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I do NOT have to respect your beliefs! (rant)
I mentioned the existence of those who doubt that humanity (thanks to the Americans) has actually landed on the moon. I thought my workmate was teasing when he said that he was one of them. My humour slowly turned to horror as I realized he was serious!
I am a confirmed skeptic. I quickly trashed his talk of Van Allen radiation, waving flags, and starless skies. I showed him badastronomy.com, but he wasn't interested. I related my story of actually seeing an Apollo launch as a young child. He said it proved nothing.
I told him that there are a dozen men who are rightfully treated as heroes, who go to schools and tell little children about what it is like to walk on the moon. I asked him, "Are you calling those men liars?"
Unbelievably, he said he was not.
I told him that I wanted one of those astronauts to punch him in the face...
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
I never thought I would meet such a person in real life. He can troubleshoot a computer, even though major portions of his brain appear to be missing. But he is also a nice guy, so even this I could have let slide. I did need to go out for a smoke to calm myself down, however.
But after I told this exasperating story to the first guy I met there, his response was, "Well, I don't know if they really did land on the moon".
AARRRGGGGHHHH!!! I am surrounded by lunatics!
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
My day is over, and I am surfing the internet and trying to forget about the fools that surround me.
I am reading on CBC that a taxi passenger bill of rights for Metro Vancouver is being introduced. One of the provisions is that guide dogs must be accepted for a ride.
Once again come the woo-woos - the dog-fearing Muslims are a tad upset. From Aziz Khaki, Vice-chair of the Muslim Canadian Federations:
"It's a clear, clear case of discrimination and insensitivity on behalf of the authorities to try to punish the person without understanding the person's own belief"
"You should respect the belief of a person. Whether right or wrong, it is his interpretation."
No, Mr. Khaki, I do NOT have to respect your beliefs!
You could argue whether the government has the authority to tell you what to do. As a libertarian, I might be on your side. You could argue that dogs are unhealthy, and back it up with bacterial counts and infection studies. You could argue that dogs are dangerous, and cite incidents of attack (good luck if we are talking about trained guide dogs). But if your defense is a quote from a centuries-old book, then what you get from me is the very opposite of respect.
Your unholy books suggest throwing rocks at people until they die - because of something they said. Your vile texts state that women and slaves should rejoice in their position. Your odious rules say that homosexuals should suffer eternal torment, simply for being who they are.
I do NOT have to respect your beliefs!
If dowsing worked, it would be in the engineering text books (physics texts would make no mention of such an abomination).
If homeopathy was true, then a single dose of medicine could be endlessly extended by adding water (getting infinitely more potent as you go).
If astrology was true, then every baby laying beside you in the maternity ward would be just like you.
If the future could be predicted, lotteries would be in big trouble.
If the lady on the television could really read your mind, then you shouldn't have to call her - she should call you.
If Q-Ray bracelets did what they are supposed to do, then everyone would be wearing one.
Get it through your thick skulls! I do NOT have to respect your beliefs!
It is also time for religions to put up or shut up. They all say that they hold the answers to life, not to mention the afterlife. But Bolivia is 95% Roman Catholic; Tuvalu is 98% Protestant; Mongolia is 98% Buddhist; Afghanistan, lovely Afghanistan, is 99% Muslim. Do any of these strike you as being exceptionally happy and successful countries?
I have been to many churches, and none of the congregations impressed me with their positive outlooks, their common sense talk, their inner peace showing. If they had, I would still be attending to this day. At least I had a good time singing with the Southern Baptists.
It is not that all religous people are not worth my time. Blake posted one of his favourites, Ajahn Brahm, and I finally heard a religious man talking sense. And what did he say? "We have no right to believe in anything!"
But then Buddhism has always struck me as the most sensible, least dogmatic, and (almost by definition) inoffensive of the religions. As Brahm goes on to say: blow up all the statues and temples, kill all the monks, destroy Buddhism if you must, but do not destroy your peace, your harmony, your forgiveness.
He's right, of course. I left the argument about lunar landings before I grew too heated. When I next see my workmate, I intend on letting him know that I can hate the sin but still love the sinner. My desire to work with a friend is stronger than my desire to show him that he is wrong.
