Revoked

Friday, April 11, 2025

Via White Crane Institute // ARNOLD "ARNIE" ROTH

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989

This Day in Gay History

April 11

Noteworthy 1982 - ARNOLD "ARNIE" ROTH is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. The character was created by writer J. M. DeMatteis and artist Mike Zeck and first appeared in Captain America #268, published in April 1982. Arnie is a childhood friend of Steve Rogers, the civilian identity of the costumed superhero Captain America. Decades later, the pair are reacquainted after Arnie is targeted by Captain America's adversaries Helmut Zemo and the Red Skull. Later in his life, Arnie would assist with the "Captain America Hotline" created to field tips pertaining to national security before dying of bone cancer .Marvel Comics editor-in-chief Jim Shooter instituted a "No Gays in the Marvel Universe" policy in the 1980s, in response to public backlash against a scene in The Hulk #23 (1980) in which Bruce Banner is accosted and threatened with rape by two men at a YMCA. LGBT expressions in comic books were also restricted by the Comics Code Authority, a system of comic book content regulation. Consequently, the sexual orientation of LGBT characters in comics published by Marvel could for many years only be communicated through subtext, as in the case of Northstar in Alpha Flight, and Mystique and Destiny in Uncanny X-Men. Arnie was the first openly gay character to appear in a mainstream superhero comic. The character was conceived by DeMatteis as part of his effort to develop Captain America's supporting cast and explore how the character "had surrounded himself with people who represented American diversity", though as a result of editorial dictates at Marvel and the restrictions of the Comics Code Authority, DeMatteis was forced to communicate Arnie's sexuality exclusively through imagery and subtext. Though the tragic bent of stories featuring the character has been the subject of criticism, he has been praised as a positive media representation of gay men in the context of a 1980s media landscape characterized by homophobia and backlash against gay men amid the HIV/AIDS crisis. Arnie Roth made his first appearance in Captain America #268 (April 1982) as an unnamed pedestrian who happens to see Steve Rogers on a date with Bernie Rosenthal. He is formally introduced in Captain America #270 (June 1982), where he is retroactively established as Steve's childhood friend. Arnie departed Captain America in issue #306 (June 1985) and would not return until Captain America #428 (June 1994), written by Mark Gruenwald and drawn by Dave Hoover. The character would continue to make appearances in the comic until his death in Captain America #443 (September 1995). Stuart Vandal of The Appendix to the Handbook of the Marvel Universe speculated that the character's death was likely a consequence of Marvel's floating timeline, and the reality that it was increasingly implausible for a character born in the 1920s to be alive in stories set in the modern era. Arnie has appeared occasionally in flashbacks to Steve's past. In 2012, he appeared in Captain America volume 7, issue 3 written by Rick Remender and penciled by John Romita Jr., and in 2024 appeared in Avengers Academy: Marvel Voices #21 written by Anthony Oliveira and penciled by Carola Borelli. Easton notes that the relationship between Arnie and Steve "reverses stereotypes while reinforcing those of hegemonic masculinity", noting that while as children Arnie takes the traditionally masculine role as Steve's protector, as adults it is the "soft, less fit, and more vulnerable" Arnie who must be protected by Captain America. Tabak similarly notes how this role reversal and Arnie's awareness of Captain America's secret identity repurposes "imagery and language of the closet and of coming out [...] towards a superhero's own 'closeted' identity", noting how "invoking that similarity between the superhero experience and that of gay men in America serves to enrich the bond between Arnie and Steve".
\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\| Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute "With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989! www.whitecraneinstitute.org \|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|

