Whose Rules? Whose Sin?

Religions do not work. Even with the best intentions, as long as there are people leading the religion there will be errors.

Man-made religions fail because they are made by men and ultimately mankind's ego gets in the way and leads down the wrong path at odds with the beliefs and at odds with salvation of the soul.

Even Buddhism has its flaws as long as there is someone in charge who has not rid himself of ego leading to rules that are at odds with Siddhartha Gautam's teachings after he became Buddha, the enlightened one because followers, being human, worship the man instead of following Buddha's example.

The same is true of all man-made religions. Followers worship the man and not only the teachings. The man, or leader, is a spokesman and not god or the Creator. He is simply a mouthpiece who speaks for the Creator. Worshiping the mouthpiece is the same thing as worshiping a loudspeaker, a tool meant so the man can make his voice loud enough to be heard by all who are willing to listen.

If you look at the roots of every man-made religion, you will find similarities and contradictions, many of which are changed by whichever spokesman is standing at the front and speaking. Some men speak only the truth and many men - far too many men - speak what they want people to hear and interpret the words in whichever way benefits them the most, furthering their own agenda to add prestige to themselves, stroke their own ego, or make it possible to prey on listeners, especially those listening who will bow to their personal agenda.

I remember a minister in my youth who preached from the Bible and used his position as leader of the church to prey on women who went to church to learn from him the right way to live. Not so surprising as men in power have often used their position to prey on those who looked up to him, something he did in secret while publicly effecting a moral stance consonant with his Christian preaching and totally at odds with the morals he taught as minister.

The same is true of every minister and preacher of man-made religions who seeks to add power to his position and use that power to prey on others. The prey run the gamut of children, adolescents, and adults of every age and stage of life. Consider Roman Catholic priests who prey on teenage girls, pre-adolescent girls, and even women close to -- or older than themselves -- as long as it ends adding to their power and ego. Men of the cloth (clergy) are still men. They pay for sex with whichever woman catches their fancy or, in the words of the time in which I grew up, make their socks go up and down. In cruder terminology, make their dicks hard.

Such excesses are not solely the property of the Roman Catholic Church, although they have been at it since the Roman Catholic Church began. There are predators among the Jews and the Buddhists and Muslims because the one thing they have in common is leaders who are men.

Man-made religions are unreliable, whatever their origins, because they are spread and taught or preached by men. Man-made religions are false.

Mankind does not need a saviour to point the way to salvation and do not need rules and morality codified by men. That is the same thing as setting up wolves to guard the sheep. Depending on how strong or faithful, in the end the wolf will revert to its nature and the sheep will die a violent and bloody death, becoming breakfast, lunch, or dinner depending on the wolf's hunger.

Just like the wolf, he will be partial to lambs or mutton. It's all a matter of taste. There are also wolves that will beg for scraps or fight the leader to take over the pack so that wolf will get the first taste of the prey and share the scraps with whichever wolf is next in line. If there are enough sheep, everyone is fed. If not, food will be shared out depending on which wolf is strongest and the winner of the fights.

Consider followers like sheep and leaders like wolves. The comparison is apt and describes exactly what happens throughout the world along the lines of religious beliefs.

Buddhism in its original form, the same eight fold path taught by Buddha, formerly Siddhartha Gautam, and preached during his lifetime. Basically it all boils down to nonviolence and being kind to others. I would say serving others without ego and without agenda. The whole point is doing good to others without expectation of reward or punishment.

There are no rules outside of being kind and caring for others. There are no rewards or punishments except those we find if we live our life caring for others and being kind to all. Meditation is something we do for ourselves, finding within us what has always been there -- the nature of our souls, the same soul that brings this body to life, the same soul that led us to the choice of where and how to incarnate in this existence when and where you are at this point. Whatever you choose to learn informs the path you take this life around. You will make mistakes and you will learn. There are times when you must repeat the same type of life because you didn't learn or refused to learn, getting caught up in the same errors and refusing to learn whatever lesson you chose this lifetime around. Your punishment is not hell, unless it is the Hell of realizing what you did wrong and knowing you must come back and learn the lesson once again. You choose the life. You choose the circumstances. You either learn or you do not. It is up to you.

