RE: SteemFest² Updates - New Names Announced - Venue Spotlight: Snookerclub Lisboa
Hi @cryptoctopus, thank you for your reply. As I also replied in https://steemit.chat and I will leave a comment here too:
We have not talked for a long time... I am not sure what to conclude about your comment, but it is a bit short. If you have requests or replies or comments please let them know... With WTF @roelandp? I'm not sure what you mean, but I can only interpret. I have the feeling I have to defend myself here however. Here is some initial input from people I can really align with in regards to having @jexblackmore at SteemFest: satanism is a philosophy of action, it has nothing to do with the mythical satan from christianity.
So to interpret this the correct way: it would be the same as having the band Black Sabbath perform on SteemFest (which would be pretty cool btw :D). Just because an organisation's name can be considered blasphemous by some, it doesn’t mean their day to day habits are filled with Satan worshipping, animal sacrificing and blood orgy-ing spawns of demonic copulation.
This is as far as I am concerned also the case with @jexblackmore the Satanic Temple. To mix in some Wikipedia: Satanist groups that appeared after the 1960s are widely diverse, but two major trends are theistic Satanism and atheistic Satanism. Theistic Satanists venerate Satan as a supernatural deity, viewing him not as omnipotent but rather as a patriarch. In contrast, atheistic Satanists regard Satan as merely a symbol of certain human traits. In this case we are talking an atheistic Satan group. Moar wikipeds: Atheism is, in the broadest sense, the absence of belief in the existence of deities. Iaw. no religion.
And... I seem to have to be careful now: Although many people from many religions attend, SteemFest is not a place for worshipping or praying religion or promoting a religion on stage IMHO. If people want to promote their religion or worship, they are very welcome to do that in designate areas (Temples, Churches, Mosques, their hotelroom, whatever). If SteemFest would be, it would be a place where people from many religions would be able to promote their religion, and may be called 'ReliFest' or something.
For your info: To add to this, as SteemFest earlier (planned in July 2017 in US) got cancelled (completely behind the scenes, no word out yet) it would have taking place in a Christian center actually (whom unfortunately stopped their business as announced earlier in March or April this year, hence why that SteemFest got cancelled - all behind the scenes). This would have not meant that it would all of a sudden be a religious event, it would be utilising a convenient place to get many people from many origins together.
SteemFest, just like Steemit, is also a place for discussion, so maybe we can have an open discussion at SteemFest. As far as I have seen there is nothing inhuman or cruelties going on by having @jexblackmore on stage. I encourage you to join the session and vent your remarks at SteemFest for an open discussion, or if you totally disagree simply not go to the 20 minute talk-slot (there are almost always 2 sessions at the same time at SteemFest).
There has not been any intentions to harm anyone by doing this, and to add for completeness: Opinions and views of speakers at SteemFest are not my opinions and views - I just tried to make a diverse event for all people attending. Thank you for your understanding.
Source
Holy smokes on getting @jexblackmore! This just makes me more excited to go to SteemFest!! Great job on the speaker lineup! This literally make me go take a second more careful perusal of the speaker profile. And the more i read, the more giddy i get!!
Exactly.
Satan literally mean "the adversary". On that, they have been good at challenge all systems of power, good or not. There is a different between what satanist say they are and what they actually do. I'm in the unfortunate position to know what they do beyond the glossy varnish they give themselves.
Seriously, would Google I/O or F8 consider giving a podium to the SATANIC TEMPLE. Just on the PR front it's horrible.
I am thrilled to be part of SteemFest and am looking forward to meeting everyone! If you are curious about my work I encourage you to visit my website: https://jexblackmore.com where you can find links to interviews and descriptions of many public actions you may have read about on the news. You can also visit our website where many questions are answered about who we are and what we believe: https://thesatanictemple.com/pages/faq
@cryptoctopus I appreciate your support, but want to clarify, it's not a difference between who we say we are and do, and what we actually do. The public has decided who we are for us, basing this characterization on popular culture, horror films, Satanic panic-style propaganda and the church. We make our intentions and beliefs very clear in interviews, lectures, essays and on our website. We are who we are.
@liondani I understand and respect your skepticism and I hope that my presentation will prove that my experience and ideas are worthy material for SteemFest. I do take issue with your concern that the decision to allow me to participate was is a bad move because it might offend the Christain community. Should we censor the voices of outsiders because we fear repercussions from the majority? Should we judge others because of what popular culture says about them - or is it our responsibility to be informed before passing judgment? I urge you to consider these questions because they are fundamental to your concerns about my inclusion.
I look forward to sharing more about what I plan to talk about soon. I'm happy to answer any questions anyone might have or point you to a place where you can find the answer!
Seriously, accusations without explanation, asking us to just trust your secret knowledge?
If you have reasons, tell them please.
What are your opinion on that?
@cryptoctopus - what would life be without an adversary to push us to be better versions of ourselves? We don't have the experience of life without contrast.
The same can be said for many Christians as well as most human beings.
The Bible sayeth:
Wise words, but they can be a bit challenging to embody in real life.
Who had the idea to invite her and who decided she will speak. What was the criteria? followers? number of post? Steem Power? Community interest ? "Activism"? If I find 50 other random activist will they apply to speak at Steem Fest too? Will they speak all?
Inviting her was my idea. There're a lot of voices on steemit that like to see religion integrated tightly with society and we welcome those people; the advocates of secularism are welcome on this platform too.
Steemit is the ultimate marketplace of ideas. Everyone gets a chance.
👏 👏 👏
If a organization name was "fu%^Khardyourlittleson" but it was proven they are activist and would never harm your kids , would you be as comfortable you are now to apply them as spokesperson? Me not. And the same is the case right now. Sorry if I am missing something.
PS and when there is smoke, most times there is fire also. It doesn't matter if the wolf is dressed as a sheep... he still is a wolf.
Be nice. Are you coming to Steemfest? I'll introduce you to @jexblackmore, she is an excellent human being.
I will. The problem is not the person @jexbackmore , the problem is what she seems to represent. I am referring only on that since I don't know here personally. If it's God will why not, of course.
Thanks for this well thought out response!!! I appreciate that. It's so easy to jump on "trigger" words and ideas, instead of digging deeper to what they actually mean