I haven't stopped thinking about Friday all weekend. I don't know why exactly it affected me so deeply, but I was seriously freaked out Friday night. Crazy, yes, but I couldn't shake the nervous feeling, as if Shirley Phelps-Roper was hiding in my dark kitchen, ready to jump out and beat me to death with a "God Hates Fags" sign.
I spent Friday night looking stuff up about these people, for some reason. I just wanted to understand, I guess. I watched some interviews, looked over their site (I don't think they do get money, after all - at least, they say they don't take donations, and there aren't any ads), read all of the FAQs and stuff... and I still just don't understand. Why they preach hate, they say, is because God preaches hate. They quote a bunch of Bible verses to "prove" that God hates, and that God doesn't love anyone on Earth, and there's nothing any of us can do but repent to change that.
As far as religion goes, I am not sure what I believe. As far as gods and myths and holy books go, I'm not sure where I fit in. But the lessons and virtues taught in nearly all organized religions - those I can get behind. Compassion, love for all things, The Golden Rule. I believe in those. And lately it seems that not many people do anymore, first and foremost these horrible Westboro people. Jesus, whether or not you believe that he was the Messiah or even existed, preached compassion and love. We can all agree on that, right? His basic message was "Love everyone and treat them with kindness, and do good deeds and you'll be rewarded in Heaven." Pretty much. He just wanted everyone to be happy, right? Even mean people, he told them to repent and change their ways, and there was still a chance for them. He didn't hate - I mean, sure, he was a man, and sometimes he got emotional, but overall he was a good guy. And he didn't want to see anyone in pain. And he told us to love and be kind and do good in the world, which in my book is pretty much the opposite of "I hate you all and it doesn't matter what you do, bwahaha."
I'm not even totally sure if I believe in any sort of an afterlife. I wasn't brought up religious. My parents were, but they didn't force us to go to church - unless we were at my grandparents' houses, because Christianity is very important to my grandmothers. And we went to church with them, and we listened, but it never really struck a chord in me like it does some people. On my own, I've researched Buddhism, Hinduism, Wicca, and I've paid attention when my Christian and Jewish friends talk about their faiths. I've been to Passover seders, Christmas masses, religious funerals and weddings. But still, I don't have any faith in God or Jesus or Christianity as a whole. I just don't. And that means I don't believe in hell, so telling me that I'm going there is really an empty threat. But even though I don't care about going to hell, I still do nice things and try to think the best of everyone and do what I can to save the world. And honestly, I think that means more than someone else doing it just because they don't want to go to hell.
But back to my point - where is the compassion, the love, the undying faith that most people associate with religion? Why is it good enough to believe in God, but not follow his teachings? And at the other extreme, why do some people think it's okay to follow (their interpretation of) his teachings so far that they forget the whole point? The point of most religions, as I understand it, is to be a good person. Whether you're rewarded with Heaven, reincarnation, good things coming back to you, or candy bars, or bunnies, or nothing at all - the point is, be nice to each other. Love each other. Treat people with kindness. And I think we've all forgotten that lately.
So I propose, in light of the horror of Westboro Baptist Church, we step it up a little. Combat their hate with love. Make it a point to do something selfless each day. Listen to someone when they're sad, or when they're happy. Try to understand before you get mad when someone cuts you in line. Forgive the girl at the register for getting your order wrong. Tell your family and friends you love them every chance you've got. Give someone a hug, or a compliment, or pick someone up when it's raining and they're walking home. Obviously, be careful and be smart, but above all - be compassionate.
Sunday, May 23, 2010
Friday, May 21, 2010
I made a protest! :D
Today I crossed off "protest something" from my list of life goals. These horrible people, the Westboro Baptist Church from Topeka, KS, came to Myrtle Beach this week to protest at our churches and high schools. This group maintains several websites, all along the same lines - godhatesfags.com is their main one, but there's also godhatesamerica.com (and pretty much every other country in the world, apparently), godhatestheworld.com, jewskilledjesus.com, and priestsrapeboys.com. I'd say don't go to any of their sites, 'cause I think they get money for it, but if you're really curious about them, Wikipedia has some good info.
