The Unhealthiness Of The Unkindness Of The U*Us - David Throop Speaks Up About Over-The-Top Criticism And Verbal Abuse In The U*U World
Lone Star State U*U David Throop asks 'What would make our churches healthier?' on his UU Covenant Groups, Lay Preaching & Evangelizing blog. Throop suggests that the U*U faith aka the U*U Movement "would be healthier if there was less unkindness." His blog posts speaks specifically about verbal abuse rather than other forms of "unkindness" of U*Us. According to Throop, "Most of the time, UUs are kind to each other. But every once and a while, good people get their ears burned off by their angry co-religionists." As someone who has had his ears burned off by angry, to say nothing of just plain insulting and abusive, U*U clergy on several occasions I can relate.
David Throop references the Independent Affiliates Revisited (Again) (And Again) blog post of the UUA's Pacific Central District Trustee Linda Laskowski. He cites a letter of UUA Moderator Gini Courter who speaks about being "verbally abused and treated in other totally inappropriate ways by leaders of some of our former independent affiliates." Throop says, "A friend who works at the district level told me a similar story, about bringing some unwelcome news to a group of (adult) YRUU facilitators, and being shocked at the level of verbal abuse she took. . . I've also know a whole series of past congregational-presidents who don't come around so much any more. Several of them have said that the level of verbal abuse they took in the position had shocked them." It seems that David Throop's blog post was inspired by, and is a response to, a fairly recent blog post by fellow Lone Star State U*U the Rev. Dr. Matt Tittle who is minister of Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church in Houston Texas and who asks 'What would make your faith community healthier?' on his 'Keep The Faith' blog.
David Throop answers Rev. Dr. Matt Tittle's question "in the double negative" by saying "less unkindness." He insightfully points out that "more kindness isn't really the solution. No matter how much kindness we've received over the years, it can be greatly undone by a single angry heated tirade." Not that I haven't being saying pretty much the same thing for well over a decade now. . . ever since the angry heated tirade of the intolerant, abusive, and quite belligerent "fundamentalist atheist" Humanist U*U minister Rev. Ray Drennan in which he contemptuously dismissed my revelatory religious experience as "your psychotic experience" and angrily and indeed heatedly demanded that I seek "professional help". . . U*Us know, that angry heated tirade in which the self-described "pastoral specialist" Rev. Raymond Drennan angrily labeled Creation Day as a "cult" and dismissed my monotheistic religious beliefs as being nothing but "silliness and fantasy". That angry heated tirade which Rev. Diane Miller, the Director of the UUA's very aptly named Ministerial *Fellowship* Committee, foolishly pretended was "within the appropriate guidelines of ministerial leadership" when my formal complaint about his anti-religious intolerance and bigotry was passed on to her by former UUA President Rev. Dr. John A. Beuhrens in the spring of 1996.
Here is my comment responding to David Throop's blog post. Hopefully he will be kind enough not to "memory hole" it. . .
I think that your point about "less unkindness" is very valid David. Quite regrettably the highest levels of the current UUA administration, apparently including UUA President Bill Sinkford and UUA Moderator Gini Courter herself. . . turn blind eyes and deaf ears to people complaining about the "unkindness" of intolerant and abusive U*U clergy who are allowed to deeply insult, outright defame, and otherwise verbally abuse their co-religionists and non-U*Us with complete impunity. If you have any doubts about this I can present plenty of evidence to support what I just said including, but by no means limited to, this email string between me and Rev. Dr. Tracey Robinson-Harris regarding the "unkindness" aka over-the-top criticism and verbal abuse of one Rev. Victoria Weinstein aka Peacebang.
David Throop references the Independent Affiliates Revisited (Again) (And Again) blog post of the UUA's Pacific Central District Trustee Linda Laskowski. He cites a letter of UUA Moderator Gini Courter who speaks about being "verbally abused and treated in other totally inappropriate ways by leaders of some of our former independent affiliates." Throop says, "A friend who works at the district level told me a similar story, about bringing some unwelcome news to a group of (adult) YRUU facilitators, and being shocked at the level of verbal abuse she took. . . I've also know a whole series of past congregational-presidents who don't come around so much any more. Several of them have said that the level of verbal abuse they took in the position had shocked them." It seems that David Throop's blog post was inspired by, and is a response to, a fairly recent blog post by fellow Lone Star State U*U the Rev. Dr. Matt Tittle who is minister of Bay Area Unitarian Universalist Church in Houston Texas and who asks 'What would make your faith community healthier?' on his 'Keep The Faith' blog.
David Throop answers Rev. Dr. Matt Tittle's question "in the double negative" by saying "less unkindness." He insightfully points out that "more kindness isn't really the solution. No matter how much kindness we've received over the years, it can be greatly undone by a single angry heated tirade." Not that I haven't being saying pretty much the same thing for well over a decade now. . . ever since the angry heated tirade of the intolerant, abusive, and quite belligerent "fundamentalist atheist" Humanist U*U minister Rev. Ray Drennan in which he contemptuously dismissed my revelatory religious experience as "your psychotic experience" and angrily and indeed heatedly demanded that I seek "professional help". . . U*Us know, that angry heated tirade in which the self-described "pastoral specialist" Rev. Raymond Drennan angrily labeled Creation Day as a "cult" and dismissed my monotheistic religious beliefs as being nothing but "silliness and fantasy". That angry heated tirade which Rev. Diane Miller, the Director of the UUA's very aptly named Ministerial *Fellowship* Committee, foolishly pretended was "within the appropriate guidelines of ministerial leadership" when my formal complaint about his anti-religious intolerance and bigotry was passed on to her by former UUA President Rev. Dr. John A. Beuhrens in the spring of 1996.
Here is my comment responding to David Throop's blog post. Hopefully he will be kind enough not to "memory hole" it. . .
I think that your point about "less unkindness" is very valid David. Quite regrettably the highest levels of the current UUA administration, apparently including UUA President Bill Sinkford and UUA Moderator Gini Courter herself. . . turn blind eyes and deaf ears to people complaining about the "unkindness" of intolerant and abusive U*U clergy who are allowed to deeply insult, outright defame, and otherwise verbally abuse their co-religionists and non-U*Us with complete impunity. If you have any doubts about this I can present plenty of evidence to support what I just said including, but by no means limited to, this email string between me and Rev. Dr. Tracey Robinson-Harris regarding the "unkindness" aka over-the-top criticism and verbal abuse of one Rev. Victoria Weinstein aka Peacebang.
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