first off a suggestion to paul: "i think" that you "may" (this is a gentle suggestion
find it profitable to read a bit of church history and cult personality theory. i have spent most of my life in churches and a good number of years in groups with "cultish" tendencies and the dynamics you talk about are hauntingly similar. when folks get passionate about things they think are rreeaallyy important (like religion and permaculture), they get more ugly than geeks in tech forums.
a few things i've observed in churches: you see a few folks who do most of the work. some are quiet gentle souls who nobody ever knows or cares about. many sigh frequently and make subtle comments to show how martyr-like they are. few just seem to be stable and press on regardless for good until they find themselves burning on a stake or die of supernatural causes. some burn out (do a quick search about burn out in the ministry) and disappear. many new folks once they start hanging around are just smart enough to stay away. others have dark, strange needs that regional leaders are keen to play upon. this is the land that sprouted the phrase "my way or the highway." these are a few things that come to mind reading your comments. i wasn't able to hear the voices, but i've been to enough "christian" conferences to know the vibe of which you speak. i wish you all the best in your efforts to make your forum a happy and healthy place to hang out and applaud you for your warfare to make the world a better place.
when i get anxious about the state of the world and the obviousness of the solution, i read this poem by wendell berry:
The Peace of Wild Things
When despair grows in me
and I wake in the middle of the night at the least sound
in fear of what my life and my children's lives may be,
I go and lie down where the wood drake
rests in his beauty on the water, and the great heron feeds.
I come into the peace of wild things
who do not tax their lives with forethought
of grief. I come into the presence of still water.
And I feel above me the day-blind stars
waiting for their light. For a time
I rest in the grace of the world, and am free.
on the vegan theme, here's another pertinent quote:
it's easier to change a man's religion than to change his diet. - margaret mead
and the talk about women in permaculture brings another group to my mind: what about native people in permaculture?
now i'm going out to my simple little garden to plant some good seed, watch the buds swell, flowers form, see how tall my hops bines are getting; and am free.
