Are we the "cockroaches" of society?

[Babeba]

Please read this through before you judge, but - I am actually pleased to hear rhetoric like that employed by pro-horrible-legislation advocates. It just highlights how ridiculous and perverted those ideas are. How can anyone actually take that guy seriously without realizing what a whack job he and his ideas are? No wonder the support for that amendment is at an all time low!

Recently in the province where I live, we had an election where absolutely everyone who was a pundit was convinced this new ultra conservative party was going to take at least a minority government, if not a very strong majority... We're talking 70 out of 88 seats. There are three things that kept them down to 20 seats in the ultra conservative farming communities their support base was from:
1) the candidate who claimed he was at an advantage over another candidate in his riding because he was white (and the lack of response from the party leader)
2) the candidate who said all gays should burn in hellfire (and the lack of response from the party leader)
3) strategic voting in the cities where the liberal/socialist types held their noses and voted for the old conservative party because at least they weren't quite as bat shit crazy.

I don't know how effective that third part would have been if the idiots in the first and second part had kept their mouths shut. Likewise, zealots like this pastor fellow do more to help the side of rationalism than to harm it.

[Joana Santos]

Maybe if Pastor Harris, if I may say so, would encourage parents to be more supportive and to allow the children to wear whatever they felt like, would have a much more filled congregation? Or is it that he feels like he's loosing his "audience rates" and he needs to steer up a controversial issue to hide the fact that people is getting more information everyday and religion, by itself, is starting to loose the audience battle?
In this case I tend to giggle to a saying, "If there's no enemy, how can one assemble an army to fight?"

Joana, proudly cross dressed.

[Stephanie47]

So, this pest on society donned his first article of feminine attire while in elementary school. I went on to attend the premiere high school of the largest city in the USA; attended the most prestigious public university in the city; volunteered for the draft to save from brother from going; served as an infantryman over the pond and was wounded twice; worked my entire life and never drew a penny of welfare or unemployment; married; raised successful college educated kids; served as a deacon and an elder; retired; and, I love to wear dresses and full lacy slips.

I love having been a cockroach.

[Foxglove]

Please read this through before you judge, but - I am actually pleased to hear rhetoric like that employed by pro-horrible-legislation advocates. It just highlights how ridiculous and perverted those ideas are. How can anyone actually take that guy seriously without realizing what a whack job he and his ideas are? No wonder the support for that amendment is at an all time low! . . .

. . . Likewise, zealots like this pastor fellow do more to help the side of rationalism than to harm it.

I agree with this. LGBT people are always going to face opposition. But I think in a convoluted sort of way it's good for us if that opposition becomes extreme and is voiced by obvious nut-cases. It can help steer decent and reasonable people in the right direction because they find people like Harris so distasteful. They moderate (or perhaps abandon) their opposition to us because they don't want to be deemed guilty by association.

Annabelle

[chelle]

People who talk as this pastor has usually have a close kinship to the problem they are so adamently opposed to.
Chelle

[Shananigans]

No, no, no...

I am terrified of cockroaches. They freak me out so bad that I can't even kill 'em. I would say my SO is more of a butterfly, if he were a bug. But, he would be a rather strange butterfly, capable of changing form at will.

Maybe the bug analogy is no good. I don't like any bug, to he honest. And, butterflies freak me out just as bad. (They are still bugs at the end of the day).

I'd also like to say that Pastor Harris probably shoves cucumbers up his a$$ on the weekends. I wouldn't be surprised if we have another Ted Haggard situation on out hands.

I understand that religious people are all about procreation...but, it's usually the hateful ones that are gayest and deepest in a closet of hate.

Teddy Haggard liked to have sex with male prostitutes while smoking meth...then, he'd preach about how all gay people are a threat to society.

See, being gay isn't a threat to society...but, if you are so deviant that you are screwing a male prostitute in a cheesy motel room while getting high on meth...then, yeah, you are probably what is wrong with society. But, they have to suppress that "gay demon," because it means that most other gays are as screwed up in the head as you are.

Then, one of those gay prostitutes tells a journalist about you. And, the gay community points and laughs while the silly Christians that supported his intolerance bury their heads in the sand. I also understand that he is a very wealthy man. And, though Jesus did not say anything about gays, he did have it out for rich people. Being rich wasn't his thing at all. But, you know, how many hate-spewing pastors read the Bible? That's whole "what would Jesus do" thing...

Anyway, I seriously wouldn't let people like that bother you. No one takes that motherf*cker seriously. And, the people that are taking him seriously will bury their heads in the sand in a few years. These kind of rampages are usually very predictable.

