On Stupidity, Friendship and Respect

Lon DuQuette has come out with a holiday song, which I will not post. Go find it if you want. As many know, I'm a big fan of Lon. I think he gets a bad rap for being able to explain very complex things in a very simplified way. What most people do not realize or do not care to say is that the only way you can do that well is if you know it very well. A great deal of magickal complexity is mental masturbation. Gee, look at what I know! Whatever.

Those same people will hate my book on the tarot. Never mind, my simple approach turned my work life around on a dime. It obviously can't work unless it is complex.

I've seen WitchdoctorJoe control the weather very simply in a manner most of Lon's critics would decry. Who cares? It worked. I've seen Lon do absolutely nothing and make a man disappear. To my eyes, literally. Yup, the man is a hack.

Every time I've spoken to Lon, he'd demonstrated keen insight and spoken just above my leveling of understanding. Which forces me to think. He's also spoken of things at a higher level than his books. Which, I wouldn't have understood unless I'd both read them and done the work to gain a deeper understanding. I respect Lon.

Knowing the man and knowing the other songs he sings, I interpret his art in a particular way. Yet, even I cringed at this one. It is so unbelievably anti-Christian and mean sounding that I was taken aback. Given that I am a boarder-line Christian bigot, this reaction should be taken seriously. It is one thing to offend RO (see his post) when you rant against Christianity. Offending me, is a whole new level.

So, RO is going to throw out every book Lon ever wrote or some such thing. Assuming he had them as they were useful to him at some level, what happened? The words are suddenly less meaningful? If they were valued at all before this song, they should hold the same value. They didn't become more or less true.

I know Enochian Vision Magick opened the Enochian portal for RO. Is he going to close it now because Lon introduced it to him? I think that would be foolish.

So, some folks would terminate everything they have to do with Lon over this. Friends may walk away. If they do, they were never his friend to begin with.

RO and I are friends. Yet, RO has sent me some personal IMs that I found to be emotionally hurtful and mean spirited. I am still his friend. Why? Because any jackass can be any other jackass's friend when all is well. Friendship is hanging on to someone when they are being wrong or doing something wrong. It is not proper to support an action you feel is wrong even if done by a friend. It is proper to support that friend.

Yes, I will admit their are limits that each of us must set.

Americans are a pretty intolerant as a lot. Magicians need to be better. Magicians need to see the big picture, not a single action or belief. To end associations merely for one incident or even a small series of incidents makes us no better that Ted Haggard's friend's, who disowned him because he is gay or 'gayish' or acts out. They never stopped to realize how horrible their friend must feel to spout those beliefs and be unable to stop himself from acting in a contrary manner. Where is their compassion?

I've seen this a lot in the Work. Our mouths reveal our egos and our actions reveal our contradictions. It is hurtful but that is where the Great Work begins. So to my friends in the Work, I will not abandon you when you screw up. I will tell you when you're wrong but I will do it while standing beside you. We are all more than our mistakes. Isn't offering support in times like these the true measure of Love, Friendship, Respect and Compassion?