NickolasJames8

So what your saying is, you got a new car?

Always

They should have given her 45 days at the morgue, watching the victims of drunk drivers come in and their families have to come ID them. Maybe that would be a wake up call for the heffer

It's been a while since my last entry, and it's because I've been feeling sorry for myself over things that happened here at home and not up to posting anything. Until yesterday. Let me start from the beginning. I got my license on May 21st and was soooo excited about driving my car to work. Unfortuanately, my dad needed my car because he had to drop his off at the dealership, so I took him to Charles Barker (the dealership) and then drove to work. he dropped me off and all I could think about was he next day when I'd be driving myself to school. Then, two hours later, when my dad was supposed to be picking me up at work, no one came. So I waited and called his cell phone, but I was getting his voice mail. About ten minutes after I started to fume, my stepmom shows up in her car and she looks really upset. I ask her what's wrong, and she tells me that my dad had been in a wreck with my car and that he's at the hospital. So now I'm upset too, and we go to Bayside. He's fine but in an ultra grouchy mood because someone rear ended him. I guess I just needed to hear and see for myself that he was fine, then I went into a bitchy rant about him wrecking my car and said some other crap about his speeding and the way he cuts people off and how I felt like he didn't shift soon enough when he was driving my car. Basically I was pissed that my Civic was wrecked, but I had no idea just how wrecked it was until I saw it. It's basically totalled. When I looked at it, I panicked again. I don't know how ANYONE survived that wreck. Not my dad. Not the lady with a baby in the car that hit him. The only thing I could do at that point was give him a hug and tell him sorry for being a selfish asshole to him. Then I went inside and said a prayer giving thanks to The Lord for sparing my dad's life. So I tought I was okay, but I really slipped into a deep depression that I didn't want to admit I was in. I prayed a lot about it, and I stewed over my car some more and thought about the lady who rear ended my dad. I was mad at her, but not just for wrecking my car. I was mad at her because she could have killed my dad, her baby or maybe even herself. I don't need to lose another parent and her baby certainly shouldn't grow up without a mom. So I spent the last few days telling myself what a dumbass she was and thinking to myself that she should have been paying closer attention because she's not just taking her own life into her hands when she drives....she's taking other lives into her hands too. Then yesterday my dad comes home from work and tells me that one of the drivers rolled a truck over on the interstate. No one knows for sure what happened, but a baby was involved and a lot of people were hurt badly. In fact, so badly that some might not make it. It's affecting him badly because the driver is someone he knows personally because he used to be her boss. When we prayed before supper last night, he asked God to watch over everyone in that crash, and his voice broke up a little and I knew he was trying not to cry. That's when I knew that I had no business being upset about my car. They make new ones at the factory every day. If one of the people in the wreck from yesterday dies, there's no getting them back. So, instead of being depressed about my car, I'll keep my head up and be thankful that it wasn't worse. Worse as in, loss of life or serious injury. I'll also keep praying for the families of the people hurt yesterday. It just goes to show that just when you think you're having the worst day, somewhere in this world, someone is a lot worse off than you are.

The FCC decides what we get to hear on the public airwaves, but no one at the FCC is elected. That's a major issue, IMO, and I think they'd be a lot less uptight if they had to do what the people actually wanted them to do.

After my dad and stepmom's wedding, my dad gave a toast and named all of the people in our family that were there, then he said he felt like the richest man in America to love so many people. To me, that sums up the meaning of true wealth. It doesn't have much to do with how much chedder you stack.

