It's dark already. I hate that I get out of work at 5:30pm and it is already pitch black out. Its 6:20pm now and its like really dark out, almost scary up in my hoodz yo.
Good weekend for Equal rights all over this nation. My fiance and I made t-shirts and bought posters to decorate for the big march in San Diego, but we didn't make it down to the big rally. We both still wore our shirts though, so we are helping out somehow. There is a lot going on in CA right now with equal rights so that is good.
I went to the dog park with Duffy today and overhead some people chatting up about same sex marriage. Something about balboa dog park makes me know that most people there are for equal rights, especially with the abundance of mini dogs and Chihuahua's. Also, saw a bulldog with a Louis Vuitton collar, pretty amazing stuff. I don't know if it is because I am in law school and automatically feel that I am smarter than most people, but people really don't get what is going on with the proposition. Perhaps this is the reason that the yes's won, that people just don't care enough or are to naive to really understand what is happening. Anyways, I think that CA will have a pretty tough time keeping prop 8 on the books and this will probably be overturned within some time, whether a few months or maybe a year. That's just my gut feeling.
The rest of the country may never come around, but who cares. I don't plan to be visiting the Ozarks very soon, and don't care to. That also goes to you Texas, but I may request a one weekend reprieve to go to Austin...
Catholics in South Carolina should be pretty embarrassed right now, with a catholic priest saying that those who voted for Obama must now "repent". Seriously? Should I be paying you for this time to repent? Will that get me ahead of all the other jackasses in the church who are touching alter boys? It is this blatant disregard for what is actually important now that makes me hate the Catholic church. As a 12 year veteran of Catholic education, I experienced the amazing fallout that was the peder ass priests, which was the biggest cover up before Isiah Thomas's overdose.
I remember when my best friend and I visited the Vatican and saw the museum. Really Catholics? You want me to donate money to your cause? You could sell off all your art property and no one would go hungry or sleep without shelter.
It is this blatant disregard for what is now, what is current, that makes me fearful of churches in general. They want to remind us of what it once was, like an obnoxious grandparent. The past is just that, and the best that we can do is learn from it, which no one seems to be doing looking at the current social situations.
2008/11/17
2008/11/13
The Great Shakeup, not just for earthquakes
So in about 20 minutes, I will have to run out of class and participate in some earthquake preparedness deal that is quite silly and a waste of money. It's like taking a practice test: No matter how hard you try to make the test feel like the real thing, its not, as it will not count against your grade in any way. I am blown away by the money spent to get this thing publicized.
On a similar note, I keep reading about how much money is being spent on the gay marriage ban and how much money will continue to be spent to attempt to overturn the ban and also to overturn the marriages that took place in California.
At work on Tuesday, a grad student from Turkey came to the office and wanted to ask an attorney some questions about the death penalty. Since the attorneys were all busy at the time, he asked if I would talk with him, so I figured I could take a few minutes to help him out. We talked about how I oppose the death penalty, but feel for families that grieve the loss of a loved one and feel a desire for justice. Talking about this really got me thinking. Many people that voted Yes on Prop. 8 were referred to as "deeply religious" or attempting to protect marriage. These same people tend to be pro-life and against abortion. Now, if deeply religious people who may call themselves Mormons or Christians are truly pro-life, why is the death penalty still used in this country? Look at states that use capital punishment and you will see a direct correlation to the amount of "deeply religious" people living there. I know scripture says "eye for an eye" but lets be honest here. People freak out over two people in love getting married, or a women choosing how to live her life, yet allow someone to be murdered right in front of them. There is so much hypocrisy with these "deeply religious" people. I have always had issues with this, even when I was younger and attending catholic schooling. I would constantly see people "faking" it, making this huge public scene that they are holier than though, yet once out of public eye, these people are the farthest away from christian moralists.
