Why can’t hating assholes keep it to themselves?

Or at least not try to manipulate the laws of the land to suit their own prejudices? Wait, I know. Because these anti-gay, anti-reason, anti-socialist, anti-progress people are mean, stupid, backward, take your pick.

Via The New York Times:

Citing the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s call to civil disobedience, 145 evangelical, Roman Catholic and Orthodox Christian leaders have signed a declaration saying they will not cooperate with laws that they say could be used to compel their institutions to participate in abortions, or to bless or in any way recognize same-sex couples.

The latest on President Obama, his administration and other news from Washington and around the nation.

“We pledge to each other, and to our fellow believers, that no power on earth, be it cultural or political, will intimidate us into silence or acquiescence,” it says.

The manifesto, to be released on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, is an effort to rejuvenate the political alliance of conservative Catholics and evangelicals that dominated the religious debate during the administration of President George W. Bush. The signers include nine Roman Catholic archbishops and the primate of the Orthodox Church in America.

They want to signal to the Obama administration and to Congress that they are still a formidable force that will not compromise on abortion, stem-cell research or gay marriage. They hope to influence current debates over health care reform, the same-sex marriage bill in Washington, D.C., and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which would prohibit discrimination based on sexual orientation. (More….)

Sure, I suppose you could be an intelligent homophobe.  I guess.  I don’t know.  Most of the truly homophobic people I’ve come into contact with are pretty stupid.  That’s been my experience.  I’m not making a universal declaration that all homophobes are stupid.  (So keep your hyperbolic hatemail to yourself.)

Why do we “liberals” get to determine the laws according to our own preferences?

One, the Constitution does not support what these people are doing. That’s why they want to change it. We do not have a State Religion. We should not. No, never. Do people who run around saying that “America is a Christian country, founded by Christians, so you heathens just shut up and let us pray in public schools” realize that theocracies can and often do result in hate and violence?  Heard of the Taliban?  If we let “Christians” legislate their religion, you know what will happen next (among other things).  People will realize that there is no such thing as “Christianity” and will war with each other over their own interpretations of the New Testament.  Faith versus Good Works.  Transubstantiation versus symbolism.  We’re dealing with petty, small-minded people here.  (I’m not saying that all Christians are small-minded; just the haters, and they’d not all Christians.)  Do you really think they’ll take over the country and just live and let live and not go after each other?  If they win, they’ll see, for instance, that Catholics and radical evangelicals don’t have enough in common to be grouped together, really.  And if you did group them, you’d have to be broad enough to include a lot of “non-Christian” religions, too.  Oh.  Shit.

Two, the hurt caused by treating gay people like, you know, everyone else, is that of the sensibilities of some people.  “Oh, shit, Uncle Jackroy is sad because gays get to marry, and he’s crying because they elected that n—–r to be President of these United States.”  Oh, shit, indeed.  Ignore the fact that I am probably not the only one who thinks these sensibilities are retrogressive and ignorant, i.e., that they don’t deserve consideration as much as other people’s rights and liberties do. It’s only people’s feelings here. Discrimination, on the other hand, destroys lives, livelihoods, creates a culture of fear and hate when it’s suggested that beating someone to death because of their sexual orientation is not a hate crime. Not discriminating makes some people uncomfortable. And, knowing more people like this than I care to admit, I don’t give a shit.

In fact, I like it. I love it!  I love love love it when racists in the U.S. have a black President. I love love love when homophobes get all uncomfortable around homosexuals. I love love love it when people’s hate hurts them. I’m mean, and I can’t help it.  People who are not particularly nice getting what they deserve doesn’t sound as bad as other people suffering for these haters’ hatefulness, right?  I mean, getting rid of the hate would be ideal.  But that’s easier said than done, and, and, AND — we don’t get the sense that these people want to give up their hate, now do we?  They’re marching on Washington!

But then I might fall into the “thought” of the haters, that some people are better than others and that the “lower” people don’t deserve equal social or legal consideration. But there’s a difference between being a gay-hating bigot and being born gay. It’s not discrimination to show disfavor to gay-haters. It’s a reaction to something they freely choose to do. We all have the right to feel how we want, to hate who we want. But when haters try to change the law and re-make The System that already fucks over some people based on facts about them that they didn’t chose (ethnicity, gender, sexual preference, economic circumstances, geographical location, etc.), that’s in infringement on the rights of these people and an affront to everyone else whom these weak scum-fucking-buckets might decide to push around in the future.

The Insane Right (not to be confused with regular conservatives who actually think and some of whom I know read this blog and who I like a great deal) is going after gay people and abortion rights today. Tomorrow, it might be people in inter-racial marriages, people with “too much” education, people who are better at them at sports or arts-and-crafts, people with green eyes, people who don’t go to church, people who ask too many questions.

