On 2017-05-03 10:55 AM (-4), Stephen wrote:
> On 5/3/2017 3:00 PM, Cousin Ricky wrote:
>> That has been my understanding as well.  When my faith abandoned me (in
>> the middle of a church service, no less), I did not feel comfortable
>> remaining in a community whose very rationale as a community was that
>> set of beliefs that I no longer shared.  As communities that are *not*
>> faith-based are practically non-existent in my locale, I was forced to
>> find explicitly non-believing communities on-line, and when they talk
>> about "drinking the Kool-Aid," it always refers to swallowing dogma.
>
> I will just reply here as I am lazy. ;)
>
> Cuz, I can well believe that you "had to get out of town". I was quite
> taken aback when I worked in Jamaica, how religious most people are.
> Even those that professed not to be. (And how deep grained but not
> spoken about, Obeah is. Not that, that bothered me in the slightest.)

It's the same in the southeastern USA, and most rural parts of the USA 
as well.  In the global context, western Europe's non-religiosity is 
actually an anomaly.

In the Virgin Islands, Obeah is also not spoken of--except by Christian 
priests who pointedly remind us that they know damn well that we're 
doing it.

>> That's a matter of perspective.  As a black American, I cannot look at
>> "wholesome" '50s images without being reminded of the hidden ugly
>> reality behind them.
>
> That is not surprising. I remember from the the race riots of the 60's
> the contrasting images. Thank goodness that things have changed and will
> only get better under your present government. ;)

:-P

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