identity

Written By Bill Hulseman

weekly reflection, updates & good stuff 4.13.2021

Friends, 

Last week, Frank Bruni published an opinion piece, “Republicans Have Found Their Cruel New Culture War,” in which he rightly and righteously characterizes lawmakers and activists who harp on trans people and seek to limit or roll back hard-won rights and understanding as opportunists and extremists.  They’ve given up on battles like equal marriage and groups like gay men and lesbians that have established social (and financial) capital and pointed their crosshairs onto trans people who are the among the most vulnerable among the already vulnerable. These politicians, Bruni writes, “are expert at identifying vulnerable, marginalized populations and demonizing them in the interest of political gain.”

That got me thinking about coursework on the history of anti-Judaism I did as an undergrad. My research and my professor pointed to a persistent pattern in European and Western (#problematicdesignation) history. Natural disasters and economic collapses were followed by a scaled-up version of the blame game. Instead of recognizing common suffering across lines of difference, leaders and common folk alike identified “others” to absorb the blame. The most frequently targeted group was the Jews (early Christians gave history plenty of fodder for framing Jewish communities in the form of terrible and terrorizing myths and superstitions), but other groups caught the ire of the angry mob (and the angry monarch, and the angry clerics, and…), including ethnic minorities, foreigners, homosexuals, and people born with physical and mental disabilities and differences. This was the playbook that was developed in medieval Europe that evolved over time into modern forms of systemic oppression and injustice - the Nuremberg Laws in which the Nazis defined citizenship is just one of the outcomes of this history. Change didn’t come with big, sweeping reforms or laws - even the era of Emancipation (in which Jews, country by country beginning with France in 1791 gained mostly equal rights). In fact, Emancipation had serious and unintended consequences - when an oppressed group got a foothold, the backlash was fierce. Voltaire himself, while he embodied the evolving secular French republic and derided any notion of superiority before the law, he also retained a deeply seeded hatred for Jews and is considered a founder of modern antisemitism.

Hatred doesn’t dissipate when confronted with laws and policies. Like anything that is repressed, it risks sublimating into something uglier, something worse, like violence. It has to go somewhere it has to be transformed, and that transformation happens in small ways, in small moments, in discrete choices that people make. We saw that the fight for equal marriage a proxy for the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness for people who are gay, lesbian, and bisexual depended on both the sweeping legal changes that culminated in the Supreme Court and the growing visibility, the “normalization” of gay, lesbian, and bi folx in society. In response to Bruni’s column, I posted my own reflection, “Look in the mirror. Identity, insanity, and change,” and I identify a handful of small changes that any one of us can make without much disruption to our lives - the easiest, the absolute least that any of us can do - to protect and stand with our most vulnerable friends, family, neighbors, and fellow citizens.

If your inbox is bursting at the seams, please feel free to unsubscribe. If you’re interested in updates on bill hulseman consulting or my own reflections on ritual, education, and dialogue, read on! 

UPCOMING

UPDATES

You may know by now that two of my favorite things are rituals and symposia, so I’m thrilled to share that I’m participating in Cat Dillon’s Routines & Rituals Symposium, a free online event running from April 26-May 8. Cat is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and Transformational Behavioral Coach who supports women find their true north by forging mind-body-spirit connections, and she interviewed me and 25 others, a diverse array of professionals, experts, and practitioners. In our conversation, Cat and I explored the meaning and function of rituals, how they differ from routines and other meaningful practices, and why ritual and building community are important to me. I think I even gushed a little talking about my wedding. From Cat’s description of the event:

As life slowly shifts back to what we knew it to be (An exciting prospect!), there’s never been a better time to recalibrate ourselves for more connection and meaning. 

Our thoughts and feelings play a huge role in our health outcomes...they can even help us crave healthier foods.

Are you done with the mundane? Ready to recharge, create your ideal daily routine, and uplevel your motivation?

If you want to find more focus and inspiration to achieve your health, relationship, mindset, and business goals, there are a few things you should know!

Find out what they are at the Routines and Rituals Symposium interview series - 10 days of practical steps, wise advice, and inside access to top influencers who are there to help YOU create the mindset necessary to move through life mindfully and intentionally. 

Claim your front row seat to the online event here!

So if you want to hear me gush, or, more importantly, if you’re interested in exploring rituals and routines, wellness, mindfulness, health, and some of the science that girds it, register today!

This week, I’m starting a symposium on Madonna Studies as part of Tacoma Arts Live’s Adult Conservatory. This symposium will meet on Thursdays for five weeks beginning April 15. To sign up, visit Tacoma Arts Live’s Adult Classes & Outreach page. If you know any Madonnawannabes or anyone who wants to participate in the amazing work of Tacoma Arts Live, you can point them to the symposium’s Facebook page, too. 

Guided meditations via Zoom continue on Mondays at 4:00pm PST and on Thursdays at 9:00am PST! These morning (on the West Coast)/mid-day (on the East Coast)/evening (wherever else you might be) sessions will be just like the Monday session - our aim is to practice being present and finding a little peace and quiet. If you or someone you know could use a 20-30 minute dose of peace and quiet on Mondays or Thursdays, visit the meditation page on my site to sign up! 

Registration for the Good Stuff IV and Religion in film: a case study in religion and pop culture symposia is open! What, exactly, is a symposium? It’s a chance for a group of people to connect, experience something, and engage in meaningful conversation. Check out my website for more information and to sign up. Interested? More info and registration are here. Symposia are limited to 10 participants and need 4 to run - if you’ve thought about participating, now is the time to sign up! 

GOOD STUFF

Learn
Looking to expand your knowledge of trans artists? Here’s a quick list: “10 Transgender Art Creatives Whose Work You Should Follow.”

Listen
Shea Diamond began writing “I Am Her” while in prison, where she first found a community that shared her experience being trans, and the song is part community anthem, part defiant march, and part check on the privilege that cisgender people possess. 

Your ignorance leaves a hell of a stench
The aroma lingers on generations have known
Ain’t it ironic, the smarter we get
The less we understand ‘bout the simplest shit
I am Shea, she is me
We get down without bad selves figuratively
Don’t care too much what other people say
I get along swell by my goddamn self
Never asked for no one’s philosophy
It’s obvious I’m proud of me

For me, the song and the video are honest, up front, and unapologetic. They’re unsettling, and that’s a good thing. It’s a sign of privilege to feel unsettled meeting another’s authentic self, and it’s a reminder that there is so much more for me to understand, explore, and embrace. It’s also an honor to be able to feel and share in the joy that Diamond oozes despite layers of ignorance, hatred, and frustration that enveloped her.  

If you stream music on Spotify, I’ve started a playlist called “Bill’s Good Stuff,” including music I’ve loved for a long time as well as things I’ve come across more recently. Feel free to add the playlist to your favorites! Bill’s Good Stuff Spotify Playlist

Read
For this week’s meditation, I used a poem by David Whyte. 

“Self-Portrait”

It doesn’t interest me if there is one God
or many gods.
I want to know if you belong or feel
abandoned,
if you can know despair or see it in others.
I want to know
if you are prepared to live in the world
with its harsh need
to change you. If you can look back
with firm eyes,
saying this is where I stand. I want to know
if you know
how to melt into that fierce heat of living,
falling toward
the center of your longing. I want to know
if you are willing
to live, day by day, with the consequence of love
or the bitter
unwanted passion of your sure defeat.
I have heard, in that fierce embrace,
even the gods speak of God.

Bill Hulseman
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