Racism Unveiled
Posted by Michelle Moquin on November 18th, 2008
Well, I thought I was done with racism for the week but I read an article that just got me so heated that I needed to blog about it again. This act of racism involves those that preach to us on the weekends if not on a daily basis….Well, they don’t preach to me because I am not a church goer. I am speaking of priests.
What is it with some priests? Obviously no matter how much they hide behind the veil of religion, preaching love and the acceptance of all, true colors eventually emerge. First priests were boofing young boys…and now, what color are they showing?
Their racist white side. A Greenville priest says that his parishioners should do penance if they voted for Barack Obama. Rev. Jay Scott Newman, sent a letter to all of his parishioners at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, stating that his congregants shouldn’t take communion until they do penance for supporting “the most radical pro-abortion politician ever to serve in the United States Senate or to run for president.” Radical? Interesting choice of words. Yep that Obama – his ideas are just so radical. That is exactly how I would describe our president elect – yeah ‘radical’ is the first thing I think of…uh huh.
The Catholic Church says that abortion is one of five “non-negotiable issues” for Catholic voters and that any church member voting for a pro-choice candidate would be disobeying the church.
Oh I get it…so because Obama is pro-choice, he is considered radical. Hmm…I guess most of my friends and family are radical then, not to mention the millions of others living in this country.
“Abortion is understood as intrinsically wrong, meaning it’s not made wrong by intentions or circumstances, it’s wrong in itself.” Newman told WYFF News 4’s John Eby.
I’ll tell you what’s wrong. Why doesn’t someone ask the catholic church why they never said that if you were a member of the KKK or some other hate group that you couldn’t take communion? If anyone is going to be labeled ‘radical’ this group should be at the top of the list. But no, the catholic church didn’t do a thing. But of course it had nothing to do with the fact that the KKK were white supremacists. True colors were flying.
And why did the church never protest segregated churches? Which to me, is wrong in itself. The answer: The catholic church is racist. Isn’t it interesting that they can take such a great interest in politics when it doesn’t involve discrimination against OTWs.
The Catholic church is losing ground. Exit polling showed that most Catholics didn’t follow that church teachings this year, with a significant majority voting for Obama. And the nations Roman Catholic bishops vowed Tuesday in their annual meeting to forcefully (!) confront the Obama administration over its support for abortion rights. Yeah, like Obama is the first person in office to ever to speak about the freedom of women’s rights to choose. True colors are showing…
The bishops said the church and religious freedom could be under attack in the new administration. Oh you’re so worried about your religious freedom – Yes, Obama is definitely about preventing people from choice of religion. Please! What about my rights? You know the rights over my own body. How easily you can take away my rights and be so outspoken about it, yet, when did Obama ever say that you don’t have religious freedom. If he did, I don’t know about it. So someone please blog me if you have evidence of this.
“President-Elect Obama wants to make it possible for a minor anywhere in the United States to get an abortion without her parents even knowing about it,” Newman said.
I agree with Obama and so did 52.6% in California who voted ‘No on Prop 4′. This is a whole other issue for another time.
Church leaders have said that they fear that the Freedom of Choice Act, which Obama has supported, would lead to the removal of “conscience clauses” that allow Catholic hospitals to choose not to perform abortions.
Again, it is and should always be a woman’s choice. In my mind, if you are a doctor, you are paid to do your job. If, you’re going to deny women the right to have an abortion because you don’t believe in abortion, therefore you are not going to perform your duties as a doctor, what’s next? Hmm…I’ll tell you what’s already happening. Young girls and women are being refused access to birth control because of pharmacists “conscience”. It is a vicious cycle. You can’t get birth control because someone (pharmacists) says that their “conscience” will not allow them to give it to you. Then you get pregnant because of the obvious, and surprise…you can’t have an abortion either because someone says that don’t believe in abortion. Control. Control. Control.
Did I say these priests were racists? Let me add they’re sexists too. More power to Obama.
********
Hey ZL: Happy you are back to being Zen Lily :)
Hello An American High school: It is scary. I don’t want a race war but then I am not a racist. It is the people who are racist that feel they must do anything they can to prevent OTW’s from succeeding therefore creating turmoil and war. It is any generation that includes people who are racist and they will try to influence any generation that will listen and conform.
What to do? Good question. Communities need to come together to support the OTW’s and this includes whites who take their freedoms for granted. This includes whites standing up and fighting against racial discrimination even though they are not directly affected by it. As world citizens we are all affected. It’s about pushing for equality for all, no matter what color, race, or sex. Speak out – don’t be silent.
Your generation has so much power because you are the generation that is the future work force etc. You are the generation that can influence change now by coming together in mixed groups as you have done. I think it’s awesome that you can have your racial clashes because it brings forth discussion and understanding. And, the fact that in spite of expected clashes you can still hang as a group. You have the desire to do something by the fact that you have inquired. You care and that is the first biggest step. I am inspired by you and your group. I also suggest you click ‘calling all women…’ under the heading ‘Madaline Speaks‘, located in the left column of my blog. It is a good read.
