You have absolutely nothing to apologize for.

The whole purpose of these pieces is to provoke and elicit meaningful dialogue (it's even ok if it gets a little rowdy from time to time).

That's what we're having: meaningful dialogue.

And, anyhoo, my BFFs don't have to apologize for speaking their minds.

Actually, no one has to apologize for speaking their minds.

I appreciated your feedback. It gave me a lot to think about.

It makes me a better writer.

I don't just write for myself. I write to get my point across to an audience (hopefully, anyway).

So, it's important for me to be as effective as possible.

And, I write to have a conversation. It's no fun if it's one sided, or only with yes men (and yes women).

We're all good. I was surprised to find out that I'm scary though. I so don't think of myself as scary.

Mother Theresa is looked upon by many as a missionary or infact the 'modern day persona of the ultimate missionary - Jesus' ..gee she did spread alot of hatred didnt she ??
- really?, #40

Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall they be of his own household.
- Jesus Christ, Matthew 10:34-36

I don't think that juxtaposition is quite as absurd as you seem to think it is. Really really.

Anyway, Sarah, I had a chance to think over what I wrote, and I think I owe you an apology, so I'm sorry. I'm one of those people who thinks it's important to show that you learn from your mistakes, so I explore that here.

Your post was brilliant.

Faith infects the mind, thankyou for reminding me of that.

As for tarnishing the good name of actual human rights activism, I thought that was one of your stronger points because you straight-up laid out how the public perception works. It just makes too much psychological sense.

And hooray for still BFFs!

Why did you have to give it a second read?

Just kidding. No worries. Your criticisms are valid. We're still BFFs.

But, I would just point out a couple of things:

I'm not writing an academic piece. It's a polemical piece grounded in personal experience. Those are the works I find the most compelling. That's what I gravitate towards. I thought about adding statistics, etc., but, honestly, I chose examples that have been front page news during the past few months, so I wasn't too concerned about being called out on my facts.

Second -- yes -- as I mention above -- I am railing against the actual harm, but what I am really railing against is the lack of self awareness, the lack of reflection. (If you're doing God's work, if you are directed by God, then self awareness is not only not necessary -- it's detrimental to the effort.)

If anything, I would have expected more of a fight on my claim that they are hindering the efforts of real human rights activists and turning the world against human rights and human rights activism -- that seems to be the most ballsy claim -- and the least justifiable on quantifiable facts. (But, actually, I do have some really good quotes from Sudanese and Pakistani women's rights activists to back up that claim.)

Anyhoo -- my main point is that I didn't set out to write a legalistic journal submission, but I wasn't shooting for rant either. I like my description above -- polemical piece grounded in personal experience.

Love and kisses,
D

"Maybe you were so upset at the conversation because of an inner struggle yourself."

I must be a really really bad writer if I failed to get that point across. Unless I am grossly mistaken, I think I made it pretty clear in the essay that such is the case.

Yes, the missionaries do horrible things and cause unspeakable harm. And, I am railing against that harm.

But, I am really railing against the lack of any self awareness. I am really railing against the lack of any self reflection. I am really railing against the lack of any inner struggle on the part of the missionaries.

They do not question the morality of their actions, because they think they are doing God's Work.

This is why they cannot bring themselves to acknowledge the harm caused by their work, by God's Work, because then they would have to acknowledge that they are not being directed by God at all.

And, they are not just causing harm, they are not just failing to recognize that harm, but they are making the efforts of the real human rights activists even more difficult than they already are. They are turning the world against human rights activism. Both activists from the West and grassroots efforts.