2003-09-30 - 1:23 p.m.
There Is Little Funny Here: There Is Only AppallingA friend of mine works in a regional newspaper that often receives truly fascinating letters to the editor. She sometimes sends clips from these items to me along with wry commentary, and I sometimes chitchat about them on a website.
My friend writes, "Here's a letter to the editor we got the other day. I'm keeping all the original spelling and grammatical atrocities intact for ya." I offer a similar service, to allow the intellectual light of this missive to shine on through for y'all.
Our Savvy Lecturer begins by asking the prime minister what sort of Catholic he is, that he can countenance for even a moment the idea of legislation guaranteeing rights to same-sex marriages. "My Bible it tells everyone all about Adam & Eve, who are the first man & woman God created, it doen't tell everyone that its OK to be Adam & Adam." A wonderful wit. Terribly piquant. It goes on. "What you don't seem to realize is our society has so many terrible diseases because of same sex people, 2 males or 2 females, having sex, kissing etc, passing more diseases from mouth to maouth, sex organ to sex organ." Repulsive image, that -- nearly as repulsive as the tiresome blatherings of the crushingly ignorant citing 'facts' to buttress prejudices. Indeed most people who have watched someone die of AIDS agree that there is an especially unpleasant corner of hell reserved for all those who believe the disease is God's vengeance on the 'unclean.'
"What do you really think "Jesus" who came into our world to save sinners, will think or do if this law is passed." This is almost my favourite. I like the fact that "Jesus" is in scare-quotes, though I'm at a loss to explain why. And I like even more the trembling fear not of acting out of step with a moral code but of sparking Christ's ire, quaking before the mighty opening of a Holy Can of Whoop-Ass. Yes, he's loving and forgiving and wants to save sinners, but don't do anything to piss him off. What might he do?!
This, however, is my favourite: "If people of same sexs insist on being together, than use a different name at least, but not marriage. Marriage is a Sacred n between a Man & a Woman." Yes, stay the hell away from our Sacred n. Pick another name. Create laws guaranteeing the rights of homosexuals to "enter an unholy union," or "join in hideous matrimony," or, well, "be a sick and twisted abomination." But stay away from our marriage.
I enjoy picturing a religious couple trapped in the claustrophobic confines of a joyless and perfunctory marriage. I enjoy picturing them in ankle-length gowns sleeping in separate beds, tossing and turning in the face of ghastly nightmares about "same-sex people" falling in love. *shudder* Naturally God will be much happier with your rabid hatred of gays than he will ever be with their heartfelt and sincere love for one another.
Now then, having sifted through my ramble, go read Palinode's clever remarks on the subject.
