First of all, I should say that I have been away from this blog, visiting my daughters in Seattle. I learned (most of ) the ins and outs of the new light rail. I look forward to it going all the way through to Capitol Hill one day. I had a really wonderful time, spending time with my girls and their s.o.'s (of whom I am very fond). Both daughters seemed to get a kick out of saying "this is my Mom," whenever they ran into their friends on the Hill, which was every time we ventured out. My youngest works at a store on the Hill, and everyone seems to know her. My elder daughter (who also works in the area) is involved in the Community Council as well as park and gardening projects all over the area. We ran into a recent acquaintance of hers from school, and he said, upon my introduction, "You're the one who wrote to Tom Carr!" I am famous (or infamous) in a small way for doing battle by email with their former city Attorney.
I sometimes think that I would be more at home (at least in terms of attitude) in my daughters' city. I can tell you that reading their local paper's letter columns (for that matter, most of their columns) does not make me mad. The overall attitude of the city, and the Hill in particular, is acceptance, which I find sorely lacking around here these days. I wonder if I would lose my blogging edge if nothing made me mad? ....Nah, something would set me to writing from time to time .
In any case, I was heading for the sanctuary of my church for the second service today, and ran across a long time member/friend. I think of him as far more conservative than myself, and somewhat set in his ways. On occasion we have disagreed on something when serving on the same committee, and I have found myself saying to myself that "I love him, but.." and am sure he has said the same. We said hi, and as he passed me on the way to the church office he said "I save all your letters to the editor." He then added, "and I agree with them all." Blow me down, I would not have thought that. One, that anyone actually notices my letters, and two, that my old friend actually agrees with the opinions expressed therein. I guess I am not entirely alone out here in the OC wilderness.
Sunday, October 24, 2010
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Emails of terror
I am more than weary of the oft-forwarded emails claiming to warn you of some awful threat, word or deed. 9 times out of 10 they are hooey. About a third of the hooey missives are old and long debunked, perhaps dressed up or updated to appear current or more true. Another third are just plain false. (usually the really frightening ones, like tarantulas in the cactus, monsters under the bed, etc.) A third have a nugget of truth spun into some great tale to prove the senders point about "those people" , that party, that race, that politician. Not that some politicians don't deserve a shift kick, but hoist them upon their own words, not those cut and pasted into a hodge podge intended to make some case against them.
It has become a fine art to make such hooey of the above three types sound legit enough to concern or at least interest the recipient enough to forward it to numerous friends and family. The more it is repeated, the more it takes on a life of its own.
Hello out there. Before you forward it to your mother, your aunt, your baby sister, check it out first! My own mother only sends them to me to check the veracity. And if you are the ones sending out the ones that tell only half the truth to make some political or social point, shame on you. Make your point with the truth. Originality is underrated. Debate the truth. Differences of opinion have value. Trying to bring people over to your view with (substitute your own word for hooey here ) is just plain hooey.
It has become a fine art to make such hooey of the above three types sound legit enough to concern or at least interest the recipient enough to forward it to numerous friends and family. The more it is repeated, the more it takes on a life of its own.
Hello out there. Before you forward it to your mother, your aunt, your baby sister, check it out first! My own mother only sends them to me to check the veracity. And if you are the ones sending out the ones that tell only half the truth to make some political or social point, shame on you. Make your point with the truth. Originality is underrated. Debate the truth. Differences of opinion have value. Trying to bring people over to your view with (substitute your own word for hooey here ) is just plain hooey.
PS re I know it when I see it
A letter to the LA Times editorial page today spoke on the subject of bullied kids and the often terrible consequences. Guess what she quoted on the subject of being careful what you teach your children, intentionally or not? Yup, Mr Sondheim's "Children Will Listen." Great minds think, and appreciate other great minds, alike.
Sunday, October 3, 2010
I know it when I see it.
Hate--Hate speech--hate crimes. There has been some debate as to whether a crime should carry a heavier penalty if it is deemed a hate crime. Part of that debate has been whether any government or law enforcement body can properly define what a hate crime is, as opposed to "just" a terrible crime. I leave that for finer legal minds than mine. However, legal definitions aside, I think I know good old-fashioned hate when I see it and hear it. I think we all do. I give you in example that "church" (in name only if you forgive my saying so) which has made it their mission to spread the message that God hates gay people, and hates this country for accepting them,( how well we are doing that and in what fashion I will take on later) and moreover, that He is making sure our military die in service to their country as a demonstration of that hate.
