Chapter 475 Scene 3 (or “The Conversion of Matt”)

[Matt deGomme]
     It was the end of the service and the college students had just been called to the altar – that meant him. In his heart, he knew he had no business at an altar; he had no business in a church, at least not the business the congregants expect. He only ever came to church at his mother’s insistence and, even then, only after much insistence. The preacher had requested that his mother sing in the service, so he had come to support her. Now, the preacher – a former lesbian – was calling the youth up for special prayer before they went back to school. Elementary school. Middle school. High school... His turn.
     He had no excuse. “College students” was so general. She didn’t ask for “College Christians” or “College Believers,” though these were probably what she thought she was getting. The words the preacher used made remaining seated next to his mother an act of defiance he did not want to justify to her, so he got up and went.
     He stood and waited for the preacher to get through the rest of the few college students. Eventually she reached him with her bottle of oil. She poured some out onto her fingers and rubbed it onto his bowed forehead while saying a prayer. When she was done, she paused with his hands in hers and looked up at him. “There is a glow in your face,” she said. She narrowed her eyes and raised a thick index finger up to his nose, “Don’t let the Devil steal it.” He stopped short of a full smile and returned to his seat.
     When he sat down, his mother was leaning slightly away from him. She focused on him while he settled. “You looked like your father up there,” she said. Such a statement might seem obvious, empty to most. His father is half of the people you’d expect him to look like. But the statement’s simple, ostensible innocence both shrouded and magnified the vague, though deeply penetrating criticism it conveyed. If you’re an only son whose mother has been abandoned by your father and not replaced in 20 years; if you’re an only son who is always immediately recognized as his mother’s child, you know exactly what that statement means. What prompted such a statement, on the other hand, was as mysterious to him as what brought him into the building.
     At that moment, as he looked into her eyes, he thought about what the preacher had just said about that same face. He thought about the preacher’s spiritual and, therefore, sexual “conversion.” He thought about his mother’s singing and her ability to inspire. He thought of the glow he knew the preacher could see dwindling in his face and the warning she gave before he returned to his seat. He thought about the God he didn’t believe existed; the Authority from which all of these divers inspirations, conversions, and judgments presumably came, and he thought about what such an entity must think about all this. At that moment, as he had these thoughts and absorbed the look in his mother’s eyes, he didn’t smile; but in his heart he laughed. He also knew that somewhere, God was laughing, too.

Chapter -4 Scene 19 (or “Theories of Humor & the Absurd pt. 1”)

[Matt deGomme]
     “How do I know if a guy is gay?” Adam asked.
     Instead of laughing in Adam’s face, he took a drag of his cigarette, looked down for a moment, then replied, “If it’s not obvious, his eyes will betray the secret. When your eyes connect his are a question, as if he’s unsure whether he’s looking at you or not. Even when his gaze is not directed towards you, his eyes are always looking, searching. Sometimes it’s most pronounced when he’s staring straight ahead at what looks like nothing. You can see it even when they’re closed. When he enters the room, you’ll see him scan all of the faces with a sort of… modest intensity. He will always look up to examine when someone new, especially a man, enters the door. Always looking — always hungry for other eyes. A welcome often rescinded before you even knew you were invited.”
      “What?”
      In spite of himself, he laughed. He took another drag of his cigarette and let it out slowly. “Wear sunglasses.”

"I'm Surrounded!" - Understanding the Plight of the Oppressed Heterosexual Male

At first I didn't... I couldn't understand why straight men were always complaining. I really thought they had everything going for them, but then I listened to this rant:

Now I get it. Poor Mr. Pilot man! After recounting that eleven out of twelve flight attendants he had to deal with were "f**king over-the-top f**king *ss f**king homosexuals" he says, "Think of the odds of that!"

What are the odds?! Your statistical reality is so unfortunate. What are the odds that, in America's great "equal opportunity" society, the top 5% of wage earners are about 90% white?(1) What are the odds that a male with a doctorate will earn over $40,000 more annually than a female with the same degree?(2) What are the odds that those "*ss f**king homosexuals" you're so sick of attempt suicide up seven times as often as their heterosexual counterparts?(3)

Well, those odds are 100%, because that's reality. What are the odds that Mr. Pilot man is the beneficiary of all of this? I don't know, but it must be pretty low since his life sounds rough.

This pilot was so infuriated for feeling like what women, gays, & ethnic minorities feel like all the time, except he only had to endure it for a few weeks. He seems to believe the myth -- & it's perpetuated in our media, our schools, & in too many of our homes -- that the only people who count are the ones like him; all of the "real" people share his traits & to deal with people who don't is a severe imposition on his life.

