TonioTimeDaily

"People who may be considered progressive Christians include those who:

The Center for Progressive Christianity symbol is an eight-pointed star, representing the eight ideas that they hold in common."

IN CLOSING: The world cannot wait for a reconciliation of competing political or economic systems to solve its problems. These are the times for people of goodwill to further the building of a peaceful and prosperous world. We urge that parochial loyalties and inflexible moral and religious ideologies be transcended. We urge recognition of the common humanity of all people. We further urge the use of reason and compassion to produce the kind of world we want – a world in which peace, prosperity, freedom, and happiness are widely shared. Let us not abandon that vision in despair or cowardice. We are responsible for what we are or will be. Let us work together for a humane world by means commensurate with humane ends. Destructive ideological differences among communism, capitalism, socialism, conservatism, liberalism, and radicalism should be overcome. Let us call for an end to terror and hatred. We will survive and prosper only in a world of shared humane values. We can initiate new directions for humankind; ancient rivalries can be superseded by broad-based cooperative efforts. The commitment to tolerance, understanding, and peaceful negotiation does not necessitate acquiescence to the status quo nor the damming up of dynamic and revolutionary forces. The true revolution is occurring and can continue in countless nonviolent adjustments. But this entails the willingness to step forward onto new and expanding plateaus. At the present juncture of history, commitment to all humankind is the highest commitment of which we are capable; it transcends the narrow allegiances of church, state, party, class, or race in moving toward a wider vision of human potentiality. What more daring a goal for humankind than for each person to become, in ideal as well as practice, a citizen of a world community. It is a classical vision; we can now give it new vitality. Humanism thus interpreted is a moral force that has time on its side. We believe that humankind has the potential, intelligence, goodwill, and cooperative skill to implement this commitment in the decades ahead."

This is from the https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/manifesto2/ that I decided to include here instead of reading it during the episode. 

Links: https://asuuc.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/100_Questions_Unitarian_Universalism.pdf, https://www.uua.org/, https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/higher-power/views, https://www.uua.org/beliefs/what-we-believe/beliefs/christianity/views-jesus, https://americanhumanist.org/paths/buddhism/, https://americanhumanist.org/paths/unitarianism/, https://www.uuabookstore.org/Assets/PDFs/3017.pdf, https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/manifesto1/, and https://americanhumanist.org/what-is-humanism/manifesto3/.

All of these links I placed above perfectly describe all of my views on religion, faith, spirituality, piety, and supernaturalism.

"Humanism is a rational philosophy informed by science, inspired by art, and motivated by compassion. Affirming the dignity of each human being, it supports the maximization of individual liberty and opportunity consonant with social and planetary responsibility. It advocates the extension of participatory democracy and the expansion of the open society, standing for human rights and social justice. Free of supernaturalism, it recognizes human beings as a part of nature and holds that values-be they religious, ethical, social, or political-have their source in human experience and culture. Humanism thus derives the goals of life from human need and interest rather than from theological or ideological abstractions, and asserts that humanity must take responsibility for its own destiny."

"Historically, secular means an age or generation. Over time, it came to mean the world as opposed to the church. Today, we use secular to mean non-religious. To say Jesus was secular in the modern sense would be to ignore his ancient context. But it does make sense to ask what images Jesus used when he spoke of his vision. Did he use sacred images and sound religious or did he use worldly images and sound secular?  It’s not a joke. Jesus used worldly images and sounds secular."

"I don’t hate the flesh and blood Jesus who walked the dusty roads of Palestine, nor do I hate the Jesus found in the pages of the Bible. These Jesuses are relics of the past. I’ll leave it to historians to argue and debate whether these Jesuses were real or fiction. Over the centuries, Christians have created many Jesuses in their own image. This is the essence of Christianity, an ever-evolving religion bearing little resemblance to what it was even a century ago."

"The subject matter inherent in gangsta rap has caused a great deal of controversy. Criticism has come from both left wing and right wing commentators, as well as religious leaders, who have accused the genre of promoting crime, serial killing, violence, profanity, sex addiction, homophobia, racism, promiscuity, misogyny, rape, street gangs, drive-by shootings, vandalism, thievery, drug dealing, alcohol abuse, substance abuse, disregarding law enforcement, materialism, and narcissism.

