago I found myself randomly hanging out with a group of Cherokee. When I found out what tribe they were, I profusely--and I mean with tears--apologized for my ancestors. They laughed at my 22year old self. Told me to shut up. And bought the rest of the beers for the evening. It's the only time I've ever felt a measure of forgiveness. Your Jesus could never do that for me. Not with my ancestry. And your religion's appalling history.
I'm fairly certain that some of you will ostracize me for my words. I also doubt that you will move your cross. But at least now you know that you are indeed hurting someone. I find your cross and it's prominent location deeply painful. Please, again and again, please reconsider its current installation.
Best wishes and honest collaborative realization of said wishes,
Elijah Yarbrough
Comment by Rhea Miller
Jan 2, 2025
Jan 2, 2025
2
Hi Elijah,
Are you OK? Most importantly, you need to take care of yourself if you are feeling unsafe. Sometimes when vulnerabilities are expressed it can cause others to want to poke.I encourage you to seek some trusted friends to talk this through and stay off this forum for a while. None of us k ... Read All
Are you OK? Most importantly, you need to take care of yourself if you are feeling unsafe. Sometimes when vulnerabilities are expressed it can cause others to want to poke.I encourage you to seek some trusted friends to talk this through and stay off this forum for a while. None of us k ... Read All
Comment by Bruce Richardson
Dec 30, 2024
Dec 30, 2024
2
I totally missed that! Not sure I can see the connection?
Comment by David Champion
Dec 30, 2024
Dec 30, 2024
0
BLM: Black Lives Matter?
Comment by Janis Miltenberger (Jansi Glass, Studio and Gallery)
Dec 28, 2024
Dec 28, 2024
6
That path that was put in on that property, was so sweet and minimal. It was contemplative. Sadly the recent expression on the property was less so. If this is gonna happen, I am glad it is central in the village. I hope that the further development is softer stated.
Comment by John Waugh
Dec 26, 2024
Dec 26, 2024
2
There is eternal life, but it belongs to those who live in the present
Comment by Bruce Richardson
Dec 26, 2024
Dec 26, 2024
3
BLM??? Bureau of Land Management? Did I miss something? Big Large Monster? Oh, politics; Big, Large, Mouth. Would that be someone in the news of late?
Comment by Tracy Collins
Dec 26, 2024
Dec 26, 2024
1
BLM? so this is political?
Comment by anonymous as "Sarah Duran"
Dec 25, 2024
Dec 25, 2024
8
Pretty ironic that the people who spent years shoving their religious icons in everyone's faces can't bear the sight of a cross.
BLM is a jealous god that tolerates no other religions I suppose.
BLM is a jealous god that tolerates no other religions I suppose.
Comment by John Waugh
Dec 24, 2024
Dec 24, 2024
2
Julienne, thank you for the wonderful Rumi, quote!
This is a reference to the truth which lies beyond words or theories or beliefs.
Einstein said, "We have been endowed with just enough intelligence to be able to see clearly just how ut ... Read All
This is a reference to the truth which lies beyond words or theories or beliefs.
Einstein said, "We have been endowed with just enough intelligence to be able to see clearly just how ut ... Read All
Comment by Brenna Jael (Slow Art Studio & Bindery)
Dec 23, 2024
Dec 23, 2024
8
I feel you Elijah.
This cross in particular just has a really aggressive and “we are conquering nature” vibe. I live right next to this greenspace. I am listening to the owls and wondering what Saint Francis would think and do here.
PLESE PLEASE PLEASE develop the most minimum possible footprint a ... Read All
This cross in particular just has a really aggressive and “we are conquering nature” vibe. I live right next to this greenspace. I am listening to the owls and wondering what Saint Francis would think and do here.
PLESE PLEASE PLEASE develop the most minimum possible footprint a ... Read All
Comment by Julienne Battalia
Dec 22, 2024
Dec 22, 2024
6
Out beyond ideas of wrongdoing and rightdoing,
There is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
The world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
Doesn’t make any sense. -Rumi
There is a field.
