I'm just going to come right out and say it...
...I am NOT a fan of election years. I mean, my goodness. People get SO MEAN. Everyone, about everything, to all kinds of people, from all different beliefs. I'm so, so tired of the meanness. So I know I've already posted about this once, but I'm going to post about it again.
A few weeks ago some crazy dude came up to me on the street in order to convert me to his particular form of Christianity. He went on for a while, gave me a few standard brochures, and then said he hoped he hadn't offended me. It was, really, the only time that I've been approached by an evangelist (and I've been approached more times than I can count), that any has ever expressed an interest not to offend. I appreciated that, and said to him that I wasn't offended, because I knew that he was just trying to share with me something that was important to him. I didn't try to argue with him (there is no arguing with these people, ever), but I didn't read his brochures because I'd heard it all before, anyway. So instead I just wished him a nice day and went on my way. But later, I really got to wondering: why is it so incredibly important to us that other people believe the same thing we believe?
Recently, Mr. Chick-fil-A announced that he hates gay people, or some such nonsense. I don't know. He was pro-marriage-between-a-man-and-a-woman and made it clear. The reaction to this was quite astounding. Liberals went insane protesting on every media form possible (and probably other forms, too) and Conservatives announced a Chick-fil-A day, so everyone who loves heterosexual marriage/hates gay people/is conservative (?) can go support their agenda. I understand being upset about it. Especially if you were a gay person and you saw this as a direct attack on your personal life. However, going to facebook and posting 12 posts a day with snarky comments about how stupid the other people are isn't really going to help or fix anything. I know this from experience. In all honestly, it's surprising to me that Mr. Chick-fil-A thought this was a smart move on his part, as I'm sure lots of liberals also eat/ate his food. But whatever.
This is what it comes down to, kids: If you don't agree, don't eat at Chick-fil-A. It's hardly surprising that there are people in the world who object to homosexuality. I mean, really, what were the odds that Mr. Chick-fil-A wasn't anti-gay? You just never knew it before this. Another friend of mine recently posted something about how outraged she is that Obamacare is making it mandatory for health insurance to cover contraceptives. My advice to her: if you're against contraceptives, don't take them. It's as easy as that. Shouldn't it be fine that someone else makes a different choice? Shouldn't it be okay if another woman (who is, perhaps, not Christian) wants to take contraceptives, so she doesn't have dozens of children she can't afford or take care of? Shouldn't she be able to have that contraception covered by her insurance company, especially if she can't afford them out of pocket? Conversely, shouldn't Mr. Chick-fil-A be able to say whatever he wants, even if you don't agree with it? We have a freedom of religion, and a freedom of speech in this country. They are both good things. We should be more tolerant of people's right to exercise these things. But perhaps more importantly, we should not work toward taking away other people's rights, just because they are something we may not believe in.
The other part of this, is that today was a really hard day at work. Among other things, I found out one of my co-workers was saying really crappy things about me over a situation in which I had tried to smooth things over. In response, I got this particular co-worker telling other co-workers about how much I annoyed her. This frustrates me, as I'm pretty much the nicest person in the world, and I go out of my way to make things easier for other people. Now I feel like I never should/will talk to this other co-worker again, because I'm clearly just so annoying to her. My feelings were really hurt. The most bothersome thing about this situation, I feel, is that it's changed the whole atmosphere at work. I've never before had a co-worker that was so negative and snarky and talked about people behind their backs. Everyone else is pretty chill, and we all get along great. But along comes this lady and makes it all political and negative. How rude is that?
So I came home thinking about people saying mean things about other people. It's sad, really, that we feel the need to be so negative, in general. How could this co-worker not see that I was only trying to explain the situation to her so that she didn't feel like she was getting the short end of the stick? How could she possibly believe that was so unbearable annoying? But, she is entitled to her opinion. Maybe I am just always annoying to her, I don't know. She should be able to say that, even if it hurts my feelings. I wish she wouldn't, but I wish a lot of people wouldn't say a lot of things. Perhaps what I should be practicing is not letting these things affect me quite so much. Perhaps I need to take a lesson from my own preaching, and not be so offended by what other people think.
It's going to take a little practice.
Okay. A lot of practice.
A few weeks ago some crazy dude came up to me on the street in order to convert me to his particular form of Christianity. He went on for a while, gave me a few standard brochures, and then said he hoped he hadn't offended me. It was, really, the only time that I've been approached by an evangelist (and I've been approached more times than I can count), that any has ever expressed an interest not to offend. I appreciated that, and said to him that I wasn't offended, because I knew that he was just trying to share with me something that was important to him. I didn't try to argue with him (there is no arguing with these people, ever), but I didn't read his brochures because I'd heard it all before, anyway. So instead I just wished him a nice day and went on my way. But later, I really got to wondering: why is it so incredibly important to us that other people believe the same thing we believe?