Frankly, deeply religious people scare me and make me feel uncomfortable. There is just something about people that have such a narrow view on reality and simply dismiss progress because it is not their "gods will". I remember seeing children walking around with their parents a few weeks ago wearing shirts that say "protect marriage and God's Law". These kids have no idea what they are walking around for, but these parents are clearly out of touch with what is going on in society. Gay people are treated as second class citizens in the country and it is time for change. Argue a slippery slope theory all you want, but those same arguments were raised when women wanted equal rights and when blacks wanted to be treated fairly. This is a civil rights issue and it is not going away. This is not about what you feel is right or wrong, this is about treating your neighbors fairly.
On a similar note, I keep reading about how much money is being spent on the gay marriage ban and how much money will continue to be spent to attempt to overturn the ban and also to overturn the marriages that took place in California.
At work on Tuesday, a grad student from Turkey came to the office and wanted to ask an attorney some questions about the death penalty. Since the attorneys were all busy at the time, he asked if I would talk with him, so I figured I could take a few minutes to help him out. We talked about how I oppose the death penalty, but feel for families that grieve the loss of a loved one and feel a desire for justice. Talking about this really got me thinking. Many people that voted Yes on Prop. 8 were referred to as "deeply religious" or attempting to protect marriage. These same people tend to be pro-life and against abortion. Now, if deeply religious people who may call themselves Mormons or Christians are truly pro-life, why is the death penalty still used in this country? Look at states that use capital punishment and you will see a direct correlation to the amount of "deeply religious" people living there. I know scripture says "eye for an eye" but lets be honest here. People freak out over two people in love getting married, or a women choosing how to live her life, yet allow someone to be murdered right in front of them. There is so much hypocrisy with these "deeply religious" people. I have always had issues with this, even when I was younger and attending catholic schooling. I would constantly see people "faking" it, making this huge public scene that they are holier than though, yet once out of public eye, these people are the farthest away from christian moralists.
Frankly, deeply religious people scare me and make me feel uncomfortable. There is just something about people that have such a narrow view on reality and simply dismiss progress because it is not their "gods will". I remember seeing children walking around with their parents a few weeks ago wearing shirts that say "protect marriage and God's Law". These kids have no idea what they are walking around for, but these parents are clearly out of touch with what is going on in society. Gay people are treated as second class citizens in the country and it is time for change. Argue a slippery slope theory all you want, but those same arguments were raised when women wanted equal rights and when blacks wanted to be treated fairly. This is a civil rights issue and it is not going away. This is not about what you feel is right or wrong, this is about treating your neighbors fairly.
2008/11/06
Cycle of Discrimination
I hope that my posts will evolve into other topics, but I am still pissed off about this whole Prop. 8 deal, or as others have described it, Prop. H8te. I remember studying about how discrimination "bounces' around and this is a clear indication that there is some truth to this. Thinking about the history of the United States, discrimination and hate has been passed on through generation and has been laid on many different nationalities and races. Again, this country was created due to people being fed up with religious persecution, yet we are allowing that to come full circle here. Think about the early 1900's, and how each immigrant group was labeled as trash or inferior, and then once that class assimilated, the next wave felt the same scorn. As this melting pot expanded, those who were once treated as second class citizens were now the ones discriminating against the new immigrants. The Irish were trash, then became accepted. The Italians were discriminated, and then people ate pizza and welcomed them. Thinking about discriminating against Italians or Irish people nowadays is absurd, especially considering that the US celebrates St. Patrick's day more than Ireland does. The bottom line is that this cycle of discrimination continues to bounce around and it seems that homosexuals are now the biggest victims. Black people and Latinos have long been discriminated against, however with progress, this discrimination is waning and acceptance has occurred throughout the US. Not to say that bigotry is dead, but there has definitely been a welcomed movement against discrimination against Blacks and Latinos.
For two groups who have felt so much discrimination, why then would you choose to discriminate against others? Why is it that 70% of the Black and Latino vote go in favor of banning gay marriage?
It is clear that when people feel that they have been accepted, they tend to act like those who they are accepted by. Think about high school and growing up. Anytime you got to hang with the "cool kids", you quickly forgot about your true friends. Hollywood movies show these situations often, where an "outsider" or dare I say "Maverick?" is accepted by a bigger group and leaves their roots behind, only to soon realize that they were wrong for following.
