The host said "Science doesn't cut it" early on, and went into a bunch of new-age stuff, saying actual words but conveying no real meaning.
I found myself getting really annoyed and pissed off. Her sentences were grammatically correct, but illogical. It was disorienting. How can she say "science doesn't cut it", and then talk nonsensical sentences? I've heard new-age speakers who make total sense, but this host gave nothing but bullshit.
Gah!
Gah!
Lemme first say that I believe that there's "sacred" stuff, and stuff that goes on just outside of our conscious awareness. For example, when you're in your garden contemplating a problem and then you're struck with the inspiration to do something you've never done before. Another example is when ideas come to you in dreams. Another is the unique, low-level anxiety that you get (while awake) when your indoor plants are begging for water. :) Is that only me? Oh well.
People who say, "science can't explain that" or "science doesn't cut it"--those people don't understand what science is.
Science is an endless quest for understanding the natural world. Keyword: endless.
Scientists never say they know anything for sure, or that they're done with any given chunk of information. So, for this speaker to say science doesn't explain it, she clearly thinks science is a completed and static thing, which is the opposite of the truth. Even scientific laws are subject to upheaval in the face of any new contradictory data.
True scientists welcome new information.
They welcome corrections that bust their assumptions and new data that disproves old theories. And do you know why they welcome it? Because if they let confirmation bias keep them from accepting the new information, it would block their minds from understanding what's really going on in the natural world, and thus they would not be able to make new discoveries (because they'd be working with foundational ideas that are flawed).
So yeah, science doesn't yet explain why, for example, at work, if my hanging plants are thirsty, they won't let me concentrate. Keyword: yet. A scientist would never dismiss my observation. They wouldn't say it's magical nonsense. They'd just delay making a conclusion until after they did enough research and experimentation to propose a potential explanation. And that explanation would still be open-ended, because that's what science is.
So yeah, science doesn't yet explain why, for example, at work, if my hanging plants are thirsty, they won't let me concentrate. Keyword: yet. A scientist would never dismiss my observation. They wouldn't say it's magical nonsense. They'd just delay making a conclusion until after they did enough research and experimentation to propose a potential explanation. And that explanation would still be open-ended, because that's what science is.
But back to the webinar....
OMG, now another speaker has come on screen. I guess this is the key speaker; the expert on sacred beekeeping. He just showed a nonsensical slide. I feel like I'll be sued for libel if I post more specifics about this webinar, but my god, this webinar has been going on for 25 minutes, and not a single concrete piece of info has been conveyed, nor a concrete idea, nor advice, nor actionable technique, nor anything that actually makes sense. Not even a logical idea or connection between ideas. And the all-white audience is nodding at everything the speaker says. WTF?
This blind support of nebulous information reminds me of a disturbing trend that I've noticed in American white people.
Gawd! Initially, when this "expert" was introduced, I watched all of the women in Zoom perk up and get doe-eyed, smiling, and attentive. Yeah, the dude is fairly good-looking. But now I feel like anything he says will be soaked up by these women and they'll ignore the lack of logic coming out of his mouth. Even the host (female) got all fluttery when she introduced him, and she sang his praises like she was in love with him. Am I exaggerating? Well, my annoyance is influencing the level of snark in what I'm writing here, but what I'm saying is indeed what's happening, so... no.
We have to be better than this. Women, white people, we need to listen for substance. Yes yes, I know there's barely any substance on my blog, but my blog is mostly for me, and my kids in the future (if we hold onto this property), or for the future owners of our property. My blog contains mostly notes. I'm not a permaculture influencer wannabe. I'm not yet an expert at anything I'm studying.
Sigh. I need to go on a diet of input. I need to stop ingesting the content that's just "lets talk about ideas--my airy ideas and theories which you should take as tested fact even though I haven't tested them." That's the junk-food content of American white people in the permaculture space. Or any space.
Anyway, back to the webinar. Now the speaker is showing a clip of ballet dancers chopped up with clips of bees flying around a hive. There's a list along the side of the screen, but no reason given for showing the list nor what we're supposed to infer from that list. And the items on the list are unconnected nonsense. WTF?
People of color: Keep being awesome and better than we are.
