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Let me tell you a quick story:
Once upon a time, there was a guy and this guy lived in a nice little town and had nice little neighbors and was friends with Bob down at the local grocery. And one day this guy (we'll call him Joe) was like, "I'm gonna go over here and do my own thing. Ya'll are great, don't get me wrong, but it's just... something is missing. I need to be free to be me." And Bob and Bob's wife Sue and Jill and Jack and Camille or whoever were like, "Joe, you're a funky guy, but whatever floats your boat."
So Joe goes and does his own thing and WOW, he thinks it's just the bees knees. So he says, "Hey, Bob. Look at this." And Bob says, "Joe, you've gone over the edge. Stay away." And Joe's like, "Well, okay then." And he doesn't go near Bob any more. But he DOES go to Jack and to Jill and Jack and Jill are like, "Well, that seems cool, but eh, not our thing. Good luck." And Joe moves on. And then he goes to Camille and Camille's like, "Oh, HEY. Now that's something I can get behind. Tell me more."
And Joe does. He tells her everything he's found out and off they go to be happy. And they're not bothering anyone. But Bob? Bob's just still not happy. So Bob? He rounds up the guys (George and Bill and Carl) and they head over to Joe's place and say to Joe, "Joe, tell us more." And so Joe does. But they don't really WANT to know more, they just want to mock him and tease him and then smack him around a bit for being a putz. So they do. But Joe knows he's got a good thing going, so he keeps telling people and some want to know and some don't and that's the way of the world.
But Bob, he just can't let it go. And now, he's got Mark and Edgar and John, too. And now ALL of them go and ask Joe what's up. And Joe says what's up and they say, "Joe, we're just not down. We want you to come back to Coolville with us." And Joe says, "Nah, I'm gravy, things are going good and hey, people are gettin' down with what I'm saying."
Well, Bob can't have that, so he and his crew grab Joe, and a few of Joe's buddies, and they chuck them in a room, shuts the door and he and his buddies open fire. Joe dies.
The End.
For the record: Bob wasn't happy with that, though. He went back to ALLLLLLLLLLLL of Joe's friends and made them leave their homes, their cities and the entire state. They had to move to Utah to go on doing their thing. Even then? I'm just saying.
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What have we learned? That discrimination is discrimination and wow, it is SO not new. Intolerance is intolerance and hey, [SHOOTING UP SEVEN CHURCH BUILDINGS] is just a pretty much asshatty thing to do. Way to go. You've SO made your point and I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts that the Mormons in Utah have seen the light.
It's easier to make fun of Mormons than most other groups, why? Because we put ourselves out there for it. We're secretive, we have funky undies and we knock on people's doors, righ? Sure. Why not? But what do you, and this is a YOU, reader of this sentence (Lodi and April, shhh) really know about the Mormon church?
Don't get ME wrong, I'm the first person to joke about it. Hell, I joke WITH the missionaries, but you know what? That's because I know what's REALLY going on. I know that I left out the part about Joe's buddies up there being tarred and feathered. About how Joe was always away from home because he believed SO MUCH in what he knew to be true.
People will say things like, "A prophet?! You guys have a PROPHET?!" Why, yes. Yes, we do. A man who is divinely inspired of God. Why is that so hard for you to believe? If 90% f this world's population believes in the Bible, you've got 90% of the world's population saying that prophets exist anyway. Why then and not now? Why is it so hard to believe that God is sitting up there going, "Ya'll need some HELP, here..."
Even back then, people weren't down with burning bushes and shit, and yet, here we are. The Bible. And now we have the Book of Mormon. Mormons don't discount the Bible, it's part of Scripture! Most people think we have our "own Bible". Noooope.
When I was 14, and NOT a member of the Church, I heard the General Relief Society President speak. Now, at 14, I was CONVINCED that I had had the worst life ever. And then this woman says to a group of 300 women, "In the pre-mortal existence, before you were born, you chose this life. This is what you were meant to do."
Member of the Church or not, I thought that was one of the neatest things I'd ever heard. And do you know, that's what has stopped me from going over the edge in the last decade? Not that "God loves me so much that he thought I could handle it" crap that people spout when things go wrong, but that I knew that I could handle this. That I loved myself so much that I could do this. I chose these burdens so that someone else wouldn't have to.
Jesus died for my sins and the least I can do for him? Is to love all of my heavenly brothers and sisters the way he has loved me.
Now, I don't care who gets married. I don't. But I think it says something that the government, the Supreme Court says that homosexuals can, and the PEOPLE take it away. That's not elected officials. That's not even campaigning.
Those are your neighbors. That's Bob.
EDITED TO ADD: Aka: What this post was really about, since I think the point got away from me there... You know, this wasn't the government stifling your rights and it wasn't The Big Bad Mormons. This was your neighbor and your grocer and your friends. But no one wants to say so because they don't want to have to risk go to the store or to church or anywhere else where they might get jeered at or judged. Because even though YOU say it's okay for The Ghey's to get married? It's just as okay for THEM to say it's not. Even if you don't agree. And while I say, "Sure, get married." Other people say, "No way, Jose." And that's as valid as anything else. And that's the way it is. Welcome to America.
