Universal Burdens

477 Pages·2017·24.08 MB·English

Universal Burdens : Stories of (Un)Freedom from the Unitarian Universalist
Association, The MOVE Organization, and Taqwacore
Fiscella, Anthony
2015
Link to publication
Citation for published version (APA):
Fiscella, A. (2015). Universal Burdens : Stories of (Un)Freedom from the Unitarian Universalist Association, The
MOVE Organization, and Taqwacore. [Doctoral Thesis (monograph), History of Religions and Religious
Behavioural Science]. Lund University.
Total number of authors:
1
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LUND UNIVERSITY
PO Box 117
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The Burdens of All
There are Zen students who are in chains when they go to a teacher, and the Universal Burdens:
teacher adds another chain. The students are delighted, unable to discern
one thing from another. This is called a guest looking at a guest.
-Linji
Stories of (Un)Freedom from the Unitarian Universalist Association,
What do Zen master Linji, Muslim scholar ‘Abb(cid:407)d ibn Sulaym(cid:407)n, and Comanche The MOVE Organization, and Taqwacore
thinker Parra-Wa-Samen have in common? Among many other things, they
share the fact that they are all excluded from the reigning conversations within
ANTHONY T. FISCELLA
academia about what “freedom” is, how it can be understood, and how it
ought to be applied in the world. They share that place of exclusion with the CENTRE FOR THEOLOGY AND RELIGIOUS STUDIES | LUND UNIVERSITY 2015
vast majority of the world. The sword of colonialism continues to strike today
from the oil fields of the Middle East to the literature on our shelves. This
dissertation aims to begin a conversation about that exclusion and how we
might begin to undo some of the massive violence that much of the world is
subject to every day.
The burdens will always be heavy,
The sunshine fade into night,
Till mercy and justice shall cement
The black, the brown and the white.
-Frances Ellen Watkins Harper
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Centre for Theology and 55
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Religious studies 3
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Lund University 7
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ISBN 978-91-87833-55-7 91
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ISSN 1103-4882 7 36
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Universal Burdens

1
Universal Burdens:
Stories of (Un)Freedom from the Unitarian Universalist
Association, The MOVE Organization, and Taqwacore

Anthony T. Fiscella

5
Copyright Anthony T. Fiscella

Centre for Theology and Religious Studies
Lund University

ISBN 978-91-87833-55-7
ISSN 1103-4882

Printed in Sweden by Media-Tryck, Lund University
Lund 2015

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To the River and the Earth
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Table of Contents
Acknowledgements 11
Prologue: Where This Story Begins 15
“Free as a Bird” 15
Collage Education: A Dead Brother, Punk Rock, and a Communist Dad 20
Racial Histories: From Dick Gregory to MOVE 25
On Kecoughtan Land: Joining the Unitarian Universalists 34
Paxcore: Catholic Workers, Islamic Anarchists, and Taqwacore 39
The Problem for this Thesis: Fjord of the Lies 41
We’re All in This Together 46
1. Introduction 53
Aims, Locations, Materials, and Methods 60
Structure of the Thesis 108
A Few Words About Language 109
Ethical Concerns 116
2. yin Exclusivity, Inclusivity, and Ambiguity in Language and Conversations 129
A Few More Words about Language 130
“The Blessing of Freedom” 139
Histories of “Freedom” and “Unfreedom” 150
Violence, Exclusion, and the “State of Nature” 175
Toward Alter/Native Conversations 192
Beyond the Berlin Wall: Expressing (Un)Freedom 228