Peace out….
Gratefully your blog host,
michelle
Aka BABE: Your Bad Ass Bitch Editor
For archives dated before January 17, 2008 click on my Blogroll:
or click here: “A Day in the life of…”
All content on this site are property of Michelle Moquin © copyright 2008
" Politics, god, Life, News, Music, Family, Personal, Travel, Random, Photography, Religion, Aliens, Art, Entertainment, Food, Books, Thoughts, Media, Culture, Love, Sex, Poetry, Prose, Friends, Technology, Humor, Health, Writing, Events, Movies, Sports, Video, Christianity, Atheist, Blogging, History, Work, Education, Business, Fashion, Barack Obama, People, Internet, Relationships, Faith, Photos, Videos, Hillary Clinton, School, Reviews, God, TV, Philosophy, Fun, Science, Environment, Design, The Page, Rants, Pictures, Church, Blog, Nature, Marketing, Television, Democrats, Parenting, Miscellaneous, Current Events, Film, Spirituality, Obama, Musings, Home, Human Rights, Society, Comedy, Me, Random Thoughts, Research, Government, Election 2008, Baseball, Opinion, Recipes, Children, Iraq, Funny, Women, Economics, America, Misc, Commentary, John McCain, Reflections, All, Celebrities, Inspiration, Lifestyle, Theology, Linux, Kids, Games, World, India, Literature, China, Ramblings, Fitness, Money, Review, War, Articles, Economy, Journal, Quotes, NBA, Crime, Anime, Islam, 2008, Stories, Prayer, Diary, Jesus, Buddha, Muslim, Israel, Europe, Links, Marriage, Fiction, American Idol, Software, Leadership, Pop culture, Rants, Video Games, Republicans, Updates, Political, Football, Healing, Blogs, Shopping, USA, Class, Matrix, Course, Work, Web 2.0, My Life, Psychology, Gay, Happiness, Advertising, Field Hockey, Hip-hop, sex, fucking, ass, Soccer, sox"
November 18th, 2008 at 10:38 am
USING HUMOR ON GOOD DAYS AND BAD
Life is serious business. Of course it is. But have you noticed how some people seem burdened by life’s challenges and others somehow move through them with relative ease? One of the key differences is the way they handle each situation. I’ve seen a huge difference with my children, at the office or in a crowded airport full of delays where having a sense of humor not only eases my personal tension, but it also helps the situation get resolved easier and faster and yes, more happily. In previous articles I have written about how laughter can improve physical conditions (including high blood pressure), but why wait for negative emotions to create sickness in you? Instead, having a sense of humor, even when you really don’t feel funny, can go a long way toward making you both happier and healthier. To explore how you can create humor within yourself where none seemingly existed before, I called frequent Daily Health News contributor and life coach Lauren Zander, founder and chairman of The HandelGroup.
One of the great benefits of humor, says Lauren, is that it brings perspective to everything it touches including subjects, situations and people you get distressed about, hurt over or just don’t like. “People don’t have much tolerance for shortcomings,” she says. “They make people prickly and create unnecessary upset.” A sense of humor is the antidote to such prickliness. Let’s say you are worried that your holiday dinner was “ruined” because the roast beef was a little overdone. You can focus on that or, on the other hand, you can focus on the warm feeling that your family had that day as they shared the slightly overdone meat and laugh at yourself for setting impossible standards. When you’re caught in the mundane tasks of life, do you need to fret and stew, getting worked up again and again? How about making an attitude shift that will have you laughing about these matters instead… possibly even enjoying them. As an example, let’s say you are stuck in a long line at the department of motor vehicles. You can stand there getting totally stressed out about the crowd, the incompetent clerks, bureaucratic rules, the ridiculousness of having to renew your registration in person, etc. Or you can decide to enjoy the people around you, laugh about how all of you are stuck in this Seinfeld-like situation and end up having a pleasant experience at the DMV. “Humor brings joy and laughter to life,” Lauren sums up… even at the DMV.
HUMOR FOR PROBLEM SOLVING
Humor also has problem-solving benefits, especially when it comes to dealing with some of the most difficult problems or issues in our lives. “Humor lets you talk about things more easily and openly,” says Lauren. “Humor and understanding are best friends.” This explains why Alcoholics Anonymous, Weight Watchers and other group meetings where people confront their demons are so often laughter-filled. “Given that much of my work is about helping people change their behavior as easily as possible, I am always telling on myself with funny terms of endearment for my sometimes beastly behavior — ‘the steam roller rolls in and always thinks I am right.’ Or, I call myself Lilith — the character from Cheers — the very cold woman with no emotion, who speaks in a monotone voice. This is all humor — how people can accept serious, potentially critical points that end up being more like laughing at passing gas, which we all have done and do.”
