[Shaahayda Rizvi]

Hello James,

I read James M. Shultz’s article, and contemplated on many aspects of shame which he elaborates so well.  I can relate to those many ways of being shamed, and feeling the shame when reflecting on those moments. As Shultz writes, “Shame is an inner experience. It can come when no one else is around. There’s a physical sinking sensation that’s something like falling into a pool of our own water, like we are dissolving. ”

My question to you is, could one equate ‘being shamed’ to ‘being crucified’…. Then I would like to take the high road that Joe talks about, “If you want resurrection, then be prepared to be crucified”.  It’s difficult to prepare for resurrection when you are a high school student and are being shamed and teased. It’s difficult at any age, but especially difficult for teens who are shamed in schools.  As Schultz writes, ” We are cast out, alone, and cut off, and the cause of our dismemberment is our own deficiency or deformity or constitutional inadequacy, perhaps our exhibitionism. This is humiliation–when the shame is most severe and when it has to do with others. (And in front of others – as some parents shamed their children)”