For a pathtivist discernment is a characteristic of wisdom and embodiment, in this advice discernment comes as a question when to choose to be active with speech? Just because we know, is it always wise to speak up and correct others? This advice is concerned with strategy.
But before we can see this strategic discernment the pathtivist needs to ensure that there is a sufficient state of atammayata. Atammayata is a wonderful Pali word zandtao learnt from Buddhadasa, and it has no clear English translation - nearest "non-concoctability". As pathtivists we know that we grow up with conditioning and conformity, and in our activism we have to be sure that we are not speaking from a conditioned or conformed position. This means that in our upbringing and society where there are so many causes and conditions we have to know that we are not acting from a position of conditioning and conformity ie we have to have a sufficient state of atammayata.
So before we address strategies for activism we have to ensure that as pathtivists we are not acting from this conditioned and conformed position ie that we are in a sufficient state of atammayata. For people following the path this approach tends to have two issues of weakness to be addressed. Those following the path initially develop egos about being on the path - this is understandable given the power, wonder and joy of being on the path; it is also understandable when we meet that power in firstgrace. After his upheaval zandtao was so full of the path he acted with too much arrogance based on the path.
The second issue of weakness for people following the path is that they do not address all conditioning and conformity. As a pathtivist we recognise that people on the spiritual path don't always see embodiment as part of spirituality, and as such they don't see some of the social isms in themselves.
After upheaval bill pushed the path without fully understanding his own conditioning and conformity; he did not fully embrace his own conditioned isms. Let's start with racism - bill addressed this first after upheaval. Because bill felt he had thrown off so much conditioning in upheaval he did not realise how much racist conditioning he had grown up with; he needed educating in this. This first started with difficult discussions with a black friend - but this should be a choice of the black person and not an expectation. This later developed into anti-racist training. Finally on his post-retirement path he came up with an acronym of MAWP - Male, Arrogant, White and Privileged - to describe his conditioning. Long after upheaval he was dealing with his MAWPishness. Spiritual white men don't always address their own MAWPishness sufficiently because they feel secure in having thrown off conditioning and conformity, sadly some spiritual men need to address this conditioning of being a MAWP. For zandtao he needs to be constantly mindful of his MAWP characteristics and egos, the pathtivist accepts that there is always "stuff to learn". When it comes to racism, as white spiritual people we always need to listen, if we are criticised by non-whites for being racist - listen. We need to recognise that the strength of the path adds to our feeling or privilege, often leading pathtivists to immediately answer this criticism when it is better to just listen.
When it comes to feminism, conditioning and conformity makes male pathtivists vulnerable. We have released some of our conditioning from upbringing but perhaps not all - especially with the constant desire within heterosexual men. So again listening without answer is a good approach for men to understand how deeply engrained our chauvinism is. We must find our own teachers but studying bell hooks has always helped bill with his conditioned racism and sexism - often through journalling.
One ism that it took a long time for bill to address was that of antisemitism. This was particularly because bill was a socialist for a long time and as a socialist having conflict with the 1% - some of the richer people are Jewish but for socialists that faith and wealth can lead to confusion. When bill finally did address the question of his antisemitism he journalled using:-
Bill recalls this as Schneider's 6 points (I know 7!!) but can offer no other reference - Labour party before Starmer? Prior to journalling Schneider bill had been active at times on Palestine, he is sure he was at best inappropriate at worst antisemitic at times then. Because of the journalling and his path he is confident but not complacent concerning his views on antisemitism.
Pathtivists, the path without study is not enough to overcome conditioning and conformity; study is part of practice. Nor is being "spiritual" enough when that spirituality has not done enough study to overcome conditioning. Spiritual people on the path might say they have transcended - achieved a sufficient state of atammayata releasing conditioning and conformity, but in spiritual circles there may not be a focus on racism sexism and antisemitism as spiritual people consider the path takes them beyond that; this could be ego.
So now we come to the question of discernment. Pathtivists have studied and listen when there are crits, but there is a legitimate question concerning the following of the path. Some black, brown or Asian people advocating anti-racism, some women advocating feminism, some Jewish people advocating antisemitism might be stuck in the egos of reacting to the conditioning and conformity of their upbringing. Perhaps as pathtivists we can see these egos, so what do we do? Perhaps after we have listened we can see that the particular criticism is not wise and arises from a reactive ego?
How do we as pathtivists respond to criticism?
 Deep listening - righteousness might tempt us to respond immediately, resist this immediacy.
Mindfulness - use mindfulness to grapple with the crit, what can be learned from it?
Be strategic - Resist egoic response just to defend ourselves to be seen as right. What can be gained from confronting the other with our own sense of feeling right?
Give support - Within the system of accumulation an anti-racist, feminist or antisemitic campaigner is likely to be under attack. Such people need support not a public disagreement.
Resolve personally if necessary - If after the above steps you still feel it necessary to address the criticism do so in private.
Path awareness - far more important than any personal vindication is the opportunity to make the individual aware of the path - help them to see their emotional reacting as part of conditioning and conformity . With the path can come balance, and with balance the individual is less likely to cause alienation (like the egoic alienation you felt at the criticism).
Be discerning, the priority is path awareness leading to embodiment, not raising an intellectual point that is not likely to have significance except for our egos.
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