Friday, January 05, 2007

Tired of Being Tolerant of the Intolerant

Just to clarify where I stand in regards to religion, and that means ALL religion, not just Christianity.

I don't care. Once upon a time that was my position. I did not care one way or the other what anyone chose to believe, how they chose to worship, or how faithfully or not they chose to practice their elected religion. I figured it was their business, not mine.

I even managed to maintain this view while growing up in a town overrun by what we now call "fundamentalist" Baptists. You know how it is, as soon as the white people start moving in they bring their religion and commence proselytising to the natives, there goes the neighborhood.

My teen years I spent seeing various friends and acquaintances disappear into the fundie-pit on an almost daily basis. One day Lisa was fine, running around being normal and the next day....BOOM. She'd show up looking all glassy-eyed and eager to share her new found drug with her former, unsaved companions. It was like a real-life invasion of the body snatchers experience. People you'd known all your life were suddenly crazed zombies obsessed with sin and the coming Rapture. Fun, laughter, or even just a normal conversation were no longer an option. Ones' primary mission in life was now to discover and expose the hidden Evil in everything not directly related to the praise and worship of Jesus.

Ok, I was never exactly a social butterfly so I could deal, just socialize even less than I already did. I figured it was just my crazy town, a few more years and I'm out of here. Move someplace chock full of rational people.

Except now you're everywhere. Religious zealots on every street corner, taking over the schools with your mentally retarded version of the origins of species and universe. You've even infected the workplace. When did it become acceptable for prospective state employers to ask applicants for "character and moral" references from their church??? That happened in beautiful, sunny, southern California. Yup, even California is no longer safe.

Now you've taken over much of my government. You want to dictate law from your biblical perspective. Not content to let God sort us out at the end, you've taken it upon yourselves to become judge and jury, create your own little morals court right here on earth. If you want to live by religious law I suggest you move to the fucking Middle East. They're down with that. It's working out so well for them too.

I tried to get away from you and leave you to your own devices but you wouldn't let me. That wasn't good enough for you, oh no, you want to control everyone and everything. Make the world over into your own insane, delusional image. Because Jesus, God, Allah, Yahweh, Muhammad or whoever told you to. Clue: hearing voices telling you to do things is called schizophrenia. They make medications that can clear it up for you.

Fuck all of you. I can't state it any more clearly than that. I regret that it's come to that. I'd have preferred to live and let live. Live and let live is not in your frame of reference though. It has to be all your way and you have no problem whatsoever with stomping on anyone else's right to live and exist as they choose if it suits your purposes. You don't even object to killing in the name of your chosen deity. You believe it's your God-given RIGHT.

Until recently I had no beef with the large number of moderately religious people. Hey, you were just trying to be better people and live in better ways. What's so bad about that?

I've begun to see you as part of the problem. See, the thing is you bend over so far in the name of religious freedom that you've become nothing but apologists for the radicals and fanatics. Add in the fact that 8 out of 10 when your fence-straddling asses go to the polls....you vote right in lockstep with your zombie-brained cousins. Thanks so much for helping to enable the growing American Theocracy.

I've run out of tolerance for you. I no longer care about your widdle itty-bitty feelings. I don't care if you feel "discriminated" against. You've been happily walking on everyone else's faces for long enough, you never concerned yourselves with the rights or feelings of others. I'm tired of being "nice" to you and being careful not to offend.

You don't understand the first fucking thing about being respectful of others. You had no problem calling me a "Satan-worshipping" witch because my children read Harry Potter now did you? Respect your beliefs? Screw you and double screw you. Did you respect mine when you declared all my friends and loved ones were going to hell because they didn't accept your version of God or live as you've decided is the only right way? Respect your holy books? Like you respect my books whenever you decide to ban them or burn a few? You have to give respect if you expect to get any. You've shown no respect for anyone different from you and you want to cry because I hate you? Please, get a clue.

Keep pissing off everyone who isn't you. Eventually you'll probably piss off enough people we can just round you up and airdrop the lot of you into the center of Tehran.

9 comments:

leftdog said...

I don't think I have read a BETTER article on the current state of religious fanaticism in America then this one. BRAVO for telling it like it is!!

You have said SO MUCH in these few paragraphs. The incident with your friend, Lisa, speaks volumns on what is happening to many people who simply surrender to this dangerous nonsense.

This fundamentalist movement is as close as you can come to totalitarianism without the swastikas.

They are the single most influential force in American and Canadian politics right now and it takes a lot of courage to stand up against them.

You said, "I've run out of tolerance for you. I no longer care about your widdle itty-bitty feelings. I don't care if you feel "discriminated" against. You've been happily walking on everyone else's faces for long enough, you never concerned yourselves with the rights or feelings of others. I'm tired of being "nice" to you and being careful not to offend." I applaud that statement because no one I know has EVER said it better.

Bravo!! (Somebody say 'AMEN')!!!

Not Your Mama said...

LOL, glad it amused you :). I was trying to respond earlier this morning and as you can see, I got carried away.

Repressed anger is a powerful source of inspiration.

Women on the Verge said...

Leftdog- I'll give you an "AMEN "and raise you a "Praise Jesus"...

Mama--You're an inspiration!!!!! I'm sending links to everyone I know!

Unknown said...

It was during your last presidental elections when I started really wonder the importance that is placed by the Americans for a candidate to be seen as a man of God.

Kerry and Bush draging their huge family bibles for the photo ops on the stairs of the various churches looked to an outsider a bit quirky but no doubt scored well there. After that, I shifted my focus on the Gongress and it's members. Think about it for a minute; there is a body of hundreds of middle and upper middle class men and women with better than an average education and every one of them, as far as I know, believes in God. Hmmm...

Your last, short paragraph allows me believe, that maybe the pendulum is about to start swinging the other way. God's willing that is.:)

Finally, the matter of you being so different from the crowd that comments at Vigil's and my delight and puzzlement about it. I think I've got it - YOU ARE AN AFRICAN- AMERICAN OR NATIVE-AMERICAN.

Not Your Mama said...

WotV, Thank you much! Getting religion out of politics is high on my to-do list, the more the
merrier.

Pesu, nice try but no, I'm white, white, white. Likely from a very different background than the average US blogger. People with my history/background are supposed to STFU, do our jobs, and watch NASCAR for our entertainment. Many of the bloggers are probably people who would spit on my head in real life. Or try to anyway :).

I've always been interested in what makes people tick and I ask a lot of questions and try to really listen to the answers, even when I may not like the answers.

As for the pendulum, do a search for "atheist" on MySpace or YouTube. You'd be amazed, there's a huge sprawling network.

The "highbrow" discussions and postings on blogs are great but the movement is in the mainstream, which is exactly where it needs to be.

I'm not unhappy when people my age or older speak out against theism but I'm absolutely delighted when young people do it.

Women on the Verge said...

You don't give yourself enough credit mama! I think you'd have to be a complete IDIOT ( or a Bushie) to not recognize your intellect. I'd hang with you anytime!!!!!!!

Unknown said...

OK, so, I stop trying to squeeze you into my ready made box. Until I hear from you, you will stay in my mind as a banjo playin, Nascar lovin, moonshine drinkin, Poet Laureate with PhD, plus the Master's in Rocket Science and Modern Dancing. :)

Not Your Mama said...

LOL! That sounds like great fun. If'n ya gave me enuf moonshine I might'a even could dance.

Seriously though, I got to the point I was waking up angry which was not good, blogging seemed more constructive than wishing for certain peoples' heads to explode.

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