Thoughts on Orlando

As for Orlando, I have been angry and sad. Extremely sad, and extremely angry. I am angry at the politicians who jump up and say “We are praying for you.” Don’t pray – ACT. And I’m sorry, but when the rest of the year you are using your efforts to pass legislation to allow businesses and individuals to discriminate based on so-called deeply held religious beliefs, and passing laws like HB2 that marginalize our community, categorizing us with pedophiles and social deviants, your prayers are hollow and worthless. How quickly some have jumped on this tragedy to call for a ban on Muslims – protect our citizens from foreigners! He wasn’t a foreigner – he was born and raised in America. “We are all Americans!” Oh, except when it comes to things like marriage equality, job and housing protection, adoption rights, serving openly in the military, or even being able to pee in peace. And I hear, “So Islam is the religion of peace? You gonna take your rainbow flag down to the mosque and ask them about the shooter?” Sure, as soon as I visit the preacher in Sacramento, the one in Arizona, and the Orthodox Jew who are all celebrating the shooter, lamenting only that he didn’t finish the job. Muhammad Ali was a Muslim who beat up white Christians for the most part for a living – no one gave a rat’s ass about his religion. Almost as bad are the people who say “Where is all this supposed hate focused on the LGBT community? The people I know and work with have their own stuff to worry about without caring about the gay people. Stop being so dramatic.” Point these people to the aforementioned preachers, along with an entire collection of Tweets from twits expressing the same sentiment about how great it is that 50 less perverts are in the world. Seriously, that letter (“I don’t see the hate”) was in the N&O the same day as a letter from Rexford Alexander from Apex, NC who reserves the right to his opinion that gays are deviants and our political leaders who push for acceptance and equality are leading us into the sewers. For the record, he had little sympathy for the victims. Online, one of the elected officials from Wake County NC very eloquently told him to go home, shut his pie hole, and keep his ignorant opinions to himself. I sent him a note to thank him. I hope he gets re-elected when the time comes.

If anyone wants to sign Rexford C Alexander up for any magazine subscriptions his address is: 4315 Mandaville Way, Apex NC 27539 or just call and say “hi” at 919-267-6131

I find it very telling that the father of the shooter was adamant that this was not a religion-inspired incident, but that it was anti-gay. That tells me that in his mind, and clearly in the minds of many others, that makes it less horrific. It takes me back a couple of years when there was a suggestion that Matthew Sheppard was killed not because he was gay, but over a drug deal. If that is the case, then the killers figured that the penalty would be less for killing a gay guy (using the “Gay Panic” defense) than killing a guy over a drug deal gone bad. What the hell?? And what feeds this line of thinking are the politicians and religious leaders who continue to say that LGBT are 2nd class citizens, who don’t deserve the same rights, who aren’t as valued as “normal” members of society. The asshat from the group in Colorado Springs had an opinion piece in the paper last week, weighing in on the transgender bathroom issue. He used a statistic about how trans youth are significantly more likely to attempt or commit suicide. What he left out is WHY. They are more likely to commit suicide because people like him tell these kids they are damaged, broken, wrong, sinful, and sick. THAT is why they don’t want to live.

I am so grateful that I have a loving, supportive family. I am lucky to have a partner and friends. I know right from wrong, and as strong as my emotions are, I would never do anything extreme to harm another human being (short of self defense or defense of my loved ones). However, if someone blew up the NRA convention, it would be very difficult for me to be sympathetic. If Pat Robertson dropped dead today, I wouldn’t shed a tear. People like that make it very hard to remember there are good people in the world. But I’m trying.

-e

Just stopping by for a quick brain dump

The past week has been hellacious. Between my home state of NC voting ignorance and hate into the state constitution and the Colorado GOP leadership acting like children, taking their ball and going home rather than put civil equality to vote in the House, my head contains brain stew.

North Carolina. WTF? The majority should NEVER vote on the rights of a minority. Ever. Because ignorance and fear breeds like rats, cockroaches, and fleas. Spreads like a cancer. And as I’ve said before, you can’t fight the morons with logic. They have no logic or reason supporting their views. But the BEST part? The fact that the majority of people who voted for Amendment One have no idea that beyond banning gay marriage, it wipes away existing recognition of non-marriage relationships like domestic partnerships and kills the possibility of civil unions in the future. Same shit – preachers, NOM, Focus on the Family – they “top line” it for the masses without telling them the truth. And the sheeple eat it up. Can’t wait until one of their kids, living in sin with her boyfriend, needs domestic violence protection only to be told her situation doesn’t qualify as domestic abuse b/c they aren’t married. Suck it.

Colorado – If I decided I just didn’t want to do my job, I’d get fired. Maybe in November we’ll be able to have a mass firing of our current legislators. Like school kids, they put off the chores they don’t want to do until the last week of work. Well, the last 3 days – not even a full freakin’ week. And like a spoiled little brat, the Speaker of the House refused to let the civil unions bill go to a vote. First, he and his GOP buddies tack on a couple of “out clauses.” Really? If a church, organization, or even individual has a moral objection to recognizing a civil union, they and “opt out” of obeying the law and discriminate anyway?? What an idea. How’s this? I have a moral objection to ignorance so does that mean I can discriminate against all the bigots who keep trying to suck my rights away?

