Famous Unitarian Reverend Theodore Parker's Famous Saying "The Arc Of The Universe Is Long But It Bends Towards Justice."
Is an offensive slap in the face when it comes to the UUA's ongoing failure, if not the UUA's ongoing obstinate refusal. . . to provide any real and tangible restorative justice for ALL victims of U*U clergy misconduct. The same may be said about the abject failure and/or obstinate refusal of Unitarian*Universalists more generally to provide some genuine justice and equity to victims of other injustices and abuses directly perpetrated by Unitarian*Universalists and/or indirectly perpetuated by Unitarian*Universalists. In its official apology to victims of clergy sexual misconduct, delivered close to a decade ago in June 2000 at the Unitarian Universalist Association of Congregations' General Assembly aka UUA GA in Nashville, Tennessee, the UUA *pledged* aka promised aka covenanted. . . to CHANGE and *learn* and "bend towards justice" in what it officially acknowledged was an "untended area" aka a product of *negligence*.
In that decade or so. . . I have seen very little evidence of any real and substantial CHANGE in the UUA's handling of clergy misconduct complaints. Certainly I have seen little or no POSITIVE change in UUA policies and, more importantly, *practices* in handling clergy misconduct. . . In fact, what little CHANGE that I have seen seems to be *regressive* aka *negative* CHANGE, or otherwise questionable CHANGE. I have seen very little evidence that the UUA has actually *learned* any lessons from its previous negligence and effective complicity in clergy misconduct of ALL kinds, and precious little evidence of any real and tangible *restorative* justice for victims of clergy sexual misconduct, to say nothing of victims of harmful and damaging non-sexual forms of clergy misconduct. Unless of course U*U clergy are the victims of that non-sexual clergy misconduct. . . *Then* something is actually done for (dare I say it?) a change. . . In fact, not too long ago, in a phone conversation with one of the few people who care enough about clergy misconduct issues within the Unitarian*Universalist Association of Congregations aka UUA to actually try to CHANGE things, I asked this person what restorative justice had been provided to victims of clergy sexual misconduct since the UUA promised to provide restorative justice to ALL victims of U*U clergy sexual misconduct in its now quite questionably sincere official apology of June of 2000.
This person's answer was one word -
"None."
That's right. You heard it here first.
None as in nothing, nada, nix, zilch, zip, zero. . . or, to use a term from tennis that U*Us seem to be very fond of using these days, LOVE.
To be somewhat less polite. . .
FUCK ALL
Now, how truthful and accurate that rather *negative* assessment of the amount of restorative justice the UUA has *actually* provided to victims of U*U clergy sexual misconduct I cannot tell all by myself.
I do not have enough inside(r) knowledge of what the UUA is actually doing, or indeed *actually* not doing aka neglecting. . . when it comes to providing restorative justice to ALL past victims of clergy sexual misconduct committed by U*U ministers. Still, that is what this very well informed person, who is in a much better position to know about such things, said to me when I asked about it some months ago now.
NONE.
Not very *promising* is it?
How about if we settle for "next to nothing" for now?
Until the UUA tells everyone exactly what it *actually* has done, if anything. . . to provide some *genuine* restorative justice to ALL victims of U*U clergy misconduct in the last decade or so.
So just when is the arc of the U*U Universe going to finally get around to bending towards real and tangible restorative justice for ALL victims of U*U clergy misconduct? Both clergy sexual misconduct AND non-sexual clergy misconduct, which seems to be an even more "untended area" than the area of clergy sexual misconduct in The U*U Movement. I know that Rev. Theodore Parker's "arc" of justice has not even come close to reaching me yet. . . I expect that there are other victims of clergy misconduct who have yet to receive the tiniest "token" of restorative justice from the UUA.
Thanks go out to Dairy State Dad for his bitter*sweet reminder of famous Unitarian Rev. Theodore Parker's famous saying about justice which was made more famous, aka popularized, by famous Non*Unitarian*Universalist Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Here, with some corrected grammar etc., is the comment that I left on Dairy State Dad's "The arc of the universe is long... blog post -
No offense to you is intended here DSD, but to me, and I expect a good number of other victims of U*U clergy misconduct of various kinds, as well as other as yet unredressed U*U injustices and abuses, Rev. Theodore Parker's famous saying -
"The arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice."
is not very welcome.