It might be you and me.

“The Family” should not necessarily be decided by social consensus, as if stupidity in numbers makes something morally right or factually true.  We could all be wrong. Wasn’t long ago that we officially fucked over black people.  Now it’s all unofficial (but still systemic), but at least laws sorta protect black people, ideally, on paper at least, a little.  Shit, I couldn’t live in the neighborhood where I live now just 50 years ago — for being Catholic, too close to an immigrant and for my wife being black.  That’s not that long ago!  My Mom, who is only second-generation, could not live there when she was born.  This is all recent!  Wasn’t that long ago that a white man and a black woman were not legally a family because we couldn’t get married!  Not a family!

What, do we think we have our heads sufficiently out of our asses that we can collectively be persuaded to define “The Family” by a dick, balls and a vagina?

Wow, that’s crude!  But.  Still.  What about infertile couples?  They can’t have kids “naturally.”  They might have resentment over it and be “bad parents,” right? (I don’t think so at all.)  Not to mention the fact that I personally and closely know exactly (?) 27 people who should never ever ever have become parents, all of whom really like the penis-vagina thing and most of whom are gay-hating dinosaurs themselves.  Research doesn’t show that same-sex couples make bad parents at all.  And everyone knows there are more orphaned children on the planet than there are heterosexual couples willing to adopt them. And, I’m not a sociologist, but I never understood the insistence on “the family” anyway.  I know several people who would have been way way way better off without their “families” — but this is still a little alien to me, since I think I had some pretty damned good parents.

I do realize the irony of this post title and its content.  You know what?  Firstly, I’m not trying to change laws, only ranting.  Secondly, fuck you if something on a website you chose to read (and a long post at that) is breaking your heart.  Go to GodHatesFags.Com for some solace.  Or, you know what, instead of hating on haters who hate haters, go save some souls.  Feed the poor.  Volunteer your time.  LOVE SOMEBODY.

FOX “News” is for idiots, and I can prove it.

Okay, I lied.  I can’t prove it.  I don’t even really think it’s true (so save the hate mail).  But as a good Pragmatist/Empiricist, I can offer a small bit of evidence.

Someone I know who watches it and also doesn’t like black people, gay people, Jews, Muslims or evolution loves it.  He says stupid things in front of me on a regular basis, knowing what color my wife is.  Yes, this guy says racist shit to a man he knows is married to a black woman.  So fuck him.  I don’t feel the need to bow to him the way a lot of people I know and respect do (and I wish to hell they wouldn’t) and like I fall into doing.  Not now.

“I watched it on FOX News.  You know, I’ll give it them.  I’ll give it to FOX News.  When that shooter did that at Fort Hood, they said they had a report of the name, and I’ll give it to them, they said they wouldn’t give it because they weren’t sure.”

Yeah, you know, you have to give it to FOX News.  They don’t report things that aren’t true.  They have the utmost journalistic integrity.  They didn’t give out a name they weren’t sure of (GASP!), so they must be trust-worthy.

Also from this smart guy (and some of this is on here in other places):

“Obama’s Muslim.  I don’t care what you say.  He’s Muslim.  You better wake up, boy.” (Call me “Boy” and tell me to wake up when I’m twice as intelligent and thrice as educated as you are.  Nice.  I don’t mean to throw my education around, but when dumbasses imply that I’m stupid or clueless, I can and will.)

“A bunch of brothers got Obama elected.” (To which a fellow Republican tried to diffuse the situation with, “No, a bunch of crazy people got him elected.”  While I think that’s crazy, I certainly appreciated the effort on this other gent’s part to shield me and everyone else from this guy.  And, you know, if white people don’t vote, then fuck them, too.)

“I don’t believe in evolution.  I believe in Scripture.” (Johnny, are you really gonna call someone stupid for believing in “Scripture” instead of evolution?  Yes.  Yes I am.  Evolution isn’t something you believe in like you believe in Scripture.  It’s something you can prove.  You can’t prove Scripture.  They’re not in the same arena.  Not the same game.  And anyone who says they are is as stupid as a jagged rock.  Certainly I can understand believing what  you believe in the face of what you might feel is a lack of scientific proof of evolution.  I have not heard a lot of these folks equate science and religion, though.  They seem to prefer one to the other, which is a choice.  Not one I’d make, but there you go.  But yes, if you think science and religion are the same thing, you are stupid.)

“It’s a BLACK church!” (Oh, shit.  Black people.  In church.  A few blocks from your house.  Worshiping their BLACK GOD, with their BLACK KIDS!  HOLY SHIT!  You’d better move to the County!  SERIOUSLY!  MOVE!  Whenever I hear Old Hampdenites — and you know what I mean — talk about moving because of the F-G-T word and the N-G-R word, I wish to hell they’d all move to Carrol County like they talk about.  If you gotta gentrify Hampden all the way, do it.)

