Momma's Insight...Controversy & Rights
 

Recently my neice sent an email regarding Mcdonald's and their refusal to remain neutral in the American Family Assoc. and the issues they have with gay and lesbian organizations. The article states that Mcdonald's should be boycotted because of this.

I sent back a not very polite response, asking why didn't they mention the Ronald Mcdonald house that has helped many families that can't afford lodgings when families need a place to stay? Why this one issue? Obviously she didn't like my response, I also responded to that one...I doubt she will be speaking to me in the very near future.

The AFA also threatened Wal-Mart with a boycott once before and they backed down from supporting the orginizations. I do whole heartedly believe in the traditional family. However, since when is it ok, to be a big bully because you don't like someone? This is the impression I get from reading about the AFA...we don't like gay people so we gonna take out our big stick and beat the crap outta ya if ya hire, support, or don't agree with us!!

Before you go jumpin around, gettin yer underwear all in a wad...I'm not against the AFA, neither do I think they have the right to bully. I don't condone the gay lifestyle, but it is not my place or anyone else's to be the bully on this issue. I used to get calls from the AFA requesting I buy their movies, I did buy a few...got tired of them calling and asked if they had one called...Debbie does Delia and Dottie. Well they quit calling, guess I would also.

I might not agree or condone any one person's lifestyle, gay or not...but who am I to judge these people and make threats against others because of it? I thought that was God's job...is the AFA and people like them now taking over His job? Well, I hope He fires them. If two men want to get married or two women, I say let them. I might not agree, but it sure as wet rags hangin in the wind is none of my business!!

Before you go thinkin what you thinking...I have lost two dear friends to the Aids virus and had to listen to people say...They got what they deserved!! Did they really, they never hurt anyone, never pointed fingers at anyone...just lived their lives. John, told me once...the reason I love you so much is I know you hate my lifestyle, but you never judged me and loved me anyway. Isn't that what trusting in God, and love is about...or is it to be a bully and threaten others because they are trying to live in a democracy rather than a dictatorship country?

Will I ever march in a Pride parade, no, simply because I believe God created man and woman. However, if that is not your choice, it truly is not the only sin out there. There are seven deadly sins to be exact...and we all commit them every day.

In closing, this is not to be a bashing but a thought rendering of why people seem to see the bad in any circumstance, not just gay marriages, but others also and think it is ok to say...You do this or we will not shop at your business, and then tell others to do the same.

EXCUSE ME!! I have my own mind and I will damn well shop where I please and if the person that waits on me is, gay, black, chinese, indian or polka dot...as long as I am treated with respect...guess what!!

I DON'T CARE!!

Now, remember to do something good for yourself, and think of other's feelings when dealing with a difficult situation.


Momma Sez...

If you don't want my opinion, then keep yours to yourself.:hug:

Momma,

You should write a column. God bless you. :hug:

I agree Momma. To threaten to remove themselves or boycott due to an establishment hiring what they don't consider "proper" is very judgemental. I have found as I get older that those who claim to be loving, respectful sects (meaning SOME churches, organizations, etc.) are the very ones judging like crazy! If one doesn't believe as they do they are not part of them? This is why I watch church on TV and don't get involved with organizations that are one sided.

This is a true story. When NIU had that horrible shooting back in February one such group decided to come to the campus and "preach" why these students deserved to be killed because they sinned against God. My youngest son who is a Christian, (yet still a sinner, aren't we all?) stood tall on his side to preach love to these people. He went so far as to interview the head person of this group prior to this and the head person started singing to him how glorious it was that people were being murdered and God was showing us how we have sinned against him. It was all so strange to believe this was truly happening. But no matter how hurt we were by what they said, we respected their right to believe what they wanted. Who are we to tell them they are wrong? Just because we don't believe in that or don't understand didn't give us that right.

Anyway, my point is I don't give a rats booty what a person does as long as it doesn't harm me or my loved one's. I am not God nor can or want to pass judgment on others when I too have sinned one way or another. A sin is a sin and we are not the all knowing of what constitutes what a sin is right? Leave it to the big man above to decide, that is how I live. Now, this doesn't mean I am without wrong doing as stated before. I have judged and I know it's wrong. I should restate that to I pray I can be be less judgemental and more loving and respectful towards others.

