Saturday, November 8, 2008

Protesters, Prop 8 and comments

...I guess you're refusing to apologize for being a bigot. It is hateful and wrong. Mormons should know better, and we will make it painful until they do. I'm planning on protesting a lot. And making t-shirts with the garment symbols on them....

This was left as a comment on my last blog.

Another reader felt that while it's unfair to judge all gay people by the acts of a few stereotypical ones, its okay to judge all Mormons for the acts of one Utah resident who burned a flag of a neighbor who supported Obama. We don't know if that person is LDS. We are assuming this because they are from Utah. And even so apparently this is representative of ALL Mormons. He also goes on to talk about how the church should change its doctrines to make life easier for those who can't follow the commandments. I guess the concept here is if we water down and make the commandments easier then more people will follow them and be happy. Feeling happy is apparently more important then actually being happy. Of course he uses the emotional loaded word suicide which of course makes anyone who comments about this sound heartless.

My statement to the first comment is this. Go right ahead and do it. I don't care. Do you really think its going to further your cause or make Mormons feel sorry for you and change their minds?

At this point both sides have their extremes. The real issue here is that these protests are going to polarize the middle. The people who may feel that "okay its wrong but they have rights" when they begin to feel attacked when they see their sacred symbols attacked or they see their LDS neighbors who they know aren't bigots maligned, they are going to act. They are feeling pushed.

This bothers me personally because it will only lead to further stereotyping on both sides. This will lead to further conflict. And those of us in the middle will end up losing on both ends.

1 comment:

Bravone said...

Crow, Thank you for posting your thoughts and standing up for what you believe. I respect you for following the promptings of the spirit with an issue that, because of your own struggles, is very sensitive. I am sorry that you have had to suffer retaliation and loss of friendship.

Your comments on tolerance are right on point. It goes both ways. Both sides need to be tolerant of each others' rights and opinions, but tolerance does not equal acceptance or embracing.

When my gay brother left the Church and embraced the gay lifestyle, he expressed his dissatisfaction with the Church. I asked him if he thought the Church should change its principles to accommodate his lifestyle. Interestingly enough, his response was, "No, it would be true if it did."

The Church has the right and responsibility to uphold sacred values and institutions. I do feel, however, that the Church does need to do a better job of teaching tolerance to its members. It needs to do a better job making sincere gay people feel welcome in our midst.

Perhaps the negative responses to the Church following Prop 8 will prompt our leaders to seek the Lord's help in finding a way to better address the needs of those of us who daily deal with same gender attraction.

Thanks again. Bravone