“O’Malley got elected by appealing to blacks.” (Well, like I said, white people should get off their asses and vote then, huh?  But I guess it’s not white people’s fault that they don’t vote.  I mean, there are only old men and Muslims running, right?)

And yes I know people who also know this guy and how I feel will read this and will tell me to “lighten up.”  How come when I’m pissed off and someone disagrees with me, I’m always over-reacting?  Saying racist shit around kids?  Shit, ya’ll are under-reacting.  And I’m related to someone who doesn’t give enough of a shit (in my opinion) about any of this and with whom I routinely have pretty bad arguments about something neither of us should really have to deal with.  When it comes down to it, racists are lesser people.  Yes.  That’s right.  Lesser people.  What, are you going to argue that two identical people, one racist and one not are equally valuable to the human race?  Even in the eyes of God or god or etc.?

FOX News: For idiots?  I don’t know.  I just thought it was a funny post title.  I do think it stimulates the same kind of unquestioning people who wear their “faith” on their sleeve — you know what kind of anti-everything people who don’t actually have a faith.  They just like a justification for who they hate.  “I ain’t no ignert racist hohmohfobe!  The Lord says dat ain’t right!”

I can also prove the opposite, that FOX News is NOT for idiots in the same half-assed way because several of the Republicans I know do NOT have their heads up their asses — at least not any further than I do also.  I know some smart people that I actually and truly love very much as family and friends who are staunchly Republican and like FOX News.  I don’t think they’re idiots — and not racists either.  But there’s a difference.  You know what they don’t do?  Say racist shit around me or tell me to wake up or tell us that FOX is actually the best news venue, that is has a special claim to truth.  They just like it and don’t need to justify it.

“I have black friends!” — defense for racism?  I mean, I don’t believe for a second that most of these people have actual friends without bastardizing the word and concept of friendship.  “I have Republican friends!”  I’m certainly not completely biased against people with very different political and social views than I have, right?

I am in fact completely stuck in a position to be around some crazy and backward people in several situations and relations.  So I can’t just go away.  It’s complicated.  I’m waiting for them to either die out or get their lives saved by a gay black Muslim atheist who’s married to a nice Jewish man from France.

Does Nietzsche have a point when he talks about some people just being a drain on the rest of us and poison to Life itself?  Were it not for the idea of the weeds among the wheat, hell, I’d wish for a plague to rid the world of these dinosaurs.  Nietzsche also talks about having strong enemies.  These racist, homophobic, anti-gay/Muslim/Jewish/evolution/thinking/reason pieces of garbage are not the strong enemies we want, are they?  I mean, terrorism is hard enough to try and tackle without racism and xenophobia thrown into the mix so that those of us who don’t want to be associated with this blind, ignorant hate leave off the Good Fight.

All this talk, and I never delivered what I promised.  No proof.  I was totally going for the headline, man.  I don’t actually think only idiots watch FOX News.  I know enough people to know better.  But, you know, I’m just mad at someone right now.

Don’t take racism personally, huh?

In fall 2006, I said that I would leave a certain situation if someone who was plainly racist was involved.  Someone I looked up to said:

“You’d be wrong.  You’d be wrong because you’re taking this personally because you got a black wife.”

It’s never sat right with me.  For one, I honestly think I deserved this person’s loyalty more than the racist guy we were talking about.  And also, uh, racism isn’t something that’s Okay, no?  It’s not like something that’s Okay that I shouldn’t take so personally because my heart belongs to a black woman.  Right?  I’m wrong to take it personally because, what, it’s Okay in Maryland?  Or because I’m not actually black myself by only sharing my life with someone who is?

I’ve been disturbed by this statement for a long time.  And by the family member sitting right there who didn’t stick up for me at all.

You named your kid Adolf Hitler?

I don’t know if this is funny or sad or scary or what.  Dudes name their kid Adolf Hitler Campbell.  They get upset when the market won’t put it on a cake.  Walmart puts it on there for Jr. (I’m actually surprised).  People get hate mail for naming their kids after a racist mass murderer.  Upset?  You should probably get kicked in the head for being surprised people are mad.  Or, rather, perhaps you’ve been kicked in the head too many times?

Folks can name their kids what they want to, certainly, and a market not putting this kid’s real name on a cake is pretty much bullshit.  I mean, I could see if they didn’t want to print something about sodomizing a copse, complete with the F-word.  Maybe.  I mean, people are prudish, and I certainly can be about certain things.  Ah, hell, I’ll take a cake with the line, “I wanna sodomize dead fucking caterpillars ten ways from Sunday!” on my next birthday cake.

