Friday, April 10, 2015

The battle over Indiana RFRA and having civil rights protections for a lifestyle forced upon you

It would be entirely illogical to argue against civil rights for or complain that someone is forcing me to be exposed to what distinguishes them as a group if it results from birth, such as race. For the most part I have always followed an edict which welcomes you or your alternate lifestyle so long as you don’t try to convert me or force me to participate. Lately though I am starting to sympathize with the element that claims what is couched as a civil rights issue is really about getting in our faces and trying to force us to embrace something we may find repugnant.

The pejorative expressions seem to follow these general lines. Civil rights should not be extended to a lifestyle because that is something you can choose; They are perverts who attempt to seduce children; I don’t object to what they want to do in the privacy of their own homes but I shouldn’t have to be exposed to it in public, and; It’s not really about their rights but that they are trying to force their lifestyle upon us.

The more I sit in contemplation over these issues I am taken to now consider that what I once perceived as mordant disputations may instead have some legitimacy. The rational mind does not consider an action to be justified because it is the law, status quo, or fair. There must be an evidentiary support. No misology shall be found in me, nor is there opinion, my judgments or positions I hold are based solely on reason. I do find it reasonable then to say the following to those who profer such objections to people seeking civil rights protections for lifestyle choices.

You have chosen to be this way, you weren’t born this way. Although the Constitution may be said to protect you it does not necessarily correlate that you logically deserve protection. You were not born of a particular cult. You chose to adhere to a lifestyle based upon mythological principles of your cult while others chose to be reasonable.

The recent Easter holiday aptly demonstrates the seduction of children. Consistent with the Manhattan marketing agencies that bring colourful cereal boxes and surprise toys inside, which lure children to them, the colourful Easter Eggs with candy contents equally provide children with a gateway to seductive and frightening stories from a cult. Likewise, Christmas and the promise of rewards for the obedience are equally enticing. What happens to these children once lured into the mystical realm of these exclusive societies? For some it is a lifetime of painful memories of the experience of being sexually abused by these perverts who are allowed to continue the abuse upon the offspring of ardent followers living in denial. This is because of high dollar settlement agreements[en1] containing confidentiality clauses[en2] and the highly paid attorneys who keep criminal prosecutors at bay. Later provision were added to require the Catholic Church to publicize the substantiated cases of rape.[en3] These legal empires are financed by millions of contributors that are child molestors by proxy.

Something so personal as your religion may just be best expressed in the secluded confines of your homes. Seeing a crucifix around your neck, you cloaked in a John 3:16 t-shirt, or receiving notices about god’s glory from you does not mean I am going to think better of you or that you are going to convert me by constantly shoving it in my face. When I am out at a restaurant or some other public location I don’t need to hear your purported discourse with your god. If those thoughts are so integral to your essence and your god is all knowing then you can just sit there quietly and express those thoughts in your own head. Your sanctimonious displays gain you no favour with this civil rights advocate. Sure I am thin and physically fit. I was once a professional athlete but this lifestyle was my choice and although I feel it is the most healthful I am not going to attempt to force it upon you or garishly put it in your face by erecting some huge statue of Zeus.


Maybe there shouldn’t be laws to protect the lifestyle choice since seeking civil rights protections is apparently a guise to force that lifestyle upon a resistant populace. Yes, these detractors to granting civil rights protections to lifestyle choices may be correct. There was recently legislation passed in Indiana that sought to protect a lifestyle choice and those who sought it seem intent upon perpetuating their lifestyle choice onto the rest of us. There is nothing innocuous or objective about a law titled the Religious Freedom Restoration Act especially when put forth by members of a cult who falsely claim, among many false claims, that our country was founded upon their cult although it expressly wasn’t.[en4]

But even with all of that, lifestyle choices can be so much a part of a person’s essence and necessary to the richness and fulfilment of their lives that they do deserve protection. So even though it is something they can choose, that some members are perverts who seduce children, that I am exposed to their lifestyle in public, and that their motivation may be to force their lifestyle upon me, I still support providing civil rights protections to cults and their members.

And while these cult members are enjoying their civil rights they may as well embrace providing the same protections for the LGBTQ community whose lifestyle falls somewhere between being absolutely based in biology -- as race is -- and that which is completely subjective such as joining a cult. Any cult members who want civil rights protections for themselves better equally embrace the same for the LGBTQ members of our community or they are nothing short of hypocritical bigots.

notes

[1] The Associated Press estimated the settlements of sex abuse cases from 1950 to 2007 totaled more than $2 billion. "L.A. Archdiocese to settle suits for $660 million: Settlement represents Church’s largest payout in sexual abuse scandal". MSNBC. 14 July 2007. Retrieved 27 June 2012. BishopAccountability puts the figure at more than $3 billion in 2012. Schaffer, Michael D. (25 June 2012). "Sex-abuse crisis is a watershed in the Roman Catholic Church's history in America". The Iquirer. Retrieved 6 July 2012.
[2] Andrew C. Meyer, Jr. and Adam R. Satin, Lubin & Meyer, P.C. - The “concern” that additional individuals may be harmed by “identical or similar conduct” should be the overriding concern of parties considering whether to sign confidentiality agreements and courts considering whether to enforce them. The consequences of silence in the setting of sexual abuse are apparent in light of the epidemic of sexual abuse that was finally unearthed in recent years in the Catholic Church. While individual victims may choose not to disclose their abuse, the silence fostered by the Catholic Church in the face of clear evidence and knowledge of ongoing abuse by members of its clergy provides the only example necessary to illustrate the manner in which sexual predators will continue to harm victims unless and until their conduct is exposed. Retrieved 10 April 2015 from http://www.therapyabuse.org/t2-gag-orders-protect-abusers.htm
[3] “As part of the settlement between the Catholic Diocese of Wilmington, Inc. and survivors of clergy sexual abuse, certain non-monetary undertakings were agreed to. These include two mutually agreed upon lists of non-monetary stipulations. As stipulated in the documents, the Diocese of Wilmington is required to post on this website, the names of all known diocesan clergy or lay employees regarding whom there are admitted, corroborated or otherwise substantiated allegations of sexual abuse, molestation and rape of minors.” Retrieved on 10 April 2015 from http://www.cdow.org/settlement.html
[4] “As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion;” Art. 11. Treaty of Tripoli ratified by the United States on 10 June 1797

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