Woke tribalization - *&* reflexive anti-Wokeness tribalization that occurs in response - can nurture undesirable & ultimately personally & socially destructive impulses & behavior *in us*.

Tribalization makes us blinder, more reactive, hostile, fearful, & less collaborative. 1/

Tribalization is undesirable bc it surrenders our capacities for discernment, reason, collaboration, & compromise (all necessary for effective problem-solving) to our own error-prone involuntary emotional reactions & autonomic nervous system responses. 2/ https://twitter.com/PDXSelina/status/1373600686118555651?s=20

Tribalization encourages us to push other complex humans, who we may know little to nothing about, into boxes. To *falsely* assume bad things about them, to convince ourselves they're evil, crazy, deluded, stupid. It makes us vulnerable to our own egos 3/ https://twitter.com/PDXSelina/status/1366947635303653382?s=20

This error produces human feedback loops of even greater error. It produces disharmony. It interferes with trying to *genuinely* understand one another. It also interferes with opportunity to be understood & seen & appreciated as a unique human. 4/ https://twitter.com/PDXSelina/status/1370916461066084356?s=20

We need to remember to look for the goodness, gifts, & wisdom in one another, despite our personality & world-view differences, & despite one another's weaknesses & errors.

This may sound New Agey, but it's what I'm learning from deeply religious, ... 5/

http://tinyurl.com/nrd35d45 

devout, God-fearing & God-loving conservative Christians (incldg Catholics) as I've actually started reading the Bible, talking with them, & learning from their sermons & contemporary Christian music, during my Lenten journey to put an end to habits that were slowly killing me. 6

When we stop mis-identifying other people as dangerous, evil, stupid, or crazy, we may be pleasantly surprised to discover that they have insights to offer us that could be beneficial for our learning. This doesn't mean we surrender our own faith, traditions, & discernment tho 7/

AFAICT, certain Jewish, Christian, & Hindu emphases on humility, peace-seeking, duty, protecting innocents, true justice, seeing God in *all* other humans, & the importance of being firmly grounded in a relationship with God *&* one's own faith & ... 8/

wisdom tradition & scripture - & all of it, not just stuff that comes easy, but stuff that challenges our egotistical nature, selfish desires, & other human frailties - make devout folks who take these traditions seriously - & in *all their ... 9/

complexity - very desirable & trust-worthy friends, neighbors, business associates, public servants, fellow Americans, & allies in actually working *effectively* to reduce & prevent unnecessary & avoidable human conflict, violence, & suffering. 10/

That doesn't mean *all* traditions lead to God, tho. Some have very erroneous things in them that tend to pull people away from Him.

I know a fair number of Christians, Hindus, & some Buddhists who fear this is the case with Islam. I honestly don't know enough about Islam... 11

to comment on that at this point. I read the Koran ~27yrs ago & don't recall specifics other than knowing Islam wasn't meant to be my path.

What I *do* know is that I've had friends, Amazon Prime Now gig-driving coworkers, & currently have neighbors who are *devout* ... 12/

Muslims who exhibit fidelity to truth, generosity of spirit, extension of brotherly love across differences, self-discipline, thoughtfulness, humility, & effort in maintaining a deep & abiding relationship with God that one often sees in holy people.

13/

OTOH I also know we had an Imam here in my Portland neighborhood who Obama's DOJ alleged in 2015 had ties to bin Laden & 4 terror orgs & had facilitated young men going overseas to join al Qaeda. I first heard about it ...

https://katu.com/news/local/us-authorities-allege-oregon-imam-assisted-radicals

https://www.oregonlive.com/portland/2015/07/portland_imam_had_ties_to_osam.html

14/

4 yrs later, shortly after Imam Kariye had finally been stripped of citizenship & flew back to Somalia.

When I looked the story up & saw his picture, I was amazed - I'd seen this man so often in & around the apt complex I'd moved into May 2016, I'd thought he lived here. 15/

On the 3rd hand, many of my neighbors were members of this Imam's mosque, including several in whom I observed fruits of the Holy Spirit. If these Obama DOJ accusations against him were true, it seems at least plausible to me that Kariye lived something of a double life. /16

Maybe they missed danger signs from him. Even Godly people can give others a benefit of a doubt & dismiss signs they'd have caught had prayerful humility kept them open to constantly checking their own confirmation bias & other errors humans are prone to.

And maybe *I* ... /17

missed danger signs from some of these folks.

Reality is complex, & so are we people.

I don't think I misperceived them, but can't say that with certainty, especially since I've only started getting truly grounded in my relationship with God. 18/

On the 4th hand, it's also at least possible that the corruption some of us have observed in some of our US institutions & agencies kicked in & falsely hung an innocent man out to dry for some nefarious purpose.

I don't have enough data to know. But God knows. 19

What I do know is this:

I'm now on a better path, finding it oddly easy to drop bad habits that kept pulling me into a pit of anxiety & depression for decades (next up: let go of nic vaping.) I'm rebuilding positive habits, self-respect, humility. 20/

In finally getting into the Word, I'm realizing my Grandpa Mulalley taught me so much valuable wisdom from it, without citing it, & much of his teaching was by doing his best to live it. I now understand why he read the Bible daily, said grace at meals, urged ... 21/

self-restraint & prayerful discernment, & encouraged (but didn’t force) prayer. Praying again is amazing

Singing along with a great playlist of Christian music that reiterates Scriptural teachings - in ALL their demanding complexity - has been key. 22/

Using these tools to discern & avoid false teachings that encourage human frailties like egotism, neurosis, envy, rigidity, superficiality, materialism, wimpyness in the face of aggression &/or suffering, passive wishful thinking, saviorism, tribalization, manipulation, ... 23/

doing what feels good or easy, self-righteousness, fearfulness, other false idols.

I'm *finally* understanding - on a more fundamental level - Scriptural references in others' testimonies about their walks & relationship with God, Holy Spirit, Christ 23/

Don't fear or sweat mockery from those who don't understand the richness, beauty, wisdom, & life-giving power of your faith. Fearfulness is a false idol. God is great.

Remember who you are. Let go, let God. Study, pray, & discern. & find *your* calling for this time. *END*

PS: a number of the images in this thread are from two great @BECKAHSHAE videos. Fantastic, hopeful songs & beautiful, moving art.

Awake:

Beckah Shae, Heartbeat