Demeter-Persephone — The Mother-Daughter Myth in Real Life

New York Theater Guide

The story of Demeter and Persephone is painfully familiar to me — trying to rescue my child from the “underworld” is not just a myth in my life.

It’s very scary for a mama to see her child trapped in a place where she herself is not welcome — a scary place that looks rosy only to those who are trapped within it.

A world where some are not welcome is a world where NONE are welcome.

That’s the problem with any cultish group — if there are “insiders” and “outsiders”, we are ALL much better off on the OUTSIDE — together, not separate; connected, not divided; loving, not manipulating; secure, not insecure; trusting, not suspicious; relating, not controlling: communicating, not triangulating; attached, not indifferent…

Exclusion of some (scapegoating) is the biggest red flag of any cult… our society is rife with cultish behavior, and we can’t even see it because oppression has become normalized in our culture.

Most of us know the pain of exclusion from childhood, but exclusion by mature adults does far greater damage to the victim — whether the victim is a child or an adult. The greater the scapegoating, the greater the harm done. The more powerful the bully, the harder it is for the scapegoat to find allies.

Let’s stop normalizing oppression (bullying). Let’s normalize KINDNESS instead.