Mr. Pilot man complains of the "continuous stream of gays & grannies & grandes" & says "I hate 100% of their *sses." But when I think about it, I can see where he's coming from: Check the profiles of the leaders of Fortune 500 companies & you'll see a continuous stream of white, male faces. Turn on your TV & you will see a continuous stream of white, male faces. Look anywhere our society on the whole says you want to be, & you'll see these problematic continuous streams, except they're not full of gays, grannies, & grandes. They're endless pools of straight, white, male faces. What are the odds?

In the end, Mr. Pilot man, I'll admit it. I feel your pain.

Yarhamuka Momo [MdG]

1. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s0689.pdf

2. http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2011/tables/11s0228.pdf

3. http://www.sprc.org/library/SPRC_LGBT_Youth.pdf

Triflin' Ass (Jewish) People

Get. In. The. Synagogue... or Else.

That's how it works if you're a resident in New Square, New York. The Hasidic Jewish community recently had some squabbles over who worshipped where. The local Rabbi, David Twersky, was upset when some people tried to worship outside of his synagogue. Therefore, he made an edict that no one could pray outside of it. One resident, Aron Rottenberg, set up an alternate prayer group in a nursing home and, as a result, the town launched a series of verbal & emotional assaults on Rottenberg & his family. He found his daughter's school desk & books dumped on his front lawn; the windows in his home & car smashed &, in a moment of particular solidarity, 50 men outside of his home chanting "Aron Rottenberg, leave the neighborhood." The last, most damaging attack came from Shaul Spitzer, a man who lived with the rabbi. Spitzer took the edict as lisence to incinerate Rottenberg's house... along with half of the man's body.

This underlies my problem with humans who believe they (or others) have supernatural authority. If Shaul Spitzer believed that the rabbi had made the edict because he was speaking entirely on his own behalf, Spitzer likely wouldn't have taken "stay in my clubhouse" to mean "burn a man's house down." As it happens, Spitzer believed that Twersky is unique among others in his proximity to God. To you & me, it's readily apparent exactly how this command didn't have any divine roots; that it's clearly a self-centered person abusing his power & influence. But to Shaul -- & any other person in a similar situation -- when you're under the religious rule of such people, there's no way for you to tell the difference. In fact, you're often told not to.

I won't pretend that religion doesn't lead people to do many, many beautiful things. But it also inspires so much terror & destruction. What makes my stomach turn the most is that it comes from the sincere belief that you're serving God, the greatest, most loving force in the universe. Clearly, it's not religion per se; but the disposition religion often requires, when used in the wrong direction can have devastating effects. If we got over complete trust in flawed texts written & interpreted by flawed people, I'm sure we'd see a severe drop in the frequency & most certainly the vigor with which people commit such heinous crimes.

While faith makes all kinds of claims on what is objectively true, there's little you can say definitely about faith as right or wrong, but I will say this: If these are the fruits of your faith, you have the wrong faith.

Inshmomo [MdG]

Super Ate

Just got back from J. J. Abram & Speilberg's alien inspired baby. It was ET with about half the character development, though the main kid's father was a cutie.

Baraka Momohu fika [MdG]

Stalled

For the people who are always the first to send some other people's children off to fight wars for "freedom" against "terrorism," I'm repeatedly finding Republicans among the most artfully spineless politicians I've ever seen. Last week, the New York State Assembly passed gay marriage in a land-slide vote, which they've now done four times. Unlike a few months ago, legal gay marriage is one vote away from passing the Senate. Unfortunately, all the votes left are Republicans' & so, one week after the Assembly's vote, gays still can't get married.

This NYTimes article lays out the four familiar reasons why Republicans are stalling on this (& other issues) & here's why they're all bs:

1. "Some of the Republicans are morally opposed to same-sex marriage" - Great. Don't get one. Don't attend any. Keep your morals in your church & I'll keep my gay marriage in my bedroom.

2 & 3. "Some are open to it but concerned about the political implications for themselves and their party" & "Some argue that the issue should be decided by popular referendum, not legislation" - read: "I am spineless."

4. "Some say they are worried about the repercussions for socially conservative religious organizations" - this argument the one that has been the most frustrating because, on the surface, it seems the most legitimate. It's not:

I don't know what the rules on religious adoption agencies are (Catholics the group most frequently cited as potential "victims"), but if a religious group is allowed to deny adopting children to gay couples, they should be required to deny all other families that don't suit their particular religious tenets. These groups should have to take marriage on the state's broad terms or their own narrow ones & be expected to stick to that. Thus, I'm officially throwing the furrowed brow & "I'm just worried about religious rights" in the "how to avoid standing for principles while looking like I'm standing for principles" tool-box. I'm over it.

New York Senate, please take this chance to stand up for New Yorkers.

Momohu A'lam [MdG]

On revient

Hadha min Fadhie Momo. [BdG]