One of my best friends was baptized with me in a Catholic church. He was gay and had HIV. We were dunked in the same water, held hands and cried and laughed together. He was my brother in Christ and together we gave our lives to God. How is that wrong?

Momma's Kids, it's refreshing to hear this from you. :)

When my son was young I took him to several different churches. I'm not a Christian, but I figured it was only fair to allow him to experience what I experienced as a kid and make up his own mind on religion. :cool:

It was real hard finding a church that wasn't inadvertently preaching hate, discrimination and separatism. My son found a place that was fun for him and his friend's father was the pastor of the church. When he came home one day after a special service during the week, I asked him about the message. He said it was a service dedicated to teaching about the "evils" of being gay. The instruction? "Just don't do it - if you do, you will go to Hell." :rolleyes:

Hmmm, I always wondered why my son's friend had such a vicious hatred of gay people and wanted to send them to Hell. :eek: I always wondered why my son's friend considered himself a "Christian warrior." :eek:

I'm not homosexual and never will be, but I don't see anything wrong with it. It's just love and affection. I'm happy when I hear my homosexual friends have found love and affection in their lives. We all have the same needs in that area. :hug: Besides, it's not like we have a problem with underpopulation, and it's not "contagious." :rolleyes:

I get it though. To some the idea of homosexuality is creepy - really creepy. Big deal. If it's too creepy, you can always stop peeping into the window and turn your head, lol. If it's someone close to you, get your head out of the gutter and stop thinking about your loved one having sex, lol. It does NOT justify discrimination, oppression or murder. :mad:

I always thought one of the BIG messages was to "love your neighbor." There is no disclaimer about "except the creepy ones." :rolleyes:

The AFA's attempts aren't about doing "God's will." It's about trying to destroy gay people by taking away their livelihoods (trying to force corporations not to hire them). :mad:

just a gentle reminder that having open discussion about this doesnt mean open house on bashing any religions, groups etc.

expressing one's opinion is fine. but doing so by generalizing against a particular religion, group, viewpoint etc is not. Please be sensitive to the fact that we have a very diverse membership here, and all are to be treated respectfully
thanks
Cheri

Sorry Chemar

I wasn't trying to bash the rules of religion. I just wanted to point out how that father's preaching effected his son, and why I feel so strongly about human rights. :o

That kid is a grown man now, and I have no idea what he's doing. He could be an angry unemployed man out on the streets. He could be on his way to being a corporate boss, politician, or preacher himself. He could also be a closeted gay man looking for a job and in need of learning to love himself, maybe even his father too. :(

IMO, the actions of the AFA has nothing to do with keeping "families" strong. :(

I always wonder why people automatically assume that someone with HIV is gay. :confused:

People get this disease from blood transfusions through no fault of their own. It doesn't happen as much today as it once did - but it happens. People get it due to drug use, too. Health-care workers are at greater risk for contracting the disease. Getting a tattoo or a piercing at a less than reputable establishment can increase your risk for getting HIV. Police Officers and EMT's are at greater risk just due to the people they have contact with.

It's not just gay people who get HIV. In my opinion they are probably the most educated about this and the most careful to avoid it. I don't know that this is true - but it just makes sense.

Life is short - way too short to go around with a chip on your shoulder because you don't agree with the way someone else lives. It's just like TV - if you don't like it don't watch it. :)

Interesting, I agree with what a lot of what you all said, as for the bashing I think its more a question of the type of character we have or others dont have. Things have changed big time from when we were raised, and I think its starting to blend into who and what we are.

Why praise someones good doing when you can bash someone and blame some one else too. How many of us have seen or known of someone who didnt take the blame for what they did, odd how those tend to be the first ones to find faults with others.

I also had a friend named brad, he was gay and never once did he approach or did either of us ever have to say anything, well of course that made me gay cause I was his friend, you know how that goes.

for some reason it has become easier for us to bash then to say something nice, that good feeling you get from something nice, does not seem to be enough to fill the void now a days.

