One of those entries that's not going to earn me any friends
so, this fic i read. it was very well written. parts i liked, parts i didn't. it was cute, and had a happy ending. and i was highly uncomfortable with the anti-christian themes. Not uncomfortable in the sense that it made me rethink my religious beliefs (it didn't), but in the 'i'm not welcome here' sense--unwelcome, not for my beliefs or attitudes towards high schoolers coming out in hostile environments (like high school isn't bad enough without your parents hating you), but for the mere fact of my beliefs on whether there is a god, and who I believe that god to be.
ro says, 'it's just fiction,' but the thing is, nothing is ever just fiction. they're never 'just words.' everything has a social context, everything is in response to that social context, and everything influences that social context. when you read a story that conflates christianity with bigotry, the message is not 'christians are bigots too' or 'bigots are christians too.' The message is 'christians are bigots.' If the text is just as derisive and critical of church ladies for 'talking about jesus' over brunch as the text is about church ladies picketing a pride demonstration, the message isn't about how church ladies shouldn't picket pride demonstrations, it's about how all these 'christian' things are bad, and wrong, and not cool. The text wasn't contrasting hate-filled acts with the other morally-neutral, or even laudable acts those same people also commit--it wasn't pointing out the tension or hypocrisy in their lives, claiming to live by God at one point or in one area, and instead living by hate in another point or another area of their lives. It was holding up all of these actions that 'christians' involve themselves with and condemning them all. See, the text says, see how the Christians hate. They hate the same way in the slurs they hurl and their jesus-related brunches. That's what a text like this says. This is what 'only fiction' looks like. Just because the characters in a piece are made up, and the setting is imaginary doesn't mean that there aren't points being made. And points should be made. One of the things fiction is for is for responding to and influencing the contexts in which it was written. But this seems to me, to be missing the mark.
this isn't about reducing hate; this is part of a(n inter)national dialogue redefining whom it is ok to hate. there is a lot of tension in this country right now about so-called moral issues. I'm a christian, and that informs where i fall in my stand on most of those moral issues. if you're reading this you're probably not a christian, but that doesn't mean I don't expect you to have a moral guide, religious or non-religious. And I'm not saying 'no christians are like this (this being, hateful).' I'm not denying their existence, or excusing their behavior, or apologizing for it, or erasing it or the experiences of the people they've hurt or the peoples they've oppressed. This is not a mitigation. Behavior that is motivated by hate is not ok. It never is.
This is also not someone with privilege whining about how their privilege is being taken away, complaining that 'the Real Travesty is here' or anything like that.* Tally discomfort at not fitting in against centuries of systemic inequality and violence, and it's pretty clear who wins at getting the suckier deal. But, the thing is that just because some problems are worse than others doesn't mean that they're all not worth dealing with. I'm saying that hatred is hatred, and no matter how much or how little of it there is, or who it's directed at and how it comes, it's still hatred, and hatred is wrong. Christian or not, I say it's time to reduce hate wherever and whenever we see it. I think we as humans, have a moral obligation to do that. That means everyone gets less righteous anger, fewer snap judgments based on assumptions rather than observed action**, that means calling people out when they do it--particularly people in our own groups.
In related news, I donated actual money to Planned Parenthood last night \o/ I am not sure that I've ever donated money to anything (unless you count giving the people who come collecting in the metro a dollar or two)--usually i go for the 'time, food, items' route because someone is much less likely to steal a can of beans than your $20. ok, so part of me is like you're a real grown up now! Because the legal right to abortion (which is nominal in some states anyway) doesn't mean anything if no one has insurance coverage for it.
*if you disagree, i would also welcome discussions on this topic. Because honestly? non-christians get the short end of the stick a lot (in this country), with a nominally christian majority restricting rights and oppressing people. I'm not saying that doesn't happen, and I'm not saying it's ok when it does. I just think that there's room for nuance in the push back.
**i'm actually all for judging people. I think it's something that humans do naturally--look at the world around them and go 'this is bad,' or 'this is good' or 'i want to be like this and not like that.' i just think that those judgments ought to be reasoned.
ro says, 'it's just fiction,' but the thing is, nothing is ever just fiction. they're never 'just words.' everything has a social context, everything is in response to that social context, and everything influences that social context. when you read a story that conflates christianity with bigotry, the message is not 'christians are bigots too' or 'bigots are christians too.' The message is 'christians are bigots.' If the text is just as derisive and critical of church ladies for 'talking about jesus' over brunch as the text is about church ladies picketing a pride demonstration, the message isn't about how church ladies shouldn't picket pride demonstrations, it's about how all these 'christian' things are bad, and wrong, and not cool. The text wasn't contrasting hate-filled acts with the other morally-neutral, or even laudable acts those same people also commit--it wasn't pointing out the tension or hypocrisy in their lives, claiming to live by God at one point or in one area, and instead living by hate in another point or another area of their lives. It was holding up all of these actions that 'christians' involve themselves with and condemning them all. See, the text says, see how the Christians hate. They hate the same way in the slurs they hurl and their jesus-related brunches. That's what a text like this says. This is what 'only fiction' looks like. Just because the characters in a piece are made up, and the setting is imaginary doesn't mean that there aren't points being made. And points should be made. One of the things fiction is for is for responding to and influencing the contexts in which it was written. But this seems to me, to be missing the mark.
this isn't about reducing hate; this is part of a(n inter)national dialogue redefining whom it is ok to hate. there is a lot of tension in this country right now about so-called moral issues. I'm a christian, and that informs where i fall in my stand on most of those moral issues. if you're reading this you're probably not a christian, but that doesn't mean I don't expect you to have a moral guide, religious or non-religious. And I'm not saying 'no christians are like this (this being, hateful).' I'm not denying their existence, or excusing their behavior, or apologizing for it, or erasing it or the experiences of the people they've hurt or the peoples they've oppressed. This is not a mitigation. Behavior that is motivated by hate is not ok. It never is.
This is also not someone with privilege whining about how their privilege is being taken away, complaining that 'the Real Travesty is here' or anything like that.* Tally discomfort at not fitting in against centuries of systemic inequality and violence, and it's pretty clear who wins at getting the suckier deal. But, the thing is that just because some problems are worse than others doesn't mean that they're all not worth dealing with. I'm saying that hatred is hatred, and no matter how much or how little of it there is, or who it's directed at and how it comes, it's still hatred, and hatred is wrong. Christian or not, I say it's time to reduce hate wherever and whenever we see it. I think we as humans, have a moral obligation to do that. That means everyone gets less righteous anger, fewer snap judgments based on assumptions rather than observed action**, that means calling people out when they do it--particularly people in our own groups.
In related news, I donated actual money to Planned Parenthood last night \o/ I am not sure that I've ever donated money to anything (unless you count giving the people who come collecting in the metro a dollar or two)--usually i go for the 'time, food, items' route because someone is much less likely to steal a can of beans than your $20. ok, so part of me is like you're a real grown up now! Because the legal right to abortion (which is nominal in some states anyway) doesn't mean anything if no one has insurance coverage for it.
*if you disagree, i would also welcome discussions on this topic. Because honestly? non-christians get the short end of the stick a lot (in this country), with a nominally christian majority restricting rights and oppressing people. I'm not saying that doesn't happen, and I'm not saying it's ok when it does. I just think that there's room for nuance in the push back.
**i'm actually all for judging people. I think it's something that humans do naturally--look at the world around them and go 'this is bad,' or 'this is good' or 'i want to be like this and not like that.' i just think that those judgments ought to be reasoned.