[Foxglove]

People who talk as this pastor has usually have a close kinship to the problem they are so adamently opposed to.
Chelle

I don't think we should assume this to be true. I think there are various possibilities here. They've been mentioned already in this thread or in the other thread on the Media forum where this issue is also being discussed.

(1) The man is gay, bi, or TG himself.
(2) He thinks he has a large audience and he's playing to them, trying to make himself popular.
(3) He's got a very twisted notion of what religion should be.
(4) He's simply a nasty person.
(5) He's taken some sort of abuse in his life, perhaps as a child, and now he wants revenge.
(6) Perhaps a combination of some of the above, or perhaps all of them, or perhaps something else that we can't guess at. People aren't always easy to figure out.

In any case, he's a cockroach himself who needs to be sprayed.

Annabelle

[Babeba]

I don't think he needs spraying... I think he's doing a great job of ruining himself all on his own.

[Foxglove]

I don't think he needs spraying... I think he's doing a great job of ruining himself all on his own.

OK. It's just that I was hoping to get the job. I could use the money.

[Sarah Doepner]

The good pastor needs to find himself a new and less irritating hobby than his current one of misrepresenting humanity.

[christinac]

Them Carolina woods are teaming over with self-righteous religious crack pots. I wouldn't wish the event on my worse enemy, but try having an encounter with the Church of God of Prophesy. They are worse than the Baptist.

[GBJoker]

I'm perfectly fine with being a cockroach of society. Roaches eat the the disgusting deterioations from organics, such as dead bodies, and plants. Their waste product helps other bugs and plants to grow.

They are... Necessary. Inevitable.

On the procreation part... Ever notice how the church priests, who are of course, pure blooded freedom and democracy loving Americans, use the same phrases and ideologies as Marxists, communists, fascists, and socailists? They ARE Marxists. Esposing eugenics, of course, just like Hitler, Stalin, Mao, Pol Pot, etc.

Also, based on what I am perceiving of the members of this board... There are virtually no procreation problems here. :p

Your last paragraph and few sentences come so close to the truth... So... close... Please, take that last step...

[CarlaWestin]

To this know it all preacher, a quote from one of the physically well developed members of Les Ballets Trockadero de Monte Carlo, "How would you like to have your azz kicked by a guy wearing a tutu?"

[Foxglove]

I wouldn't wish the event on my worse enemy, but try having an encounter with the Church of God of Prophesy. They are worse than the Baptist.

Now what's this about the Baptists? I grew up in a Baptist home myself. I'm sure you've heard this one:

What's the main problem with the Baptists?
They don't hold them under long enough.

Best wishes, Annabelle

[emmicd]

Federique,

I was captivated by your writing and how you express something so important to this forum amongst us girls. We represent a microcosm of society and to me it is very important to be true to yourself and be able to express who you are. If a boy is feminine and wishes to wear a dress I believe he should and for so many of us here we can relate to that experience. We have for way too long been made to feel guilty for having these feelings and for unfeeling people like this pastor who is supposed to preach understanding rather than hatred should be forced to put a lid on what he says. Take his ability to express his thoughts and ideas away if they are only to hurt and insult. In my book I ignore these people and don't let them bother me. They are ignorant and they will be thought of as so by most. I do believe there is more understanding of transgender and I will not let these sad individuals affect who I am and bravo for that boy who wears a dress in public. That is something I wished I could have done. Maybe then I wouldn't have to transition at a much later time in my life. i say bravo to his parents to for allowing him to wear the dress!
emmi

[Julia_in_Pa]

Procreation is certainly not needed at the rates that we currently see around the world.
Thank God we have seen huge drops in births in western Europe, Japan as well as here in the U.S.

The one good thing about a severe recession/depression is that people who actually think prior to having children don't have any during a turbulent economic time.

The goal for many groups is to bring world population down to net zero or below for population gain.
Just enough for repopulation or better yet a long extended period of net loss of population in order to allow the earth to repair itself.

There are many groups that advocate for population control and I agree with them.

This seems to be a real problem with evangelical Christianity that pushes the faulty biblical statement of " Be fruitful and multiply " .
This is proof that most information found in ancient texts have nothing to do with modern society or the care of it in order to ensure that said society will be viable and robust for generations to come.

I'm not a cockroach. In fact I consider those that are weak in mind and manipulated by religion into a physical act of procreation to be less than I and manipulated by an organized effort. They are in need of being tightly controlled as to not allow their faulty ideals to permeate society and cause further damage.

It's up to each one of you to do your part to ensure that the population remains as is.


Julia

[ArleneRaquel]

Are lower birth rates a good thing ? American Social Security payments are based on the taxes taken in from the younger generation, so perhaps a decreased birthrate is counterproductive in providing the future solvency for the system.