Does being a gay person mean you do not care love have compassion, no, odds are they have more of those good qualities then those who slam them or their company,

As for ronald mcdonald house god bless them they help two friends of debs and mine with housing, surgery and recovery, with out them two gentle loving children would not be here today, Two thats not to mention how many others they help and save each week.

does having a gay friend or two make you evil, no
does blowing off church make you evil, no as long as god is in your heart
does being a member of some group company or organization others dislike make you evil no
does dropping acid a whole summer make you evil :yikes: NO

how that get in there, you get my point, its not what u are or who u belong to or associate with, Its how much hate you have inside your heart and soul, thats what makes one differ from others, its the hate, that is whats so scary to me, so much hate


peace

I have one of my very funny (and true) stories that just came to my mind after reading all these posts.

I used to work in the non-profit field. I had a very beautiful boss. 30 years old, she was going to be a corporate lawyer, and she was GORGEOUS.

Every night a black guy (built like Arnold Schwartznegger), would come to pick her up after work. She was from Italy by the way. So of course the office was gossiping.

They would go to the gym together after work.

One day she's crying in the office and I go in (remember she's MY boss) and I said 'hon, what's the matter? and she said "My lover and I broke up". (This had to be 25 or so years ago by the way). I said 'oh the black guy??" and she said 'no, he's my friend", I'm madly in love with someone, and they broke up with me".

I said again "you mean the black guy, right? don't worry, I'm not bigoted, I don't give a hoot who you date it's your business". She's crying her head off and she goes 'NOT THE BLACK GUY". I said Not the black guy??" Who the heck are you crying over??"

And she pulls out a photo of this gorgous blond blue eyed GIRL.

I just looked. I HAD NO IDEA. And she goes "I know what you're thinking".

I said 'YOU'RE GAY??" and we burst out laughing.

I kept saying "you're gay??" It was the funniest, stupidest thing that came out of my mouth because everybody thought she was dating the black fellow.

She said: "My girlfriend dumped me to go back with her husband"

That's when I got a lesson in bi-sexuality. I kept saying "she's not gay?? She's gay, she's married??" (how dumb is this? )

But she explained the whole scenario and I held her while she cried. She said: "everybody thinks I'm going out with the guy right??" and I said 'well, he picks you up every night in his muscle man t-shirt, he's gorgeous, why the heck wouldn't we think this?"

She said "can you keep my confidence?" I said "of course" and I did. for over 4 years.

She was a heck of a boss, a very nice lady and she became a big whiz in corporate law.

I just thought of this story, and I had to share.

Hope I didn't step on anyone's toes, telling this, but the thread IS about this subject.

LOL Melody - so much for judging a book by it's cover. :D

I had two very good-looking homosexual male friends who were also exotic dancers at a place called the "Sugar Shack." They invited me to see them perform, but it seemed weird because we're friends and I wasn't into that anyway. What can I say, I'm selfish - I'd rather have something I can take home with me. :p

A friend of mine really wanted to check the place out, so I arranged it for a night when my friends would be performing - on one condition. I asked them NOT to bother me in the crowd - it was my friend who wanted the thrill. :cool:

YOWZA! :eek: They were awesome. :D I thought I was going to have to break out the smelling salts after they got through with my friend. She had a smile on her face from ear to ear. :p

We go into the bathroom, and it's packed with women. They all started gushing over how lucky my friend was to have the two most gorgeous guys paying attention to her, and she blurts out "You think I'm lucky - they are HER friends and neighbors." :D

They all cornered me and asked if they had a girlfriend. I smiled and told them "yes, they are both in a serious relationship." They didn't need to know it was with each other, lol. It wasn't my place to "out" my friends, and I didn't want to spoil the fun those ladies were having. :)

I knew that was you following me down the street! :p

Now THAT's a hoot of a story!!!

lol

The other day someone had written something in the local paper (something derogatory about gay people), and they said: 'God made Adam and Eve, NOT Adam and Steve!!!