I hope that people who have felt discrimination in their life can relate to what this proposition is doing to everyday people. Think about that for a second, when have you been discriminated against? Was it because of your race, sex, physical appearance, or some other characteristic of you? How did that make you feel and what did you want to do about it? If you felt upset and wanted to discriminate against others, then I have nothing more to say to you, as you are content with continuing this hate cycle. If you felt upset and wanted to never feel that way again, then stop this cycle and stop allowing further discrimination. Allowing gay people the same rights that all citizens posses is a great start!
For two groups who have felt so much discrimination, why then would you choose to discriminate against others? Why is it that 70% of the Black and Latino vote go in favor of banning gay marriage?
It is clear that when people feel that they have been accepted, they tend to act like those who they are accepted by. Think about high school and growing up. Anytime you got to hang with the "cool kids", you quickly forgot about your true friends. Hollywood movies show these situations often, where an "outsider" or dare I say "Maverick?" is accepted by a bigger group and leaves their roots behind, only to soon realize that they were wrong for following.
I hope that people who have felt discrimination in their life can relate to what this proposition is doing to everyday people. Think about that for a second, when have you been discriminated against? Was it because of your race, sex, physical appearance, or some other characteristic of you? How did that make you feel and what did you want to do about it? If you felt upset and wanted to discriminate against others, then I have nothing more to say to you, as you are content with continuing this hate cycle. If you felt upset and wanted to never feel that way again, then stop this cycle and stop allowing further discrimination. Allowing gay people the same rights that all citizens posses is a great start!
2008/11/05
Excitement and Disappointment
Hooray for Obama! Shame on California!! As a proud supporter of Barack Obama, I celebrated his victory last night to become the 44th president of the ol' US of A. As great as this is for our country, I can't help but be disappointed by some other elections that occurred yesterday and are still being counted. As many people are aware, Californians voted yesterday on proposition 8, where a yes vote would amend the current Constitution and would attempt to overturn the May 2008 state supreme court decision which allowed same sex couples to be married. As of now, it appears that this proposition will pass, which means that the right same sex couples had will be stripped away and those that utilized their right may see their marriages nullified.
I am not gay, so I really have nothing at stake with this proposition. My right to marry is still available and I could do so freely. I plan to get married soon, as this is something I feel many of us want to experience. A moment in life where your family and friends can share in the joy you share with another individual is special and this ability should be protected. This should be protected for ALL, not just some people.
I find it difficult to comprehend the Yes on 8 viewpoint. Again, I am not gay, I was raised by a Roman-Catholic family and attended catholic school for 12 years. I was raised by a mother and father, which I feel very fortunate for. However, just because my parents were a man and a woman, does not mean that everyone should have this upbringing. Why do so many Christians/Mormans feel that their way of life must be for all? Why do we allow others to force their rhetoric and viewpoints upon us and allow for simple rights to be stepped on? Why is it that a belief in love and spirituality turns people to become so close minded and down right ignorant?
I honestly feel let down by people in my state and country. For a nation that was founded on progressive ideals and evolved from forefathers whom were escaping religious persecution, are we not moving backwords and repeating history? So, in an attempt to rationalize this ignorant view on marriage, I read over some Yes on Proposition 8 propaganda and am offering some suggestions to them. If the goal on preventing same-sex marriage is protecting marriage and the family, then we all have some work to do, as this marriage deal currently has more holes than a wiffle ball.
First, we must eliminate divorce. You say that same-sex marriage will pierce the sanctity of marriage, well I say that divorce is spreading like wildfire to burn down your special marriage. Think about it, with 50% of marriages ending in divorce, this threat to marriage is beyond an outbreak or an epidemic, its a plague! We must act fast however, before this divorce movement keeps increasing. We already see advertising for "quick divorces" or "prenuptial agreements". This all needs to go! I propose that we work on strengthening marriages by enforcing these contracts and if you want out, you will suffer the consequences. Lets add punitive damages to divorce, community service, or even jail time if your marriage lasts less than one year. That will strengthen your precious marriage immediately and will cut into that divorce rate. If we make marriage difficult for everyone, then only people that really want to get married really will. Say you want to marry that rich girl, but she wants a prenup. We say NO to that, as a prenuptial agreement will weaken marriage. Lets be honest, a prenuptial agreement is basically saying: "I love you, right now, but if shit goes down, I don't want you getting my shit!" So if we are already placing conditions on marriage, how do we expect them to succeed and be immune from that dreaded D word? Plus, if we have stiff penalties for divorce, the prenup will disappear as it is, since people won't be marrying for money or a green card if jail time may lie ahead.
