Crazy that kids are getting more unruly and teachers are quitting en masse, while we also have an increasingly more secular culture.... hmmmmmmm

I don't want to be disrespectful but I'm feeling conflicted working with Hermes sometimes.

He's always been kind to me. I'm very grateful for that.

He has encouraged my passion for helping others especially the homeless and disabled. It's just so much discourse around me is telling me he's evil or at the very least dishonorable because he's apathetic and a trickster/thief. That he's only in my life because I'm amusing or easy to manipulate.

Gods aren't human and they're complicated. I just sometimes feel alone in my appreciation of him. I feel like I have to give up when it comes to talking about him around anybody else. Have you ever felt like this before in your practice? Thank you for listening.

***Please read this knowing I had good intentions and my tone is meant to be kind, respectful, and serious. I say this now because this feels like it may be a sensitive topic, and I don't want you to interpret this as me trying to be critical, rude, mean, etc. I promise I am not upset at you, Nonny. I know this was probably difficult for you to share.***

Hey, Nonny, thank you for entrusting me with this topic.

Honestly, I haven't seen any discourse about worshipping Hermes (keep in mind that this is the only social media, besides YouTube, that I use), but what you're describing sounds very similar to the discourse around worshipping Loki (I am a devotee of them as well). If you don't know about the discourse around Loki, I actually encourage you to look into it because it's a good example of how people will literally criticize a deity to hell and back, especially for things they did in myths or based on a person's random UPG.

The thing is, Nonny, that there is nuance in everything. Nothing is ever so neatly black and white or good and bad; there are always layers. Hermes is a god of thievery, yes, but have you considered that some people steal because they literally have no other access to basic needs, such as food or medication? Hermes is a trickster god, but have you considered that maybe it contributes to his love of laughter and fun? That in order to have a good time, sometimes you need to be witty and a bit chaotic? Being a god over these things is the same as Zeus being a god of storms: these things will happen passively, and it doesn't have to mean that god is making or causing something to happen. Just because someone gets their wallet stolen doesn't mean that Hermes was behind it. I guess it's kind of the idea that correlation does not equal causation.

About Hermes being apathetic, though, that's an absolutely ridiculous claim if I've ever heard one. In the myths, who tended to come to people's aid the most, unprompted? Hermes. Who has the epithet of joy-giver, ready-helper, and luck-bringer? Hermes. Who did some ancient shepherds pray to when their herds (their livelihood) were attacked, ancient beggars struggling to survive on the streets, ancient travelers who were terrified and lost their way? Hermes. Hermes is MUCH more than just a god of trickery and thievery. He is a god of the people. He genuinely cares about his worshippers, which literally every worshipper has told me that I've interacted with, and he takes good care of his devotees. I encourage you to research Hermes further and read about how he was worshipped in ancient times. Try to better understand who he is as a god; the view of him you're describing to me comes across as being rather black and white and disregards all of his other domains and aspects.

You need to know, Nonny, that I am someone who believes that the gods can and do love us. I believe that they can and do support us. I also believe they can and do make mistakes or upset us sometimes, but that doesn't make them (or us) evil, bad, or wrong. I believe that Hermes loves me and all his worshippers (and even others who don't actively worship him, I bet), but that's just my belief, similar to how these people talking about random Hermes discourse are simply expressing their beliefs. Remember, Nonny, that these people's beliefs are not facts. They do not dictate your life or your world view or your relationship with Hermes. Only you can decide how those things look for you. So I ask you, what do you believe? What do you believe is true about Hermes? What has he shown and expressed to you personally? How has he treated you? What has he helped you with? What has he done for you? Do you feel happy worshipping him? This is something that you need to settle within yourself. No one but you can give you the answer you're searching for.

Maybe it would also help for you to look into any potential religious or personal trauma you have and see if that is also affecting your relationship with Hermes. I did this a while back, and it was immensely helpful for me personally. I can't say that I ever viewed Hermes as being evil or anything like that, but I did have some trauma that was making me anxious about spirituality and worship in general. I recommend looking into anything that you may be dealing with as well.

If you feel something is not right within your personal relationship with Hermes, that's something you need to directly communicate with him about. Get his opinions, his insight, and even his advice, if you want it. I think it'd really help you to speak with him as directly as you can about this topic. And you know, if you are really having a hard time worshipping this god, then maybe it just isn't meant to work for now, and that's perfectly ok. It's normal not to get along or click with every deity ever. There are some deities I personally don't worship simply because I don't feel we click well, and that's ok. It's the same as how some humans just don't mix with each other well; you simply go your separate ways and continue on.

