Religion, Politics, Prop. 8.

So, about a week ago, I read a bulletin my old co-worker posted about Proposition 8. The title was "YES ON PROP 8?!". Honestly, I hate politics, but there are issues that I'm just realizing now that make me want to become involved. Anyway, my head twitched and my eyes rolled when I read the title, and even though I knew that it'd make me irritated if I read it, I did anyway. So here it is:
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10 Reasons Why Gay Marriage is Wrong

1) Being gay is not natural.

-And real Americans always reject unnatural things like eyeglasses, polyester, air conditioning, tattoos, piercings and silicon breasts..

2) Gay marriage will encourage people to be gay.

-In the same way that hanging around tall people will make you tall.



3) Legalizing gay marriage will open the door to all kinds of crazy behavior.

-People may even wish to marry their pets because a dog has legal standing and can sign a marriage contract. Lamps are next.



4) Straight marriage has been around a long time and hasn't changed at all

-Hence why women are still property, blacks still can't marry whites, and divorce is still illegal.



5) Straight marriage will be less meaningful if gay marriage were allowed;
-And we can't let the sanctity of Britney Spears' 55-hour just-for-fun marriage be destroyed.



6) Straight marriages are valid because they produce children.

-So therefore, gay couples, infertile couples, and old people shouldn't be allowed to marry because our population isn't out of control, our orphanages aren't full yet, and the world needs more children.



7) Obviously gay parents will raise gay children,
-Since, of course, straight parents only raise straight children.



8) Gay marriage is not supported by religion.

-In a theocracy like ours, the values of one religion are imposed on the entire country. That's why we have only one religion in America.


(Did I miss the lesson where Jesus says He hates gays?)

9) Children can never succeed without a male and a female role model at home.

-Which is exactly why we as a society expressly forbid single parents to raise children.



10) Gay marriage will change the foundation of society; we could never adapt to new social norms.

-Just like we haven't adapted to cars,the service-sector economy, or longer life spans

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Turned out that I was wrong. I started cracking up like crazy, and I decided to repost it again with credits to him. Even though that most of the statements about being against gay marriage (above) are a little biased, the foundation and basis of the argument is almost entirely based on this bulletin.

I'm Catholic, so I'm surrounded with many people who have strong beliefs that gay marriage is wrong. I know in my religion that marriage is a sacred thing between a man and a woman. I also know that we should be pro-life and pro-creation - and marriage with the same sex is believed to bring an era with something called "test-tube babies" - but this is a COMPLETELY different topic all on its own.

So, a few days ago, me, my parents, and my sister were riding in the car on our way home from a baptism. A commercial on the radio came up about saying "no" to prop. 8. My sister pointed it out, and we ended having the same conversation about the topic in the above paragraph, and even on some topics from the bulletin. (My parents are against gay marriage, and me and my sister are for.) This next part is going to be snippets of what was said during that car ride (mostly cleaned up from my dad's fob accent, hahaha).

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"I know that it's part of our beliefs, but don't you guys get it that you're eliminating fundamental rights? Why don't you guys understand that everyone has the right to marry?"

"Look, with gay couples, how do you think that having children will turn out? They will rely on test tube (ches chube, HAHAHA) babies to make a family."

"Papa, that doesn't mean that all gay couples are going to rely on that! They can always adopt! This is the same exact thing with heterosexual couples who can't conceive. THEY ADOPT!"

"But do you realize how children can be raised by a gay couple?"

"SO WHAT? You're thinking as if the world will end when gay couples might raise gay kids. Honestly papa, children being raised by either orientation of parents will be no different. And these are all COMPLETELY different issues you're talking about. We're talking about the RIGHT to get married - pro-creation and all that stuff are totally separate concepts! You're digging way to deep on what will happen afterwards. Everyone is!"

"LOOK WE ARE CATHOLIC AND WE HAVE TO FOLLOW IN WHAT WE BELIEVE IN!"

"You guys are completely ignorant on what's really going on, and we can't force our religion on others! COME ON, YOU GUYS HAVE A SON THAT'S GAY (yes, my oldest brother is gay). CAN YOU GUYS REALIZE WHAT YOU'RE DOING TO HIS RIGHTS? You're going to preach about saying 'yes' to prop. 8, but you don't even take your own son into account! I don't want people to believe that we are a family who states they're together on that topic. I don't want to be a part of that -"

"You don't want to be part of the family? Then fine I don't care! FUCK YOU!"

"I DON'T WANT TO BE A PART OF WHAT YOU PREACH."

"SHUT UP!"
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And that last part was pretty much the last thing that was said during the car ride. Honestly, this is all just mixing religion and politics - categories that shouldn't even relate to each other. If we look at it as a whole, it's just tradition, and traditions always change - whether they're small changes or large, whether it takes a decade or a millennium. Politics is just way to troublesome to be involved in, but being part of it is always going to be inevitable...

Reminicing?

I'm really starting to miss martial arts. Ever since I quit, there have always been bits and parts of it that I've missed, but it's only recently that I've been really thinking about it. I miss training, tricking, and the whole passion I had for it the entire 4-5 years I've actively participated in. I remember last week during the Homecoming rally that I was sitting next to Ronald. The breakers we performing and one of them was a tricker.

Ronald: "Aye, I miss tricking. Let's go back."
Me: "I know, forreal. I hella miss doing all those kinds of things."

It's not just tricking that I miss doing, though. So many other things... Karate/TKD was my way of taking out the energy inside me, instead of keeping it bottled up. It was the one thing I took pride in, the one thing I believed to be actually good at, and I'm being straight-up. Before I ever took karate, I never thought I was useful in doing much. Then when it came along, it was my satisfaction in life. Seriously, I really took pride in what I was doing. Best tester for most of my color belt exams, high praises from all my instructors, lots of under-belt achievements, then even "Best Overall Tester" for my first degree black belt test. I'm really not trying to be cocky or anything, but this was seriously the only thing I really took pride in. But after my black belt test, things really started to go down. My favorite instructors have gone and left, the best students (way better than me and ones I got closest to the most) all began to leave, and things all began to change to a setting I really wasn't comfortable with. I tried to not let it get to me, I even took the job as an instructor. But there were too many missing pieces and I couldn't handle it, so I ended up just not going anymore.

From the school's letter of concern:
"...you are a great asset to this school, and it is so unfortunate that we are unable to understand why you wish to quit. You are one of the best students in Berryessa, and also a great instructor. It saddens us that you're leaving a legacy unfulfilled..."

Honestly, I don't think it's really been that long since I quit; I know that it's been longer for Ronald. But whenever I felt the urge to, I'd go and visit WC Berryessa just for the hell of it. I'd see what things have changed, what things have stayed the same, and whoever was still there. But whenever I saw BKJN Brenda, I'd always just bounce. Haha, fuckin' bitch. Right now, though, the urge is more than just visiting. I really want to become active again. I left because everything changed and everyone left. But I made the mistake of leaving behind my passion.

The fall black belt test is coming up, and I really want to go and support. The only person I know that's testing is Kevin, but I really want to feel that spark again of being in the environment that I missed. Who knows, that spark might just be big enough for me to actually come back and train again.

Back to Blogging.

So I've decided to start blogging again. I forgot how much it clears my head and how comfortable I become after I blog. The unspoken thoughts are beginning to cram in my head, and I just needed a way to set those thoughts free. I'll try to make blogging a priority whenever there's an itch to.