Anyway, what they believe is basically, anyone who isn't a member (all of whom are family members - incest apparently is okay) of their church is going to hell. Pretty much. Blacks, Jews, gays, other Christians, Hindus, the Pope, soldiers, and anyone who "enables" ANYTHING. EVER. They hate them all. And they picket at funerals, for victims of hate crimes and fallen American soldiers alike, they picket at churches (Catholics seem to be favorites), they picket at high schools, claiming that the teachers are allowing our children to grow up damned, believing homosexuality is okay and allowing different religions and all that. I don't even know, they're ridiculous and they hate pretty much everyone. Their picket signs say things like "God hate fags," "You will eat your children," "You hate God," "God hates America," and other stupid things that don't make much sense.
I don't know why they came to our town, but we were totally ready for them. :D They went to six high schools today, three in the morning and three in the afternoon, when kids were coming and going. They weren't allowed on the property, but they made sure they stood at high traffic areas, on a street corner or at a light. I made signs with my friends last night that said things like "I am human and I need to be loved" (mine obviously), "All kinds of love are fine, it's your hate you need to watch!" (a Margaret Cho quote!), and some Bible verses, like "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love," and "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins." It was cool, 'cause a lot of signs on our side quoted the Bible, and not many of theirs did. ^_^ We also made a big banner on a sheet that said "God loves everyone," which also seemed to be a pretty popular idea on our side.
We met at Socastee High at 7:45 AM, joined by about fifty other people we didn't know, and stood across the highway from the WBC jerks. Across from the school, lining the fence, there were many more of us, maybe over a hundred. From what I hear there was a DJ and all kinds of craziness. But I don't think there were any more WBC people other than the ones across from us. People were honking and yelling and throwing peace signs and thumbs up as they drove past us, booing and thumbs-downing the WBC, and the stupid people were singing, but we drowned them out with our yelling and occasional bursts of songs. A lot of people had funny or nonsense signs, saying things like "God hates Thai food," "God thinks you're totally awesome," "Dumbledore and Grindlewald forever," "God hates these Tetris blocks," and "Who brought donuts?" It was fun, but a little scary seeing these people in real life. They had a kid, maybe 10 or 11, holding signs saying these awful things, and he really believes it. That's scary. It was sad and enraging and terrifying all at once.
They left before we did, and some of us followed them down the road until they got in their cult van and drove away, and some of us stayed a little while on the street, holding our signs and wooing at the people honking for us. Then we got breakfast! :D
At 2:45 we showed up, this time before the bad guys, at St. James High, where I went for a year. When it opened in our sophomore year, half of our class went there while the other half stayed at SHS, so our class sort of feels like we belong there too, even though it sucks. :D Anyway, there were a CRAPTON of people there. Possibly over a hundred. Definitely close. It was pretty great to see that many people out there supporting this thing, and it was made even better by the fact that the WBC numbers were barely in the double digits. We won. ^_^ People were yelling and chanting (this group was very into the chanting) and all the cars were honking... it was really cool. And this was much less scary, somehow. The WBC didn't sing or chant or anything, but at one point one of the guys yelled over at a little girl on our side. He said "Not you, little girl, not you," I think because she or someone near her had a sign that said "God loves everyone" or something along those lines. But she was like, six! LITTLE-little. It was messed up. But he was the only one who shouted that I could hear, so I'm calling our shouting a victory. And they again left before we did, causing five solid minutes of shouting and cheering from us, and I'm calling that a victory, too. :D
All in all, it was a fun day and I really feel like I did something good, but there are also feelings of sadness, pity, anger, fear, and the fact that they don't care if we counter-protest. I mean, we didn't do it for them, but knowing it made absolutely no difference to them kind of sours it a little. But still, it was great to see our community come together like that, all religions, races, genders, sexualities - and in the Bible Belt and all! It was heartwarming to see the passion our side exhibited, and knowing that it was happening at four other locations with the same kind of results makes me really feel proud of Myrtle Beach. I'm proud of us, of our town, and most of our country for similar actions. It was a really great experience.