I may not respect his beliefs, but I am willing to respect him.
But some days it is hard, you know?
I am a confirmed skeptic. I quickly trashed his talk of Van Allen radiation, waving flags, and starless skies. I showed him badastronomy.com, but he wasn't interested. I related my story of actually seeing an Apollo launch as a young child. He said it proved nothing.
I told him that there are a dozen men who are rightfully treated as heroes, who go to schools and tell little children about what it is like to walk on the moon. I asked him, "Are you calling those men liars?"
Unbelievably, he said he was not.
I told him that I wanted one of those astronauts to punch him in the face...
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
I never thought I would meet such a person in real life. He can troubleshoot a computer, even though major portions of his brain appear to be missing. But he is also a nice guy, so even this I could have let slide. I did need to go out for a smoke to calm myself down, however.
But after I told this exasperating story to the first guy I met there, his response was, "Well, I don't know if they really did land on the moon".
AARRRGGGGHHHH!!! I am surrounded by lunatics!
- - - - - - - - - - - - -
My day is over, and I am surfing the internet and trying to forget about the fools that surround me.
I am reading on CBC that a taxi passenger bill of rights for Metro Vancouver is being introduced. One of the provisions is that guide dogs must be accepted for a ride.
Once again come the woo-woos - the dog-fearing Muslims are a tad upset. From Aziz Khaki, Vice-chair of the Muslim Canadian Federations:
"It's a clear, clear case of discrimination and insensitivity on behalf of the authorities to try to punish the person without understanding the person's own belief"
"You should respect the belief of a person. Whether right or wrong, it is his interpretation."
No, Mr. Khaki, I do NOT have to respect your beliefs!
You could argue whether the government has the authority to tell you what to do. As a libertarian, I might be on your side. You could argue that dogs are unhealthy, and back it up with bacterial counts and infection studies. You could argue that dogs are dangerous, and cite incidents of attack (good luck if we are talking about trained guide dogs). But if your defense is a quote from a centuries-old book, then what you get from me is the very opposite of respect.
Your unholy books suggest throwing rocks at people until they die - because of something they said. Your vile texts state that women and slaves should rejoice in their position. Your odious rules say that homosexuals should suffer eternal torment, simply for being who they are.
I do NOT have to respect your beliefs!
If dowsing worked, it would be in the engineering text books (physics texts would make no mention of such an abomination).
If homeopathy was true, then a single dose of medicine could be endlessly extended by adding water (getting infinitely more potent as you go).
If astrology was true, then every baby laying beside you in the maternity ward would be just like you.
If the future could be predicted, lotteries would be in big trouble.
If the lady on the television could really read your mind, then you shouldn't have to call her - she should call you.
If Q-Ray bracelets did what they are supposed to do, then everyone would be wearing one.
Get it through your thick skulls! I do NOT have to respect your beliefs!
It is also time for religions to put up or shut up. They all say that they hold the answers to life, not to mention the afterlife. But Bolivia is 95% Roman Catholic; Tuvalu is 98% Protestant; Mongolia is 98% Buddhist; Afghanistan, lovely Afghanistan, is 99% Muslim. Do any of these strike you as being exceptionally happy and successful countries?
I have been to many churches, and none of the congregations impressed me with their positive outlooks, their common sense talk, their inner peace showing. If they had, I would still be attending to this day. At least I had a good time singing with the Southern Baptists.
It is not that all religous people are not worth my time. Blake posted one of his favourites, Ajahn Brahm, and I finally heard a religious man talking sense. And what did he say? "We have no right to believe in anything!"
But then Buddhism has always struck me as the most sensible, least dogmatic, and (almost by definition) inoffensive of the religions. As Brahm goes on to say: blow up all the statues and temples, kill all the monks, destroy Buddhism if you must, but do not destroy your peace, your harmony, your forgiveness.
He's right, of course. I left the argument about lunar landings before I grew too heated. When I next see my workmate, I intend on letting him know that I can hate the sin but still love the sinner. My desire to work with a friend is stronger than my desire to show him that he is wrong.
I may not respect his beliefs, but I am willing to respect him.
But some days it is hard, you know?
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