“Many black rappers—including Ice-T and Sister Souljah—contented that they are being unfairly singled out because their music reflects deep changes in society not being addressed anywhere else in the public forum. The white politicians, the artists complain, neither do they understand the music nor have the desire to hear what’s going on in the devastated communities that gave birth to the art form,” wrote journalist Chuck Philips in a review of the battle between the Establishment and defenders of rap music. “The reason why rap is under attack is because it exposes all the contradictions of American culture…what started out as an underground art form has become a vehicle to expose a lot of critical issues that are not usually discussed in American politics. The problem here is that the White House and wanna-bes like Bill Clinton represent a political system that never intends to deal with inner city urban chaos,” Sister Souljah told Philips.

On the other hand, some commentators have criticized gangsta rap as analogous to black minstrel shows and blackface performance, in which performers—both black and white—where made up to look African American, and acted in a stereotypically uncultured and ignorant matter for the entertainment of audiences. Gangsta rappers often defend themselves by saying that they are describing the reality of inner-city life, and that they are only adopting a character, like an actor playing a role, which behaves in ways that they may not necessarily endorse. Gangsta rappers appear hardcore and “badder” compared to the early concepts and themes of hip-hop because they were saying what some people were afraid to say. In this world of gangsta rap, there exist the emotion and perspective of marginalized people that are constantly overlooked and are constantly berated and belittled by society. Gangsta rap was a side effect to the various wrongdoings that were being done to black people in underprivileged neighborhoods."

By the way, we have to end human self-objectification. We have to build and sustain more community centers, more talent shows, more after-care programs, more civic participation, more community organizing, more Community-based management, more Community buildings, more Community economic development, more Community development planning, more community-based activities, more grassroots movements, and more community constructive populism. 

"To me, porn seems like it would be the last place to find any body positivity, but four plus size women are aiming to change that with their work. In conversation with Mic, several body positive porn stars delved into how they're seeking to change porn into an intersectional education on all things pleasure and plus size — and their work is nothing short of necessary, radical, and gorgeous."

"At the end of the day, all of the women we spoke to for this article don't just want to provide men with masturbation fodder — they want their work to have ripple effects throughout the world at large. Rose told Mic that a primary driver of her work is to promote acceptance of larger women. "Self-acceptance amongst young women, primarily," she said. "People are beautiful at any size. [I want to show them] that sexy is defined by you and no one else."

"I want a sex-positive feminism that recognizes and is here for women like me, and women different from me. For survivors of sexual violence. For asexual folks. For aromantic folks. For folks who find it difficult to love themselves and their bodies. For folks who are still healing from the trauma of sex. 

Let’s discard the language of sex that makes it feel like a football game to be won rather than a mutually consensual pleasurable experience. Let’s drop this script and this fixed pattern of sex that needs to progress from one “base” to another. Let’s be caring of our partners. Let’s value each other’s consent and respect each other’s bodily autonomy during sex and otherwise. Let’s not fetishize sex to be more valuable than other forms of interaction. Let’s open ourselves up to the idea that sex, like people, is fluid.

That, according to me, is what sex positivity is all about. The acknowledgement and acceptance of the many diverse ways diverse folks experience sexual pleasure, without the pressure to conform to or perform a particular way. That is sexual liberation after all."

"Despite engaging in higher risk activity, transgender sex workers are more likely to receive lower pay than other sex workers.[10] Transgender sex workers with history of homelessness, unemployment, incarceration, mental health issues, violence, emotional, physical, or sexual abuse, or drug use are further at risk of being trapped in a cycle of poverty. Lack of economic opportunities outside of the sex work industry and discrimination may lead to transgender people entering sex work in order to generate income for rent, drugs, medicines, hormones, or gender-related surgeries." 

Side note: Transgender people and transgender sex workers should be included in the equal pay for equal work topic.

