So a few baptists came to the door today . . .

[justiceischeap]

13. I applaud you for your maturity but, when the mormon's came to my door

a few days after Prop 8 passed, well, I didn't have the maturity you did. I told their church raised money specifically for the purpose of denying me and my kind equality...I sent them on their way, and boy, were they in for a surprise when they got my neighbor. Now, he, was rude. I could hear the yelling through the walls.

But I digress. The problem, for me anyway, isn't the everyday run-of-the-mill christians and I don't begrudge anyone their beliefs--to each her own. What bothers me is people getting bothered if I decide to respond in the negative to proselytizing. I don't have to be rude to respond in the negative, though I gather some would think not smiling and falling to my knees in gratitude when someone sends me a 'God Bless' would be considered negative. But I do have the right to be offended and to respond.

The problem for me, and it's my problem, I know this, is the following: The crazy side of christianity (those whacko right-wing fundies) have ruined the image of christianity in this country; quite possibly in the world. When someone offers me a religious blessing, I automatically equate them with the whacko right-wing fundies--the one's I see stories about SO often here on DU.

They threaten a 16-yr-old girl because she was successful in her lawsuit to take a prayer banner out of school. Any Rick Santorum (or Repub running for office) story. Any religious story that gets news coverage, because 9 times out of 10 it's a sensational story--why else would it be in the news? That in and of itself is a problem. I am now conditioned, like Pavlov's fucking dog, when I hear any religious platitudes to automatically think of creationism in classrooms or pictures of jesus holding a baby dinosaur or the mormon and catholic churches banding together to finance denying equality or any number of negative images that so easily go hand in hand with religion these days. Mostly, I see myself being attacked for being a woman and a lesbian almost on a daily basis by these whacko's. If I don't want to hear a God bless, I think I'm allowed my opinion on that. If I want to snark back (I don't think I would, for the most part I try being polite), I think I'm allowed. If I'm tired of it all, I think I'm allowed. I think it's a reasonable expectation to go to some retail outlet (other than a christian bookstore) and not have to hear anything to do with religion. In my mind, that should be a "safe" place to get away from it all.