Update: One quick search and I found some awesome people doing awesome things. https://civileats.com/2020/07/14/the-doctor-botanist-couple-healing-a-community-in-the-rural-south/
They embody "doing stuff", experimentation, and evidence. The lives and health of the vulnerable people in this couple's community depend on their methods being sound. So yeah, listening to what they have to say will be more valuable than listening to people who spout theories that they claim they've tested (but probably not). Maybe that's the difference. Privileged white people don't have to rely on their own info for their survival. Just watch the videos of white people who go off-grid. You'll see them try out stuff that they've been told is true, and then when it doesn't work, you'll see them get confounded and confused, like they've been betrayed. Then, at least, they rework their designs and get going again, but still....
OMG, now another speaker has come on screen. I guess this is the key speaker; the expert on sacred beekeeping. He just showed a nonsensical slide. I feel like I'll be sued for libel if I post more specifics about this webinar, but my god, this webinar has been going on for 25 minutes, and not a single concrete piece of info has been conveyed, nor a concrete idea, nor advice, nor actionable technique, nor anything that actually makes sense. Not even a logical idea or connection between ideas. And the all-white audience is nodding at everything the speaker says. WTF?
This blind support of nebulous information reminds me of a disturbing trend that I've noticed in American white people.
When I watch videos or webinars of black people or others of color, who are talking about gardening techniques and soil microbes, there exists substance! There's first-hand evidence that supports their ideas and they present proof of the techniques they're using. Is it because POCs have always had to go the extra mile to be heard? To be respected? Or believed?
Aaaaand, for some annoying reason, my thoughts are interrupted and my attention is drawn back to the webinar. The guy has just asked if everyone gets what he's saying. They all nod. I just look cross.
Aaaaand, for some annoying reason, my thoughts are interrupted and my attention is drawn back to the webinar. The guy has just asked if everyone gets what he's saying. They all nod. I just look cross.
Gawd! Initially, when this "expert" was introduced, I watched all of the women in Zoom perk up and get doe-eyed, smiling, and attentive. Yeah, the dude is fairly good-looking. But now I feel like anything he says will be soaked up by these women and they'll ignore the lack of logic coming out of his mouth. Even the host (female) got all fluttery when she introduced him, and she sang his praises like she was in love with him. Am I exaggerating? Well, my annoyance is influencing the level of snark in what I'm writing here, but what I'm saying is indeed what's happening, so... no.
We have to be better than this. Women, white people, we need to listen for substance. Yes yes, I know there's barely any substance on my blog, but my blog is mostly for me, and my kids in the future (if we hold onto this property), or for the future owners of our property. My blog contains mostly notes. I'm not a permaculture influencer wannabe. I'm not yet an expert at anything I'm studying.
Sigh. I need to go on a diet of input. I need to stop ingesting the content that's just "lets talk about ideas--my airy ideas and theories which you should take as tested fact even though I haven't tested them." That's the junk-food content of American white people in the permaculture space. Or any space.
Well, there are some white people whose info I'll still seek out. Like those in the Regenerative Leaders list that I posted on here. But I need to update that list.
Recently, I've been watching a lot of people of color on YouTube, and honestly, I've been feeling like I'm a joke compared to them. Hmm. Maybe that's why some white people get all pissy when a POC has some obvious skills and knowledge and is DOING stuff--it makes the white person feel inferior, and scared, because who's going to accept their bullshit when there's real substance offered by a POC?
Seriously, I have experienced this myself. Like, I want to be a soil fertility specialist, and help farmers, and be taken seriously, and have my advice be respected, but I'm still in the mostly-theory stage.
So, I felt threatened when I saw POC who were the real deal.
When I watched a black guy show a funky new compost system that he invented and (here's the key) the proof that it worked and how it worked, I felt uncomfortable resentment.
When I watched another video of a black woman who is helping grow food in the inner city in abandoned properties, I heard her say, "Yeah, we tried that but it didn't work because... so we're doing this instead, and see how it's working...". I felt bitter resistance--resistance to believe that what she said had value.
I felt like my future was threatened, because again, who will want to work with me when there's real substance offered by others.
BUT... Why didn't I feel that way when I watched videos of my white mentors?
The answer was written in So You Want to Talk About Race. (Thank you, @IjeomaOluo!!) It was because of systemic, subconscious racism. I'm such a fool. I didn't think I had any subconscious racism in me, but I did. And I don't think I would've noticed it had I not read So You Want to Talk About Race a month ago and had that book percolating in the back of my mind while I was getting annoyed at this webinar. I'm ashamed this was still in me.