Second, we must remove all financial and legal benefits that come with a marriage. Since we are trying to get people to marry that intend to spend the rest of their lives together and procreate (we'll address this further), we must remove any and all benefits that result from a marriage. As far as finances go, we must remove the potential tax breaks, preferential estate tax treatment, social security share of their spouse, tax free health care for the spouse, and lower insurance rates, including automobile and home owners. Removing these financial benefits will lead to strengthening marriage, but we cannot stop there. We must also remove the legal benefits that come with a marriage, including citizenship rights, automatic inheritance rights, husband and wife communication privileges, and hospital viewing rights. Again, by removing all these silly benefits, we will be thinning out all the potential divorces and really solidify the bond that marriage deserves.
Third, we touched on this already, but if you are going to marry, we want to see proof. Since marriage is only supposed to be between a man and a women because it is "natural" or "God's law" then those so fortunate to marry should produce results. We want babies, since we are going to have more and more wars, so if you are going to get married, you need to procreate. Procreation is the foundation of marriage and was what "God" intended for a married couple to do. People have been doing it since forever, so we need to keep this going. If you can't have babies due to a medical issue, then you were not meant to be married. We need a hard and fast rule here, since this is one of the main reasons same-sex couples can't share in marriage. By reducing the amount of sub-par candidates for marriage by ridding the barren, we will again strengthen the marriage bond for people that can start pushing out babies. If you can't procreate, no marriage, simple as that. You can have a civil union though. We will enforce this by contract, which requires the newlyweds to produce a next of kin within two years of their wedding date. If you cannot produce a baby within two years, your marriage license will be revoked and you can qualify for a civil union.
Fourth and finally, we need to ensure that the children you produce experience a proper upbringing. This means that the father must work and only spend Saturdays and Sundays with their children, but the mother can spend all day with them. This will ensure that our children understand how this is the way it must be, since that is how it has been for so long. Mom's make the house and Dad's work to provide for the family. Also, we must ensure that the family is raised with a belief in God, so mandatory church meetings will be held. We cannot allow for more same sex couples to attempt to progress this nation, so we need to foster "positive" environments for these children. Since children are so malleable and have no opinions, we must shape them into the vision that "God" wants, or more importantly we want.
If you are following along, you can already see just how great this new system of marriage will be. We will protect and strengthen marriage, and more importantly, we will stop the desire for same sex couples to marry, as they don't need to be concerned with that. Just think about what great things can come from this.
*** This is a rant and I do not believe in any of these "suggestions", however I do feel that they equate to the extremists views supporters of Prop 8 offer*****
I am not gay, so I really have nothing at stake with this proposition. My right to marry is still available and I could do so freely. I plan to get married soon, as this is something I feel many of us want to experience. A moment in life where your family and friends can share in the joy you share with another individual is special and this ability should be protected. This should be protected for ALL, not just some people.
I find it difficult to comprehend the Yes on 8 viewpoint. Again, I am not gay, I was raised by a Roman-Catholic family and attended catholic school for 12 years. I was raised by a mother and father, which I feel very fortunate for. However, just because my parents were a man and a woman, does not mean that everyone should have this upbringing. Why do so many Christians/Mormans feel that their way of life must be for all? Why do we allow others to force their rhetoric and viewpoints upon us and allow for simple rights to be stepped on? Why is it that a belief in love and spirituality turns people to become so close minded and down right ignorant?