Genuine restorative justice for myself and other people who have been badly treated by U*U clergy, and/or U*Us more generally, is long overdue. Quite regrettably the arc of justice in the U*U "Universe" is a rather too long one. . .
WVC = hrpr
In that decade or so. . . I have seen very little evidence of any real and substantial CHANGE in the UUA's handling of clergy misconduct complaints. Certainly I have seen little or no POSITIVE change in UUA policies and, more importantly, *practices* in handling clergy misconduct. . . In fact, what little CHANGE that I have seen seems to be *regressive* aka *negative* CHANGE, or otherwise questionable CHANGE. I have seen very little evidence that the UUA has actually *learned* any lessons from its previous negligence and effective complicity in clergy misconduct of ALL kinds, and precious little evidence of any real and tangible *restorative* justice for victims of clergy sexual misconduct, to say nothing of victims of harmful and damaging non-sexual forms of clergy misconduct. Unless of course U*U clergy are the victims of that non-sexual clergy misconduct. . . *Then* something is actually done for (dare I say it?) a change. . . In fact, not too long ago, in a phone conversation with one of the few people who care enough about clergy misconduct issues within the Unitarian*Universalist Association of Congregations aka UUA to actually try to CHANGE things, I asked this person what restorative justice had been provided to victims of clergy sexual misconduct since the UUA promised to provide restorative justice to ALL victims of U*U clergy sexual misconduct in its now quite questionably sincere official apology of June of 2000.
This person's answer was one word -
"None."
That's right. You heard it here first.
None as in nothing, nada, nix, zilch, zip, zero. . . or, to use a term from tennis that U*Us seem to be very fond of using these days, LOVE.
To be somewhat less polite. . .
FUCK ALL
Now, how truthful and accurate that rather *negative* assessment of the amount of restorative justice the UUA has *actually* provided to victims of U*U clergy sexual misconduct I cannot tell all by myself.
I do not have enough inside(r) knowledge of what the UUA is actually doing, or indeed *actually* not doing aka neglecting. . . when it comes to providing restorative justice to ALL past victims of clergy sexual misconduct committed by U*U ministers. Still, that is what this very well informed person, who is in a much better position to know about such things, said to me when I asked about it some months ago now.
NONE.
Not very *promising* is it?
How about if we settle for "next to nothing" for now?
Until the UUA tells everyone exactly what it *actually* has done, if anything. . . to provide some *genuine* restorative justice to ALL victims of U*U clergy misconduct in the last decade or so.
So just when is the arc of the U*U Universe going to finally get around to bending towards real and tangible restorative justice for ALL victims of U*U clergy misconduct? Both clergy sexual misconduct AND non-sexual clergy misconduct, which seems to be an even more "untended area" than the area of clergy sexual misconduct in The U*U Movement. I know that Rev. Theodore Parker's "arc" of justice has not even come close to reaching me yet. . . I expect that there are other victims of clergy misconduct who have yet to receive the tiniest "token" of restorative justice from the UUA.
Thanks go out to Dairy State Dad for his bitter*sweet reminder of famous Unitarian Rev. Theodore Parker's famous saying about justice which was made more famous, aka popularized, by famous Non*Unitarian*Universalist Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
Here, with some corrected grammar etc., is the comment that I left on Dairy State Dad's "The arc of the universe is long... blog post -
No offense to you is intended here DSD, but to me, and I expect a good number of other victims of U*U clergy misconduct of various kinds, as well as other as yet unredressed U*U injustices and abuses, Rev. Theodore Parker's famous saying -
"The arc of the universe is long but it bends towards justice."
is not very welcome.
Genuine restorative justice for myself and other people who have been badly treated by U*U clergy, and/or U*Us more generally, is long overdue. Quite regrettably the arc of justice in the U*U "Universe" is a rather too long one. . .
WVC = hrpr
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