Someone wrote back saying "oh yeah?? Well, Who made Steve??

Now that's funny!!!

Kathy, lol, I saw the Sugar Shack guys perfrom at a local facility once. I never made it to the "real" Sugar Shack! Too funny.

I went to see them with a bunch of girls from work. So I felt obliged to help a cowboy make money. :rolleyes: ;) :p I think I gave him at least 50 or more dollars! lmao As I walked out by myself to go home he was walking in front of me. I wanted to run up to him and explain that I normally don't act like I did in there. lmao When I got home Jim casually said "don't even think about getting lucky tonight" hahahahahaha :D

In my very feeble and humbled opinion, I think this thread, while controversial, is a good thread. It opens up a "taboo" subject that people are afraid to talk about.

And I thought it was well done. And that folks have posted to eachother with respect.

I have enjoyed all the different responses to it :)

I don't always agree with everything but I try to see things from all sides and this was a great way to see views from all sides. :)

this thread dealt with "EQUALITY" for all and it dealt with "Love for all" and it dealt with "Perspectives" and "Truth"

We all have perspectives as humans and we all have the right to what we believe in. And I am happy to see that a lot of folks here have respect to others views...it is very hard sometimes....

I am reminded of two stories that have been around for centuries that have been told to me that I really love.

first is the story of 5 blind men (well, it turned out to be 6 blind men and 3 blind mice) and the elephant. To me, that is about perspectives and the truth. In the end, they all felt the elephant even though each felt a different part of the elephant. Most folks probably have read/heard of this already.

the second one is more obscure and I only know about it cause of my great grand uncle. His eyes were bayonetted before WWII (I don't want to get into that part) but he was a scholar prior and loved to tell stories. As a child, I was really ignorant and he alwasy told me stories in hope that it would balance me out. If I was only smart....

I didn't understood them until much much later...I remembered this as being one of them and I've tried to write it myself but thanks to the internet, I have found it. Thank you, bot(internet. LOL)

It is about the equality of life...how all creatures, great and small...have equal rights and belong on this earth/planet...(even when we have to eat some of them...LOL)

I'll include both stories in case anyone is interested in reading them, peace to everyone...on this global village... :grouphug:

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Story 1:

six blind men were asked to determine what an elephant looked like by feeling different parts of the elephant's body.

The blind man who feels a leg says the elephant is like a pillar;

the one who feels the tail says the elephant is like a rope;

the one who feels the trunk says the elephant is like a tree branch;

the one who feels the ear says the elephant is like a hand fan;

the one who feels the belly says the elephant is like a wall;

and the one who feels the tusk says the elephant is like a solid pipe.

A wise man explains to them

All of you are right.

The reason every one of you is telling it differently is because each one of you touched the different part of the elephant.

So, actually the elephant has all the features you mentioned.

*This resolves the conflict, and is used to illustrate the principle of living in harmony with people who have different belief systems, and that truth can be stated in different ways (as noted by the author)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

story 2: (I've edited it a bit to make it more reader friendly, I also rewrote this years ago based on memory from my uncle's tale but couldn't find it, however, the original is way better)

Ray was a righteous king. For kings like him, life never meant anything, only peace and equality to all were everything.

He was a great justice and to fulfill his promises.

So, the wise magicians decided to test his strength of his characters and his righteousness.

Once Ray was sitting in his court, that a dove came flying with great speed and fell in his laps and said - "O king, Please save me. I am in your shelter."

The king had vowed to protect anyone who came in his shelter.

In the mean time a hawk came following him and said to the king - "O king, This is my prey, so give it to me."

The dove tried to hide himself in the laps of the king.

The king said to the dove - "Don't fear from this hawk. You are in my shelter, he cannot touch even your one feather."

So the king said to the hawk - "I am sorry, I cannot give this bird to you, because he is in my shelter."

The hawk said - "But this is my prey. I was hungry and I wanted to kill him and eat him, so please release him so that I can eat him."

Ray considered hawk's demand genuine.

Now what should he do? If he gives the dove to hawk, his vow is broken, and if he doesn't give the dove to eagle, he snatches the hawk's food.

