I can confirm ST&P's reference to the SGI-USA policy on the illegal invasion of Iraq. That was the final straw for me - I walked out and will NEVER return. The hype (mental conditioning) about promoting peace and goodwill, spreading world peace, Daisuck-u as ambassador of peace, and the tripe about how the org is anti-war because it "works" for world peace - those were all deceptions. Their inhuman policy proved those boasts were two-faced hypocritical lies made by das org liars.

The self-centered SGI cult was more concerned about protests or criticisms of the war offending SGI military members, than they were about the million plus innocent people that were about to suffer horrible death and destruction at the hands of the military. They were insistent about protecting the feelings of the cult.org military members who were also paid servants of the military death machine. The SGi's deference to the war machine enablers and indifference to war's past, present, or future victims was both shocking and revealing to me - but politically correct for ass-kissing supporters of the bloated military industrial war-for-profit monster.

Senior leaders that I discussed this politically correct SGcult policy issue with added in an extra false excuse to justify withdrawal of any support to SGI members engaged in protesting the Iraq War. Here was yet another poor excuse that I later discovered was an outright lie. Again and again they hedged discussing their policy issue by claiming that SGI-USA would lose it's tax exempt status if it officially allowed or supported members engaged in protesting the illegal war. That lame excuse was an intentionally fraudulent deception, as churches are only restricted by law from instructing it's members on how to vote in elections. Sermons are frequently given from pulpits that contain political opinions, and churches often host protest meetings and groups without endangering their lucrative tax exempt status.

Those senior leaders I talked to also made another excuse. They claimed that the government would consider members protesting the war as "political activity" by the SGi, which would also cause the org to lose its tax exempt status. But that was just another ruse as well. They forgot they were talking to an old timer who did many, many all night chanting sessions for the successful election of members from SGI's Komei Party in Japan. So I knew they were lying to me just like politicians do - their lips were moving.

Then finally, there was the leader's redirect excuse - making the bottom line all about the money! "Gee, they said, you wouldn't want to cause the SGI to lose any money by getting their exemption revoked!" And, "support this policy and thereby support the org!" (Yeah, and never mind all those about-to-be dead brown skinned people, now get out there and work harder for world peace!)

Only Two protest participants? Pitiful indeed. At least in my area (Seattle) we had 40 to 50 members still turn out (unofficially, without any encouragement or support from das org) to participate in protests against the illegal invasion. Yet, when many SGi members from that same group of protesters joined with the SGI gay members group, and participated in the annual gay pride parade that same year, the SGcult allowed them to wear official SGI gay pride t-shirts. Go figure!

Most people never heard anything about how 12 million people world wide came out to protest the war during one day in February 2003. The MSM totally lied to the US public about it. Here in Seattle, the local TV stations reported "a few hundred protesters", but the real number was close to 70,000 protesters. The streets were filled for block and blocks with a peace parade that stretched as far as I could see. I was filled with awe and reverence at the incredible number of true Bodhisattvas that surrounded me, and that experience helped me realize just how lame and fake the SGI "peace movement" really was.

Dare I say it might be attributable to hypocrisy? Seattle has the Sea-Fair parade that sgi has participated in for ages and my understanding (could be wrong at this point in time) is that they have a pretty strong YD who are more sympathetic towards the gay community. If my ex-friend's daughter is any example, they are a pretty flighty and cause-of-the-moment oriented. Not saying anything negative about gender rights, but that's a much more popular cause than that stodgy old invasion/war stuff.

Besides, those people we're invading and killing - they're just a bunch of muslim brown people aren't they? It's not like they're here in front of us or anything.

SGI had already established doing the gay pride parade in previous years, after it had become politically correct to support that sort of event. It's just funny that so many of the spontaneous war protesters were also gay pride paraders. And yes, sgi was totally hypocritical to support the gay pride group while poo-pooing the anti-war group.

Fun fact: Seattle Hempfest is Seattle's largest event, not Sea-Fair! Well over a quarter of a million people attend the 3 day event. I've never been to Seafair, mostly because I'm so busy each summer preparing for Hempfest, as I have been a core-staff volunteer for Hempfest over the last 13 years. Hempfest has been the "protestival" springboard that spearheaded the political movement in this state that fostered the historic cannabis reforms that along with Colorado, have been the focus of world-wide attention in the last year. Seattle Hempfest is a REAL engine of social change - one that SGI could only dream of. The taste of our recent victory to end the drug war is sweet, and I assure you, volunteering at the world's largest Hempfest is a lot more fun than the Seafair Parade!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2014 03:24AM by Spartacus.

That's way cool, Spartacus! WA allows recreational as well as medical use, is that correct?

I really think that the big reason sgi supports gay-pride is that there's money to be made there. That was one of the original things that attracted me to sgi - I'm straight, but have always had gay friends and the attitudes of other religious orgs were just so hurtful . . .

Contrats, to Washington State on this.

Public service advice: If anyone has medi-ganja, keep it sealed up and away from where dogs can get at it. (As well as small kids.)

My cat's veterinarian volunteered at an emergency medical facility for animals and she said that many were the times when embarassed humans would come in with a stumbling, spaced out dog - because Doggie had gotten into the weed.

And one guy told me he and friends had made some electric butter and discarded what they thought was inert pot residue onto the compost heap out back.

Their dog norfed on it and got wigged out. There was still enough THC in the residue that the funk factor attracted the dog to the compost - and got him stoned.

Back to SGI...

C'mon . . . butter AND weed residue? Kind of sounds irresistible ;-)

Hate to interrupt your witty (weedy?) repartee, but I stumbled upon this site, by a "Rev. Greg." The short article up top is interesting, but the discussion down below is even MORE interesting - it deals with Lisa Jones, of Buddhajones (in)fame. Her website was taken down under pressure from SGI, I understand. The "Rev Greg" certainly takes an uncharitable view of her, referring to her as a "failed cultie"!

[fraughtwithperil.com]

There are some things in life it's better to fail at...

Yes, Meh, Wash. state has both recreational and medical. I was surprised when Wash. decriminalized before Calif.

Corboy, good advise from you to keep green meds secure from both pets and children. Isn't it funny how animals love to get high just like people do. I've heard many stories over the years about the family dog getting into magic butter (licking the bowl or spoon when they weren't looking) and being too stoned to stand for a few days. Fortunately, cannabis is non-toxic, so no matter how much is ingested, overdoses are never lethal, even for party dogs. IT has been calculated that a person would have to smoke 1500 lbs in 15 minutes to achieve a lethal overdose, and even then the person would die of asphyxiation from the impossible amount of smoke inhalation and not from THC. When people dab concentrates or eat too much, they just pass out and sleep it off - no danger, just the inconvenience of being out of it for a day or so.

Fun facts: ingesting cannabis cures cancer, along with hundreds of other very effective medical uses (like pain management without opiates).



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 02/11/2014 11:35AM by Spartacus.

It's joke time:


"Remaining silent in the face of injustice is the same as supporting it." -- Daisaku Ikeda