Anyway, what they believe is basically, anyone who isn't a member (all of whom are family members - incest apparently is okay) of their church is going to hell. Pretty much. Blacks, Jews, gays, other Christians, Hindus, the Pope, soldiers, and anyone who "enables" ANYTHING. EVER. They hate them all. And they picket at funerals, for victims of hate crimes and fallen American soldiers alike, they picket at churches (Catholics seem to be favorites), they picket at high schools, claiming that the teachers are allowing our children to grow up damned, believing homosexuality is okay and allowing different religions and all that. I don't even know, they're ridiculous and they hate pretty much everyone. Their picket signs say things like "God hate fags," "You will eat your children," "You hate God," "God hates America," and other stupid things that don't make much sense.
I don't know why they came to our town, but we were totally ready for them. :D They went to six high schools today, three in the morning and three in the afternoon, when kids were coming and going. They weren't allowed on the property, but they made sure they stood at high traffic areas, on a street corner or at a light. I made signs with my friends last night that said things like "I am human and I need to be loved" (mine obviously), "All kinds of love are fine, it's your hate you need to watch!" (a Margaret Cho quote!), and some Bible verses, like "Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love," and "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins." It was cool, 'cause a lot of signs on our side quoted the Bible, and not many of theirs did. ^_^ We also made a big banner on a sheet that said "God loves everyone," which also seemed to be a pretty popular idea on our side.
We met at Socastee High at 7:45 AM, joined by about fifty other people we didn't know, and stood across the highway from the WBC jerks. Across from the school, lining the fence, there were many more of us, maybe over a hundred. From what I hear there was a DJ and all kinds of craziness. But I don't think there were any more WBC people other than the ones across from us. People were honking and yelling and throwing peace signs and thumbs up as they drove past us, booing and thumbs-downing the WBC, and the stupid people were singing, but we drowned them out with our yelling and occasional bursts of songs. A lot of people had funny or nonsense signs, saying things like "God hates Thai food," "God thinks you're totally awesome," "Dumbledore and Grindlewald forever," "God hates these Tetris blocks," and "Who brought donuts?" It was fun, but a little scary seeing these people in real life. They had a kid, maybe 10 or 11, holding signs saying these awful things, and he really believes it. That's scary. It was sad and enraging and terrifying all at once.
They left before we did, and some of us followed them down the road until they got in their cult van and drove away, and some of us stayed a little while on the street, holding our signs and wooing at the people honking for us. Then we got breakfast! :D
At 2:45 we showed up, this time before the bad guys, at St. James High, where I went for a year. When it opened in our sophomore year, half of our class went there while the other half stayed at SHS, so our class sort of feels like we belong there too, even though it sucks. :D Anyway, there were a CRAPTON of people there. Possibly over a hundred. Definitely close. It was pretty great to see that many people out there supporting this thing, and it was made even better by the fact that the WBC numbers were barely in the double digits. We won. ^_^ People were yelling and chanting (this group was very into the chanting) and all the cars were honking... it was really cool. And this was much less scary, somehow. The WBC didn't sing or chant or anything, but at one point one of the guys yelled over at a little girl on our side. He said "Not you, little girl, not you," I think because she or someone near her had a sign that said "God loves everyone" or something along those lines. But she was like, six! LITTLE-little. It was messed up. But he was the only one who shouted that I could hear, so I'm calling our shouting a victory. And they again left before we did, causing five solid minutes of shouting and cheering from us, and I'm calling that a victory, too. :D
All in all, it was a fun day and I really feel like I did something good, but there are also feelings of sadness, pity, anger, fear, and the fact that they don't care if we counter-protest. I mean, we didn't do it for them, but knowing it made absolutely no difference to them kind of sours it a little. But still, it was great to see our community come together like that, all religions, races, genders, sexualities - and in the Bible Belt and all! It was heartwarming to see the passion our side exhibited, and knowing that it was happening at four other locations with the same kind of results makes me really feel proud of Myrtle Beach. I'm proud of us, of our town, and most of our country for similar actions. It was a really great experience.
