I've got Mail!

I belong to several social networking, review, and blogger sites and once in a while I receive some lovely gems in my inbox. Normally, I don't respond, but this one had an air of an actual intelligent person, but alas, it was not to be. What follows is the unedited diatribe:

NAME CHANGED: you are quite outspoken eh?

AgingGothMom: Both on the internet world and in real life. It allows me to weed out people I can't be bothered with. As Machiavelli said, "It is better to be feared than loved if you cannot be both" and although, "fear" may not be the proper word here , Machiavelli never said anything about it being better to be an opinionated, loud mouthed, outspoken woman so I have to work with what he gave me.

:)

So, hello!

AgingGothMom: On a side note, after looking at your page, I see you have Cicero's "esse quam videri" in your description. There are two coincidences here. Firstly, I quoted Machiavelli in my initial response to you, and it was Machiavelli who twisted Cicero's words into Videri Quam Esse (To seem rather than to be) in describing how a ruler should be. The second coincidence is that I run a Book Club here in South Florida and on the opening page of the web site I use a quote from Cicero: "A room without books is like a body without a soul."

Hmmmm.

NAME CHANGED: I didn't mean to imply that being outspoken is necessarily bad.... to me being outspoken and unable to be tolerant of those you disagree with is bad.... i may disagree strongly with what you say, but I respect your right to be outspoken

AgingGothMom: Being outspoken is not bad. I wonder if I was saying things you agreed with, would you have taken the time to write me a note? I am accused of being intolerant and outspoken only when it is something someone doesn't agree with. If I may ask, as I to tend to have many opinions on many different things, what exactly it is that I am so "outspoken" about?

And please don't say Christians. I have equal contempt for all archaic dogmas. Religion is bunk. It is irrational and controlling and unoriginal. That doesn't mean I'm not "tolerant". I don't picket in front of churches with signs that say "You're going to burn in nothing after you die" or "Nobody up there hates you". That's the religious fanatic's job. And since I'm neither religious, nor a fanatic, I mostly spend time with my family and friends with whom I do not have these conversations with; firstly because they all know I'm an Atheist and I know they aren't, and secondly because we don't much use it to define our friendships.

So enlighten me. To what am I so intolerant?

NAME CHANGED: Hi again.... I was unaware of who had coined that phrase, but I have always tried "to be rather than to seem".... It was our High School's motto and I adopted it as how I wanted to be defined in life. I want to be real and open and known as a transparent person.... The same in my heart and mind as I am in actual practice

NAME CHANGED: My my my.... When did I say you were intolerant? You seem to me reading between my lines, and reading things I did not say. But your words definitely are harsh, and if you feel I am accusing you of intolerance, maybe its because you projecting upon yourself that concept.... It is clear however that any rational discussion with you is impossible, and since you denigrate my Christian beliefs with feelings of contempt, I bid you adieu

AgingGothMom: You called me "intolerant" 2 letters ago. But in typical fashion, you make your comment and then skeedaddle when it's not all wine and roses. There is nothing harsh in what I have written to you. You yourself have called me outspoken. I tell it like it is and if you see that as harsh, well then so be it.

I didn't denigrate any of your beliefs, unless you consider yourself a religious fanatic who enjoys picketing, and I actually made an effort to highlight that my thoughts on religion have nothing to do with my personal relationships with people. You accuse me of reading between the lines when you yourself have done exactly such.

Then,in true hypocritical form, when you see that you are not dealing with some giggly character ( I notice you only seem to friend women on this site) you call me irrational and bid me adieu. Silly person. I shall enjoy sharing this diatribe with intelligent people.

Question.

This question has been nagging at me for a week or so now. Susan Boyle. Why were the judges so "shocked" that she could sing well? Why was everyone so "surprised" that she had a beautiful voice? Is it because she is homely and chubby and not a blond bimbo with implants? It is because she is not one who people would call "gorgeous?".

Really? Is this why the world is "stunned by her performance". Does this imply that one has to be beautiful to be taken seriously; they have to fit this beauty image mold that we've been force fed? Because if you don't, then the world has a right to expect nothing from you and ridicule you. You're fat and homely, therefore I have every right to treat you like less of a person and then turn around and compliment you if you deliver something unexpected.

Something about the whole Susan Boyle situation makes me a bit angry. Not Susan Boyle herself, of course, as she is one brave lady and talented lady. I don't know exactly what it is that makes me angry about all of it, but I think in general it's the idea that people think they are better than someone who doesn't fit the mold, who goes against the grain. And although Susan Boyle is a "normal" person (church choir, takes care of mom,etc.) her "abnormality" is that she is not a "beautiful" person and not suffering from anorexia.