It’ll be festive.

I’m all for free speech and the look on people’s faces when you use the phrase “I wanna sodomize –”  Try it!

Perhaps some light can shed on the entire situation when you learn that another child the couple has spawned has Aryan Nation for a middle name.

But, you know, the guy says he’s not racist, while for some strange reason wearing German boots from WWII.  He says he’s not.  I’ll play cracker’s advocate.  Maybe he’s not.  I mean, he’s wearing old boots from WWII.  Maybe he’s just crazy or stupid.

Still, if you name your kid something like that and don’t expect any backlash, you are not competent enough in dealing with this whole reality thing to have children.

I’d adopt them, pending a name change.  Of course.

Hate crimes on the rise.

Since Obama was elected, stupid racist people are getting a little more…active.  Read more.  Schoolchildren shout “Assassinate Obama!”  Okay, so kids are being taught by someone to be so full of ignorant hate as to call for the murder of a President-elect.  If they still yell that after he’s in, should that be, something you get arrested for? I mean, you can’t go to jail and stay there for something you say.  I would never want that.  But is it to be construed as a threat worth of at least a look?

Maybe I sound like an advocate of the Patriot Act or something.  But come on.  Will we really tolerate kids yelling that? I may just be speaking out of an unspoken fear that one of these racist assholes will actually act on their hate.

If black kids in New Orleans in 2005 yelled “Assassinate Bush,” that would not have been tolerated, even if it wasn’t necessarily and entirely racially motivated.

If the kids are not being taught to be so hateful by someone else and are in fact that bad on their own, this is doubly true — we can’t tolerate this.  We can’t control someone’s heart and their hate, but we can discourage the expression of it.  Can’t we?  Should we?

Obama is a muslim and not a citizen.

What?  You know how we keep hearing about these crazies who repeat what other crazies say and maybe actually believe this bullshit?  I mean, I keep thinking to myself, “Good thing I don’t live near these backward inbreeders.”  I never thought I’d ever meet someone like that.

Don’t get me wrong.  I know and care a great deal about several people who are Republicans, conservatives, libertarians (small L), etc.  It’s not like anyone could say I only surround myself with people who think like I think.  Not that anyone actually accuses me of that very often.

I was talking to a non-liberal today who says he disagrees with Obama’s policies.  Okay.  I mean, if you’re not going to vote for a man, that’s pretty much the best reason not to vote for him and to vote for someone else.  That’s something where, if you’re in the mood and have the time, you can talk, discuss, maybe both come away a little better off.

But I was talking to another guy tonight who commented that we’d have the most “Islamic” country in the world if Obama gets elected.  Okay, more “Islamic” than actual Islamic countries I guess?  I calmly informed him that Obama is not, in fact, Muslim, ignoring the fact that it wouldn’t matter to me either way.  Then he went on to inform me that Obama is not a US citizen, that he made it to the United States Senate without ever having to prove this to anyone, all the way up to top Presidential candidate.  I mean, I guess there’s some pro-Muslim conspiracy at work here, to get this to happen.

I let him keep ranting.  He was getting upset.

Then he said that Obama was “only” leading by two points in the poll this morning.  I corrected him that it was in the double digits last time I checked, that, in fact, Obama was really winning.  “But see who bothers to vote,” I offered, in the way of consolation.

He got even more upset.  Started saying that you can’t trust Obama, that the answers are all out there.  On the internet, where, you know, all the reliable information is.  “You should look this up on the internet, boy.”

Ouch.  Yes.  I’m 29, married, bearded and all.  I don’t like to throw my education around, but I’m almost a frikkin doctor.

“Boy.”  Ouch again.

Well, he got himself so upset that he didn’t do something he said he’d do before he left, and I wasn’t shy about telling why.

He also asked me, two weeks ago, if a cop in a certain undesirable situation was black.  “No, actually he was white.  They all were,” was what I was only too glad to tell him.

You can’t argue with people like that.  Yes, I’m told, he’s from a different generation.  So what?  There weren’t any non-racist white people in Southern states until the last few decades?  That can explain a lot of things pretty well to me.  But not repeating the bullshit this guy repeated.  And, for the record, my uncle who passed away last month was completely different that he saw through bullshit and didn’t propound racist attitudes.  And he was the same age and fought in the same war.

I’m tired of all the reasons other people like to offer for why people that they like say fucked up things.  “He’s not like that.”  “She’s a Christian.”  “It’s her background.”  “He doesn’t have the education you have.”  Cuz, you know, education: that‘s the way to erase racism and bullshit spreading.

And why, FUCK ME, why would you, knowing that my wife is black, say these kinds of fucking things to me?  I’m serious.  Why?