One of the members of my GISHWHES team, a person whom I had never met and will never meet, baffled me a bit and made me think. His middle name on Facebook was changed to Imsecond, which seemed peculiar as I have been living abroad for the last 6 years and catch up on little news in the way of conservative or religious developments stateside.
Not being one to waste too much brain power on what other people want to insert into the middle of their name, I made the basic albeit vulgar assumption that the name related to order of partners in oral sex, meaning that he preferred to act first and receive second. My mother, also on my GISHWHES team, let me know the real meaning of the term and it didn't make me feel less puzzled.
The idea that Jesus or God is first so I am second actually makes even less sense to me, as many parables within the bible say to put others first, to give the meek or the poor or just your fellow man a position you might otherwise covet. In that vein, a "true" Christian might laugh at the idea of being second, as they would be much further down the line. "I'm last" might be a more accurate statement for one following the word so closely.That might be only how this appears to me, granted.
After GISHWHES ended, I saw no need to unfriend all my group members. Why bother? Then the conservative's posts wound up on my news feed and I was forced to witness some disturbingly inaccurate and offensive material directed at all followers of Islam, some of whom I count among my friends.
I was offended and I quietly removed him. If I honestly thought someone who could share such things would be capable of discussing their repercussions and inaccuracies, I might have spared a moment to message him, but this was not worth the time.
I post this here because this event made me think about reservations and limitations. This concept that the only path that can be satisfying, just, or correct is the one that I personally am following religiously, emotionally, financially, or however is just so very limited. So basic. So lacking in compassion for the very fellow man so many holy books say to help. Yet this seems to be the point of view present time and again when dealing with ultra-conservatives, or ultra-liberals for that matter.
But that is another issue too, and touches more on the political side.
I consider myself a liberal and one of the main reasons liberalism appeals to me is that there seems to be inclusion of differences present in the liberal spectrum that doesn't usually exist within the conservative sphere. I've known a few conservatives who were comfortable with liberal friends only when there was a Republican president. When power changed, they could no longer stomach being around people with such apposing viewpoints, even if we never discussed politics as a group. It could just be me but I haven't run into as many liberals with the same problem.
My main point in all of this blather is only a tiny bit of perspective. I would never dream of limiting the whole of human consciousness and understanding to the tiny bit of life that I find enjoyable or even acceptable. Sometimes I have a hard time wrapping my head around someone else's point of view, admittedly, but when you choose to belittle another person's perspective, especially a main facet of their experience like what they choose to believe in, I can not stand by you. It's not okay. It shows such a lack of understanding and respect, I genuinely hope to never fully understand it. The point of view is far too limited.
A different friend of mine recently included in a status update the idea that a musician I am a fan of would be "the first against the wall when the revolution comes" and about this I was also a bit offended. This artist tends not to be controversial, so the need to post this confuses me. The phrase itself seems to be a running gag from origins unknown (to me anyway), but even so this seems extreme. The artist in question writes silly songs and parodies. Will the revolution really want to destroy that?
This friend was merely placed out of sight for the time being, partially because I have known him longer and partially because his turn of phrase was more confusing to me than offensive. The person I unfriended cannot understand alternatives to his own normalcy, and I most definitely fit into that category. The later guy may just have a different taste in music.
In either case, I lack the time and energy to fully communicate with either individual and instead post my ramblings here. Thanks for reading.
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