I didn't read people's reactions in your thread the same way you do. Not leaving oneself consumed by hatred doesn't mean that you have to stand patiently that these conservative/ bigots/ whatever-you-deem-good-to-label-them-as' hearts change. I don't rejoice over anybody's death (plus I doubt dying of a heart attack at 73 is a sure sign of God's hand punishing the wicked), but standing up to them and having an in the face approach don't mean you let yourself being eaten by hatred. And trying to exist on a higher moral plane as those you disagree with is a noble ambition, but that leaves room for humor (I'm thinking of James' Teletubbies joke) and detachment. If in the end, once we die too, we may have made a few changes so the world is a better place FOR ALL, I think it will have been worth it. (Yeah, I was a boy scout and church-goer; it leaves some imprint ...) I think that this was one of the best replies in this entire thread. I definitely agree with your assertion that standing up to hate and having an in the face approach doesn't mean that someone's consumed with hatred, but in my opinion, it's almost impossible to say that anyone rejoicing in Falwell's passing was standing up to him. As Eric so eloquently stated in an earlier post, he's not here. He's dead, so the point is moot. But, we're still here, and there are those who judge our every action. Not that I think other people's opinion of us should be the impetus behind doing the right thing. We should always strive for that standard, because as you said, we have a roll in making this a better place for ALL. I agree with almost everything you had to say here, but there's a couple things I'd like to address. I think it's natural for me to look at everything from a traditional Christian point of view, but I'd like to think that in this case, I'm looking at it from a human point of view. I mean, yes, while I believe that God's will reigns in every aspect of our lives, I hope that our nature as human beings and the inevitability of our own death would make us think a lot deeper about the sanctity of anyone's life and what it means when life comes to an end. When Saddam was executed in December, I was shaken up for him and for his family. At the same time, I was (and still am) disgusted by the hundreds of thousands that he ordered killed, but a life is still a life. Once you're born, your life is what it is, and I find it hard to cope with the shallow attitude that some display at the end of someone elses life. The other thing I wanted to say was that your point about some people being predisposed to hate is a good one. I really think that a lot of people have a natural tendacy to hate and show scorn for things they don't understand, and it only takes a little bit of affirmation from someone like Falwell to help nurture that hatred. Not absolutely certain that I agree with this. The fact that we would be innately evil or good... Nah. Being brought up in a rhetoric of hatred helps a lot to become hateful. We all have to make choices at some point. OK, I'll come down from the pulpit now. I agree 100% with your point that arguing/fighting brings improvements.....that's one of the reasons I made this thread. No matter what side of this issue people come away from this on, we're all better off for having this conversation. Maybe in that respect, Jerry Falwell had a positive impact on the group of gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgendered and straight people that make up the Gay Authors Community

I see what you're saying, Krista, but the same people act disgusted when someone like Fred Phelps and his family do it. How can they expect to be taken seriously when they say Phelps and his group are evil if they've done the exact same thing? I don't see it as being preachy...I see it as being realistic. I think lowly of Fred Phelps for what he does, I thought lowly of Falwell's opinions and I don't think Pat Robertson has admirable views of gays and womens rights, but that's where it stops. When we start doing the things we demonize others for, it makes us just as bad, and I'm not giving a free pass to anyone who does it, friend or not.

That might be what people are saying, but if you read other blog entries, that sentiment has been eclipsed by vile hate speech expressing joy at his passing. Not only have some people on this website wished him dead, but they also wished Pat Robertson dead. I'll happily send you the link to prove my point. I agree with that statement, but they still gloated about a mans death. All you had to do was ignore him. I mean, everyone already knew all about him and the crazy things he said. No one in the media took him seriously anymore. Did you still take him seriously? I don't deny that he said awful things about a lot of people, but that doesn't mean we have to lower ourselves to his level. That's exactly what a lot of people did. If that's how you feel, then that's fine. I think it's healthier to forgive someone than it is to hold in to the bitterness forever, but that's a personal choice. I can definitely see how that would help a lot of members of this site, though. The thing that gets me is that we're talking about a man who isn't living anymore. He died. He stopped breathing. How can anyone take enjoyment in knowing that his life ended? We're all living, breathing people. It's nonsensical that people on this board or anywhere in our society can be so hatefilled and angry that they'd celebrate the end of another man's life. I'm definitely more dissapointed in some than others, but in the end, I guess we all have to live with ourselves and our actions.

