Be Kind but Take No Crap.

 Dear Reader,

Déa calls on us to be kind. She exhorts us to be thamelic and harmonious with others around us. There are times, however, that one must be a note of dissonance in the conversation. We should be willing to stand up for ourselves and others when we see that something is wrong. Thamë is more than harmony, it is also justice. If it is possible to engage others in a way that does not become overly loud and possibly harmful, it is a good practice to have. De-escalating a situation is a great way to restore thamë. 

I do not have the best skill set for de-escalating situations. I tend to get angry and loud. I tend to weild facts as weapons and info-bomb the offender into humilated silence. It is my practice to refrain from wading into arguments unless I have the advantage of sufficient facts to bury my opponent. Sometimes, however, I will passionately throw myself into an argument because I see that there is something desperately wrong and I seek to right it.

Was my engaging in that argument today thamelic? Probably not. At the same time, I was working to defend myself and others who practice the worship practices of godspousery. It is a worship practice that is rooted in antiquity and as deserving of respect as any other worship practice. My argument in defense of this ancient practice and putting myself out as an example of a godspouse was all I could do in an effort to show that it exists and that not all godspouses are deluded.

When the offender in question attempted to continue the argument via a more "private" setting, I elected to ignore them. On the random wheel of chance, they got a Lokean godspouse with mental illness coming back at them with facts to back up the history of godspousery into antiquity who then illuminated the interplay between their mental illness and faith, as well as gave a picture into a day with Flame-Hair as a spouse. I didn't do this to make myself superior to any other godspouse. I did it to show that mental illness is not a prerequisite for faith and that faith can help check some of the problems of mental illness.

Yes, I threw out a challenge after the argument ended. Again, not the most thamelic of things to do. It is, however, part of my nature to do so. I've yet to see anyone attempting to bat it down. The same passion that drives me to defend my community of godspouses and Lokeans drives me to be protective of the Filianic and Déanic community. I can not abide persons who attack others for their religious practices when those practices cause no harm. I have a history of wading into the fray over this. I'm likely going to continue to do so because while I can not go to a protest to defend one's civil liberties or such, I can argue and do what little I can via the internet for the sake of justice. And serving justice is thamelic.