Further Outrage at the Hands of My Father

Here's the latest offensive forward from my father, the most clueless individual ever born. I have cleaned up various small typos but did not change one word of it. Read it and weep.

He prefaces this forward as follows:

Hi, I just want to say that, if this is a true happening, it was handled very well. For one, I’m not ashamed to declare that God is my savior and Father in heaven.

(his name)

And here is the little gem in its entirety:

TENNESSEE FOOTBALL

The following is a transcript of a profound statement read at a football game recently.

This is a statement that was read over the PA system at the football game at Roane County High School, Kingston, Tennessee, by school Principal, Jody McLeod.

"It has always been the custom at Roane County High School football games, to say a prayer and play the National Anthem, to honor God and Country.

Due to a recent ruling by the Supreme Court, I am told that saying a prayer is a violation of Federal Case Law. As I understand the law at this time, I can use this public facility to approve of sexual perversion and call it ""an alternate lifestyle,"" and if someone is offended, that's OK.

I can use it to condone sexual promiscuity, by dispensing condoms and calling it "safe sex." If someone is offended, that's OK.

I can even use this public facility to present the merits of killing an unborn baby as a "viable means of birth control." If someone is offended, no problem...

I can designate a school day as "Earth Day" and involve students in activities to worship religiously and praise the goddess "Mother Earth" and call it "ecology."

I can use literature, videos and presentations in the classroom that depicts people with strong, traditional Christian convictions as "simple minded and ignorant" and call it "enlightenment."

However, if anyone uses this facility to honor GOD and to ask HIM to Bless this event with safety and good sportsmanship, then Federal Case Law is violated.

This appears to be inconsistent at best, and at worst, diabolical. Apparently, we are to be tolerant of everything and anyone, except GOD and HIS Commandments.

Nevertheless, as a school principal, I frequently ask staff and students to abide by rules with which they do not necessarily agree. For me to do otherwise would be inconsistent at best, and at worst, hypocritical.... I suffer from that affliction enough unintentionally. I certainly do not need to add an intentional transgression.

For this reason, I shall "Render unto Caesar that which is Caesar's," and refrain from praying at this time.

"However, if you feel inspired to honor, praise and thank GOD and ask HIM, in the name of JESUS , to Bless this event, please feel free to do so. As far as I know, that's not against the law----yet."

One by one, the people in the stands bowed their heads, held hands with one another, and began to pray.

They prayed in the stands. They prayed in the team huddles. They prayed at the concession stand and they prayed in the Announcer's Box!

The only place they didn't pray was in the Supreme Court of the United States of America - the Seat of "Justice" in the "one nation, under GOD."

Somehow, Kingston, Tennessee remembered what so many have forgotten. We are given the Freedom OF Religion, not the Freedom FROM Religion. Praise GOD that HIS remnant remains!

JESUS said, "If you are ashamed of ME before men, then I will be ashamed of you before MY FATHER."

If you are not ashamed, pass this on.

Jen

Okay, my problem with all of this is not just that more than one stupid person feels this way, nor that they circulate it amongst themselves very smugly and no one speaks up about any part of it that may bother them. And I'm sure I'm not the only person, "believer" or non, that is not offended by parts of this. Even the most rank-and-file, knee-jerk "Christian" of this particular ilk must feel that parts of this are just hyperbole. When in any classroom has anyone compelled a child to 'worship religiously and praise the goddess "Mother Earth" and call it "ecology"?' This would be the first I've heard of it. I thought that the purpose of Earth Day was to bring ecological concerns to light and encourage people to be good stewards of the planet by planting trees and recycling and so forth. Certainly I have not felt pressure to "worship" any "goddesses" when attending a local Earth Day event, and I live in a pretty crunchy granola-y Pacific Northwest location. I merely felt it my obligation to purchase inexpensive root stock and perhaps shell out a fair amount of cash for some organic raspberry lemonade or similar.

My God! Is this the "worship" of which they speak? Are they using the proceeds to buy gasoline and rags to use in the bombing of decent American churches? THE HUMANITY!!!!

No, that's not my problem. My problem here is that my own father is too stupid, thoughtless, or inconsiderate, to think for one minute (or possibly much less) about the content of the mail that he sends to me and consider that as a lesbian I might be perhaps less than excited to read an item that refers to me and my partner as devotees of sexual perversion. That, ladies and gentlemen, is my problem here.

Okay, aside from that minor detail, I also have some other problems with it, among them that I don't think that making condoms available to a vulnerable population in the hopes that they might use them to prevent disease and pregnancy is "condoning promiscuity," and that I am fairly sure that depicting small minded, ignorant people in a classroom setting will result in them being thought of as small minded and ignoran no matter what kind of spin anyone puts on it, whether they are described as possessing "strong traditional Christian convictions" or not.

The abortion issue I am refraining from comment on as it is very complicated and I am very conflicted in how I feel about it, but there is plenty of other fodder here so we can leave it alone.

I did reply to his forward, and in trying to walk the line between reasonable and pissed off I think I may have come across as sort of reasonably pissed. I said something along the lines of, I wished that he would think of me and my family before forwarding something that equated my "lifestyle," which by the way I did not choose any more than anyone chooses a "mainstream lifestyle," with sexual perversion, and that I did not wish to be critical of him but that I did not agree with him on some of these issues.

I'm sure he's at home shaking his head with his evil harpy wife about how sad it is that I grew up in a Godless household without his fatherly hand to guide me and now I'm a pervert and under the delusional belief that I can be a Christian without feeling the need to give the big fuck-you to anyone who does not believe as I do.

Well Dad, right back at you. My only hope is that you think for yourself a little bit. Don't let that bitch lead your thoughts around by that ring in your nose the way she leads the rest of you around too.

Over and out.