Thursday, May 6, 2010
I hate liking stuff. =/
Those of you who know me are aware of two vital habits of my me-ness:
a) that I like things for stupid reasons and obsess over them to no end, and
b) that I hate things for no reason and avoid them at all costs until something forces me to like it.
Case in point, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I avoided it the entire time it was on because (in my opinion, based on the one person I knew who watched it) only stupid people liked it, and I hate Sarah Michelle Gellar with a passion. She is stupid. She's got a stupid monkey face, with stupid little non-eyebrows, and she is stupid. I don't like her.
I DO, however, like Joss Whedon. I watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, then Firefly and Serenity, and BAM! I was hooked. So when Dollhouse came out, I decided I loved it just because Joss had done it. That's when I realized the folly of my ways - to truly call myself a Whedon fan, I HAD to watch Buffy.
So, thanks to Netflix because it's totally awesome and had all 7 seasons on instant watch thing, I'm up to season 5. And... well... I love it. I love it so much. It's my favorite thing and it's awesome and I love it. Still hate Sarah Michelle Gellar, and consequentially Buffy, but whatevs. Oz and Xander and Willow and Anya make up for it, and I LOVE IT, and I'm going to buy it and love it forever.
That's what I do. I watch something, love it, and then find everything all the actors have ever been in. I'm a little crazy with the whole six-degrees thing. I made a chart once! It took hours and hours on IMDB, and four whole sheets of that giant sketch paper. But it was awesome, and now I can connect anyone I love to anyone else I love (not in six steps, usually, but I can still do it!) on command.
I should probably stop hating things just because everyone else likes them, because sometimes (par example - Lady Gaga, in all of her fierce glory and awesomeness) they are actually worthwhile. But then, on the flip side of that coin, there's Twilight. And then I feel totally justified in hating things blindly because the masses like them. :D
a) that I like things for stupid reasons and obsess over them to no end, and
b) that I hate things for no reason and avoid them at all costs until something forces me to like it.
Case in point, Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I avoided it the entire time it was on because (in my opinion, based on the one person I knew who watched it) only stupid people liked it, and I hate Sarah Michelle Gellar with a passion. She is stupid. She's got a stupid monkey face, with stupid little non-eyebrows, and she is stupid. I don't like her.
I DO, however, like Joss Whedon. I watched Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog, then Firefly and Serenity, and BAM! I was hooked. So when Dollhouse came out, I decided I loved it just because Joss had done it. That's when I realized the folly of my ways - to truly call myself a Whedon fan, I HAD to watch Buffy.
So, thanks to Netflix because it's totally awesome and had all 7 seasons on instant watch thing, I'm up to season 5. And... well... I love it. I love it so much. It's my favorite thing and it's awesome and I love it. Still hate Sarah Michelle Gellar, and consequentially Buffy, but whatevs. Oz and Xander and Willow and Anya make up for it, and I LOVE IT, and I'm going to buy it and love it forever.
That's what I do. I watch something, love it, and then find everything all the actors have ever been in. I'm a little crazy with the whole six-degrees thing. I made a chart once! It took hours and hours on IMDB, and four whole sheets of that giant sketch paper. But it was awesome, and now I can connect anyone I love to anyone else I love (not in six steps, usually, but I can still do it!) on command.
I should probably stop hating things just because everyone else likes them, because sometimes (par example - Lady Gaga, in all of her fierce glory and awesomeness) they are actually worthwhile. But then, on the flip side of that coin, there's Twilight. And then I feel totally justified in hating things blindly because the masses like them. :D
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