I’ll meet you there.
When the soul lies down in that grass,
The world is too full to talk about.
Ideas, language, even the phrase each other
Doesn’t make any sense. -Rumi
Comment by Crystal Rovente
Dec 21, 2024
Dec 21, 2024
4
Elijah,
I am deeply sorry that you are upset. 100% genuinely sorry. I love the fact that our community is so diverse ethnically, spiritually, culturally,etc. I have no issues with anyone on this island, even after some terrible things that have occurred in the past. I focus ... Read All
I am deeply sorry that you are upset. 100% genuinely sorry. I love the fact that our community is so diverse ethnically, spiritually, culturally,etc. I have no issues with anyone on this island, even after some terrible things that have occurred in the past. I focus ... Read All
Comment by David Champion
Dec 20, 2024
Dec 20, 2024
4
Hi Elijah.
Point taken. The world has certainly witnessed much evil done in the name of God, and not just God of the Bible, although Abrahamic religions do seem especially vulnerable to zealotry.
Those who erected the cross see it as a symbo ... Read All
Point taken. The world has certainly witnessed much evil done in the name of God, and not just God of the Bible, although Abrahamic religions do seem especially vulnerable to zealotry.
Those who erected the cross see it as a symbo ... Read All
Comment by Elijah Yarbrough
Dec 20, 2024
Dec 20, 2024
2
Hi David. I think you missed my point about the rulers and populations excusing all this death and subjugation as God's plan. And that that is what I find so disturbing.
Comment by Elijah Yarbrough
Dec 20, 2024
Dec 20, 2024
1
I am extraordinarly hurt that even after I mention libel law you persist in grossly mischaracterizing my words. This puts me in an incredibly dangerous situation. Do you not see that?
By your writing that I am some white man's burdened bigot telling minorities not only how to live their lives bu ... Read All
By your writing that I am some white man's burdened bigot telling minorities not only how to live their lives bu ... Read All
Comment by David Champion
Dec 20, 2024
Dec 20, 2024
5
Don't believe everything Google or ChatGPT or any AI tells you.
Estimates of the number of excess deaths among indigenous people following European colonization of the Americas vary widely, but even if it was 57 million, the vast majority of these deaths were from diseases brought from the Old ... Read All
Estimates of the number of excess deaths among indigenous people following European colonization of the Americas vary widely, but even if it was 57 million, the vast majority of these deaths were from diseases brought from the Old ... Read All
Comment by Crystal Rovente
Dec 19, 2024
Dec 19, 2024
11
Are you referring to your post about your disgust of the Catholic faith? It’s is pretty hateful. Feel free to remove it. Talk to the moderator about your concerns . Don’t make posts with comments if you don’t want the feedback.
Comment by Elijah Yarbrough
Dec 19, 2024
Dec 19, 2024
1
Would you please indicate where in my post I mention minorities? And where I tell them how to live their lives? Also where I tell them to RENOUNCE their faith? Keep I mind we have libel laws in this country. And libel can include exposing someone to community hate or ridicule.
Comment by Hazel Burns
Dec 19, 2024
Dec 19, 2024
5
Thank You Crystal.
This really needed to be said.
I have a strong suspicion that Elijah would not have thought it acceptable to be so critical of Islam or Judaism.
BTW Elijah, unless you are a vampire the cross will not hurt you.
This really needed to be said.
I have a strong suspicion that Elijah would not have thought it acceptable to be so critical of Islam or Judaism.
BTW Elijah, unless you are a vampire the cross will not hurt you.
Comment by Crystal Rovente
Dec 19, 2024
Dec 19, 2024
12
Thanks for the apology Elijah,
I appreciate you sharing your personal response to a long and complex history involving the Columbian Exchange. As a Puerto Rican woman, I can truly appreciate how truly complicated and deep this issue is.
That ... Read All
I appreciate you sharing your personal response to a long and complex history involving the Columbian Exchange. As a Puerto Rican woman, I can truly appreciate how truly complicated and deep this issue is.
That ... Read All