Speak Compassion

I again apologize for not keeping you as updated as I use to do.  I must say it is the same ole same stuff out there.   The right posts things about how horrid those pesky gay folks are and the left posts about how horrid the right can be.   It becomes exhausting to read and process in my mind.   I wonder if any of this will ever stop. 

Stacy Harp, is attacking atheists.  I think this is entertaining on some level since we are not the ones claiming something exists on blind faith.  We atheists actually require something be proven to exist before we acknowledge it.   You might call this…science.  What I find entertaining is she named her post something about “Athiest indoctrination”.   She must fail to see that we are all born atheists.  It is not until our family indoctrinates us into the faith of our origins do we get indoctrinated into a belief in god.   If you are in the east, this could be muslim or hindu.  If you are in the west, this could be Christian or Jewish or Wiccan.   It is all about where you live and what your parents believe.

Atheism is a lack of belief in a god.   Children are born without a belief in  god.  We teach them to believe without question of reason or science.   Children then grow up to take this belief to whatever extreme place they want to take it.   That could be no where or into the side of a building with a plane.  This could also mean your children grow up from a young and tender age holding signs thay say “God Hates Fags”.   I am not sure I see how keeping children atheists is such a bad thing or at best letting them get old enough to develop critical thinking skills before teaching them about religion.   I also think children should be taught about “all” religions so they can make a clear, level headed, informed choice about god.

In other parts of the blog world:

Peter LaBarbera is really taking things for a joy ride by noting an article published that says the greatest rise in new cases of HIV are among our young gay men.  I find these frustrating coming from any evangelical Christian since they are the ones doing all in their power to stop sex education that includes facts about homosexual sex and protection from disease.  Is it any wonder the problem lies where they created it?  I value life including Christians.  I would never hold back information on science that could save  christian life.  Why then, would a Christian do that to someone else, like a gay youth?

Peterson Toscano has updated his info on the harm of ex-gay ministries.   I would ask again that you share in this effort.  I feel sincere respect for Peterson’s efforts and hope that even if you disagree with his work, you would at least read it over to see both sides.

The blog world is going a little nutty over the announcement that Dumbledore, the headmaster of the fictional Wizard School in the Harry Potter series is actually a gay charector.   Peter LaBarbera seems to feel this will further desensitize youth to the fact gay people exist.  Of course it must be said, wizards do not.   On the other hand, gay people do exist.

Our friends over at Good As You have run detailed coverage of the Values Voters Love fest for gay people in a fifteen part series.   Feel free to notice how gays and lesbians in this debate were presented as one of America’s problems rather than a group of her citizens.    For the record, I think this sort of talkk leads to violence, but I am confident I have said that a dozen times over.

Lastly, I have to admit, I am thinking of closing the blog or at least changing it.   As you can see, I don’t keep you as informed as I once did. Adam and Kevin do a way better job than me at keeping up on current issues.   Readership and hits are still high but I think that is do to Google searches looking for info on gay issues and not new readers coming to find out more about nonviolence or gaining new insights.   I am moving into new directions in my life including becoming a certified mediator, writing for “get” magazine, and expanding my nonviolence work.   I am not sure I believe this blog serves as good of a purpose as I thought it did.  I wonder if it divides us in spirit when I had always hoped it would unite us in thoughts and needs. I think the divisions we choose separate us from our humanity, our connections with each other.

We paint horrible pictures of each other in the world.  These people that and those people this and then those others are evil and responsible for the wrong in the world.  We look for people to blame for everthing wrong and ask others what the wrong deserve for being wrong.  We see people as right or wrong, good or bad and what we deserve   The good deserve reward and the bad deserve harsh punishments even violence.  We all know what happens to the bad guys in books and movies in our culture, they get “punished”.   We see people for what they deserve rather than what they need to enrich life.  I always hoped this blog would be about changing that, but instead I am feeling I walked into promoting that which I wanted to see change. 

I, of course would leave this site up for the old stuff to be read.  I would also leave it for Adam and Kevin to continue to write stuff about gay issues.  I, myself think I will be changing the nature of what I write about.  Not sure what that means, but it will evolve like this did.  Into something I am proud of even when it isn’t what I hoped.  It is always something.