But we have to ask ourselves how all of that hatred does anything for us, besides, as you say, consume us. I'm sorry to sound like the bad guy here, but if I want to hold guys like Robertson, Falwell and Fred Phelps accountable for their actions, don't I have the obligation to exist on a high plane than they do? So far, all I've seen out of people in this community is the same kind of behavior they love to bitch about when they see it on display from the radical right. That makes it really hard for me to take anything they say seriously, and it really makes me wonder what's really in people's hearts.

I'm glad you didn't get fired Did you ever find your other table??

You know, there are some really nice Goat recipes in the Domoholics forum.

Europe had made the mistake of mixing religion and politics since the first city states. The Protestant VS Catholic scrimmages in Central Europe dominated that continents history for centuries. When they had a war, it was a real hate-fest: the First War, the Second war, the Third War, the St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre, the Fourth through the Eighth Wars, the Thirty Years War, the Hundred Years War and so on. Only in recent decades have we seen an easing of tensions in Northern Ireland which is a relic of those long, sorry conflicts. Some scholars say that Islam mixes some of the worst aspects of religion and politics into the cultist, xenophobic, militant mess that tolerates no rivals from Algeria to the Philippines. One of the reasons that America works is that religion and politics have been fundamentally disconnected and that the power of goverenment can not be used to oppress nonbelievers or infidels (in theory). Seperation of church and state has been one of the prime factors that has lead to the long term stability and prosperity that the United States has enjoyed. Almost everywhere else in the world different religious factions constantly struggle for economic, military and cultural dominance. Nowhere else in the world is this better illustrated by the current situation in Iraq. In the absence of a strong, central power like Saddam who killed thousands to keep order, Iraq has decendended into anarchy with fighting along religious (Sunni, Shia) and ethnic (Kurdish) lines with a dozen smaller factions that go with the flow. Starting during the Industrial revolution, the Western Democracies (or countries that were headed that way) have all followed the lead of the US and have become more and more tolerant of minority religions. Religious tolerance has become a cornerstone of democracy and a hallmark of an advanced and prosperous culture. In the 1980s when Falwell and his followers began to make noises about making America "a Christian Nation" again, educated people everywhere saw this as populust pablum and potentially a huge step backwards. The United States has never been a Christian nation. In fact, unless we bastardize the constution (which seems to be fashionable), the United States was specifically designed from the very beginning NOT to be a Christian nation. Good thing we aren't a Democracy. We'd be under the law of the Holy Bible by now if we were I don't mind living by those laws in my personal life, but I'd never want to impose them on others.

Wow Kitty You are a very clever person !. I quite agree with you about the reasons you evoke. Through the forums and the stories of GA, I learnt to better understand and appreciate the feelings of my friends in USA. My comment was just the expression of my amazement. Its funny that I found the same religiosity and sentimentality in a lot of the stories, for instance how DK describe the life of Davey as the son of a preacher in DO. And as a liberal Jew, who had to fight against the jewish fondamentalists in his early life (I married a christian !) not to talk about homophobia, I always appreciate your wise way to answer my often aggressive comments. As a liberal Christian (Baptist no less) I know I'm going to be in for a long hard fight, too. :2hands:

I wonder what our world would be like if there was no religion. A lot of people say it would be a better place for us all, but I definitely don't agree with that. I call myself a Christian, and I know that there's people all over the world who feel like Christianity is evil. There's a lot of Christians who call Islam the evil religion. Personally, I don't think Islam is evil, and I certainly don't think that Christianity is evil by any means. I do agree that there are evil Christians and evil Muslims, or at least evil people who claim to be those things. I also think there are a lot of people in our government who feed off of religious groups and feed them a lot of BS in return. I'd definitely like to see religion and government seperated completely, but as long as there's a Christian voter base, politicians on both sides are going to cater to them and impose values on others that might not have those same beliefs.

