I rarely post anything political/religious simply because I know what I believe, I know in my heart that what I believe is the truth, and I don't feel like hearing a bunch of self-righteous, holier-than-thou liberals telling me I'm wrong. But today, I'm breaking my own rule.
I logged in to Facebook to see what was up, and photo that George Takei had posted came up in my feed. Now, Takei is a pretty funny guy--comedically speaking--which is why I initially "liked" his page. Well...that's no longer the case. Today's photo was in reference to homosexuality, and there was a flowchart for "Yes, it's wrong" and "No, it's NOT wrong" opinions. I followed the "Yes" line. Every single bubble on that chart had something negative to say about the New Testament, the Old Testament, creation, Adam & Eve, and/or being an uncivilized member of society.
I'm not a bigot, and I don't like to be made out to appear to be one. Why is it wrong for someone with conservative values & beliefs to say out loud, or on a public forum, that they are personally against homosexuality and same-sex marriage because that's essentially considered shoving the Christian agenda down people's throats, but it's OK for gay pride rallies to take place all over the country, it's OK for idiot celebrities that can't think for themselves to endorse that lifestyle all over TV, it can infiltrate our children's television shows, and all of that is considered "freedom of expression"?
How is that fair? How does that even begin to make sense? I was raised in a Christian home, where we went to church on Sundays and we marry members of the opposite sex. The values that I hold have nothing to do with being against someone else simply because I may not agree with their personal choices for their own life; my values have everything to do with how I was brought up and how my husband and I will raise our children.
Last year, during the fall semester, I had a student accuse me of singling her out because she happened to be a lesbian. Not only did she tell me this to my face in front of the entire class, but she took it to one of the APs, who also happened to live that same lifestyle. The girl was not a bad person, not a bad student, not a bad anything--she just would sit and doodle on her girlfriend's arm (loads of inappropriate drawings, including but not limited to various parts of the human anatomy) when they both should've been paying attention and doing their assigned work. When told to stop drawing and start working, or to wash off the drawings of "rocketships" from their arms, the girl with the issue against me then stated that I didn't like her because she was a lesbian.
Not true.
And this came up in the AP's office, as well. She attempted to tell the AP all sorts of things that I had said or done to show my "disdain," and was shot down every time. I was given the opportunity to tell the AP my side of it, show her the drawings on the girl's arm from first period, and (surprisingly), I was supported! It took a lot of convincing this poor girl that I had nothing against her based on the life she chose to live--I was doing my job as a teacher, and she needed to start doing hers as a student...what a novel idea! I did tell her, in front of the AP, that even though I didn't agree with her choices and would not choose that for myself or my children, I didn't think any less of her as a person, nor did I think less of any of my friends or students that happened to be gay.
Point taken, problem solved.
But why is it such a big deal in the media? Why is it so horrible for people, living in this "free country," to express themselves? It appears to only be a crime when their expressions don't fall into line with the beliefs of so many of our "influential leaders." I use the term "leaders" VERY loosely...
I have a strong feeling that if I wore a t-shirt that had a rainbow on it with the red slashed circle over it, similar to a "No Smoking" sign, I'd never hear the end of it from many of the people that live in my community or the people I'm "friends" with on Fb. But how is that any different than a homosexual wearing a t-shirt with "GAY PRIDE" emblazoned across the chest?
It's not.
That's just the pot calling the kettle black...and I think it's time for this shit to stop.
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