Friday, April 24, 2009

Random Rants {PG-17}


So, it's been a while since I blogged. Yesterday was a month because, for three weeks I had no internet. It had something to do with the freakin' 40 days and 40 nights of rain that nearly washed away my humble abode. (OK, It was more like 2½ weeks.)

Because of this extended and unplanned hiatus, I have several unrelated items to air out. So, if this seems disjointed and rambling - it is.

The Job

I still have the same job, working for a company with nearly 200 employees and about 220 faces. Also I have discovered that, after two and a half years in school, struggling to get a degree (while working full-time), I have achieved the heady title of Overpaid Typist.  I am all choked up.

The Car

I still have the same car that I spent over $1250 to get running after the "Total Loss" of my perfectly good one. I haven't had a lot of trouble out of it other than the fact that it is 16 years old and during the aforementioned monsoon season a couple weeks ago, leaked like a sieve, leaving a nice little pond in my floorboard. It is almost dry now but I still get the benefit of driving what smells like a big, wet dog to work.

Friday morning, however, I wasn't even sure that Clifford, the big green POS, was gonna get me there. It definitely has an issue. I think I just need to buy a bicycle.
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WARNING - THE FOLLOWING MAY CONTAIN OPINIONS OF THE AUTHOR REGARDING POLITICS, RELIGION AND OTHER IDIOCY!
This is not an invitation for you to share your opposing views. If you wish to do that - GET YOUR OWN BLOG!

I rarely read the newspaper. I mean an actual, dirty, smelly newspaper. I have never been a big newspaper reader but since moving to the Wiregrass Area, I have a hard time stomaching what passes for the English language in any of the local media. 

I shouldn't be surprised. Even (muffled inaudible) years ago, when I was pulled off the graduation list because I was flunking English (SLACKER!), I was amazed because the guy who sat next to me, (the football player who couldn't read a paragraph from our literature book without sounding like an epileptic falling down stairs in slow-motion), was passing. Unbelievable!

Anyway, I got sidetracked again. The other day, I am perusing a local paper, left in the break room at work and as usual, I am seeking out the crossword. I run across the Opinion page, the top of which is monopolized by a cartoon. Across the top of this is a banner, of sorts, that reads "Gay Marriage Legal In Four States... Next?"  Below this is an unsigned drawing depicting three cowboy-looking figures leaning against an old pickup. One of the figures is looking at the other two and says: "I wish I could quit you... and you." The pickup's tailgate reads 'POLYGAMY'.

I'm not sure if the implication is that homosexuality leads to polygamy or that only homosexuals are polygamists or perhaps it implies that owning a pickup truck leads to polygamy. That seems kind of self-defeating. They should have a bus. Maybe one like the Partridge Family - 'Hey, I think I love you and you and you...' 

Oddly, I've never heard of a homosexual polygamist (truck-driving or otherwise). In fact, it's usually some religious jackass(es), though most churches actually preach against it. Religious people do love to tell other people what they can or cannot do. Seems polygamy, specifically polygyny (1 man with many wives), is perfect for them. A man gets 10 or 12 wives to dominate and they each have a passel of kids to control. 

Ironically, the bible has approximately forty documented cases of polygamy. [...] Not to mention, Exodus 21:10, states that multiple marriages are not to diminish the status of the first wife (specifically, her right to food, clothing and conjugal relations). Deuteronomy 21:15-17, states that a man must award the inheritance due to a first-born son to the son who was actually born first, even if he hates that son's mother and likes another wife more; [13] and Deuteronomy 17:17 states that the king shall not have too many wives. [wikipedia.com]

Again, I digress. I never meant to argue for polygamy. My point is, I was totally offended by this cartoon. I am neither gay nor a polygamist but the correlation drawn between the two was appalling. The mere fact that being gay was likened to marrying numerous people is offensive. It is apples and oranges anyway.

First, one is a choice; a choice which happens to be illegal in the US. Most western countries do not recognize polygamous marriages, and consider bigamy a crime. Several countries also prohibit people from living any type of polygamous lifestyle. No one is born a polygamist. 

Second, even if we skip the mechanics and suppress the speculation, the main idea is that if we legalize gay marriage now, soon we might just allow somebody else to do something else they want to do. - Oh my stars! - What would happen to this country if we just let everyone do, say and believe what they wanted? 

It isn't just the fact that many don't support gay marriage that bothers me. It bothers me that few seem to realize that we have once again taken a group of people, different somehow by birth, not choice, and denied them equal rights. We have, in essence, said, "You are not worthy of the same rights and privileges that others are afforded because you are different from what we deem as natural. You are less than a person."

WOW! All that is missing is the swastika (and the tiny mustache).

1 comment:

Sonja said...

Wow. I am not even sure where to begin. I am gonna be good and not write my own blog with yours. In a world that is full of those ignorant people, you have no idea how comforting it is to have people in the world like you. I am proud to call you my friend. Seriously. I love you buddy.

I hope everything can be worked out with you car. Let me know if you need anything at all. And let me know if I need to get the 220 faces back down to 200.

Loves and hugs!