Another way humor lightens the load has to do with shifting your perspective on issues you feel you can’t — or won’t — change. Rather than stress about these challenges, Lauren suggests learning to see the joke in problems you feel stuck with. Whether it’s your spouse’s perpetual lateness or “forgetting” to call your mother every week, almost any shortcoming has a funny — and humanizing — element, and adding levity releases any meanness you carry toward yourself or others. A fine example of this came in an interview Mike Wallace did on “60 Minutes” with the late Luciano Pavarotti. Wallace asked the famous tenor if he was hurt by speculation that he was lazy. Pavarotti peered quietly at Wallace and then responded, “You want to know something? I am lazy,” he said at which point both he and Wallace burst out laughing. We appropriately use the word “disarming” to describe a response like his — the humor literally dis-armed what could otherwise have been painful. In my house, humor is a constant tool used to help chide my children to do their chores or practice their musical instruments — I joke with them about their obligations and I joke about myself as the nagging mother. If I can see the humor in my own behavior and tease myself, it keeps them from getting angry with my “motherly ways.”
DEVELOPING HUMOR
You may now be thinking that humor can’t help you because you are lacking in that department. Many people claim a sense of humor is beyond them — or that their problems are so serious there’s nothing to laugh about — so they shrug the possibility off, accepting their fate. That is nonsense, says Lauren. “Anyone can learn to have a sense of humor,” she says. “You don’t need to be clever with words to develop the ability to find humor in life and to bring levity to everything. It is a skill you can craft.” And in no way does humor diminish commitment to life improvement… remember that gurus, including the Dalai Lama, love to laugh, even giggle.
Developing the art of humor does take time and practice, says Lauren, and so she suggests one way to have a great deal of fun with it is to turn it into a hobby. Couples can create a joint humor hobby to add extra spice to everyday life, she says. This will kick-start efforts to find interesting things to do together as well. Because there are many different kinds of humor in this world, from slapstick to sophisticated drawing-room comedy, she advises searching for and learning to enjoy as many types as you can, whether books, movies, comedy clubs, artists — the field is wide open. In addition to bringing laughter into your relationship, a joint humor project will help you learn to view each other more gently. Lauren says that most couples spend a great deal of time being annoyed with each other, but once you start laughing together it helps open your eyes to the value of laughing about petty habits and differences rather than letting them annoy you for years… and years. You may even soon see that you don’t have to take yourself, your partner or your relationship so seriously all the time. The family won’t disinherit you if the roast is overcooked or the car is a little dirty, nor will the Martha Stewart police come if the lid is off the toothpaste tube or empty water glasses are left around the house. My husband will forever forget to give me phone messages. I could stew about it or, do as we do, which is to lovingly and with humor suggest that he “not give up his day job” when I hear about a message I did not get. A good-natured giggle is far more fun.
Some other ways you can use humor to add to your happiness are these:
• Decide what areas in life you feel are especially heavy and void of humor.
• Pretend that you are an unrelated outside observer watching those areas of your life. Evaluate them carefully to see what about them you might possibly start to find funny. What do you really sound like on the phone with your children? Has your spouse been late for the last 40 years and so isn’t going to change his/her way? Is it true that you are a bad navigator and frequently get lost when driving to new places? While these and so many other moments can cause great angst — they can also be laughed at if you just accept that’s the way it is and are choosing not to change the situation. Then admit the humor to yourself or your loved one as appropriate, and “lighten up.”
• Create funny names for difficult personality characteristics and use the labels. For example, if you get irritable when hungry, admit to being a “starving monster,” or a “Grumpy Grandpa” (no matter your age) if you don’t like to go out to social events arranged by your spouse.
• Go hunting for things that make you laugh — movies, books, TV shows, YouTube offerings and the like — and enjoy them often.
It feels good to laugh and smile, but sometimes we forget the feeling when it has gone untapped for too long. Humor is a joyous part of life and it makes everything better, says Lauren. Anger and annoyance can’t cohabit with humor and laughter… it is up to you to choose your preference.
Source(s): ??Lauren Zander, life coach and chairman, The HandelGroup,
November 18th, 2008 at 8:17 pm
please let me get this in. Why are my comments kept out? I love you Michelle
November 18th, 2008 at 10:45 pm
Hi Mischa, good subject.
An American High School, it’s been a long while since I attended HS but I hung with everyone white and OTW’s regularly, I didn’t judge them then and I certainly don’t now, take a tip from Ghandi, ‘be the change you want to see in the world’ it’s my favorite quote bc it’s so right on. I think it applies well in regards to this topic. All you bigots out there agree, or no? hahaha…
I’m curious why Sandra thinks Anonz is scary? That made me laugh out loud.
G’night, Zen Lill
November 19th, 2008 at 4:02 am
Michelle
Sir
I was just having a little fun with the woman during the space walk. I didn’t mean to scare her into dropping her gear. Shall we return it to the crew.
Sir
Madaline