Some Maundering...

1) The Hand: My hand is healing nicely. I think three layers of skin have grown back, so now I'm only missing six layers of skin. That's a rate of about one layer per day. Not too shabby. I've also noticed that each day, the raw, red part gets smaller. The wound is healing from the outside in, not the inside out. YOU may have already known this, but I find it fascinating. It hurts to stretch out my hand; I should probably practice doing this, but I'm afraid. Will I lose mobility in my hand, or will the skin grow back completely and then s-t-r-e-t-c-h to accomodate my flexing? Will it hurt less if I stretch my hand out now, or should I wait until it is completely healed? Since it is a small area, I vote for the latter.

2) The Dentist: I went to the dentist today. It required five, yes FIVE shots of novacain and lambicain and other ---cains before I didn't feel the pain. They said I had an "errant nerve." Since I am going to the dentist regularly at a rate of about twice a month these days, I am beginning to feel like I am qualified to be one. I think I know how to do just about all of the procedures by now. Anybody need any dental work done?

3) The Ribbon: Last week was National Gay/Lesbian Pride Week. My church is a welcoming congregation, so we held a service dedicated to the gays and lesbians in our community. A lesbian shared her story, relating her own struggle with her own latent homophobic feelings. She was afraid, even as she was a lesbian, that people would think she was one. She told about an incident in which she was severly beaten, and how her relationships with co-workers are affected when they find out she is gay. She recieved hearty applause for bravely sharing her story.

The choir director passed out rainbow ribbons, which we all pinned on our lapels. We sang a rockin' song called One Breath:

I am a voice
I am a power
Let me be mindful whenever I see
an ugly spark
with a will to be a fire
all it takes to blow it out
is
one breath
from me.

Anyways, after church, I wore my ribbon in honor of the struggles gays and lesbians face, both with themselves and with others. I wanted to increase awareness that homosexuals are people too, and deserve to be met with the same dignity as anyone else. I wanted to show my support for these people.

But it was a weird feeling, wearing it all day in public. I went to my Dad's house. My Dad gave me funny looks, and said, with a supressed sneer, "I suppose thats for Gay/Lesbian Pride week?"

"Yep," I said.

My Dad tried not to giggle. Then Issac pointed at the ribbon and then to my Dad and said "Pop-pop." He did this several times, and this time I tried not to giggle. Don't tell me that kids aren't perceptive--Issac isn't even two yet, and he knows that his Pop-pop has issues with the gay pride ribbon.

I went grocery shopping, and received some curious looks, or rather people trying very hard NOT to look.

I went to Sports Authority, and I dunno, felt kind of awkward. What if these people think I'm gay? Are they going to treat me differently? Are they laughing and snickering behind my back, making fun of me? Are they saying "Look at that lesbo?" It felt like they might be.

I felt very vulnerable.

I recommend YOU try wearing a rainbow ribbon for an entire day, and seeing how it makes YOU feel. Maybe then you will begin to understand some of the marginalization that homosexuals face in the world today.

Even if you are a conservative Christian, who thinks that homosexuality is wrong, that homosexuals are just "confused," (some might be) and can be "saved" (maybe some can, ie. those who are bi-sexual or just too afraid to be who they really are), if you think that homosexuals don't deserve a gay pride week, if you wonder "what has America come to, publically endorsing and encouraging this loathsome sin?", I answer you this:

You have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass the judgement do the same things. Now we know that God's judgement against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgement on them and yet you do these same things, do you think you will escape God's judgement?
Romans, 2:1-2:3


Not to suggest that conservative christians are homophobic because they are also homosexual, (this might explain some of it--like how some women bash feminists, because it is so "bad" to be seen as a feminist, or sometimes, even as a woman), but to suggest that all people have enough sins on their own hands, and shouldn't be pointing fingers at everyone else.

Is homosexuality weird? YES. Is it easily understood? NO. All of the controversy and emotion surrounding the issue overwhelms me, terrifies me. It's deviant, it's different, it's a little bit uncomfortable. Do people have a choice in the matter--are they just out of control, over-indulgent sexual beings who lack moral discipline-- or are people born with an incredible urge to make love to the same sex? Just how many people in this world today have homosexual urges?

What if homosexuals are born that way?

In either case, should any person be forced to lead an invisible life?

If only we could analyze the skeletons in YOUR sexual closet, Mr. Morality. In my omniscience, I know you have some pretty disturbing sexual fantasies of your own. Let's cut off your balls and prohibit you from MARRYING ANYONE, EVER. Sounds like a plan. Out with sexual pleasures experienced with a loving and committed partner, in with Puritanism. Turn out the lights and don't bother taking your clothes off.

For Bible quotes on both sides of the issue, check out this website: http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_bibl.htm