Purity Police BLAST Wisdom Quarterly

Submitted by Jen Bradford (Dharma Buddhist Meditation)*, Ashley Wells (ed.), Wisdom Quarterly

In the name of "moral purity" something has to be done: Let's destroy art (New Statesman)

OK Boomer: Why we need to cancel 'cancel culture' (Farah Ibrahim/cairoscene.com)

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LETTER TO THE EDITOR

This letter comes in from an irate British reader, whom we shall call "Mr. A," although his real name is George Jackson, 32A Milton Avenue, Houndslow, Middlesex, Telelphone 01 246 8047 (Monty Python's "Mouse Problem").

As the self-appointed Morality Police in Charge of Purity and Vice in Western Publications Alleging to be Buddhist, Mr. Jackson has a COMPLAINT:

Hey, this cartoon's inappropriate! Cancel it!

[Feel free to agree, disagree, or add your own comments, complaints, or compliments in the Comments Section below.]

The following are recent titles of articles published by Wisdom Quarterly: American Buddhist Journal (wisdomquarterly.com):

• "Chasing the Phallus," Bhutan (2022 doc)”
• "Penis worship in US and Buddhist Bhutan"
• "The Vagina Museum, England"

Chasing the Phallus video still (Bhutan, 2022)

In the first article, I disagree with the vulgarity of the photo attached. [It shows four Bhutanese Buddhist pieces of penis art, shown here].

In the second, I disagree with the vulgarity of the song [by American singer Kate Leah] it links to:

Vulgar: "10 Things I Hate About You"

TRIGGER WARNING: Ms. Leah utters an unacceptable expletive [F-word] referring to intercourse!

We say [Richard] all day long, but try to say

In the third, the article [about the world's first female-run, body-positive, pro-feminist "Vagina Museum"] references a "Femigani Workshop."

Here are some of the lines from that article: "Femigami specializes in hosting playful and thought-provoking workshops using the art of origami to create unconventional paper creations (including vaginas and penises)."

"Workshop attendees have ranged from 10 to 80 years old (no one is too young or old to enjoy making Femigami!)" I disagree with children being exposed to such [dangerous, vulgar, body-positive] content!

Gendered violence is wrong.

Another article, "10 Things I Hate About You" [new Kate Leah music video] references the Heath Ledger film 10 Things I Hate About You.]

In that film, violence against men and boys is trivialized; as a male victim of female-perpetrated violence, I disagree with the film being given any platform. [As a rom-com for teens, it should be canceled, banned, and removed from critics' Top 10 lists of popular American comedies!]

Banned by Vice Squad (eBay)

If these articles were, for example, simply a matter of disagreement on grounds such as religion (theism vs. atheism), or political persuasion (Democrat vs. Republican), etc. then I would not have an objection to having my own articles published by Wisdom Quarterly. [But I won't allow them the privilege of broadcasting my voice and views unless they take down these three articles. Otherwise, I would never allow them to print my ideas!]

In the examples I have raised, it is my moral objection to the subject matter (and the journal seeing fit to publish them or give them a platform) which has resulted in my firm decision [to never allow them to publish my words].

• *DISCLAIMER: The characters and events depicted are entirely fictitious. Any similarity to names or incidents is entirely coincidental.
• Top 10 Legal Disclaimers (The Hollywood Reporter)

EDITOR'S RESPONSE

National view: Republicans, Democrats agree: cancel "cancel culture" (Duluth News Tribune)

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What have we done to our good readers?

While we agree with "Mr. A" that these articles, or recent posts, are objectionable, we reason with him not to condemn Wisdom Quarterly for the decision to give these views a voice or platform. Unlike the openminded British, with their topless Page 3 Girls in every publication exposing children and others to titillating nudity, we American Puritans are closeminded about venises, paginas, and violence directed at males by females. But these are hard realities, particularly in a patriarchy and insidiously sexist culture, as we in the West enjoy as our first world problems. We plead with Mr. A not to cancel his subscription or avert his gaze, but rather to look for the good in all. The women of England behind the "V Museum" are feminists attempting to humanize the female body and its procreative components so denigrated by our fatherly and male-centric mentalities, with the male gaze and voice colonizing our minds. As a privileged white male, it is admirable that Mr. A sees fit to speak up for the oppressed and take on the white man's burden of being upright, acting as the self-appointed Purity Police that finds fault with the rest of the world in general and us in particular, wayward post-British Americans on this side of the pond. We further hope that by bringing attention to these matters, a wave of complaint comments can be avoided, and that no other Letters to the Editor (addressed to Ms. Ashley Wells of the Ashley Wells Foundation) be forthcoming. What will Tricycle, Access to Insight, Shambhala, and America's paper of record The New York Times (to say nothing of The New Yorker) think of us now?