This past week I’ve heard enough Bible quotes to kill a cow. And in environments where the Bible shouldn’t even be mentioned. Why are members of Congress using Bible quotes to justify their positions for or against legislation? WTF? The next person who comes near me with a Bible is liable to have said book taken from them and used to beat some sense into them. I’d say to beat them senseless, but you can’t lose what you don’t have. So there. I’m not advocating violence but I see this as a humanitarian act of necessity. Like finally putting down the family dog after years of ignorant suffering.

Your religion is your choice. Stop trying to rule the country based solely on your beliefs. You’re not always right. Actually, most of the time you’re wrong. Wrong in your interpretation of your holy book, wrong in your judgement of others, and wrong in your attitude of entitlement. This country was NOT founded as a Christian nation. Freedom of Religion asshole. All that “Under God” and “In God We Trust” was added in the 1950s thanks to McCarthy and the Red Scare. I be someone in NC thinks they won’t get hit by a hurricane now that they’ve put us homos in their place. Can’t wait to see how that turns out.

I could go on, but this was suppose to be a quick brain dump, just so I can sleep without having vocal outbursts.

I probably won’t get any comments on this, if anyone even reads it. Whatever – but don’t bother leaving me any of your Bible verse crap. I don’t want to hear it, it has no place in a secular discussion about civil liberties and government.

Same ignorance, different website…

It’s a dangerous thing, to find a news story concerning gay rights or marriage equality and click on the “Comments” section.  If you’ve done it once, you pretty much know what to expect.  There will be a multitude of comments, pros and cons.  Every now and then, you’ll find one with a genuine open mind or honest question, but for the most part, those of us who enter the zone do so armed for a battle of wills and wits.

Inevitably, there will be the Religious argument against equality.  Bible verses quoted (out of context and cherry-picked of course), and plethora of the following words: sin, hell, abomination, tradition, deviant.  Someone will always pose the question equating same sex marriage with marriages with children, animals, even inanimate objects.

I’ve seen some familiar names around, and familiar responses, but I’ll confess it is exhausting to go from forum to forum trying to battle ignorance one moron at a time.  The most frustrating thing for me is the religious argument against  same sex marriage.  No matter how much Christians want to squawk, the United States is not a Christian nation.  We can argue whether or not the Founding Fathers where Christian, and even how many times the word “God” is used in the Constitution, Declaration of Independence, National Anthem, our currency, etc but the use of the word “God” does not default to being a Christian “God.”  Even if it did, there is no singular view towards homosexuality within the Christian religion, so why do the Fundamentalists think they get to make all the rules?  The Constitution and Bill of Rights are secular documents, so as soon as you use the Bible as the sole justification for your position, your argument is moot in the eyes of the law.  But somehow those who have no other support for their opinion just don’t get it.

Reading through the comments, it becomes clear that the majority of intelligent, logical, well-written entries are in support of equality.  Those touting the religious argument can get down right pissy if you actually have support for your comments.  Take this exchange from the HuffPost article on Rick Santorum’s pledge to annul all gay marriages once elected President:

fletcheragency

Works well in all the other countries where they have gay marriage..­nuf’said!!

      Kaycey351

      Where?

          elliotsez

          Argentina, Canada, Belgium, Netherland­s, Norway, Sweden, Spain, South Africa, Mexico, Portugal, United Kingdom,
Hungary, Ireland

     Kaycey351

     While civil unions giving equal treatment under the law might be acceptable in my mind, I do not support the definition of
“marriage” being changed from one man and one woman. My view may be a bit more liberal than the mainstream­, but it’s my
view and I’m entitled to it. Why can’t people just have their preference­s and keep them to themselves­. Oh, and BTW, a list of
     liberal degenerate nations does not a consensus make.

          elliotsez

           All I did was answer your question about which countries currently allow same sex marriage. Is that the sole criteria you use
to determine whether or not a country is “degenerate”?

Kaycey351 sounds like she assumes there are no current countries that recognize same sex marriage (or have civil unions or partnerships that do have the same rights as marriage).  Why so defensive when I answered your question?  Perhaps you’re just pissed off because there are countries more progressive than the U.S. and they are alive and well.  Kinda throws a kink in the other argument the religiosos are so fond of, listing all the societies that accepted homosexuality that fell, were conquered, or otherwise destroyed. (Sodom and Gomorrah anyone?)

You cannot use logic to argue with someone whose only support for their position is based on religion.  Faith, such a huge part of religion, requires the suspension of logic.  Faith requires belief when there is a lack of evidence or fact, and in some cases when there is contradictory evidence.  It is akin to debating someone whose only statement is “Because I said so.”  But we keep trying because there is always the hope that someone with an open mind, capable of thought and logic, will come across the discussion and actually learn something.

Hope springs eternal.

random rants, thoughts, opinions

I’m just getting started on this…my first attempt at a blog.  It was either start a blog, or drive everyone I know insane in the coming year as I expound on everything stupid that will surface in the coming year thanks to the election.  Plus, the soap box is heavy to tote around.  I figure, friends are tired of getting hammered on Facebook with links about marriage equality, and you can’t present enough logic to have a proper argument via status updates and comments.

I’m not expecting a huge amount of agreement on the things I post.  I don’t claim to be a political scholar or an expert on pop culture.  On the contrary, I probably possess just enough knowledge to be dangerous.  Everyone has an opinion, right or wrong.  This is simply mine, humble as it may be.

So there it is…the initial post, the pin prick ready to release whatever goo chooses to escape my brain.  I hope it will prove educational or enlightening more often than not, and at the very least entertaining.

Of course, that assumes someone will find and read it.  If nothing else, it will give my friends a break.

-e