I’m Listening (and Thinking)

Political, sort of, but nothing Obamariffic today. Instead, a reminder of how chillingly matter-of-fact people can be in their ignorance and hate.

(via via)

Shakespeare said, “The devil can cite Scripture for his purpose.” How much more so can a person with good intentions twist them so horribly.

The site hosting the video has an open letter to the woman speaking, and it’s worth reading. It isn’t hateful. It points out that such offhand talk is, in fact, hate speech, and does, in fact, tacitly condone, and therefore perpetuate, hate crimes.

Inspiring people to want to kill someone who hasn’t hurt anyone is evil. I don’t see any way around that.

And the “but it’s in the Bible” rationale gets me madder faster than just about anything. If you’re religious – and I am – this is a great article on it.

I don’t take the Bible verbatim and I don’t understand people who do. But I believe, as Voltaire, “I disapprove of what you say, but I will defend to the death your right to say it.” Hypocrisy has no place in that, though. Either you take it as literal truth, or you take it as spiritual teaching. A or B. You can’t pick or choose the bits you want to ignore. It’s illogical, it’s academically unsound, it’s just plain cheating.

So if you want to take those half dozen ancient laws as guidance against homosexuality than you take every last one of those ancient laws. And everyone who has divorced, cheated, cursed, worn cotten and silk together, eaten pork, had their period, masturbated, used birth control, mixed races, cut their hair or eaten shellfish – we’re all screwed.

Some religious thinking on a Palm Sunday on which I’ve missed church and am okay with maybe therefore going straight to a cotton/poly blend hell full of seafood and hair salons.