Marc
It's one thing to talk about anti-religion views in Bloomington-Normal, where a few people are kind of close to being somewhat open-minded (not to mention the fact that there's always the possibility of someone agreeing with you). But, say something along those lines in Kankakee, Illinois, and its a whole different story. I've always tried to pass Kankakee off as a non-hickish, decent, south-suburban town. I do it as a joke, mainly, just to piss the real surburbanite kids off (ie - Zach and Scooter). Its amazing how close minded people here are sometimes. Someone at the neighborhood bar tonight said, "Marc, you've always got a different opinion. What did you think of those terrorist attacks?" I love these people. Know that, at least. These are the people I grew up with, the people that taught me how to be me, but I'm not so sure that some of them liked what they heard coming out of my mouth.
"I'm not saying we deserved what happened ... you've got to understand that we're not the morally sound empire that we think we are ... blah blah blah"
And then someone threw in the religion card by being insensitive, bullheaded, and ignorant. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. What's everyone arguing about? I understand that there are a few differences between the three, but the main part is right there, right? They all believe in one God. Am I mistaken for thinking that its the same God? I combat it with my usual BS about the notion of God being silly to me, and it all goes downhill after that. No one was too offended, except for one guy who tried an On-The-Spot Conversion. Didn't work. I'm too stubborn.
Afterwards I found out that he was one of those proffesional student-types, who get 3+ degrees and keeps going back for more (kind of like that ATR broad). That shit blows my mind. Grow up. Get a job. Move on.
I hope my occasional rants about this crap don't offend you in any particular way. I'm not as insensitive as I sound. If you believe in God, that's great. I know people that would like to think that we're here for some reason or another. I'm not one of them. I know that this whole life thing is a bit hard to take sometimes, but just know that if you live life, and you love those around you, no matter what happens in the end, you'll be fine.
This was all brought on by the death of a close friend's fiance's father. No one too close, but then again, any death is close enough. Just like each other. We've all got things to work on in life. We're all flawed. Not one of you can disagree with me on that. No matter what happens today, tomorrow, next year, and on and on ... just be yourself. Stand tall. And live life.
It's one thing to talk about anti-religion views in Bloomington-Normal, where a few people are kind of close to being somewhat open-minded (not to mention the fact that there's always the possibility of someone agreeing with you). But, say something along those lines in Kankakee, Illinois, and its a whole different story. I've always tried to pass Kankakee off as a non-hickish, decent, south-suburban town. I do it as a joke, mainly, just to piss the real surburbanite kids off (ie - Zach and Scooter). Its amazing how close minded people here are sometimes. Someone at the neighborhood bar tonight said, "Marc, you've always got a different opinion. What did you think of those terrorist attacks?" I love these people. Know that, at least. These are the people I grew up with, the people that taught me how to be me, but I'm not so sure that some of them liked what they heard coming out of my mouth.
"I'm not saying we deserved what happened ... you've got to understand that we're not the morally sound empire that we think we are ... blah blah blah"
And then someone threw in the religion card by being insensitive, bullheaded, and ignorant. Islam, Christianity, and Judaism. What's everyone arguing about? I understand that there are a few differences between the three, but the main part is right there, right? They all believe in one God. Am I mistaken for thinking that its the same God? I combat it with my usual BS about the notion of God being silly to me, and it all goes downhill after that. No one was too offended, except for one guy who tried an On-The-Spot Conversion. Didn't work. I'm too stubborn.
Afterwards I found out that he was one of those proffesional student-types, who get 3+ degrees and keeps going back for more (kind of like that ATR broad). That shit blows my mind. Grow up. Get a job. Move on.
I hope my occasional rants about this crap don't offend you in any particular way. I'm not as insensitive as I sound. If you believe in God, that's great. I know people that would like to think that we're here for some reason or another. I'm not one of them. I know that this whole life thing is a bit hard to take sometimes, but just know that if you live life, and you love those around you, no matter what happens in the end, you'll be fine.
This was all brought on by the death of a close friend's fiance's father. No one too close, but then again, any death is close enough. Just like each other. We've all got things to work on in life. We're all flawed. Not one of you can disagree with me on that. No matter what happens today, tomorrow, next year, and on and on ... just be yourself. Stand tall. And live life.
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