When it comes to being alone while worshipping Hermes in the community, I do understand how you feel, but to combat those feelings of loneliness, I try to actively surround myself with other blogs and people who worship or venerate Hermes. There are actually quite a lot of blogs on Tumblr that worship him; it's simply a matter of seeking them out intentionally. I don't know how it is on other social media, however. If you use TikTok (specifically PaganTok), I would actually straight-up encourage you to not. Not for spiritual stuff, anyway. People spread misinformation there like a fucking wildfire, and you will find an overabundance of hatred and ignorance in all its forms. I deleted TikTok specifically because of PaganTok, and it was literally the best choice I've ever made for myself. I encourage you to do the same if that is the issue for you.

Anyway, I wish you the best of luck on your journey ahead. I hope this answer helped you in some way. Regardless of what happens with Hermes, I hope you find deities you worship that blend well with you and help you grow as a person. Remember that you are never required to worship a deity if they make you uncomfortable. I feel that's just important to say in general. Gods will be respectful of the fact that you're not, or no longer, interested. They're thousands upon thousands of years old; they have the maturity to accept your rejection respectfully.

No matter what happens, Nonny, you will be ok. Please take care, and have a good day/night. 🧡

Episode 3: Kendi v. Data.

Ibram X. Kendi: I think it’s critically important for us to stand on the anti-racist position that if there’s a racial disparity that’s shown via racial data, then there must be something wrong with policy as opposed to people. So then our job, when the data shows that disparity, is to figure out what policies are causing this disparity.

That statement by Kendi is absurd on its face. The moment you start to think about it, it just starts to fall apart. The vast majority of the people that police arrest, put in jail, and put to prison for violence are male. Does it automatically mean they're sexist against men? The average Asian-American income is higher than the average white American income. Does that mean we're racist against whites and this system is designed in such a way to help Asian Americans? The top educated demographic in the United States are Nigerian immigrants. Does that mean that the United States is geared towards helping Nigerian immigrants? So the whole thing is absurd on its face.

What you have to do when you see a discrepancy in the data is you have to control for the different reasons why that discrepancy might be there. That is, if what you're interested in is actually the truth, which should be what you're interested in if you're actually thinking about solving it. I don't think Kendi or people like that have any interest in solving anything, which is why the truth isn't that important. But if the truth is important to you, then when somebody says, "this particular correlation equals causation," well then we have to start controlling for all the other things that could be if we want to find out what's true and what's not true.

It reminds me very much of the creationist argument for how the world was created. Any time there was no definitive evolutionary answer for why something existed, or even if there was a good answer but it wasn't well known, people say, "Well, therefore, must be God." The God of the Gaps argument. And that's exactly what he's doing here. He's saying, any discrepancy in the data therefore must equal racism. If you're interested in the truth, then you can't accept that answer. It might be racism, absolutely. But the only way to find out if it's racism is to control for the other things that it could be. That's just basic logic and common sense.

Every citizen who's listening to this that has any kind of education at all should know that. And that alone should be enough to tell you that these people aren't sincere.

==

"When I see racial disparities, I see racism." -- Ibram X. Kendi

It's notable that when pressed about this single cause, he retorted:

"Either there is something wrong with our policies, or there is something wrong with black boys (or black people). Either the United States is riddled with racist policies or inferior black boys."

Either you agree with him that the US is irredeemably racist, or you think black people, and black boys in particular, are "inferior." This level of manipulation is the full breadth of his limited thought process. He's not a thinker, and he's not sincere about solving problems.

This "racism of the gaps" is what they refer to as "systemic racism." Take the preferred outcome and divide it by the current outcome. The distance in between, without controlling for anything, is presupposed to be bigotry. (The same method is used to calculate the mythical "pay gap".)

Unexpected results deserve investigation. When people observed light split while passing through a prism, they went "woah," and wanted to find out why. There are people who actually want to do that sort of thing. Not only does Kendi not want to do that, he doesn't want anyone else doing it either. He doesn't want to understand the problem, because he doesn't want it fixed.

We have no more reason to accept "systemic racism" from intellectual frauds like Kendi than we do to accept "systemic divinity" as an explanation for the existence of the universe.

If you accept one but not the other, then you're being inconsistent with how you decide what is true. An argument from ignorance is no more legitimate when it comes from a Kendi than it is coming from a Ken Ham or a Zakir Naik.

I'm the one who sent on the ask about Sophia bush that you just answered and wanted to clear up that I didn't mean to sound at all biphobic and I apologize if I did. I know women can be bi (I think Taylor is) I was just more so commenting how she gets a divorce from her husband of a year and is suddenly dating a woman like a few months later.

I know that correlation doesn't always equal causation but I'm some cases it's hard for my brain to not jump there.

i don't think you meant to sound biphobic but bisexuality is just so damn common in our world here! how is that not our first suspicion when a woman who's been with a man then dates a woman! like listen sophia may be a late-in-life lesbian i could definitely see that but for me, the "everyone's a beard" convo is just played out. i'm happy to wait and see if sophia comments on her sexuality. no apology needed anon no blood no foul i hope i didn't sound snappy just in the wake of travlor i'm ready to just let women be bi aren't we all?