Be mindful. Absorb every moment of every day. Appreciate the beauty of the world around you. Be thankful for the gifts you are given and the people you meet. Give up anger, wrath, violence, being a know-it-all, step down off your high horse, give up your high moral ground, love everyone without exception. Do not mistake lust for love, not the love of one human for another that does not expect to have your lustful feelings returned or fulfilled. Love is simply love, caring for the people around you, caring about the people around you, being kind and generous with the people around you. Lust is not part of that kind of love and has no place in loving one another as one human being loves another, cares for the other, is generous with others, and has no selfish, ego-driven agenda, and no desire for control and power over others. There is no reward to be earned, except the reward of looking out for others, being kind to others, generously smoothing the road for others, and letting others find their own way down the path to nirvana -- the ultimate salvation and release from unending rounds of reincarnation when we have not learned the first and only basic lesson we have chosen to learn -- be kind to all people, care for others without expecting reward, and loving others without building up points to rise to a heaven that does not exist or falling to a fiery hell that also does not exist.

You will learn to be the best person you can be, help others, and love everyone without respect for their physical appearance. Loving without expectation of reward is the same as following rules to achieve the big reward and avoid the fiery hell that waits to gobble you up and torture you for eternity.

Learn to meditate. Look inward. Strive to be the kindest, most generous, and loving being you can and you will achieve nirvana. You will achieve ultimate salvation. No one needs to teach you because you have the answer inside you. You were born knowing the answer. Listen to what your soul tells you or chain yourself to the wheel of fortune by ignoring your soul and your connection to the Creator of all.

Ignore the man-made written rules that say you must believe a certain way, prey on others, or follow man-made rituals. The only salvation is within you. Meditate, connect with your soul, and live the life you know in your soul you should live. Keep love in your heart, care for others without expecting reward, and know yourself. That is all you need to discover the ultimate salvation. Everything else you have learned or been taught is false. Follow no leader. Harm no one. Love everyone. Care for everyone.

That is all. Disperse.

Man vs Woman?

Brett Ratner, Hollywood director, is another Harvey Weinstein, except he hasn't been at the predator stage as long as Weinstein. By all accounts, Ratner is a nice guy, a family man, kind, and generous -- with his time. His lawyer supports Ratner's claims that he has done nothing -- NOTHING. I'm sure Weinstein said the same thing even before 30 women came forward to accuse him of preying on him. Hasn't Hollywood claimed that no often means yes? That's what all the guys in high school in the locker room claimed and still claim. After all, a red-blooded American girl often says no many times before she finally says yes. 

Ask Weinstein. Ask the players on the football, basketball, and baseball teams. 

Better yet, ask their lawyers. Their girlfriends. Their mothers. Their neighbors. The clergy - if you can find a minister, pastor, rabbi, priest, or layman. 

Ask the next Muslim man you see or his imam. 

No matter where you go or where you live or have lived, the answer will be the same when it comes to women. 

The closer the woman is to the alleged predator, the louder and more certain she will be about knowing whether or not the predator can possibly be the predator who raped, propositioned, sexually assaulted, harassed, and/or raped the female. 

Go back farther, back when the woman was demonized, after Lillith who wanted to be on top during copulation. Eve, so the codexes say, is the reason for the fall of Adam and thus of mankind. I wonder if Allah, the moon god, sent Gibreel to Muhammad when he chose his prophet to spread his godly words, or if Muhammad figured it out when his mother died when he was 6 years old and abandoned him with her death. 

Islam is very clear about the testimony of women and how many men (FOUR) are needed to verify a woman's story. Is there any wonder that Muslim women are automatically killed because of honor since a woman's honesty is already in question? 

How many women have accused Brett Ratner? Not as many as Harvey Weinstein, but Ratner has not been at is as long. Thirty women have come out and accused Weinstein from exposing himself to rape. In Muhammad's version of the story, 1200 men are needed to speak for every woman's accusations. 

Ratner supposedly masturbated all over magazines in front of the woman on the cover of those mags. Where's a forensic lab when you need a quick lab test to verify the jizz stains on the magazine covers? It's not like anyone would hang the magazines in their closet and produce it to be tested. Magazines tend to mildew and stick together after all that ejaculatory fluid dried on the paper. 

Why is anyone surprised that wealthy and Hollywood powerful men will call their lawyers and pull a Sergeant Schultz? They know nothing. NOTHING. Their word and their families will swear they know nothing and their wives and girlfriends will proudly stand up and call the accusing women sad and poor things who cannot get a date or describe their encounters with the predator. 

The cleaner the predator's background -- and cage -- the less the woman will be believed so long after the fact -- or the assault or the masturbation or the blood and bruises have dried -- not without photographic evidence. 

It doesn't matter how long it took the women to tell their stories. Women have been the target since boys found them attractive and do-able. Not everyone chooses to roofy their victims and few leave a tip even after they have ejaculated their loads on their clothes or magazines. 

Not even the least attractive women have not had to deal with these predators. Hillary called them super predators and she would know since she has been covering for Bill for decades. 