This congregation of hate-spreading people (notice I am not dignifying them with their name) spend the majority of their time seeking out the funerals of military personnel, and doing their best to further torment the families of the deceased by making sure that they are well-informed on the subject of God's hate for their loved one. How they have the guts to call themselves people of God, I will never know. If ever there were candidates for a lightening bolt from above, and good smite-down, these are them. Their actions have been taken to court, and thus far their hate-filled actions have been protected by the legal opinion that they are protected by their constitutional freedom of religion. One aspect of the debate is whether there can be any conditions put on this freedom, as there is on freedom of speech (i.e. the oft-cited example of not being able to shout fire in a crowded theater). I will interested to see where this ends up. In the meantime I want to suggest we all rise up to decry their actions, their attitude and their use of God's name in a way that I consider it taking it in vain. Sullying it beyond recognition, really. There are those who have risen up , and have my undying respect. One motorcycle group had taken it as their task to attend military funerals and serve as a human shield between these people claiming to speak for God and the bereaved family. Bless them.
I go to church , I believe in God, and I believe that God loves us, for all our flaws. Were I a better person I would have to admit that he might even love these people too. I do not. I am horrified by their actions , and resent the Hell out of their daring to say they speak for God. . They are the worst part of the problem with people turning away from the Church, which they see as filled with judgemental condemning people.
There is so much good we could be doing in God's name. Feeding the hungry , sheltering the homeless, helping those who hurt. I think that last thing we should be doing in God's name is causing pain.
The mere repeating over and over that being gay is a sin leads to an atmosphere in which our children turn away from what they see as the condemning church, and so many still hide who they are and fear being discovered. Bullying and other cruelties support this fear.
A gay young man was recently outed by a secret sex video made and spread on the Internet by his roommate. In the face of this, he killed himself. Other children, harassed and denounced and degraded by schoolmates about their sexuality, have also taken their own lives. Where did their classmates learn their cruel and condemning attitudes? There is a song (so well written by Stephen Sondheim) from Into The Woods, called "Children Will Listen" It says, in part " Careful the things you say, children will listen...careful the things you do for they will see..."
I know hate when I see it and hear it, as well as its close cousins prejudice and condemnation. Rise up against that whole damned family. The child you save (figuratively and literally) may be your own.
This congregation of hate-spreading people (notice I am not dignifying them with their name) spend the majority of their time seeking out the funerals of military personnel, and doing their best to further torment the families of the deceased by making sure that they are well-informed on the subject of God's hate for their loved one. How they have the guts to call themselves people of God, I will never know. If ever there were candidates for a lightening bolt from above, and good smite-down, these are them. Their actions have been taken to court, and thus far their hate-filled actions have been protected by the legal opinion that they are protected by their constitutional freedom of religion. One aspect of the debate is whether there can be any conditions put on this freedom, as there is on freedom of speech (i.e. the oft-cited example of not being able to shout fire in a crowded theater). I will interested to see where this ends up. In the meantime I want to suggest we all rise up to decry their actions, their attitude and their use of God's name in a way that I consider it taking it in vain. Sullying it beyond recognition, really. There are those who have risen up , and have my undying respect. One motorcycle group had taken it as their task to attend military funerals and serve as a human shield between these people claiming to speak for God and the bereaved family. Bless them.
I go to church , I believe in God, and I believe that God loves us, for all our flaws. Were I a better person I would have to admit that he might even love these people too. I do not. I am horrified by their actions , and resent the Hell out of their daring to say they speak for God. . They are the worst part of the problem with people turning away from the Church, which they see as filled with judgemental condemning people.
There is so much good we could be doing in God's name. Feeding the hungry , sheltering the homeless, helping those who hurt. I think that last thing we should be doing in God's name is causing pain.
The mere repeating over and over that being gay is a sin leads to an atmosphere in which our children turn away from what they see as the condemning church, and so many still hide who they are and fear being discovered. Bullying and other cruelties support this fear.
