Sometimes I feel like I live in a bubble; a happy little bubble where being gay or lesbian is just an aspect of how this person was built and it doesn't matter much because we're not exactly planning to have sex with him or her.
A bubble where my father, God bless his old-fashioned, unsophisticated soul, suggested that if I don't have a nice young man to bring home to meet the family, maybe I should bring my nice young lady if I have one because I was getting on in years and should really consider settling down.
But I digress. About my bubble. See, a writer I met through my real name writing career came out this week. Sort of. What she did was she wrote one of those posts about X Things About Me That You Didn't Know, and one of the things we didn't know was that she was a lesbian.
My own response was "Uhuh! Your favourite TV shows - Sherlock, Star Trek, Quantum Leap- sorta date you. I couldn't estimate how old you are before from our interactions, but now I think maybe you're around my age and you're no spring chicken."
Then I went down to the comments section because I usually chat with her on her blog. The amount of vitriol that was directed at her was shocking. Suddenly she was a bad writer, one whose family and friends would dissociate themselves from, a horrible human being.
Say what? The woman is a good writer, and she doesn't write about what she does in her bedroom with her partner (not that the romance writer in me isn't curious). So what do we care what she does in her relationship? How does that affect her ability to compose prose? You choose what to read and if you don't like what someone writes, you move along. You don't have to support that writer by buying their material if you don't like what they write. But you don't have an excuse to attack them personally either, or to try to shove your beliefs down their throats.
"I'm a Christian," someone says, 'and my belief is that what you do is wrong and you'll burn in hell."
So what? Maybe the person you disapprove of is not a Christian and they don't see hell in their future. Your religious views have no meaning to them and why feel compelled to say it as if what you believe has an impact on their daily life is beyond me.
Another one that got my goat was, " I don't agree with your choice."
Choice? Right! She chose to be lesbian about as much as I chose to be a Black female in a world that values Caucasian looks, living in a country where until my early twenties, legally I was not allowed to vote, sit on a bench at a bus stop allocated Caucasians, was forced to study parts of Grade 1 and Grade 2 under a tree (and would have had to get a ministerial dispensation to study something like engineering), was not allowed to swim in a public pool and was restricted to live in areas that had no water, electricity and garbage removal.
Choice is what you're going to eat today for supper. It's what you say or do when you hear that your favourite writer/blogger/your niece/nephew/neighbour/colleague is gay/homosexual/lesbian or whatever they are. The words out of your mouth, or what you write in the comments of the post, or what you do when you see them if they are in your real life...THAT is a choice.
And no, this is not another lesbian defending "sin." I have no stake in the gay agenda, if ever there was one.
And this is not a gay person demonising Christianity. For one thing, if I had someone for Pappa to meet then, it would have been a guy. And secondly, I am from areligious Christian family and value its positive contribution to my life.
I believe in a loving God; One who offers His people a lot of grace. And yeah, I hear about that grace quite a lot when people want you to become born again. That you don't have to DO anything but believe that Christ is the Son of God and he came here on earth, died for us so we could have eternal life. We hear that he was resurrected and went back to God, where he sits on his right hand and intercedes for us.
But somehow, that message.... that God so loved the world (the whole world, no exclusions) that He gave His only begotten son, so that whomsoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life, gets lost. Me? That's the main message that interests me about Christianity.
I also find it curious that Jesus Christ, who created the new coventant between us and God, never said a word about homosexuality. Ever. It was not important enough for him to mention it.
So yeah. This week I got kicked out of my cocoon a little bit; was reminded that while my family was fortunate enough to build an environment where we love and accept each other without judgement, there are still people out there spreading hate.
It's couched in religion, and sadly, some of the vocal ones cover it up in Christianity. But God and Christianity have absolutely nothing to do with that kind of hatred. They are just being used as camouflage, so these people don't have to admit their heartfelt discrimination and hate, because hate is ugly and they know it.
I recognise the camouflage because that's what the previous government of my country used to use to argue that as a Black person, I was less than human; I was less than a Caucasian person and me and my children and our descendants were only fit to serve them.
Because the way they interpreted the Bible told them it was so and who would argue with the Bible? Who would argue with God when they live in a highly religious society?
Message to readers, though I'm not sure there will be many: If you insult me, I will delete your comment. This is my blog, not a democracy, and I have every right to delete what you say if you call me names. And yes, I have every right to voice my opinion too. You can exercise your own right to say what you like on your own blog.
