116: “As people who are harmed – how can we possibly perpetrate harm?” – LoriKim Alexander – Sentientism

We discuss the biggest questions: "what's real?", "who matters?" and "how to make a better world?" with scientists, celebrities, activists, writers and philosophers. The Sentientism worldview is "evidence, reason and compassion for all sentient beings." It's a simple, yet radical, philosophy that's grounded in reality (naturalistic epistemology) and has compassion for all sentient beings (mostly human and non-human animals). Naturalism & sentiocentrism combined.

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LoriKim (she/her/we/our) describes herself as an educator, organiser, activist, conservationist, abolitionist, naturalist & healer. Originally from Jamaica & now living in the Bronx, USA, LoriKim has dedicated her life to working for social & environmental justice specifically organizing around LGBTQIA+, Black, Brown & Indigenous communities.  LoriKim’s work in anthropology & her training as a biologist has helped her work against environmental racism, in providing environmental education for People of Color & in working towards decolonialism & liberation through veganism for over 25 years. LoriKim works as a founder, facilitator and organiser with organisations including BlackVegFest https://blackvegfest.org/ & The Cypher.

In Sentientist Conversations we talk about the two most important questions: “what’s real?” & “what matters?”

Sentientism is “evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” The video of our conversation is here on YouTube.

We discuss:

00:00 Welcome

01:26 LoriKim’s Intro

– Educator, organiser, activist, conservationist, abolitionist, naturalist, healer

– “Black liberation practice” with “a queer & vegan lens”

02:38 What’s Real?

– Growing up in Kingston, Jamaica

– “Being a Black country… what that means is that we had to really hold tight to our traditions, our histories that were muddled, were removed… because of slavery”

– “Highly colonised”, stringent laws, highly carceral

– “Missionaries saw opportunity to come in and bring their various and sundry versions of the truth”

– Synchronising traditions into Christianity as the only way they could survive

– Growing up Catholic “A very white and blond Jesus… this is not someone I can relate to.”

– “I never believed in Santa Claus”

– “Religion… as the framework I had to live under in order to go about my daily life”

– Communion, saying rosary, prayer

– “What I saw in the natural world did not reflect this idea that god created all of these things… I watched creation happen.”

– Moving to the US at 13

– “This religion doesn’t make any sense to me” & “bruk out” from church

– Coming out & stopping eating meat at 14

– “I could not equate this idea of loving all beings… and also eating them”

– “Yes – I’m an atheist… I don’t believe any of this”

– “However, spirit moves you.”

– Talking with ancestors “I thought that was me talking to myself, but…”

– “I would ask for things in my head & it would happen”

– “I never really strayed away from thinking about the world beyond”

– A multitude of universes & studying science

– “A hybrid of really being rooted in science… & there’s so much more that’s unknown that I know that I feel”

– “I’m an Aquarius & we don’t follow anybody else’s rules”

– Practising things that come from a lot of African ancestral traditions, “but not strictly”

…and much more. Full show notes at Sentientism.info.

Sentientism is “Evidence, reason & compassion for all sentient beings.” More at Sentientism.info. Join our “I’m a Sentientist” wall via this simple form.

Everyone, Sentientist or not, is welcome in our groups. The biggest so far is here on FaceBook. Come join us there!

Thanks Graham.