Once upon a time, there was a guy and this guy lived in a nice little town and had nice little neighbors and was friends with Bob down at the local grocery. And one day this guy (we'll call him Joe) was like, "I'm gonna go over here and do my own thing. Ya'll are great, don't get me wrong, but it's just... something is missing. I need to be free to be me." And Bob and Bob's wife Sue and Jill and Jack and Camille or whoever were like, "Joe, you're a funky guy, but whatever floats your boat."
So Joe goes and does his own thing and WOW, he thinks it's just the bees knees. So he says, "Hey, Bob. Look at this." And Bob says, "Joe, you've gone over the edge. Stay away." And Joe's like, "Well, okay then." And he doesn't go near Bob any more. But he DOES go to Jack and to Jill and Jack and Jill are like, "Well, that seems cool, but eh, not our thing. Good luck." And Joe moves on. And then he goes to Camille and Camille's like, "Oh, HEY. Now that's something I can get behind. Tell me more."
And Joe does. He tells her everything he's found out and off they go to be happy. And they're not bothering anyone. But Bob? Bob's just still not happy. So Bob? He rounds up the guys (George and Bill and Carl) and they head over to Joe's place and say to Joe, "Joe, tell us more." And so Joe does. But they don't really WANT to know more, they just want to mock him and tease him and then smack him around a bit for being a putz. So they do. But Joe knows he's got a good thing going, so he keeps telling people and some want to know and some don't and that's the way of the world.
But Bob, he just can't let it go. And now, he's got Mark and Edgar and John, too. And now ALL of them go and ask Joe what's up. And Joe says what's up and they say, "Joe, we're just not down. We want you to come back to Coolville with us." And Joe says, "Nah, I'm gravy, things are going good and hey, people are gettin' down with what I'm saying."
Well, Bob can't have that, so he and his crew grab Joe, and a few of Joe's buddies, and they chuck them in a room, shuts the door and he and his buddies open fire. Joe dies.
The End.
For the record: Bob wasn't happy with that, though. He went back to ALLLLLLLLLLLL of Joe's friends and made them leave their homes, their cities and the entire state. They had to move to Utah to go on doing their thing. Even then? I'm just saying.
-----------------
What have we learned? That discrimination is discrimination and wow, it is SO not new. Intolerance is intolerance and hey, [SHOOTING UP SEVEN CHURCH BUILDINGS] is just a pretty much asshatty thing to do. Way to go. You've SO made your point and I'm willing to bet dollars to donuts that the Mormons in Utah have seen the light.
It's easier to make fun of Mormons than most other groups, why? Because we put ourselves out there for it. We're secretive, we have funky undies and we knock on people's doors, righ? Sure. Why not? But what do you, and this is a YOU, reader of this sentence (Lodi and April, shhh) really know about the Mormon church?
Don't get ME wrong, I'm the first person to joke about it. Hell, I joke WITH the missionaries, but you know what? That's because I know what's REALLY going on. I know that I left out the part about Joe's buddies up there being tarred and feathered. About how Joe was always away from home because he believed SO MUCH in what he knew to be true.
People will say things like, "A prophet?! You guys have a PROPHET?!" Why, yes. Yes, we do. A man who is divinely inspired of God. Why is that so hard for you to believe? If 90% f this world's population believes in the Bible, you've got 90% of the world's population saying that prophets exist anyway. Why then and not now? Why is it so hard to believe that God is sitting up there going, "Ya'll need some HELP, here..."
Even back then, people weren't down with burning bushes and shit, and yet, here we are. The Bible. And now we have the Book of Mormon. Mormons don't discount the Bible, it's part of Scripture! Most people think we have our "own Bible". Noooope.
When I was 14, and NOT a member of the Church, I heard the General Relief Society President speak. Now, at 14, I was CONVINCED that I had had the worst life ever. And then this woman says to a group of 300 women, "In the pre-mortal existence, before you were born, you chose this life. This is what you were meant to do."
Member of the Church or not, I thought that was one of the neatest things I'd ever heard. And do you know, that's what has stopped me from going over the edge in the last decade? Not that "God loves me so much that he thought I could handle it" crap that people spout when things go wrong, but that I knew that I could handle this. That I loved myself so much that I could do this. I chose these burdens so that someone else wouldn't have to.
Jesus died for my sins and the least I can do for him? Is to love all of my heavenly brothers and sisters the way he has loved me.
Now, I don't care who gets married. I don't. But I think it says something that the government, the Supreme Court says that homosexuals can, and the PEOPLE take it away. That's not elected officials. That's not even campaigning.
Those are your neighbors. That's Bob.
EDITED TO ADD: Aka: What this post was really about, since I think the point got away from me there... You know, this wasn't the government stifling your rights and it wasn't The Big Bad Mormons. This was your neighbor and your grocer and your friends. But no one wants to say so because they don't want to have to risk go to the store or to church or anywhere else where they might get jeered at or judged. Because even though YOU say it's okay for The Ghey's to get married? It's just as okay for THEM to say it's not. Even if you don't agree. And while I say, "Sure, get married." Other people say, "No way, Jose." And that's as valid as anything else. And that's the way it is. Welcome to America.