A bubble where my father, God bless his old-fashioned, unsophisticated soul, suggested that if I don't have a nice young man to bring home to meet the family, maybe I should bring my nice young lady if I have one because I was getting on in years and should really consider settling down.
But I digress. About my bubble. See, a writer I met through my real name writing career came out this week. Sort of. What she did was she wrote one of those posts about X Things About Me That You Didn't Know, and one of the things we didn't know was that she was a lesbian.
My own response was "Uhuh! Your favourite TV shows - Sherlock, Star Trek, Quantum Leap- sorta date you. I couldn't estimate how old you are before from our interactions, but now I think maybe you're around my age and you're no spring chicken."
Then I went down to the comments section because I usually chat with her on her blog. The amount of vitriol that was directed at her was shocking. Suddenly she was a bad writer, one whose family and friends would dissociate themselves from, a horrible human being.
Say what? The woman is a good writer, and she doesn't write about what she does in her bedroom with her partner (not that the romance writer in me isn't curious). So what do we care what she does in her relationship? How does that affect her ability to compose prose? You choose what to read and if you don't like what someone writes, you move along. You don't have to support that writer by buying their material if you don't like what they write. But you don't have an excuse to attack them personally either, or to try to shove your beliefs down their throats.
"I'm a Christian," someone says, 'and my belief is that what you do is wrong and you'll burn in hell."
So what? Maybe the person you disapprove of is not a Christian and they don't see hell in their future. Your religious views have no meaning to them and why feel compelled to say it as if what you believe has an impact on their daily life is beyond me.
Another one that got my goat was, " I don't agree with your choice."
Choice? Right! She chose to be lesbian about as much as I chose to be a Black female in a world that values Caucasian looks, living in a country where until my early twenties, legally I was not allowed to vote, sit on a bench at a bus stop allocated Caucasians, was forced to study parts of Grade 1 and Grade 2 under a tree (and would have had to get a ministerial dispensation to study something like engineering), was not allowed to swim in a public pool and was restricted to live in areas that had no water, electricity and garbage removal.
Choice is what you're going to eat today for supper. It's what you say or do when you hear that your favourite writer/blogger/your niece/nephew/neighbour/colleague is gay/homosexual/lesbian or whatever they are. The words out of your mouth, or what you write in the comments of the post, or what you do when you see them if they are in your real life...THAT is a choice.
And no, this is not another lesbian defending "sin." I have no stake in the gay agenda, if ever there was one.
And this is not a gay person demonising Christianity. For one thing, if I had someone for Pappa to meet then, it would have been a guy. And secondly, I am from a
I believe in a loving God; One who offers His people a lot of grace. And yeah, I hear about that grace quite a lot when people want you to become born again. That you don't have to DO anything but believe that Christ is the Son of God and he came here on earth, died for us so we could have eternal life. We hear that he was resurrected and went back to God, where he sits on his right hand and intercedes for us.
But somehow, that message.... that God so loved the world (the whole world, no exclusions) that He gave His only begotten son, so that whomsoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have everlasting life, gets lost. Me? That's the main message that interests me about Christianity.
I also find it curious that Jesus Christ, who created the new coventant between us and God, never said a word about homosexuality. Ever. It was not important enough for him to mention it.
So yeah. This week I got kicked out of my cocoon a little bit; was reminded that while my family was fortunate enough to build an environment where we love and accept each other without judgement, there are still people out there spreading hate.
It's couched in religion, and sadly, some of the vocal ones cover it up in Christianity. But God and Christianity have absolutely nothing to do with that kind of hatred. They are just being used as camouflage, so these people don't have to admit their heartfelt discrimination and hate, because hate is ugly and they know it.
I recognise the camouflage because that's what the previous government of my country used to use to argue that as a Black person, I was less than human; I was less than a Caucasian person and me and my children and our descendants were only fit to serve them.
Because the way they interpreted the Bible told them it was so and who would argue with the Bible? Who would argue with God when they live in a highly religious society?
Message to readers, though I'm not sure there will be many: If you insult me, I will delete your comment. This is my blog, not a democracy, and I have every right to delete what you say if you call me names. And yes, I have every right to voice my opinion too. You can exercise your own right to say what you like on your own blog.
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