Because it made me giggle...

[changeyourstars8]

So apparently some parents in Rhode Island are worried that their high-schoolers shouldn't go on a class trip to see RENT. They might not be able to deal with the "in-your-face glorification of homosexuality and lesbianism." (quote from Focus on the Family)

Please. I became a fan of the musical (and the Broadway version is quite a bit raunchier than the movie) when I was fourteen or fifteen. Of course, I doubt that Dobson and his ilk would look at me and see anything good, so. . .

Anyway, I could get into a huge rant about how Christianity is supposed to be about loving your neighbor and being kind to people, etc. and etc., rather than finding a new 'oh my goodness see look the gay people are everywhere eeeeeeek' target every other day, but I'd rather just post this:

Jesus Bans 'Christian' Group Focus on the Family

When the news reached Focus on the Family's Colorado Springs headquarters, stunned members were seen running into walls and bashing their foreheads with large Bibles and ramming their Toyota Corollas and Ford pickups into each other and muttering incoherent lines from "Passion of the Christ" and popping Prozac like M&M's.

Comments

[jadelynx.livejournal.com]

Alright, I'm a little irritated, so if I am too harsh or anything, please call me on it.

First of all, if you want other people to respect the things you believe, then you shouldn't support such blatant disrespect as the article you linked. On the other hand, if you find that sort of thing amusing, that is your choice, but please don't get upset when other people laugh at or disrespect the things you believe. I'm not offended that you find that article amusing (I WAS offended by the article), but I am offended that you are willing to laugh at it at the same time be upset that parents don't want their children exposed to something they believe to be morally deviant.

To be clear, I don't always agree with Dobson on his viewpoints, so I am not here to defend him. But the truth of the matter here is that it's not Dobson saying that the kids shouldn't see the film. It's their parents. And the concern isn't just over the blatant homosexuality, but by the glorification of myriad issues that go beyond sexual orientation. The movie glorifies drug use (despite their attempt to get the druggies to stop, it's STILL a glorification of it), it glorifies defying the law, it glorifies living a second rate life rather than working for a corporation, and it glorifies theft.

The worst of it, though, is that it does it all to some of the most brilliant, most beautiful music out there. Even some of the actors agree on this point:

" Idina Menzel, who plays Maureen, added, “Music has a weird way of sneaking up on people and making them feel something they wouldn’t necessarily feel if they were being preached at.”

AND, just because you were able to handle the content at 14 (and I highly doubt at 14 you truly understood the content fully), that does not mean all kids, or even most kids can. These parents weren't complaining about the film being aired. They weren't saying that homosexuality was horrible. They weren't even saying homosexuality wasn't a choice. They were saying that sexual orientation shouldn't be a part of a "diversity" class and that using a film of that caliber was inappropriate and unnecessary.

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

Well, yeah, I'm thinking that was harsh. But I just got done with a big moving day and I'm wiped out, so that might have something to do with it.

If people are at least polite about the issue of what they believe and why, then I'll be polite back. If they're not, then I feel perfectly free to mock them. Dobson and Falwell are firmly in the 'mock' category by now, which is why I posted the article.

As for the parents, they have every right to not want their kids to see RENT. And I have every right to think that's an incorrect choice, and post about why. In doing so, I used a satirical article. I'll probably do so in the future, just a fair warning.

You know, seriously, this is one of the main reasons I feel uncomfortable in church. I like articles like this and the movie Dogma and other entirely irreverent religion-based jokes and most everyone I've met who's actually religious doesn't, so there's no way I fit in. Too sick of a sense of humor, I guess. I'd give up trying, but my husband likes it when I go to church with him.

Anyway, back to RENT. I do agree that some of the things accepted in the movie are bad, and yes, I thought so even at fourteen. But the funny thing is, most of the time that I hear someone complaining about it, they're complaining about the homosexuality, not the rampant drug use or the rewiring of the ATM.

Which is why I think it'd actually make an excellent field trip for high schoolers in a sociology/psychology class. They could see it, discuss what issues it brought up and how it treated them and why, and whether or not the writers were right or wrong in their opinions of what should be glorified, and whether they went too far in their 'everyone should be accepted for who they are' theme.