Thursday, April 10, 2025

Via White Crane Institute \\ ELI ANDREW RAMER

Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989

This Day in Gay History

April 10

Noteworthy Eli Andrew Ramer - Two Hearts Dancing 2022 - ELI ANDREW RAMER, author and former White Crane columnist ("Praxis") is a magid, a traditional Jewish religious itinerant preacher, skilled as a narrator of Torah and religious stories. He is the author of the classic Two FlutesPlaying. Now he has authored a companion to that seminal work, TwoHeartsDancing. Eli and I had a brief conversation about it: Bo: So ...what prompted you to write a "companion" to Two Flutes Playing? Eli: I never planned to write a companion volume to "Two Flutes Playing." Then again, I did, but life derailed/erased it - for almost 20 years. "Two Flutes Playing" is a channeled book that I compiled in the 1980s. First published by Joseph Kramer from the Body Electric School in 1991, it's gone on to be reissued several times by different presses, including White Crane, and has had its own interesting life wandering around the world of gay men's spirituality. Around the time it was first published I wrote a story that led to another story that was beginning to become a book illustrated by my dear friend and Gay Spirit Visions Conference co-founder Raven Wolfdancer. When he was murdered I put together the drawings and stories we'd created into a small desktop published book, and when I sold the last copy I more or less forgot about it. Flash forward. Covid arrives. A strange echo of our lives with AIDS. Locked away from the world I went through and organized all my unpublished work, came upon the stories I did with Raven, and sent them to the publisher who had reissued "Two Flutes Playing" - Wipf and Stock. They said it was too short. I started going through unpublished poems, added them to the old stories - and "Two Hearts Dancing" was born. Bo: So while Two Flutes Playing was channeled, this is more of a collection of your thoughts in isolation? Eli: What's channeling? What's inspiration? Who are our muses? Certainly Johnny Moses was a muse, some hours before we met, awakening one of the stories in the first part of the book. And Raven Wolfdancer was clearly a muse, embodied, in addition to creating the art that graces the first part. And the poems in the second part were inspired by lovers and strangers and other writing, so while not channeled in quite the same way as Two Flutes Playing, this new book is also a received text. Bo: And do you think Two Hearts Dancing is a revival of that companion to Two Flutes? Or is something altogether new? Eli: I call it a companion volume and not a sequel, but now that it's been birthed, I do see the two books as siblings, the two of them dancing in and around each other, in and out of time. Bo: Can you talk a bit about the role of story-telling in the LGBTQ community? And how you see it relating to the prophetic tradition? Eli: A story is a line of thread linking two worlds together. A story is a line of saliva linking two kissers together. A story in our community is connector, a delight, and a tool for survival in an often-hostile world. We often find ourselves in words and stories in ways that we might not otherwise, in hearing a word for the first time and thinking - "Oh, that's me!" A word, a new pronoun - worlds rippling out from words in wet delicious ways. Stories began when we learned how to talk. This is a story. The first human language was manual and not verbal. It was signed and not spoken. We invited speech so that we could keep telling stories when it was dark. And then we invented fire. I believe - this is a story - that the very first storytellers were people like us, wandering in between female and male, the living and the dead, between words and silence. I believe that the first elders and prophets were people like us, living between female and male, the living and the dead, between words and silence, and able to link them all together, as with thread, as with the wet space between two people kissing, when they pull apart. Bo: What are you reading these days? Eli: Covid and the death of 40 people in my life since July 2017 altered my brain. I can hardly read or watch movies or take in much of anything, but I do thrive on going for four-hour walks. I used to read a book a week, usually three or four at the same time, one by my bed, one on the kitchen table, one next to the toilet, and one in my backpack for when I go out. Now it takes me more than a month to finish a book. What I'm reading, slowly - A Time to Mourn, a Time to Comfort: A Guide to Jewish Bereavement by Ron Wolfson, and The Lying Life of Adults by Elena Ferrante. Bo: Could you describe Two Hearts Dancing for readers? Eli. The book isn’t a coming out guide so much as it is a guidebook on coming in—coming in to who we are as mystics, lovers and healers. The first section has fourteen tales that are grounded in gay archetypes and ends with a responsive reading to be used in gay men’s rituals. The second part, Poems of Our Tribe is comprised of twenty-four poems that are mythic, mystical explorations of embodied spirituality, sexuality, and love.
\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\| Gay Wisdom for Daily Living from White Crane Institute "With the increasing commodification of gay news, views, and culture by powerful corporate interests, having a strong independent voice in our community is all the more important. White Crane is one of the last brave standouts in this bland new world... a triumph over the looming mediocrity of the mainstream Gay world." - Mark Thompson Exploring Gay Wisdom & Culture since 1989! www.whitecraneinstitute.org \|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|O\|8\|