A gay young man was recently outed by a secret sex video made and spread on the Internet by his roommate. In the face of this, he killed himself. Other children, harassed and denounced and degraded by schoolmates about their sexuality, have also taken their own lives. Where did their classmates learn their cruel and condemning attitudes? There is a song (so well written by Stephen Sondheim) from Into The Woods, called "Children Will Listen" It says, in part " Careful the things you say, children will listen...careful the things you do for they will see..."
I know hate when I see it and hear it, as well as its close cousins prejudice and condemnation. Rise up against that whole damned family. The child you save (figuratively and literally) may be your own.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Mom can haz blog!
My eldest daughter has her own blog about Life on Capitol Hill in Seattle, and I got a mention when she found out I have started this one. It vastly amused her that I have found my way into the blogosphere. She really gets a kick out of my participating in all these modern contraptions, despite my having come from the days when the idea of computers in your house ran along the line of Danny Dunn and the Homework Machine. Yes, it is/was a real book. If you really want to see how far we have come, give that a gander. Horse and buggy I kid you not. When I started at my present job 15 years ago, my computer did not have Windows, and I was using the Word Perfect word processing program like a big electronic typewriter. I don't remember why, now, but when we first got Windows on our office machines, I kept inadvertently closing (unsaved) whatever I was working on. That seems so funny and antiquated to me now.
Kids gather round and Grandmama will tell you how faxes used to come through the receiver of a phone (you had to answer the phone yourself, and put it on the fax cradle) and were printed onto a paper wrapped around a metal cylinder. Now you can download your boarding pass onto your Iphone...well if you are not a T Rex like myself who does not (yet) own an IPhone....
Times they area changin' and Mom is coming along with them, if not at top speed. I do love email, because I can send forth my letters of protest (political, customer service, product complaint oriented or otherwise) and get responses in far less time than the old Pony Express style of the mailed letter. Terrible typist that I am, being able to edit and correct without that white liquid or erasable paper is a Godsend. Anyone who had seen my handwriting considers themselves blessed that I can use Word.
There is also the matter of my deep-seated need to protest those things not right, by writing . Nothing doth so feed the wrath of she who must email like someone else's snark and/or density when a word processor is handily nearby. I have two teed up right now over a 1) A glitch in the computer of my medical group's new prescription processor that is causing me to have to pay triple my usual co-pay and 2) My cable provider's postcard announcing that they are fighting the good fight (to pay as little as possible) with block of cable stations which are my standard weekend viewing, the result of which may be the vanishing act of said stations from my channel lineup. Oh no you didn't! Fighting for me, you say? Fighting to pay the smallest fees for broadcast rights, all the while steadily increasing my monthly bill? I want my HGTV! Ah well, that is a post for another day.
I am figuratively sharpening my quill.
Kids gather round and Grandmama will tell you how faxes used to come through the receiver of a phone (you had to answer the phone yourself, and put it on the fax cradle) and were printed onto a paper wrapped around a metal cylinder. Now you can download your boarding pass onto your Iphone...well if you are not a T Rex like myself who does not (yet) own an IPhone....
Times they area changin' and Mom is coming along with them, if not at top speed. I do love email, because I can send forth my letters of protest (political, customer service, product complaint oriented or otherwise) and get responses in far less time than the old Pony Express style of the mailed letter. Terrible typist that I am, being able to edit and correct without that white liquid or erasable paper is a Godsend. Anyone who had seen my handwriting considers themselves blessed that I can use Word.
There is also the matter of my deep-seated need to protest those things not right, by writing . Nothing doth so feed the wrath of she who must email like someone else's snark and/or density when a word processor is handily nearby. I have two teed up right now over a 1) A glitch in the computer of my medical group's new prescription processor that is causing me to have to pay triple my usual co-pay and 2) My cable provider's postcard announcing that they are fighting the good fight (to pay as little as possible) with block of cable stations which are my standard weekend viewing, the result of which may be the vanishing act of said stations from my channel lineup. Oh no you didn't! Fighting for me, you say? Fighting to pay the smallest fees for broadcast rights, all the while steadily increasing my monthly bill? I want my HGTV! Ah well, that is a post for another day.
I am figuratively sharpening my quill.
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