Anyway, back to the webinar. Now the speaker is showing a clip of ballet dancers chopped up with clips of bees flying around a hive. There's a list along the side of the screen, but no reason given for showing the list nor what we're supposed to infer from that list. And the items on the list are unconnected nonsense. WTF?
Enough is enough. I posted in the chat, "Are techniques or workable concepts going to be discussed at some point in this webinar?"
Geeze, and now the speaker is showing one of those desk toys with steel balls in a row, each hanging from a single fishing line. In a video, someone pulls them all sideways and then releases them in order. They're swinging asynchronously, creating a single wave that diverges into individual waves. The speaker says, "look at the similarity that I noticed between the movement of these steel balls and bees in flight". He clearly thinks he's very clever to have noticed the analogy. Whoop-de-doo. What does that do for a beekeeper? How is that information useful for me to save the bees or keep bees? And who hasn't noticed the similarity in movement between bees' flight, birds who are practicing for winter migration, and antelope running on plains? He just said, "OK, keep that imagery with you," and all the women nodded like zombies. Dude, why keep this imagery in my mind?!? IT'S NOT USEFUL!
Oh good, someone just answered my comment. They typed, "Great question! If we don't get to it today, we are creating a workshop for the log/tree hive technique...." I'm so glad I didn't pay for this. Oh wait, maybe the lack of substance is on purpose. Maybe they're saving the substance for the paid webinar/class. But why would I attend that webinar/class when this presentation gives me no faith in the expertise of the speaker? I don't want to attend a workshop where I basically pay to feed adoration to some dude with a messiah complex.
White people: Stop this bullshit and DO stuff; CREATE useful stuff to TEST out the ideas that you want to promote, to produce fucking EVIDENCE! Make useful, logical arguments and connections; provide actionable, reliable information; orient your listeners! Then you'll have something of substance to share--DON'T share before you've done all of this.
Oh good, someone just answered my comment. They typed, "Great question! If we don't get to it today, we are creating a workshop for the log/tree hive technique...." I'm so glad I didn't pay for this. Oh wait, maybe the lack of substance is on purpose. Maybe they're saving the substance for the paid webinar/class. But why would I attend that webinar/class when this presentation gives me no faith in the expertise of the speaker? I don't want to attend a workshop where I basically pay to feed adoration to some dude with a messiah complex.
White people: Stop this bullshit and DO stuff; CREATE useful stuff to TEST out the ideas that you want to promote, to produce fucking EVIDENCE! Make useful, logical arguments and connections; provide actionable, reliable information; orient your listeners! Then you'll have something of substance to share--DON'T share before you've done all of this.
And most importantly, support and promote the POC who have already gained expertise and evidence and who are selflessly sharing their info!! (I'm looking at you, organizers of permaculture symposiums.)
And... OMG, I just realized... to all of those overt racists who get really mad at POC who have better skills and do more than you--don't you understand you're getting mad at them for doing something that you forced them to do? Like, you've created the situation that you're criticizing them for. Through systemic racism, you've created a situation where POC have to go the extra mile, and then when you feel threatened by their extreme level of competence, you go complaining to your racist brethren on your white supremacist websites and call those POCs a threat and concoct crazy theories for why they're a threat. Racists are fucking vulnerable hypocrites. (I'm looking at you, Permaculture for White Racists. You guys need to read Permaculture and Racism | Good Life Permaculture).
People of color: Keep being awesome and better than we are.
Also, I'm so sorry that I got to this age and I'm just now realizing all of this shit.
Update: One quick search and I found some awesome people doing awesome things. https://civileats.com/2020/07/14/the-doctor-botanist-couple-healing-a-community-in-the-rural-south/
They embody "doing stuff", experimentation, and evidence. The lives and health of the vulnerable people in this couple's community depend on their methods being sound. So yeah, listening to what they have to say will be more valuable than listening to people who spout theories that they claim they've tested (but probably not). Maybe that's the difference. Privileged white people don't have to rely on their own info for their survival. Just watch the videos of white people who go off-grid. You'll see them try out stuff that they've been told is true, and then when it doesn't work, you'll see them get confounded and confused, like they've been betrayed. Then, at least, they rework their designs and get going again, but still....
Update 2: Holy moley, I've just made a connection with https://matthewstephensonline.com/. He has decades of experience and evidence! Plus, he's got a lot to say on systemic racism in permaculture (spoiler: it's rampant). And he's a permaculture instructor who emphasizes Bill Mollison's ethical basis for permaculture. This is someone I want to learn from!!
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