Ray followed the justice and found a way so that the dove is also saved, his vow is also not broken and the hawk also gets his food.

He said to the hawk - "This dove is your food. If I give you this much meat to eat, would you leave him alone?"

The hawk said - "Yes, I need my food, nothing else."

Ray asked his servants to kill some animal and bring his meat for the hawk.

But eagle said - "I wouldn't accept that food for myself which is brought to me after killing an animal specially for my food. This was my prey that is why I want to eat him but otherwise I do not want to kill anybody for my food."

Now Ray was in a great dilemma, how he should satisfy this hawk?

He thought and thought and came to a conclusion that a pound or two flesh of his own body wouldn't hurt much to him and this eagle will also be satisfied

so he asked the eagle - "Would you be satisfied if I give you my own flesh?"

The hawk said - "Yes, But there is a condition for this."

"What?"

The hawk said - "If even a single tear drops from your eye, I will not accept that flesh as my food."

Ray agreed.

He got a knife and a balance to weight the flesh.

On one side he put the dove and on the other side he started putting his flesh cut from the knife.

He started from his right thigh.

The dove always weighed heavier than his flesh, even if he was adding more to the second pane.

He had kept almost his whole right leg on the second pane but the dove was still heavier than his flesh.

At this juncture a drop of a tear came into his left eye.

The hawk noticed it and said - "I cannot accept this food given to me in distress. The tear in your eye shows that you are not happy, so give me my prey back to me."

Ray said smiling - "Look hawk, This tear is not for grief, but for joy that my left body will also be used to keep my promise. If only the right part of my body could satisfy your requirement, then the left part of my body would have been denied with the opportunity to serve you. That is why this tear in my left eye is of joy not of grief."

And he started again putting his flesh on the scale.

Even after cutting his both legs and both arms he could not provide the flesh equal to the dove.

So he sat himself on the scale to equal the weight.

As he sat on the scale, sky showered flowers and the hawk and the dove disappeared and there stood the court magicians to bless him

This ultimate sacrifice of Ray illustrated that all life, now matter how grand or how minute, are equal.

I have really loved reading this thread thank you!

I wish I could respond with such wonderful writing as all of you have, but thanks to whatever the heck is going on in my head right now trying to put together words and such is really difficult for me. I am constantly having to backspace and retype a word because of what seems like dyslexia...and I've never been dx'd with it!

Anyway, I just wanted to add my 2 cents worth. ;) Who Moi, I love the story of the blind men...my father was blind and he taught me so much about not judging others based on appearence. The most beautiful person on the outside can just as well be the ugliest on the inside. I don't care if someone is black, white, purple with pink polka dots. I don't care if they are fat, skinny, tall or short. I don't care how much schooling they've had or what kind of job (if any) they have. If they love someone of their same sex so what?! Are they happy? Do they care for and respect each other? That's what matters...not what others think. It's not up to me to judge others.

IMHO we are all the same. We are created with the same body parts/organs...we all bleed and we all have a heart that keeps us alive. What we choose to do with ourselves is our choice...nobody else's...and it is our decisions that will determine what happens in the end. It shouldn't be up to someone else, some type of government office or civic group to say we should or shouldn't do with our own lives.

Maybe if we all were to be blind for just a while we would learn to see more with our heart.


(Sorry, I know this probably got way off track or didn't make much sense :o)

:grouphug:

Sandy - Is that how they baptize where you live? I have never heard of Catholics being dunked. Other religions, just not Catholics. That's really interesting. How old were you?

Yeah, I'm curious about that kind of baptism also. I'm a Roman Catholic and as far as I was taught, the priest baptizes you as a baby.

Perhaps when one is older, and converts to being a catholic, perhaps this is a special ceremony (done for many people), and maybe there is a pool or something??

I'd love to know the answer.

Thanks much
Mel

I have charismatic Catholic friends who have had immersion baptism :)

It's really too bad everyone can't just get along. "love One Another" is the commandment. Learn how to live that way.

All men were created equal, gay straight, black, white. We are all God's children.