Why @h00die_R ?: Changing Twitter Handles & Such
This is a cross-post from the Political Jesus tumblr
I have decided for a while it was time for a change. For a while, I have been blogging as the alias and rather strange (if you don’t know the expansive mythology that is Buffy The Vampire Slayer) as Rod rogue demonhunter. Of course it was in the midst of doing my thesis, I wrote as Rod of Alexandria/Rod Of A because of the topic I was writing, and what my mind focused on for that period. Rod Of A happened because I imagined myself theologically to be on the side of Clement, Athanasius, and Origen. But then I became more than just really random church history guy. So, inspired by a pop culture reference, at the time, RtRDH was a good idea.
And I continued to write about anything (and will continue) from patristic theology to empire studies to pop culture and fandom issues to electoral politics . But circumstances [hint:
work] change, so instead of making all of my social networks private, and rather than relying on a single fandom to define me, I decided, like with the blog name PJ, to come up with a concept. To make this about more than an ideal. To become legend (thats a movie reference btw).
h00die_R is the child of the moment of clarity I had several months ago. Moments of clarity, conversion experiences, or whatever you choose to call them are on going processes. For as long as I have been writing as a child, there has never been a time I was not interested in justice issues. As I continue to attempt self-criticism, I realized that I just was not explaining what I believe what was at issue when it came to the notion of “white privilege.” At one point, during the George Zimmerman trial this summer, I came to understand what the problem was. I was part of the problem. I wasn’t being honest with myself, with my writing, I was holding something back. I was in denial that I relish in culture war settings. It’s where I belong.
See it’s my problem that I have had since my high school years. I saw and recognized injustices. But instead of researching more on these (as I did as a third grader), I made racism out to be a joke (cuz, it was), I wanted to be the self-seeking entertaining, acceptable black. I wanted to fit in my last two years of HS. I went back and forth in college:
wanting to be the good acceptable black, but still on social justice and peace issues. It took me a long time when I was in seminary that this was no way to live. Being made in the Imago Dei, I had to realize God had graciously accepted me, all of me, and not just my happy happy joy joy pious side, but my angry social justice side, my critical thinking side. All.
In seminary, I witnessed one of my heroes (I was originally a strong critic, and cynic at first) James Cone. When I saw him speak in front of a crowd of Methodists, with clarity, with brilliance, with outrage, with the Gospel. I was inspired. It was if he didn’t care what others’ thought. He just did. Cone was never limited by having “a brand.” He was and continues to be, all in. I don’t agree with everything he does, but who out there thinks the same, seriously?
Like the conversion experience I being immersed in the testimony of James Cone’s liberation theology, reading and hearing the responses to Trayvon Martin’s murder were eye-opening. This, along with my research and blogging against American Christianity’s continued support for the Confederates States of America All the talk of “white privilege” I found insufficient. It was a failure because anti-racism had been hijacked. Going back to the source, persons such as Cornel West as well as POC feminists online, I made the decision to return to the language of “white supremacy.” Rather than avoiding the truth, I am called to speak it. I am not here to educate anyone. If there’s an audience, fine.
So, I decided recently, RtRDH had to go. It doesn’t mean a change in style. It’s more about artistic freedom, not being restricted by the intellectual property of another person. It was cute for a while, but the time for cuteness is over (except for when I find myself watching My Little Pony:
Friendship is Magic). I want to engage the culture wars, and I want to honor the memory of Trayvon Martin. Hoodies are my favorite pieces of clothing to wear, some of my favorite comic heroes wear hoodies. “The Hood” from the CW show ARROW wears a hoodie. Hoodie was right in line with what I want to accomplish. It’s a symbol resisting white supremacy and so it stuck.
On the R, the r stands for many things, of all I cannot list here, but here are a few:
R is for Resurrection, religious, racial justice, racial reconciliation, reboot, repentance, radical, relational, renewal, revolution, reading, writing, running the race, removing the status quo, Rarity (oops), resistance, standing up to rape culture, sometimes ridiculous, always random,
