A not so gentle reminder

I've been running across a lot of examples of being just being .... well, assholes, lately so I thought I'd do a public service announcement or six.  

1) If someone insults your religion, it's because they're an asshole.  If they criticize your religion, listen, and then decide if they have a valid point.  Learn the difference.  If you're a muslim in Libya, the first step to living in a grown up democratic society is not to lose your shit and kill someone when another person halfway across the world makes a stupid video insulting your religion.  The way to react to this is to call them an asshole and not watch their stupid video on youtube and give them tons of hits on it, giving them the delusion of popularity.

Seriously, if I reacted that way every time some dissed Jesus of Nazareth, I'd be in prison right now.  I've already gotten in fights with some of my friends over it.  Sometimes people forget that just because you think something's true or funny doesn't mean you should repost it.  For example, reposting this would make you an asshole:

If you're wondering, no, my friend didn't repost this.     I am guilty of reposting pictures that are rude about Republicans.  I kind of draw the line between posting insults to Republicans in general, which is mean, and insults to Mitt Romney, which are, in my opinion, okay as long as it's true.  

There's a line.  Telling me that my mind looks like the inside of a brick wall because I don't share your views on religion is one of them.  That makes you an asshole.

Which leads me to my next point, also known as 2)  Being a Christian doesn't make you exempt from being an asshole.   It doesn't even make it less likely.  People are people and our temperaments are our own.  Personally, I've mellowed with age.  When I was younger, I lost my temper a lot quicker.  In high school, I actually had to repeat the words "Jesus will be pissed" like a mantra to keep myself from shooting my friend's hubby in the head after he hit her.   True story.   That's gotten me through many a personal dilemma actually.  Kept me from beating someone over the head with my high heeled shoe at diocesan convention in 2003.  In those situations, religion, I shouldn't say religion, religion didn't have a lot to do with it, my friendship with Jesus, saved a couple of people from violence and me from doing prison time.  

That's a good thing.   I'm hideous in orange.

I ran into this truck at the doctor's office this afternoon.

This guy's a jerk.  He probably doesn't even realize he's a jerk, though.   I added my own comments while cropping the picture and hiding the license plate.  Which I hid because I am nicer than him. He is threatening people with his tailgate.

I don't like that.  Religion can be a beautiful thing.  It can move a person to do good things.  It can change a society's view on something for the better.  Christianity brought about a shift in European society that made it a lot better to be a woman or a child.  I know it's hard to believe, given the other things we've been told about women, church, and putting up and shutting up, but before Christianity in Europe the male head of household had total control over the women and children.  If he chose, the child would live, and if he chose it would die.  After Christianity started to spread, people started seeing women as something more and children as being valuable through the teachings of Jesus.   Being a woman who was once a child I think this is a good thing.  It's a positive thing.  It's a gift to the world.

The image I'm getting from the back of this truck is that this guy has an understanding of God that my first grade sunday school class knew better than to buy.   Believe this or God will beat you up!!  Forever!!!  Because he's full of mercy and compassion but he's also mad ALL THE TIME.  I call bullshit.

Don't be cruel.  Just don't.