Salut Fran

Yes, exactly! Of course he and his family couldn't care less what a bunch of gays think, in the same way that I couldn't care less what a bunch of socially conservative, fundamentalists think. To me their whole view on life is so alien, and disagreeable that frankly their opinion just doesn't matter. And I have no doubt that they feel the same about us. I'd also like to point out that I think it's a bit unlikely that they're even recieving a very notable amount of flax (and as I said the opinions of those saying it shouldn't matter to them in the first place). I would think that their congregation is flocking around them and offering plenty of support, and that the majority of detractors are being tasteful and keeping their mouths shut. Besides, lets face it for all their frequent cries of being persecuted the conservative, Christian movement is alot larger, stronger, and more cohesive than the gay community. Exactly again! Regardless of whether or not I agree with the criticism or the way it's vented, and for the record I definitely disagree with the majority of the criticism I've read on here and similar sources, I definitely think that it comes with the territory plain and simple. If you're going to be a very public, very adament extremist of any kind you're GOING to recieve harsh, often inaccurate criticism, and while I think it's unfair and tasteless, and won't be doing it myself, I definitely think that comes with the game. SO: -I don't think he was "evil" -I think he meant well and did some "good" -I strongly disagreed with his social stances -I'm glad his threat is gone -I do think it's tasteless to rejoice and won't be doing it myself -I don't think our opinions do, or should, matter to him (if he were still alive) or his family -I think it's perfectly acceptable and expectable that some people WILL be harsh, mean, and tasteless given the extreme and public nature of his character. Just my long-winded opinion Take care and have a great day all, Kevin P.S. I really respected the way you presented your opinions, Nick. I thought it was extremely sensible, and very kind and compassionate. It's a great pity that others aren't as thoughtful and caring. I can understand why they'd feel that way, Kevin, but it really brings down the entire gay community when someone acts that way. That's my opinion, anyway

James, I'm sure that this post was made in a moment of poor judgement, so I'll overlook it and look for something more intellegent from you down the list from here.

You say that people get what they deserve, and I can see your point, but let's look ahead... When it's time for one of the people who are at this moment openly spewing hatred and celebrating the death of another human being, will they deserve the same thing? If someone celebrates their death, will it be okay because they did it when Falwell died? We can't expect what we aren't willing to give up.

I don't thnk sympathy is necesarry either, unless someone actually feels it. I just don't want to see people lowering themselves to the level of gloating and cheering for his death, because that also gives him what he would have wanted.

I completely agree with you - but nor should it be implied that his death is a cause for mourning. I feel sympathy for his family, but nothing more than that. I think it's a cause for mourning for his family and friends. Unfortunately, they have to see the ugly side of people who have no respect for what they're going through right now

I agree with your last statement to a degree....if that's how someone feels, then fine. But it's tasteless to gloat over his death....the original point of my blog entry

Nick, it's very different. He stood before his congregation - people who relied on him to preach the word of God - and preached hatred towards specific groups. As a result of his words, some of his congregation felt morally empowered to take action. They assaulted and killed because they believed that he was telling them that it was acceptable in the eyes of God for them to do so. If he didn't want them to hold that belief he could easily have condemned their actions, spoken out against the violence, preached hating the sin but loving the sinner. He didn't. He preached hatred and his words led to violence. A lot of people have public platforms, yes, but how many of them are aware that people are turning to violence as a result of their words? How many of them are endorsing that violence by continuing to preach the same words without preaching against violence? He brought misery to countless innocent people. He exploited situations such as 9/11 to further promote hatred knowing that a situation as emotive as that one would almost certainly provoke violence - people were looking for someone to blame and he offered them targets. His words went beyond being merely irresponsible - they were evil. He was a vile, vicious, hate-filled man and the only thing that saddens me about his death is that his legacy of hatred will live on and, in time, others will step up to take his place. I can only hope that he is now paying for the suffering he brought to others. Are you sure that members of his congregation committed hate crimes? Is there some kind of record of this? Maybe some people who saw him on TV did so, but again, Keith Oberman preaches hate against President Bush and Senators and Congressmen and Women do the same. They have committed viewers, too and people who hang on their every word. So do Rush Limbaugh and Shawn Hannitty. They preach hate against Democrats all the time. Would you call all of them evil too? Or are they just saying what they really feel? I agree that Falwell's comments against gays were unforgivable, but he's not responsible for another's actions.