Hey soul sister!

I’ve been trying to behave this week.   I’ve not done  not a lot of ranting, kept the blood pressure in its proper sphere, and just watched the discussions as they move past.  I’ve even posted on a few…just enough to keep me awake and involved, not enough to have a relapse.  But one has caught my attention, that has always been one of my pet peeves, so I am going to stroke it today.

Why is it that one  thinks they  can assume a “familial” connection to someone,  and call them “brother” or “sister” from the outset?   It happens quite often, especially online. Too often I see people who come into groups, chat or otherwise and when they address others, it is as “sister” or “brother”.  I have major issues with this.  Let me see if I can count down the ways that it bothers me: First, I have a biological sister..one is enough.  Second, this word implies a familial connection, closer sometimes than blood kin. I have people like this in my life and I cherish them…but they were chosen with care, NOT on a whim.  Third, it implies that we are like-minded individuals holding the same beliefs and practices. While we may have  some similarities, since I am not in a traditional coven setting, this would be highly unlikely.  Fourth, it smacks of a pretentious hypocrisy that assumes quite a bit about our “relationship”….news flash!  We DO NOT have one! Especially if you have just now arrived in said group, we have never spoken, and do not interact outside of one thread.  There is no soul connection, nothing spiritual between us, nada, nothing zip!

Maybe I have this peeve as a holdover from a christian view on life? I did walk that way once until I began seeking things for myself and stopped trying to fit in with society’s view of what I should be.  People in a secular faith frequently call each other sister/brother because they ARE in a like minded setting, connected to one another in their beliefs.  It is another extension of setting themselves apart from those who walk differently, or “worse” don’t believe at all.  So perhaps in thinking on my issue with this, it stems from some of this.

Someone in a group setting says that they see this as a term of endearment.  Really?  I am used to hearing all sorts of such endearments living here in the south, from “Hon, Honey, Sweet Pea, Sweetie, Dear, Darlin’, but the sister/brother thing is usually a secular one and not done for the masses, so am just not a fan. I’ll choose my own familial connections thanks.  I’ll  make my own connections to souls that I consider closer than family, love and most importantly…RESPECT for their views, their humor, their knowledge.  They and ONLY they would be the ones I’d ever address with a familial term, but none of us are prone to doing so because we just aren’t in that type of mindset.  We know the value of one another without making a show out of the connection.   That type of connection is not an act friends, nor does it need shouted from the rooftops making everyone aware of said link.  To do otherwise just cheapens it in the eyes of others and with that said….just this once, I’ll give a shout out to tribe, even though they know the emotional ties… I am grateful for each and one of you, and if I ever forget to tell you(not that will happen anytime soon), I love and respect you all.  Ok, enough sappy shit and back to the usual channel of snark 😉

DEUCES