I am not your Ornamental Prophet
Episode description
After a long break I am joined again by my friend Michi for a rather whiney episode where I try to relate my own frustration about the role I get pushed into over and over again with no lesser leader than Moses. Special thanks go again to my friend Avery who edited this episode.
1:00 – 10:00 – topic intro – feeling like an ornamental hermit
10:00 – Moses readings: he can’t go with the people into the promised land; why not?
16:30 – “God is his closest kin now” – Moses is never fully of the people, distances himself from them; God breaks this to Moses: “You won’t find a resting place with them”
21:00 – Prophets are buzzkills, treated like liars even when they tell the truth; often not a choice, but a matter of survival
24:45 – struggle to unite other oppressed folks into the fight; may seem like you make their lives harder by reminding them of their own pain
27:00 – Rabbi Ruti Regan: Disabled people are either vilified or put on non-accessible pedestals, where they are non-threatening, lonely. Link to diversity training that doesn’t go farther than tokenism: platforms vs. pedestals
32:00 – Some people distance themselves from you not because they fear your differences, but because they fear to see what you actually have in common
36:00 – Queer parallels: fearing the flamboyance or femininity you might find mirrored in yourself; “I’m gay but not that stereotypical kind of gay”
40:00 – We must learn to face the prophets in our lives with love in order to reduce harm to self and others
44:00 – A prophet’s truth is good news that could liberate others for deeper community & self-knowledge, but it’s received as bad news because it disrupts; as in “The Emperor’s New Clothes,” many prefer a harmful delusion to a temporarily disruptive truth
57:30 - end – Inspiration porn & harmful autistic representation; Laura’s tired of being used for wisdom or inspiration without real connection
Website of Frank L. Ludwig who interprets fairytale characters as autistic:
Essay about different important takes on Moses' "punishment":