CosmicConnie had a tweet about a beautifully succinct post on the Examiner by Cassandra Yorge: http://www.examiner.com/social-change-in-national/a-moment-of-silence-for-the-victims-of-james-arthur-ray:
Last October James Arthur Ray killed three peoplein a sweat lodge. The deaths of Kirby Brown, James Shore, and Liz Neuman weigh heavy on my heart even though I never knew them in life. They should not have died. Their murderer should be in prison. The latest word is that James Ray’s trial will be in February 2011, at which point he will face triple manslaughter charges. Currently he is blathering away on YouTube. I ask you to join me for a moment of silence for those who died at James Ray’s hands.
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Ok, enough for silence.
How about a little outrage now?
I want to honor the victims who died at the hands of this horrible cretin, and help to stop other horrible cretins from getting the chance to do harm. All I have is a voice though, so I am willing to use it because a thing like Sedona should have never happened.
And why did it happen? Among the many things that will no doubt be argued in court as murderer James Arthur Ray faces his crimes, at the bottom of it is greed. Filthy, despicable, self-aggrandizing greed.
It is this that I want to use my voice against, it is this underlying greed that I want to admonish. In my own way, it’s how I want to honor the victims of James Ray today.
Greed treats individuals like a number or a cog. There is no respect nor a shred of basic human dignity offered toward “the mark” – they are simply evaluated for net worth, used-up, and discarded…and another is deftly slipped in to the still-warm, empty spot.
It is a vicious cycle, and one that preys on you. You are particularly in danger when you are looking for help, or guidance – like Kirby, James and Liz – for greedy opportunists understand there is a monetary value in convincing you to believe there is always something better coming soon- and this thing, this one thing, might be just the thing you need to get there.
Yet what they deliver, because it is the only possible thing to deliver to such an absurd promise, are Magic bullets and unicorn dreams to distract you from the fact they are figuring out your net worth to lubricte the cycle. By the time you might begin to notice it is not your best interests being protected or even considered at any point, you might find yourself dead in a sweat lodge.
The greed of James Ray was no doubt a big part of what drove him to cut corners in providing adequate resources in Sedona. He was no expert, and this was a dangerous thing by any measure. But he still created a sweat lodge and killed people in it.
3 of them: Kirby, James and Liz.
These are not the only deaths being attributed to James Ray and his greed. Hopefully by the time the dust settles in court, they find or invent very interesting ways to punish the guilty.
Today, James Ray is tweeting. Obscenely, others have families that are mourning and there are (at least) three of them.
The families of Kirby Brown, James Shore, and Liz Neuman.
I will join those who remember what you did to these people, James Ray. I will use my little voice to say it again, because it ALWAYS bears repeating: James Authur Ray is responsible for their deaths. He killed people with his selfishily irresponsible greed.
No doubt, James Ray will rot in whatever hell exists. Because no matter what happens next: he killed people.
While there might never be a way to understand the deepest mechanics of why it happened, how it happened is definitely worth examining by the proper authorities. And remembering is important to the survivors, and the families of those lost.
And punishing this charlatan is important to send another message that there is a system of checks and balances. So is speaking up, and speaking out against it. I look forward to justice being swift and heavy-handed.
I want to honor the families of the victims of James Arthur Ray in the Sedona tragedy last year. I am so sincerely sorry for your loss. May you soon find peace. Please let my voice join with those that already offer you support. What happened matters, and we lift our voices to remember with you.
Thank you for remembering the victims of this asshole…..please don’t forget, my sister-in-law died because of this creep….please pray for all of the families left in his wake
Many condolences on your loss as well. There is a link up there to the one Salty Droid did on the date that now unfortunately marks Colleen’s murder. I sincerely hope you and your family can find a way to heal and find peace…and I join you in sharing outrage against this asshole.
As a Lakota Indian, by birth, I have been attending sweat lodges all of my life for spiritual reasons. We do not ask for money for anyone to attend nor do we insist they not exit. My brother has been leading sweats weekly for over 22 years. Noone has ever been hurt. He leads with honor, humility and with his heart. He also studied for over 7 years with his grandfather who was a well known and well respected medicine man to learn the old honored songs and prayers. I doubt JAR went thru this process.
It is sad for these beautiful people to lose their lives because of greed and more. Also, it is sadder that the Az. Govt. is now trying to outlaw our ceremonies because of this. How would you feel if you went to church tomorrow and the doors were locked–for good. You would be arrested if you held your prayers and ceremonies. It has all come to this. People have died and the Az. govt is taking away our religious practices. It is a very sad day indeed,
Thank you so much for your comment.
You bring out another aspect of this tragedy – and a deep one indeed. For uninvolved, honest people to lose control over these long-practiced spiritual rituals is an unnecessary aftershock, and typical over-reaction and a lack of focus on the issue: the sole liability of the scammer responsible. The tip of the shitpile. I cannot truly understand the depth of what I imagine to be your outrage and sorrow – I can only sympathize and offer my support to you.
You said it so well yourself, regarding your brother’s approach: He leads with honor, humility and with his heart.
JAR offered none of these (though he spoke of them often) – he led with greed, ego and ignorance. Look at the evidence. Look at the aftermath.
Again – I truly appreciate your comment. My best to you in the struggle to make sense of this senselessness.
I agree. James Arthur Ray is indeed a murderer, and should do some serious time behind bars. I’d be amazed, and appalled if he comes out of this without doing at least 5 years in prison (although he should do 15+ if I was the judge). It was accidental, yes, but so is a drunk driver killing someone. He didn’t mean to do it, but he killed 3 people, and needs to serve his time.
Thanks for the thoughts, Mark.