Recently, Mr. Chick-fil-A announced that he hates gay people, or some such nonsense. I don't know. He was pro-marriage-between-a-man-and-a-woman and made it clear. The reaction to this was quite astounding. Liberals went insane protesting on every media form possible (and probably other forms, too) and Conservatives announced a Chick-fil-A day, so everyone who loves heterosexual marriage/hates gay people/is conservative (?) can go support their agenda. I understand being upset about it. Especially if you were a gay person and you saw this as a direct attack on your personal life. However, going to facebook and posting 12 posts a day with snarky comments about how stupid the other people are isn't really going to help or fix anything. I know this from experience. In all honestly, it's surprising to me that Mr. Chick-fil-A thought this was a smart move on his part, as I'm sure lots of liberals also eat/ate his food. But whatever.
This is what it comes down to, kids: If you don't agree, don't eat at Chick-fil-A. It's hardly surprising that there are people in the world who object to homosexuality. I mean, really, what were the odds that Mr. Chick-fil-A wasn't anti-gay? You just never knew it before this. Another friend of mine recently posted something about how outraged she is that Obamacare is making it mandatory for health insurance to cover contraceptives. My advice to her: if you're against contraceptives, don't take them. It's as easy as that. Shouldn't it be fine that someone else makes a different choice? Shouldn't it be okay if another woman (who is, perhaps, not Christian) wants to take contraceptives, so she doesn't have dozens of children she can't afford or take care of? Shouldn't she be able to have that contraception covered by her insurance company, especially if she can't afford them out of pocket? Conversely, shouldn't Mr. Chick-fil-A be able to say whatever he wants, even if you don't agree with it? We have a freedom of religion, and a freedom of speech in this country. They are both good things. We should be more tolerant of people's right to exercise these things. But perhaps more importantly, we should not work toward taking away other people's rights, just because they are something we may not believe in.
The other part of this, is that today was a really hard day at work. Among other things, I found out one of my co-workers was saying really crappy things about me over a situation in which I had tried to smooth things over. In response, I got this particular co-worker telling other co-workers about how much I annoyed her. This frustrates me, as I'm pretty much the nicest person in the world, and I go out of my way to make things easier for other people. Now I feel like I never should/will talk to this other co-worker again, because I'm clearly just so annoying to her. My feelings were really hurt. The most bothersome thing about this situation, I feel, is that it's changed the whole atmosphere at work. I've never before had a co-worker that was so negative and snarky and talked about people behind their backs. Everyone else is pretty chill, and we all get along great. But along comes this lady and makes it all political and negative. How rude is that?
So I came home thinking about people saying mean things about other people. It's sad, really, that we feel the need to be so negative, in general. How could this co-worker not see that I was only trying to explain the situation to her so that she didn't feel like she was getting the short end of the stick? How could she possibly believe that was so unbearable annoying? But, she is entitled to her opinion. Maybe I am just always annoying to her, I don't know. She should be able to say that, even if it hurts my feelings. I wish she wouldn't, but I wish a lot of people wouldn't say a lot of things. Perhaps what I should be practicing is not letting these things affect me quite so much. Perhaps I need to take a lesson from my own preaching, and not be so offended by what other people think.
It's going to take a little practice.
Okay. A lot of practice.
Funnily enough, I was just telling Justin last night how silly the whole Chick-fil-a thing was. I mean, get over it everyone. Everything gets to be such a deal, blown out of proportion. Agree or disagree. Move on. And I am sorry about the annoying lady at work--there is always someone who is determined to be offended.
ReplyDeleteI never eaten at a chik-fil-a.....and I never will, only because I am a vegetarian once again. Sorry to hear about the lady at work, perhaps she is unhappy with something in her personal life, or even with herself that she is taking it out on others. Not that is an excuse, just from personal experience people who were nasty to me, was because they were unhappy with who they were...does that make sense? Anyways, not fun. At the end of the day you know you are a good person and you know who you are, and nothing else should matter :)
ReplyDeleteWelcome to vegetarianism! Yay! Thank you for your kind words. Today the same woman was saying more negative (and really downright terrible) things about her son's girlfriend, so perhaps you are right. Perhaps she is just unhappy with herself, so she feels the need to attack other people. It would certainly make sense.
DeleteTotally agree. Who cares what Chik-Fil-A thinks? They aren't enforcing any laws, just saying what they think. They're only hurting their business. It was a pretty dumb move. Regardless, it's their right, even though I completely disagree with them. Anyway, sorry about your work experience. I don't know how anyone could be annoyed with you. I bet this lady is insecure or something, or just mean. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that I was approached in the grocery store parking lot by a woman passing out Johovah Witness material. She was nice and I took the brochures, but I wondered the same thing. Why do people need to try to convert other people? Shouldn't faith be a personal experience that you find on your own? The literature was misguided and manipulative but I read some of it because it was also interesting (in an anthropological sort of way). It talked about how good people who aren't JW remain on the earth, not heaven, which I though "Okay, that's cool. If they turn out to be right, I'll live forever on earth. No biggie."
ReplyDelete