The whole hub-bub around Susan Boyle is just an indication of how shallow and idiotic human beings have become.

"Oh look! An ugly person can sing!" I feel like they're all saying. In interviews she's spoken to as if she were a child, in that condescending "Aren't you cute" kind of tone. Cute? She's 47 years old and has spent her life taking care of her mother! This woman has had it harder than most people let alone Judy Interviewer and her plastic smile.

Susan Boyle is extremely talented. She should be appreciated for that. That is her beauty.

I couldn't find a video to embed, so here is the link. I suggest you watch it.

Susan Boyle Sings on Britain's Got Talent 2009

Reprehensible Behavior

I don't like proselytizers. I don't like them in any way shape or form, whether they be evangelical Christians, Jehovah Witnesses, Mormons, Baptists, Seventh-Day Adventists, Sixth Day Adventists, 23rd Day Adventists, whatever! I just learned that Jews are now going door to door and I don't like them either! I don't even like people coming to my door to sell me magazines or ask me how happy I am about my phone service. The religious ones are intrusive and the marketing ones are annoying and they all happen to choose to knock while I am in the middle of something and/or nap time so the dog goes crazy and wakes up D.

Bottom line, I do not like proselytizers. If you love your religion so much, go sing about it in your church and make a YouTube video about it and mail me a letter. Don't knock on my door asking me if I've "heard the good news" because unless that "good news" involves Clive Owen, being skinny without dieting, and a stable bank account, I'm not really going to listen. And, if you leave my doorstep shaking your head and feeling that I am less of a person because I don't share in your "good news", well let me just give you some advice on where to stick it.

In the past, most people that have knocked on my door, wherever I have lived, have been adults. Some are pushy, some are nice, some start praying on your doorstep when you try to be polite and not scream at them to "fuck off", but 95% of the time, they are well dressed adults who are interested in dialoguing with me about Jesus and his dad and why I should become a zombie. That's fine and dandy with me. But as of late I've noticed a new trend with the Witnesses: children.

Since moving to Florida, every time the Witnesses have knocked on my door, the ADULTS have hung back on the sidewalk about 10-15 feet away and let a SMALL CHILD walk up my driveway and knock on my door with their little hands gripping the many copies of The Watchtower. How absolutely vile is that? It horrifies me to no end. I am finding it very difficult to find the ways to describe how much that disgusts me. Children should not be used as manipulative means to push your god. Do these people think that I'm going to see a kid and say, "Oh yes! I believe in Jesus now because this little boy just knocked on my door." And how horrible can I feel closing the door in a child's face after saying, "No thanks hon!". Can you imagine what that does to a kid? I mean, it's hard enough getting a door shut in your face as an adult, but how about for a little child? Walking up to big doors, with strangers behind them , who say "No" to you. It's traumatic I'm sure.

But it doesn't end with children for these people. No, it gets worse. I thought I had seen it all when the toddler knocked on my door a few months back with his BABY sister in his arms, but today took the cake.

At about 9:30am this morning, I saw the Witness troupe coming up the block. I didn't see any children in tow and I was thankful for that. I put the dog out back, preparing myself for the inevitable knock and my, "No thank you, we are Atheists" speech, but no knock came. I saw the group standing in front of my house and for once, I thought they had seen my sign and understood it, so I moved along with getting D ready to go out. And then I heard it. A feeble knock on the door. Instantly I thought it was a child and got grumpy, but when I opened the door I was greeted with something so reprehensible that I was almost rendered speechless.

She was an older woman, maybe 60 years old. She walked with a cane and appeared to be hunched at the back. What startled me was not her appearance but the fact that she was MENTALLY HANDICAPPED. She was so severely handicapped that she could not speak, emitting small grunts as she tried to hand me her "Jesus saves" pamphlet. I was appalled. It is one thing to push small children, who will one day grow and learn and form their own opinions on what has been taught to them, but to take advantage of this woman and EXPLOIT her in this fashion infuriates me to no end. As usual, the "normal" (for lack of a better word) people sat on the sidewalk 10-15 feet away, while this poor woman, manipulated and exploited by those who purportedly work for a "loving god", sat on my doorstep with vacant eyes trying to peddle salvation.

What do I do? What could I do? I smiled, said "No thank you" (omitting the "we're Atheists" part since she wouldn't understand anyhow) and closed the door. I watched her shuffle back to her group and continue her trek in the hot sun. I wanted to cry for that woman and I wanted to kick the people in charge of her in the face repeatedly.

I still have an awful taste in my mouth from the whole experience and if there is ever cause for me to hate another person or group, I think I found it today.