Labels

Hi Friends;

Tell me, what defines us? Can a certain label determine who we are, who we were, or even who we will be?
As many of us with blogs, we occasionally find things linked to us that seem odd at best. For a while now I've received spam about nude female celebrities. Now, anyone who has actually read my blog would find that to be not quite up my alley. Still, somewhere someone labeled it as such and on comes the blog spam. Today, just moments before writing this post, even, I found that my blog has been defined by someone as a blog about nudists. How they go that is seemingly in part due to a post I wrote about the way nudist blogs are being nuked, but I now understand a bit more of the spam I'm receiving and even some of the search words that come up under my stat page.
Now, don't get me wrong. I have nothing against nudists. I am a home nudist much of the time- but trust me when I say that you don't want to see that. Still, even though I am not against nudism in any way, that just isn't what this blog is about.
  Just to be direct, let me tell you what this blog is about: It's about me. It's about you! It's about us; how we can help each other, what we find important, and the fact that we care about each other.
 But, is it fair to put a label on something or someone? This blog has a lot to do with homosexuality, dogs, politics, religion, kids, growing and developing..... because, you see, growing and developing is what I am trying to do.  So, I guess I talk about it a bit, and you who comment really help me understand myself and my world better.
  In my life, I've had occasion to be labeled as many different things.  None, no matter how accurate, could even get close to defining me.  But, what they did quite easily, quite quickly, was limit the image I could project to that other person.  After the label, it didn't matter -- in that person's mind, I'd been defined, categorized, and they'd moved on.  You see, it is easier to label someone with an easily codified label than to really seek to understand them.  That's not news, and frankly it's just common sense - there are way too many people in this world to understand each of them.  The best, in my mind, is that we understand ourselves and be kind to everyone else.  Easier said than done...
  So, when I hear of the recent shooting, when I hear the commentators, everyone wants to know why.  What made this person do this?  The problem, the irony, is that we want to put a label on this man, not understand him - and surely not take steps necessary to arrive at a solution to the drives that brought him to that path.  We just really want to to simply have a tag to put on it all and declare it behind us. 
  But, there are some very smart people pointing to things that are just wrong.  They are not simply uncomfortable or inconvenient, they are poisonous.  I'm not so smart to be one of these people, but they are out there.  They are talking about the need for health care, non-petroleum/coal based energy, environment care, humane treatment for prisoners and law reform, equal rights.  What do we hear?  Do we hear the truth, the important things, the needful things? 
  One of the things that has me frustrated with politics is how often the truth falls victim to the brownie points or whatever it is that puts one politician or political party ahead of the other.  They see it is a bid for power, but I see it as a real shame.  In the end, we are private individuals and have the right to tell others what we will of ourselves, but to deceive and lie - to defraud?  No.  For then, the lie becomes the story, the thing people rely on, the hope they hold, and truth becomes inconvenient and a liability to be hidden and denied at all costs.
  So, I beg you; if labels are a must, let them help to point us to the truth, not be a limit of the truth. 
    Hugs.

And the lead story on the 6:00 news....

Hello Friends;

  Today I had the opportunity to be at another adoption event for one of the local dog/cat rescue organizations, where I was viciously attacked by a dog of a customer to the store where we were set up!!!
  I had just taken one of the rescue dogs from the foster parent's car.... he was full of energy and so very, very happy to be there.  When out of no-where, amidst the noise and fury of a furry four pound fuzz ball and the panicked screaming of the little girl still holding an empty leash, I was caught up in a mad scramble of one attacking dog and another dog totally confused by this squeaking dervish snapping at anything in reach. 

  Taking the high road, literally, I snapped up the large dog to shoulder height as we both stared down at this maniacal miniature dust mop in awe as he attempted to unhinge his jaw enough to actually bite me in the calf.  A vicious attack carried out in the most cruel manner while an elderly woman and little girl looked on in horrified disbelief.   Thankfully I was clothed in the latest personal protection gear - worn out denim jeans - thereby halting the crazed canine's canines before I could lose such an important limb.

  In moments, a mad dash was under way as little girl, her mother, and vicious dog all piled into a rusting minivan and escaped into the mid-day sun.  The attack witnesses,  numerous pet rescue volunteers and store customers, stood in awe - no less awe than I and the dog still riding on my shoulders, as that rusty minivan disappeared into the wavering heat, dust and traffic... a defiant and  psychopathic snarl drifting back to us in the summer breeze.
  My new four legged friend and I made our way to the others with a shared shrug.  Concerned citizens everywhere stopped to be sure we had survived the ordeal, and I assured them it was a close call but we were yet whole.

  I am yet awaiting the call from my congressman that legislation has been enacted to be sure such outragious attacks never occur again.  He surely will have a news conference soon....


glad to be alive;
randy


(Oh, I have GOT to stop writing my blog posts after watching the news!   hugs.)

What do you think?

Hi Everyone;


Reading your comments to the below post, I had to wonder; is it the tool or the user? Is it that some tools, as you said Sammy, have really only the one use and opportunity seems to find a place, much like owning a hammer brings about an abundance of things needing hammered? My father, when I was about 7, gave me my first hammer. I soon went out and destroyed our front steps - I felt the corners needed rounding. What sort of idiocy would I have done with a shotgun?

Nikki, you believe we really should outlaw guns, as it is the gun that is the problem.