And I know some people laugh at or disrespect the things I believe in; as a liberal in Kansas I'm quite used to that. ;-)

[jadelynx.livejournal.com]

First off, I loved Dogma I actually don't think it was irreverent. It just came at things from a very different viewpoint, and one I related to in a lot of areas.

The problem with the satirical article you posted wasn't that it was irreverent to Dobson. I agree that he and Falwell have done enough to lose a lot of respect. The problem with it that it was extremely irreverent to God. As far as I know he's done nothing to deserve it. Religious people create religious idiocies. Intolerance is preached by the people, it is not encouraged by God. The article could have mocked Dobson without mocking God.

The people that you were posting your opinion about weren't impolite in how they handled themselves, so I don't believe it was fair to be impolite about them. I agree that there are issues that could be discussed from that movie. But that wasn't what was set to happen. The plan was to take the kids to see this movie, address the issue of homosexuality in the light of diversity and that was it.

Here's what bothers me. People who don't want their children to learn about sexual diversity in school are labeled intolerant. They are prudes who want to ruin people's lives by not accepting their way of life, rather than being parents who want to handle the way the way their children learn about things like sex. Not every child matures at the same pace. Not every child can handle certain information at the same time as every other. Children need to hear things in their own language, not in the Form Letter way that a school has to teach. Parents should have the right to teach their children sensitive subjects as they see fit. Parents should have the right to stand up and say that they do not want their children educated in subjects without being crucified for that.

Unfortunately that doesn't seem to be possible in our country anymore.

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

I didn't think that it mocked God-- if I thought the author was being truly mean-spirited along that line instead of just joking around, I wouldn't have posted it. Guess that's one of those agree-to-disagree things. :-)

As for what's taught in the schools . . . that one was probably my fault-- in the article I read about it, it came across that some parents were against the movie simply because of what Dobson said the content was, without actually seeing it for themselves or at least listening to some of the songs, etc. I'm sure some of them did do that, but others probably did do a bit more research, and for lumping them in with the first group, I'm sorry.

I do think that parents know better than the schools what their children can handle and are ready for. The people who start in on how since they don't think *their* kid is ready, this shouldn't be available for *any* child at the schools are the ones I have a problem with, and not making that clearer was my mistake.

[jadelynx.livejournal.com]

Oh! And...

You don't fit in because you haven't found the right people. If you go to church because it makes your husband happy, then maybe you should have a conversation with your husband about finding a place that can both of you comfortable.

You should be able to walk into church and be a high lesbian with a potty mouth and still be loved and accepted. Those places are out there, you just have to search. You should search, because what you really really need to find is someplace that you can find God without all the religious, political shit churches spew today.

MY Jesus loves you regardless of your opinion, of him or anything else. He loves you regardless of sexual orientation, regardless of political offiliation, regardless of language, regardless of past, present or future sins. He just loves you, me, everyone. And he doesn't ask us change, just to accept him as our savior.

You need to find a place where you can absorb that without anything else, because you deserve that chance.

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

Yeah-- the problem is, I'm not sure if I can ever *really* be comfortable in any church so long as I'm agnostic. It's not that the message being preached in this church is bad, or that I dislike the people, it's just that I can't help but feel like a bit of an imposter while I'm there.

And I fully agree with you on finding a church without the politics-- Chris and I never went back to one church because politics was heavily brought into it. And that is one thing I like about this church, that so far politics hasn't come into it at all, it's just Bible discussion. So if I ever could be truly comfortable in a church, it's probably that one.

As for the right people-- I've got Kath, and Chris, and you, and my family, so I think I'm doing pretty good there. *S*

[jadelynx.livejournal.com]

I think we've frightened anyone else off from responding, hee.

I'm with ya on the "agree to disagree" thing.

It's interesting to me, though, because the only article that I saw didn't mention Dobson at all. It didn't mention Christians at all. But it was obvious they looked down on the parents for the choice to ask the school to pull the program. Maybe that's why what you said upset me so much, because it felt like it was all assumption that anyone that objects to homosexuality taught in schools must be a religous freak following blindly after Dobson and his lot.

[allthelivesofme.livejournal.com]

lol That happened once before here-- a friend of mine and I got into it pretty heavily on the subject of the news media, and I'm pretty sure anyone else who reads this journal was just like, "Okay...backing away slowly..." ;-)