Why are you so angry? - An addendum on justified anger and same-sex marriage.
The one thing that hit me after writing the previous piece, "Why are you so angry?" was that there was one big issue that I should have finished with.
Because the whole piece made it seem like I was mostly angry that people didn't get why I was angry, and that's actually wrong. There are more irritating things than being simply misunderstood.
I'm not angry if you are ignorant of these issues, I'm disappointed.
I'm not angry if I think you're mislead.
I'm not angry if you disagree with me.
I'm not angry if you are passionate for things I don't believe in.
So then, what is the answer to the question?
Why am I so angry?
I guess the main reason is that I am angry because you are not.
If you are asking the question, "Why am I angry" that means you either do not know of the things that I listed before, in which case, you should learn about them, or you do not understand that those are things to get angry about.
It means that the entirety of the previous post was not news to you; you just didn't care.
Recently at work, I had the privilege of working the bar at the commitment ceremony of a lesbian couple. It was really nice, the decking area all decked out in reds and black, with an Asiatic theme. The DJ perhaps left something to be desired. Choosing "I kissed a girl" may have been in poor taste, especially as the song to play when the couple entered the room, but all in all it was a lovely service. In spite of all this, however, I spent most of the time where I wasn't serving and instead spent my energies on polishing glasses thinking about how either of these two women could more easily marry me, who they don't know, than each other, who they love, and how deplorable a situation that really was.
Recently in California, Proposition 8, an amendment to the Californian state constitution was passed, repealing the previously held right of same sex couples to marry.
Recent protests against the Mormon and Catholic churches in California in the wake of the passing of proposition 8 have been labeled as religiously motivated hatred and bigotry prompting many pot/kettle allusions. But the accusation of bigotry is the one that astounds me the most. If these people were bigots it would be a group of people being angry at the Mormon church because they're Mormons. The protesters aren't angry with the Mormon Church because they're Mormons. They're angry with the Mormon church because the Mormon Church raised millions of dollars and countless hours of grass roots campaigning for the sole purpose of removing the right these people had to marry the ones they loved.
The most irritating part of the question "Why are you so angry?" be it directed at gays, atheists, or any group, is the automatic assumption that losing your temper makes you lose the argument. That there is something wrong with justified anger and passionate condemnation.
There isn't.
What's wrong is when unjustified harm is inflicted on people, and people aware of such things remain indifferent. It's not enough to say "I am moral because I don't do bad." To be moral, one must not only refrain from committing evil, but one must stand against it whenever one sees it.
So yeah, I'm angry because of the blocking of stem cell research, abortions and same-sex marriage.
I'm angry about the abuse of children and the current situation where the pursuit of knowledge is under attack.
But I'm mostly angry that more people aren't angry, because when such things can slip by in the foreground and people don't pick up on the fact that it's a bad thing?
Well that's something to be angry about.
Instead of asking "Why are you atheists so angry?" Next time you find yourself about to ask it, ask yourself a question instead:
"Why aren't I?"
Because the whole piece made it seem like I was mostly angry that people didn't get why I was angry, and that's actually wrong. There are more irritating things than being simply misunderstood.
I'm not angry if you are ignorant of these issues, I'm disappointed.
I'm not angry if I think you're mislead.
I'm not angry if you disagree with me.
I'm not angry if you are passionate for things I don't believe in.
So then, what is the answer to the question?
Why am I so angry?
I guess the main reason is that I am angry because you are not.
If you are asking the question, "Why am I angry" that means you either do not know of the things that I listed before, in which case, you should learn about them, or you do not understand that those are things to get angry about.
It means that the entirety of the previous post was not news to you; you just didn't care.
Recently at work, I had the privilege of working the bar at the commitment ceremony of a lesbian couple. It was really nice, the decking area all decked out in reds and black, with an Asiatic theme. The DJ perhaps left something to be desired. Choosing "I kissed a girl" may have been in poor taste, especially as the song to play when the couple entered the room, but all in all it was a lovely service. In spite of all this, however, I spent most of the time where I wasn't serving and instead spent my energies on polishing glasses thinking about how either of these two women could more easily marry me, who they don't know, than each other, who they love, and how deplorable a situation that really was.
Recently in California, Proposition 8, an amendment to the Californian state constitution was passed, repealing the previously held right of same sex couples to marry.
Recent protests against the Mormon and Catholic churches in California in the wake of the passing of proposition 8 have been labeled as religiously motivated hatred and bigotry prompting many pot/kettle allusions. But the accusation of bigotry is the one that astounds me the most. If these people were bigots it would be a group of people being angry at the Mormon church because they're Mormons. The protesters aren't angry with the Mormon Church because they're Mormons. They're angry with the Mormon church because the Mormon Church raised millions of dollars and countless hours of grass roots campaigning for the sole purpose of removing the right these people had to marry the ones they loved.
The most irritating part of the question "Why are you so angry?" be it directed at gays, atheists, or any group, is the automatic assumption that losing your temper makes you lose the argument. That there is something wrong with justified anger and passionate condemnation.
There isn't.
What's wrong is when unjustified harm is inflicted on people, and people aware of such things remain indifferent. It's not enough to say "I am moral because I don't do bad." To be moral, one must not only refrain from committing evil, but one must stand against it whenever one sees it.
So yeah, I'm angry because of the blocking of stem cell research, abortions and same-sex marriage.
I'm angry about the abuse of children and the current situation where the pursuit of knowledge is under attack.
But I'm mostly angry that more people aren't angry, because when such things can slip by in the foreground and people don't pick up on the fact that it's a bad thing?
Well that's something to be angry about.
Instead of asking "Why are you atheists so angry?" Next time you find yourself about to ask it, ask yourself a question instead:
"Why aren't I?"