On the other hand, the hammer, and in reality also the gun, are really not able to operate themselves. Can we blame the hammer that I am an idiot? Well, perhaps in hindsight, giving a 7year-old a hammer is foolish - is it equally foolish to give an immature person a gun?  How do we differentiate between the mature and the idiot without destroying simple human rights?

Scottie, you noted that the mindset that sees violence as cool is well developed and cultivated in America.

Which begs the question; if it isn't the gun - or in my case, the hammer, what other piece of foolishness would I have chosen?  What would be used then, for someone bent on killing people.... a bomb?  It just seems like there are some who are so very determined to hurt others.

What do you think?

Gunman Kills 12 at Batman Premiere in Colorado

And, that's all I'll say about him.  I don't say that to say he is not worthy of talking about, that he is worthless, that his crimes place him on the fast track to hell.  None of that is what I'm wanting to say; what I want to ask is if protecting one's rights to automatic modifiable weapons is necessary?  If seeing violence, cheating, stealing, using and abusing on television and in other media daily, yet classifying public nudity as a sex offense at all makes sense in any of this world?  Lone gunman in a movie theater is a horrible thing, losing sight of what is simple and natural in life is an unmentionable tragedy.
  My humble sympathy to the families of all involved.

Scotland: Catholic Church declares ‘war on gay marriage’

by Dan Littauer for PinkNews.co.uk
8 July 2012, 6:55pm
http://www.pinknews.co.uk/2012/07/08/scotland-catholic-church-declares-war-on-gay-marriage/

The leader of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland and the most senior Catholic in the UK has declared “war on gay marriage” pledging to spend another £100,000 in its campaign against equal marriage rights for same-sex couples in Scotland.

Speaking in today’s Sunday Times, Cardinal Keith O’Brien warned the Scottish Government that it will face an “unprecedented backlash” from the Catholic Church in Scotland if it goes ahead with plans to legalise same-sex marriage, claiming “marriage is under threat and politicians need to know the Catholic Church will bear any burden and meet any cost in its defence.”
The Catholic Church says it will spend an additional £100,000 on an advertising campaign against the plans, on top of the £50,000 it has already spent against marriage equality in Scotland.
The Equality Network, the LGBT equality charity that campaigns for equal marriage, slammed the move as “aggressive, undemocratic and unchristian” and urged the Scottish Government to “stand up for equality” rather than “give in to threats”.
The Equality Network says that the leadership of the Catholic Church in Scotland has a wider “anti-gay agenda” pointing out that in addition to opposing same-sex marriage the Church previously ran expensive campaigns against the equal age of consent, the repeal of Section 28, civil partnerships, and same-sex adoption.
Previously Cardinal O’Brien has described same-sex marriage as a “grotesque subversion”. In December, he said the introduction of Civil Partnerships had been a mistake, arguing the law should never ‘facilitate’ same-sex relationships; “These measures were not in the best interests of our society. The empirical evidence is clear, same-sex relationships are demonstrably harmful to the medical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing of those involved, no compassionate society should ever enact legislation to facilitate or promote such relationships, we have failed those who struggle with same-sex attraction.”
Tom French, Policy Coordinator for the Equality Network, said; “For the Catholic Church to spend another £100,000 fighting LGBT equality in its self-declared ‘war on gay marriage’ seems to be an aggressive, undemocratic and unchristian thing to do. At a time of financial crisis, when poverty and deprivation are on the rise, surely there are better things that this money could be spent on. We know that two-thirds of Scots, and a majority of Scottish Catholics, support same-sex marriage. We trust that the Scottish Government will make its decision based on democratic principles and the evidence, and not who can spend the most money. We urge the Scottish Government to stand up for equality and not give in to threats.”
The public consultation on same-sex marriage closed in December with over 50,000 responses. The Scottish Government is due to publish the results and announce its decision this month.
In June the Equality Network announced that a majority of MSPs had signed its Equal Marriage Pledge, committing themselves to voting in favour of same-sex marriage. 74 MSPs have now said they will vote in favour, whilst just 9 remain opposed.
Opinion polls have shown consistent public support for same-sex marriage in Scotland. The most recent poll was conducted in mid-June by Ipsos MORI on behalf of the Equality Network. It showed record support with 64% of Scots in favour of a change in the law, and just 26% opposed. Separate polls conducted over the past two years by Populus, YouGov, Angus Reid, and the Scottish Social Attitudes Survey, have all shown similar levels of support.
The Scottish Social Attitudes Survey also showed that a majority of Scottish Catholics support same-sex marriage with 57% in favour and just 25% opposed.


Hello Friends;
 
So, the Scottish Catholic Church has decided to spend £150,000 on "The War on Gay Marriage".  How interesting.  Well, doubtful I am that the guy with the funny hat reads my blog, but just in case - I've put together a small bit of scripture for you to view this issue in context.  Hope you enjoy it:

34 Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:

35 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:
36 Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?
39 Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

41 Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels:

42 For I was an hungred, and ye gave me no meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me no drink:
43 I was a stranger, and ye took me not in: naked, and ye clothed me not: sick, and in prison, and ye visited me not.
44 Then shall they also answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, or athirst, or a stranger, or naked, or sick, or in prison, and did not minister unto thee?
45 Then shall he answer them, saying, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these, ye did it not to me.
46 And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal.


So, please help me to understand this, Mr. Funny Hat Guy; where does Jesus declare spending money on halting personal freedom and equality is more important than, say, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, treating the sick and visiting those in prison? 
  Or, better yet, could you please define for me - for whom do you work?