"Some sex-positive feminists recognize sex workers as situated within a modern Western sexual hierarchy where a married man and woman are respected while LGBTQIA+ people, fetishists, and sex workers such as prostitutes and porn models are viewed as sexual deviants.[63] According to sex positive feminists, sex law incorporates a prohibition against mixing sex and money in order to sustain this hierarchy. Therefore, the individuals who practice these "deviant" sexual acts are deemed as criminals and have limited institutional support and are subjected to economic sanctions.[63] Sex-positive perspectives challenge this hierarchy by appreciating sexual diversity and rejecting any notion of "normal" sex.[64] With this understanding, people who choose to engage in criminalized sex acts are seen as autonomous sexual beings rather than victims of the sex industry. For black women, agency is viewed as contextual due to historical considerations, and can be regarded as one facet of a complex system of ideals that encompass black women's sexuality over time. One result of this is the way that race relations impact the mobility of black people in the sex industry.[65]

Some liberal feminists believe that a "democratic morality" should judge sexual activity (as if the proclivities of the majority, as well as their proficiency in providing sexual pleasures, should determine the direction of a society's moral compass) "by the way partners treat one another, the presence or absence of coercion, and the quantity and quality of the pleasures they provide".[63] They propound that it should not be an ethical concern whether sex acts are coupled or in groups, same or mixed sex, with or without consensual acts of violence or video, commercial or free.[63]." 

I personally appreciate all of these viewpoints.

A study in Melbourne, Australia found that sex workers typically experience relationship difficulties as a result of their line of work. This primarily stems from the issue of disclosure of their work in personal relationships. Some sex workers noted that dating ex-clients is helpful as they have had contact with sex workers and they are aware of their employment.[48]

Although majority of women in sex work reported that their profession negatively affected them, those that stated a positive effects reported that they had increases sexual self esteem and confidence.[48] There is very little empirical evidence characterizing clients of sex workers, but they may share an analogues problem. A Scientific American article on sex buyers summarizes a limited field of research which indicates that Johns have a normal psychological profile matching the makeup of the wider male population but view themselves as mentally unwell.[49]

In clients' encounters with prostitutes or exotic dancers (and potentially other sex workers as well), many seek more than sexual satisfaction. They often seek, via their interactions with sex workers, an affirmation of their masculinity, which they may feel is lacking in other aspects of their lives.[38][41] This affirmation comes in the form of (a simulation of) affection and sexual desire, and "smooth, intimate, affective space, wherein the way that time is managed is governed only by mutual desire and enjoyment."[41] Partly because they are engaged in work during these interactions, prostitutes' experience and interpretation of time tends to be structured instead by desires to maximize income, avoid boredom, and/or avoid detriment to self-esteem.[41]

For sex workers, commodified intimacy provides different benefits. In Brazil, sex workers prioritize foreign men over local men in terms of forming intimate relationships with sex workers. This is a result of local men regarding sex workers as having no worth beyond their occupation. In contrast, foreign men are often accompanied by wealth and status, which are factors that can help a sex worker become independent. Hence sex workers in Brazil are more likely to seek out "ambiguous entanglements" with the foreign men they provide services for, rather than the local men."

"The origins of the term sex industry are uncertain, but it appears to have arisen in the 1970s. A 1977 report by the Ontario Royal Commission on Violence in the Communications Industry (LaMarsh Commission) quoted author Peter McCabe as writing in Argosy: "Ten years ago the sex industry did not exist. When people talked of commercial sex they meant Playboy."[2] A 1976 article in The New York Times by columnist Russell Baker claimed that "[Most of the problems created by New York City's booming sex industry result from the city's reluctance to treat it as an industry", arguing why sex shops constituted an "industry", and should be treated as such by concentrating them in a single neighborhood,[3] suggesting the "sex industry" was not yet commonly recognized as such.

In addition, like any other industry, there are people who work in or service the sex industry as managers, film crews, photographers, website developers and webmasters, sales personnel, book and magazine writers and editors, etc. Some create business models, negotiate trade, make press releases, draw up contracts with other owners, buy and sell content, offer technical support, run servers, billing services, or payroll, organize trade shows and various events, do marketing and sales forecasts, provide human resources, or provide tax services and legal support.

Usually, those in management or staff do not have direct dealings with sex workers, instead hiring photographers who have direct contact with the sex workers. Pornography is professionally marketed and sold to adult webmasters for distribution on the Internet.

Other specialists in the wider industry include courtesans and dominatrixes, who hope to earn more by specializing in these niche markets."