At a Quaker Meeting some years ago, a speaker stood up and explained the original meaning of turn the other cheek, which Jesus espoused. The meaning transformed over time to something like forgive and forget or look the other way.
Quakers generally don’t lie and certainly someone would have to be mentally ill in some way to share this information, although the person stating it in this case was a Biblical and religious scholar, and had no mental illness.
So the scoop goes like this. It is like early Quakers refusing to bow or kneel to lords and other authority figures. Forget that nasty behavior.
In the time of Jesus, one was supposed to turn the right cheek to overlords and masters. It showed deference to them. So presenting the left facial cheek meant outright defiance.
We are seeing defiance in the streets these days in our protests. I’m glad. It shows turning the other cheek.
On another note, Trump should have mentioned Black Wall Street and Juneteenth while in Tulsa. But oh no. It might alienate his white supremacy base. Remember his saying after the Charlottesville protests that the are good people on both sides, meaning demonstrators against injustice and the white supremacists? Remember one from the latter group plowing his vehicle into a crowd of social justice demonstrators and killing a white woman? The doer is obviously a domestic terrorists like the ones in Great Britain, Nice in France and elsewhere located in the world.
Well, I have news for Trump: Many of us are turning the other cheek to you. I learned the way to do it more than sixty years ago and I’ll continue to do the action when need be. The action is deeply embedded in some of us.
In fact, I love turning the other cheek against the status quo when it comes to social justice and environmental issues, corrupt politicians and so much more. Most of my postings on CC testify to this being the case.
Come on and join me. Turn the other cheek.
Sally Dugman writes from MA, USA.
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