Via The Tricycle \\ Three Teachings on Diligence

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April 10, 2025

Commitment on and to the Buddhist Path

When you think of diligence in a Buddhist context, you might think of the diligence required to meditate: to return to your practice day after day, and to return to the object of your attention when the mind wanders. As one of the paramis, or perfections to cultivate on the Buddhist path, diligence extends off the cushion into the way we live our lives; we must continually engage in wholesome activities and foster positive mental states.

Dedication is required but it need not be all hard work. As social practice artist Jessica Angima writes, “While diligence implies hard work, the wonderful thing is that we can place emphasis on ‘right’ and that means intuiting what feels skillful and useful to you.”

What might be most difficult is trusting yourself to know what is skillful for you at the moment, and trusting in yourself that you can do what is skillful. As ever, looking closely at what might keep you from practicing or living virtuously will create space from whatever is standing in your way, and the effort or energy will flow more easily.

This week’s Three Teachings explores obstacles to diligence and the rewards of overcoming them.

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Bring Diligence Into Daily Life

Practicing on and off the cushion is the theme of Tricycle's newest online course, Your Life Is Your Practice. Featuring the expert guidance of insight meditation teacher Martin Aylward, this course recognizes the potency of formal practice but also encourages practice as part of our daily lives—in the kitchen, garden, or at the grocery store. In this way, everyday life becomes an opportunity for inquiry, care, and growth. Class starts on May 12, 2025.

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Exploring the Parami of Energy
By Vanessa Zuisei Goddard

Read more about this quality, or perfection, and how it links to right effort on the eightfold path. “Although this perfection sounds like a lot of hard work, regularly pulling out mental weeds can be a very simple task.”

Working with Laziness
By Dzigar Kongtrul Rinpoche

Laziness isn’t as simple as it sounds. “It uses endless, self-justifying distractions and even self-denigration to disguise itself.” Learn about getting to the root of laziness to defeat it.

The Joy of Returning to Practice
By Jessica Angima

After the initial “high” that comes from starting a regular practice, continued commitment might be a challenge. Read about that process of return and what comes next.

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You Have to Get Wet

Answering ‘What is Zen?’ is like answering ‘What is the ocean?’ To understand the ocean, you have to submerge yourself. You have to get wet.

Les Kaye, “You Have to Get Wet”

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My Time in Robes
By Bradley Donaldson

A former monastic reflects on their time as a fully ordained bhikkhu and why they eventually made the decision to return to lay life.

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RIGHT ACTION
Reflecting Upon Social Action

However the seed is planted, in that way the fruit is gathered. Good things come from doing good deeds, bad things come from doing bad deeds. (SN 11.10) What is the purpose of a mirror? For the purpose of reflection. So too social action is to be done with repeated reflection. (MN 61)

One reflects thus: “Others may speak in unhealthy ways; I shall refrain from speaking in unhealthy ways.” (MN 8) One lives with companions in concord, with mutual appreciation, without disputing, blending like milk and water, viewing each other with kindly eyes. One practices thus: “I maintain verbal acts of lovingkindness toward my companions both openly and privately.” (MN 31)

Reflection

How we speak to one another has a big impact on how well we get along with one another. We evoke from others the same emotions we express to them. If you say something with annoyance, you will provoke annoyance. If you say something kind, you will bring out the kindness of others. This is how human interactions work: however the seed is planted, the fruit is gathered.

Daily Practice

One important way of practicing in daily life is bringing as much lovingkindness as possible to everything you do, especially in the realm of verbal action. Make a point today of speaking kindly to the people you interact with. You’ll find it comes easily if you can manage to view the other person “with kindly eyes.” Find something good in other people to focus upon and allow your speech to flow from the emotion of friendliness.

Tomorrow: Abstaining from Intoxication
One week from today: Reflecting upon Bodily Action

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