Some predators begin their assault on women, their prey, at an early age and got over the awkward

stage before they figured out the best line of attack proposal/proposition to use, falling back on rape when all else fails or they lose their nerve or strike out. At such times, lies about the prey's sexuality, body, kissing, and/or skills will do. It is what passes for locker room talk where the lies and exaggerations flow as freely as fantasies and fish stories. Fish stories are practice for boasting about one's skill and the size of one's fish lure

We western women have no high ground to speak from when it comes to the treatment of girls and women by Muslims since we are busily standing proudly by our menfolk -- even when we know the men are just as vicious and dishonest. Good thing we have plenty of male judges willing to smack a rapist's wrist instead of ruining his future by sending him to prison or, as Cheech and Chong said in their act, whack his peepee.  Never mind that the future of the woman he raped will be marked forever by fear and scars and the horror of what happened when the college football player raped her. 

Since the time of Eve in the Garden of Eden when she forced Adam to take and eat the fruit of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, women are responsible for all evil. Lillith, Adam's first mate, only demanded to be poked when she was on top. Eve inveigled and tempted Adam with the fruit and that, according to the Good Book, was far worse.  Her perfidy caused mankind to fall and for Yahweh to cast his slaves, the two people he had given so much, out of Eden and bar the entrance with angels wielding fiery swords. 

Forget that most women have been importuned, assaulted, or raped when they were children and their adolescence was pockmarked by admiring young men cruising the streets and cat calling from construction sites in order to make their admiration known publicly. Let's not mention uncles who were too friendly and touchy feely when sitting their favorite niece, daughter, friend of the family on their laps. After all, boys will be boys and men will be men -- boys with more strength and determination to ease a young girl out of her shyness and rectify her inexperience. It's all in the family after all. What better way to keep the secret a secret and the knowledge in the family? If all else fails, telling the young girl she is a slut or a whore or a nasty little girl will do wonders for keeping the secret safe and the road open the next time he's feeling the need for a poke or a kiss. 

In the middle of the 20th century dressing to attract attention was the best way to get attention -- of any kind. Why else would clothing designers and stores make their sweaters and clothes so tight fitting when material was in good supply? Having women teetering on high heels keeps women off balance, which is good since women haven't figured out those spike heels can be weapons that can take out a predator's eye or make a hole in forehead, face, chest, or groin. Too bad if they ever figure that out. 

Women have borne the slights, accusations, name calling, assaults, and rapes for millennia and nothing has changed, except how many women are willing to stand by their man -- or men. If a woman has scaled the heights of wealth and fame, she is not going to willingly admit she knew anything about the predators' preying on other women as long as she has avoided the trap and come out the other end richer, more famous, or at least few bruises, scars, and fractures. Best to keep that info to themselves. It's not like the predator will ever pay for his crimes and the best place to be is not on his hit list. 

No wonder women prefer homosexual males. Gay men accessorize well, enjoy the platonic company of women, and are often willing to lend a shoulder when their gal pals (fag hags) need one because men are shits. 

As much as I enjoyed Netflix's show Medici: Masters of Florence, I often cringed when Madden as Cosimo de Medici called his intelligent (and sharp-tongued, witty, and faithful wife) Contessina woman in order to make her back off and bend to his position as pater familias. Not a surprise since men even in the 21st century remind women they are less important than their husband, brother, boyfriend, colleague, or significant other. The master has spoken and the woman must now be silent and back down. 

If you lived in my family, you would have had my mother reminding you that men are more important and their word is the final word on any subject. Mom taught me that I was to let the guy win in any contest, appear to be dumber than the guy, and obey my husband (on my wedding day) in all things. Telling her that I would follow my own dictates set her back on her heels and she was convinced that when I divorced my first husband it was because I considered myself his equal. Could be because I didn't tell her he had cheated on me with other women -- and men -- or that he raped me, but it didn't really matter because as with Eve all was my fault. Mentioned the broom handle and the damage done to my backside wouldn't have made her more sympathetic to me. She would still have badgered and threatened me to give up my children and make sure that they were safe with him and me out of their lives altogether. If that failed, she had already primed my boys by telling them the only one who loved them was her, their grandmother. Everything else was a lie. 

Women have been denigrated, demonized, devalued, and dragged thru the sewers since Eve, and often by women. Women were born to be second class and, even in modern times, that mentality continues unchallenged no matter what words men say when called out by their prey. Women will not waste time to lend their support to the lies, subterfuge, and degrading, demonizing, denigrating, and mud slinging needed to push women back into the sewer. Women must find a higher step up the hill or climb on top of the women they've shoved into the sewer. 

That is all. Disperse.