Random Wednesday: Leave The Lights On, Hating Yourself, and Cops For Criminal Justice Reform

Last updated on: January 18, 2017 at 11:44 pm by Tom Swiss

Random Wednesday: Leave The Lights On, Hating Yourself, and Cops For Criminal Justice Reform 2017-01-18T23:44:17-04:00 Tom Swiss

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Hail Eris, it’s Random Wednesday!

Leave the Lights On

Today I made the random decision to leave my holiday lights on until Imbolc. (It’s one string of LEDs, very little power.) I usually turn them off after my birthday party, which was Saturday, but I found myself depressed by the thought. It seems like we can use a little extra light right now. So it’s a little improvised ritual this year, to keep the lights on until — by some definitions — the start of Spring.

Hating Yourself

This post by Brad Warner is very good and you should go read it:

I think the first thing we can do is to recognize that the phrase “I hate myself” makes no sense and that any solution based on that phrase can’t work. Suicide and self-improvement are both poor responses because they are based on the phrase used to describe the feeling rather than on the actual feeling.

In my own case, what I did was try to understand the feeling I described as “I hate myself.” I wanted to see that feeling as it exists before I use the words “I hate myself” to describe it. The best way I’ve found to do this was to sit very quietly and experience the feeling directly.

I don’t judge the feeling. I don’t say it’s a bad feeling and try to get rid of it. If I got rid of it, I’d miss the opportunity to study it. So I let it be there.

Cops For Criminal Justice Reform

For many years I’ve cheered on the effort of the group Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, an anti-drug-war group. Now it’s evolving into a broader criminal justice reform organization, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership:

Criminal justice professionals know that with the right reforms, we can do better, for ourselves and for our communities. We can stop wasting time on problems that shouldn’t be criminal justice issues, free up law enforcement to focus on the most serious crimes, build trust between the police and community, and make our communities safer.

…

That’s why I’m proud to launch the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, giving criminal justice professionals a voice to call for solutions. This nonprofit has evolved from the former Law Enforcement Against Prohibition, a group of criminal justice professionals dedicated to ending the War on Drugs. While ending that destructive policy will always be a central goal, we can’t stop there when our speakers have seen so many other urgent opportunities for reform.

Their web page puts the Peelean Principles that we’ve discussed before front and center. As we enter what looks to be a dark time for criminal justice reform, it’s good to know that reformers on the inside are taking up the challenge.

Previous Post

January 16, 2017

MLK Failed, Make Way For MLK

Next Post

January 22, 2017 "Metal and Velvet" (Digital Art, "52 Makeup" Week 3)

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2017 52 Makeup 2020 52 Makeup Always Roaming With A Hungry Heart Art Because I Could Not Stop For Death Caught On Video COVID-19 Culture Discordianism Ethics, Virtue, and Right Living History Magic(k), Ritual, and Mysticism My Blogging Life and Times Philosophy Podcast Poetry Random Wednesdays Religion & Politics Seasonal Musings Techno-Pagan Theology Uncategorized Warrior Path Zen

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 March 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 September 2024 August 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 December 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 October 2022 September 2022 June 2022 April 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was Ezra's profession?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Priest Scribe Soldier Farmer