To: my friend who supported Prop 8 but won't actually allow others to talk with her about it

[jan_andrea]

Honey, I'm sorry you're feeling persecuted. I really am. I think hatred or vitriol towards any individuals involved in the situation is wrong.

HOWEVER.

Posting links to Mormon sites that moan, "Oh, we're so persecuted! People are picketing our churches!" is a non-sequitur. The LDS church bankrolled a hell of a lot of negative advertising that *truly did* make misleading claims in order to scare the uninformed into voting for Prop 8. They tried to -- and in many cases, succeeded in -- using pressure tactics to force their members into voting for it (which you well know).

Those are facts. "Oh, we're so persecuted!" does not change the FACT that they FIRST persecuted others in a very legitimate sense (i.e. not merely picketing and protesting, but actually removing rights!) who are simply trying to have a normal life. IT IS WRONG TO TAKE AWAY CIVIL RIGHTS. PERIOD. Two consenting adults who want to become a family and are not otherwise legally barred from doing so (i.e. siblings, whatever) should not be forced to separate by a religious group or a group of religions; religion DOES NOT belong in legislation. If the Mormons or the Catholics or whoever doesn't want to marry gays and lesbians in their churches, that's fine! Nothing in CA state law was going to force them to! All these people want is to have families like heterosexual families have them, with the rights and responsibilities that go with them. Just because your Prophet says no doesn't mean that people *not even in your church* have to abide by his rules.

Personally, I don't care if Joseph Smith appeared to you in a rain of gold and said unto you, "Vote YES on Prop 8 or face immortal hellfire!" It's still not right for your religion (and others like it, lest it be said that I am singling out Mormons; Catholic hierarchy is just as guilty) to force that decision on an entire state.

I need to know that you understand this. You voted to take away another person's rights based solely on what you were told by your church, as far as I can tell. That's what I can see.  If you didn't vote for it, GREAT! Keep me as a friend and I will put it behind me. But if you did vote for it, I really want you to take me off your friends list. I genuinely do. I think that (if you voted for it) what you did was incredibly wrong. Amazingly so. I can't live with that. I'm not going to defriend you until I know for sure what actually happened. If you don't defriend me, I will assume that you voted against it, and YAY! that would be great and I won't say another word about it. But I expect you to be honest about this; if you can't stand by your vote, how much *worse* is that than the actual vote itself?

Comments

[rock-grrl.livejournal.com]

Thanks! ;-) It's one of my favourites.

I know that I would protest and be HELLA ANGRY if my rights were taken away by someone else simply because they thought a different way from me. What if my right to vote were taken away because I'm a woman and some religious group decided that women shouldn't vote because god told them so. I'd be fighting mad and I would protest and vandalize churches hell yes I would! What if LDS churches were banned because the majourity of Americans, who are not LDS, decided that LDS was bunk? I'm sure they'd protest and be fighting mad. And you know what? I'd be fighting mad right along with them because their rights were being taken away and that's not okay.

It's never been about who's right and who's wrong. It's about WHAT is right and HOW should people in this society be treated? Would YOU want you civil rights taken away simply because you were a minority?

I have been appalled by so many things your country's government has done in the last few years to be honest. I feel so sorry for all of you who rally and protest and yet are not being heard. Sucks donkey balls fo sur!

Here's another icon just for you. ;-P

[artemis-rich.livejournal.com]

Icon love!

[cad-red-ducati.livejournal.com]

I want to be very clear about something, the whole "I voted for Prop 8 (or whatever nasty thing) becouse of my religous views" is fucking stupid. for the record, um, Jesus didn't say a freaken thing about homosexuals, but he talked a lot about helping the poor (wow, what could have the LSD chruch done in that regard with 20 million $?) and he talked about love and people not being shitty to each other. oh, and not bearing flase witness against your neighbor? those LSD sponsered ads did just that!!

I think that if you voted for prop 8 or anything like it, becouse of the whiny excuse that it is your religon, then hell, you need to keep your kitchen Kosher and not wear clothes of mixed fibers, etc. if you are going to be all hard core about it, then really do it, OK?

I belive in God, and the God I belive in is about LOVE, not HATE.

[cad-red-ducati.livejournal.com]

um, pregnant lady brain doesn't put words together very well, does it. it's not LSD, it's LDS?

[rock-grrl.livejournal.com]

Word to both of your comments! I am pregnant-lady-brain spelling impaired myself I think!

I think using one's religion as an excuse for ANYTHING is horrid personally! If I believe something, I will think about those beliefs and stand up for them and take responsibility for them. If I believe in rights for some and not others, I'll blame myself and not my "loving" religion.

And you're damn right about what Jesus stood for. He taught love and tolerance and loving your enemy ... not gaining power over them to crush their freedoms and then bitching about how you're being "prosecuted".

[pudgybudgie.livejournal.com]

Just a note, LDS is considered around here (deep south--Memphis area) to be a cult by some of the major denominations. You'd think the fact that they're looked down upon by a big chunk of the religious community would make them rethink looking down on anyone.