I honestly feel let down by people in my state and country. For a nation that was founded on progressive ideals and evolved from forefathers whom were escaping religious persecution, are we not moving backwords and repeating history? So, in an attempt to rationalize this ignorant view on marriage, I read over some Yes on Proposition 8 propaganda and am offering some suggestions to them. If the goal on preventing same-sex marriage is protecting marriage and the family, then we all have some work to do, as this marriage deal currently has more holes than a wiffle ball.
First, we must eliminate divorce. You say that same-sex marriage will pierce the sanctity of marriage, well I say that divorce is spreading like wildfire to burn down your special marriage. Think about it, with 50% of marriages ending in divorce, this threat to marriage is beyond an outbreak or an epidemic, its a plague! We must act fast however, before this divorce movement keeps increasing. We already see advertising for "quick divorces" or "prenuptial agreements". This all needs to go! I propose that we work on strengthening marriages by enforcing these contracts and if you want out, you will suffer the consequences. Lets add punitive damages to divorce, community service, or even jail time if your marriage lasts less than one year. That will strengthen your precious marriage immediately and will cut into that divorce rate. If we make marriage difficult for everyone, then only people that really want to get married really will. Say you want to marry that rich girl, but she wants a prenup. We say NO to that, as a prenuptial agreement will weaken marriage. Lets be honest, a prenuptial agreement is basically saying: "I love you, right now, but if shit goes down, I don't want you getting my shit!" So if we are already placing conditions on marriage, how do we expect them to succeed and be immune from that dreaded D word? Plus, if we have stiff penalties for divorce, the prenup will disappear as it is, since people won't be marrying for money or a green card if jail time may lie ahead.
Second, we must remove all financial and legal benefits that come with a marriage. Since we are trying to get people to marry that intend to spend the rest of their lives together and procreate (we'll address this further), we must remove any and all benefits that result from a marriage. As far as finances go, we must remove the potential tax breaks, preferential estate tax treatment, social security share of their spouse, tax free health care for the spouse, and lower insurance rates, including automobile and home owners. Removing these financial benefits will lead to strengthening marriage, but we cannot stop there. We must also remove the legal benefits that come with a marriage, including citizenship rights, automatic inheritance rights, husband and wife communication privileges, and hospital viewing rights. Again, by removing all these silly benefits, we will be thinning out all the potential divorces and really solidify the bond that marriage deserves.
Third, we touched on this already, but if you are going to marry, we want to see proof. Since marriage is only supposed to be between a man and a women because it is "natural" or "God's law" then those so fortunate to marry should produce results. We want babies, since we are going to have more and more wars, so if you are going to get married, you need to procreate. Procreation is the foundation of marriage and was what "God" intended for a married couple to do. People have been doing it since forever, so we need to keep this going. If you can't have babies due to a medical issue, then you were not meant to be married. We need a hard and fast rule here, since this is one of the main reasons same-sex couples can't share in marriage. By reducing the amount of sub-par candidates for marriage by ridding the barren, we will again strengthen the marriage bond for people that can start pushing out babies. If you can't procreate, no marriage, simple as that. You can have a civil union though. We will enforce this by contract, which requires the newlyweds to produce a next of kin within two years of their wedding date. If you cannot produce a baby within two years, your marriage license will be revoked and you can qualify for a civil union.
Fourth and finally, we need to ensure that the children you produce experience a proper upbringing. This means that the father must work and only spend Saturdays and Sundays with their children, but the mother can spend all day with them. This will ensure that our children understand how this is the way it must be, since that is how it has been for so long. Mom's make the house and Dad's work to provide for the family. Also, we must ensure that the family is raised with a belief in God, so mandatory church meetings will be held. We cannot allow for more same sex couples to attempt to progress this nation, so we need to foster "positive" environments for these children. Since children are so malleable and have no opinions, we must shape them into the vision that "God" wants, or more importantly we want.
If you are following along, you can already see just how great this new system of marriage will be. We will protect and strengthen marriage, and more importantly, we will stop the desire for same sex couples to marry, as they don't need to be concerned with that. Just think about what great things can come from this.
*** This is a rant and I do not believe in any of these "suggestions", however I do feel that they equate to the extremists views supporters of Prop 8 offer*****
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