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3. yang Practice: Words and the Lives that Color Them 277
Stories of “Freedom” in Three Texts and Contexts 277
Unitarian Universalist Association Central Texts 278
Secondary UUA Texts and Interviews 284
Livings Words in the UUA 300
The MOVE Organization Central Text 315
Secondary MOVE Texts and Interviews 327
Living Words in the MOVE Organization 343
Taqwacore Primary Text 349
Secondary Taqwacore Texts and Interviews 356
Living Words in Taqwacore 372
Summary 379
4. other Ecologies of (Un)Freedom 381
Varieties of (Un)Freedom 384
(Un)freedom 1: Negotiating the Limits of Language 386
(Un)freedom 2: Shouldering Incalculable Responsibility in Relationship 389
(Un)freedom 3: Feeling an Obligation to Challenge Injustice 392
Concluding Thoughts 395
5. Concluding Thoughts: Toward Critical Inquiries of “Freedom” 401
Epilogue 405
A Grain of Sand 405
Audre, Lorde of the Guys? 410
Free Will, Will-Free, or Get Free? 414
Taqwacore 2.0, Violence 0.01, and University Logo 101 416
Of Burning Men and Women 420
De-liberation Movement 427
Bibliography 431
Unitarian Universalist References 431
MOVE References 434
Taqwacore References 441
General References 445
Appendix 1: UUA-related texts 470

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Acknowledgements
“Knowledge” = “know [your] ledge.” To recognize and respect limits. A dissertation
that‘s done is not necessarily finished. Time’s up. Here it is. Done and unfinished.
Finished and incomplete. So many words and so much unsaid. Both a work in progress
and a part of dialogue.
This project started in 2010. Lives too have finished during this time. Recalling a
few of them connected to this project/me in some way:
Samiya Abdullah Jamal, Phil Africa, Makhfee Ahmed, Hazel Dickens, Marianne
Joan Elliot-Said/Poly Styrene, Clark Fiscella, Florence Fiscella, Nan Fiscella,
Frank Guida, Maximilian Heine, Fred Ho, Gustaf Kjellvander, Lauren Matyis/Ari
Said, Ibrahim Mothana, Tord Olsson, Edith Piazza, Jeanne Russo, Jean Slezak, Ann-
Louise Svensson, Enomie Tibbs, Ari Up, Don Van Vliet, Michael Moses Ward, Adam
Yauch, Howard Zinn.
So many factors and forces have directly or indirectly enabled this process.
Intestinal bacteria, nematoda (microscopic roundworms in the soil), washing machine
engineers, soybean harvesters, the first microorganisms that learned to photosynthesize,
the first NYC kids who taught themselves to beatbox. Crashing waves and cricket
sounds, misty moonlight and melancholic Malmö winters. I remain in debt to more
people, beings, and forces than I can count. Writers I’ve cited, writers I didn’t (but
whose impact still shines through). So many people who patiently spoke with me: I
greatly appreciate each talk (even though I cited no more than a few interviews for this
project). The photographers, artists, librarians, musicians, printing press workers, and
office administrators— I am indebted to their labor. The incredible support, timely
assistance, invaluable advice, thoughtful tips, vital feedback, and other types of aid from
friends, family, and colleagues made this very much a collaborative effort. Indeed, this
thesis is a collage of that labor.
Some of them are: my advisors: Olle Qvarnström, Ruth Kinna, and Mattias
Gardell; my reader Johan Modée; colleagues, professors, and administrators: Lory
Dance, Alexandre Christoyannopoulos, Ingvar Bolmsten, Ulla Rönbeck, Catharina
Raudvere, Jonas Otterbeck, Jonas Palm, Leif Stenberg, Curt Dahlgren, Tord Olsson,
Jan Hermansson, Johan Åberg, Francis Stewart, Fredrik Lindström, Alf Hornborg,
Ann-Christine Hornborg, Magdalena Nordin, Dan-Erik Andersson, Lena Halldenius,
Martin Lund, Aron Engberg, Anders Ackfeldt, Erik Hannerz, Erica Li Lindqvist, Philip
Halldén, Ervik Cejvan, Simon Stjernholm, Sara Gehlin, Stefan Arvidsson, Johan Cato,
Nina Jakku, David Heith-Stade, Rickard Lagervall, Alexander Maurits, Jesper Olsson,
Samuel Byrskog, Jan Hjärpe, Mika Vähäkangas, Marcus Lecaros, Anna Kring, Barzoo
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