[Julia_in_Pa]

Hi Arlene,

As more people die off less monies are needed to provide health care and other services.
A shortened life span due to chronic health issues IE diabetes and heart disease only add to the favorable numbers on the front end.
So you are indeed correct in stating that more people living longer will be a huge issue for less population in the future but people's life expectancy in this country has dropped from a generation ago.


Julia

[Frédérique]

[SIZE="2"]Perhaps we should thank Mr. (Pastor) Harris for providing us with so much fodder for discussion!

Yesterday I was reading a piece in the local newspaper, written by an agricultural columnist, and it seemed to verify this “squash the cockroach” attitude that prevails in the hearts and minds of those who hate anything queer...

This man, this columnist, has a young son, and they were in a vacant lot near their home, looking at the dandelion seed tops together. Encouraged by his father, the boy blew the seeds off the stems, letting them drift hither, thither, and yon. I’m sure this was a cute scene, but the father soon upped the ante by picking up a stick, and, by imitating his golf swing, lopped off the seed tops much faster, “killing” several at a time...

Seeing this, the boy picked up his own stick and used it to mow down the dandelions, using such force that the stick broke – he screamed for a BIGGER stick, and the father provided one, leading to wanton destruction of all dandelions in the immediate area. At one point...

“His little mind outran his feet, and before he could stop and pick up the stick he tripped and launched himself head first. Not to worry. He never said a word, picked up the stick and proceeded to stand up and looked about for the dreaded “dandy lions” he was about to slay with his new BIG stick. His smile stretched from ear to ear as he waved the weapon over his head. When he finally found the first dandelion, he proceeded to club it into the ground. He didn’t give up until the plant was indistinguishable from the black soil. The smile never left his face.”

The father/man went on to describe how his son would not relinquish his war club, using it to unleash his own “scorched earth” policy on any and all weeds in the vicinity, at least until dinner time. “Theodore Roosevelt would have been proud,” wrote the man, echoing his own pride in his son’s unabashed display of masculinity. Never mind that the situation is worse than before, since the dandelion seeds are now floating all over the place, because boys will be boys...HURRAH!

Violence and aggression are encouraged in boys, and we are supposed to dominate all forms of nature, including our own, in an effort to not give in to effeminacy. What if a boy thought the dandelions were pretty, and he picked a delicate bouquet of them, presenting them as a gift to someone he loved? Do we squash such beauty because it’s dangerous to society? I know I’ll never see a story along those lines, written by a man I mean, in the newspaper, because it goes against the very foundations of behavior that society is based upon...

Of course, Pastor Harris wants to club all queers into the ground, until they are indistinguishable from the soil, since they represent the “weeds” that spoil longed-for societal perfection. This hatred of weeds, or pests, needs to be fostered in the young, and, since our agricultural columnist knows all about noxious weeds, he’s proud to see his son doing his mindless “duty.” Personally, I think dandelions ARE pretty – my elderly female neighbor said that to me the other day, and I agreed with her wholeheartedly. I would, of course, since I am one of the “weeds” of society, akin to a cockroach, trying not to be clubbed into submission...
[/SIZE]

[Foxglove]

Purple, this is a beautiful story. I'm copying it to a document and saving it on my computer so I can remember it. If you want to do me for copyright infringement, go ahead, but I won't delete it.

Thanks, Annabelle

[kimdl93]

I often wonder what motivates people like this particular 'reverend 'Harris. Was he quashed as a child....is he hiding still? Perhaps, but we'll never know unless he's outed like so many of his hypocritical brethren.

Wenonah nay indeed be like roaches to the extent that we have been part of soceity a long time and despite the hostile environment we survive.

[Courtney_Glenn]

I have a few choice words for this preacher, none of which I think i'm allowed to say here.

[Nicole Erin]

Some Hillbilly preacher from a redneck state wanting attention - don't give him any.
This is how fake chruches get rich - they start hate rhetoric and become famous.

[Piora]

Just a thought, cockroaches were around before the dinosaurs and they are still here. If we are cockroaches we are also SURVIVORS. We CD-folk survive the ill-will of society and yet we persevere.
Just my opinion.

Believe me, there are special seats in hell just waiting for this "pastor" and his ilk.

I wanted to thank Frédérique for yet another great post.

As Sandra pointed out above, yes we ARE survivors. After all, in the aftermath of a nuclear holocaust, the only living thing still around will be the cockroaches.

[NicoleScott]

Frederique, two immediate thoughts after reading your post:
1) A boy's desire to wear a dress has nothing to do with his sexual preference. The pastor still doesn't know this.
2) The pastor still thinks that a beating can change that desire.