Starbucks is for QUEERS.

Recently, a friend forwarded me an article, about how Starbucks has begun putting quotes on the sides of coffee cups. Supposedly to stir up conversations, they are coffeehouses, after all. There has been some controversy over one of the quotes, from a gay person, to the effect of (I should fact check before I begin to spew, no, lOL?), they wish they hadn't waited so long to come to terms with being gay. People are upset. Seriously. Pissed off, even. How dare a company print something that espouses personal love, and acceptance of who you ARE????

I responded true to form, ripping up the religious right, their lack of tolerance for any view other than their own, etc. A good friend of mine, was offended, and a bit hurt by my comments, feeling as if I was lumping her in with those I blasted. I can see where she would be hurt, but I honestly, hadn't meant ANY offense to her, I love her, and would never hurt her feelings on purpose. I've been mulling this over since last night, and I finally managed a reply. I'm hoping she will read it in the spirit it was intended, and not as a personal attack. I'll post my reply here, for discussions sake.

"My post was in no way directed at you, and I'm sorry you found it offensive. I generally do not think of you as one of "them".

But I'm tired, and pissed off. I'm tired of having to find a babysitter, trek up to my kid's school and schedule a meeting with the principal to make sure that the boy scouts,a religious organization, don't get classroom time in my public school. I'm tired of wondering if my kids, along with their friends, and potential mates, will have access to accurate health information, be taught about how to prevent STD's and pregnancy. I'm exhausted defending the opinion that SCIENCE ought to be taught to my children in SCIENCE class, not religion.

I'm tired of one of the largest group of people, and one of the best-funded, constantly bitching about the "liberal agenda", the "liberal bias in the media", and generally complaining about how persecuted they are. I do not feel the need to have everyone agree with me. Nor do I feel the need to "convert" them to my side. Therefore, I would like the same courtesy extended to me, in the public domain. I would like for them to please remove their bible-printed boots from off the neck of us "liberal flakes", and keep their religion in their church's, in their private schools, and in their homes. This means I expect there NOT to be the 10 commandments hanging in the courthouses. It means I expect there to be no prayer in school. I expect them to allow others, to "live and let live"

I also expect those in power, who claim to subscribe to this set of beliefs, to practice what they preach. Want to handout condoms in Africa, where 1/3 of the population is HIV positive,and people are DYING? Better not mention abortion,or you'll lose your funding. And you better not expect them to provide low cost, or free drugs to help ease their suffering. They're poor and brown, fuck em'. Want your water clean, and the air unpoisoned? Tough shit, our buddy's are making $$ off the toxic waste they dump where they feel like it, and we make it easier for them, but gutting Superfund,and castrating the oversight committee, so not only are you living next door to a toxic waste dump, but you get to pay for it out of your taxes as well, while your children fight deadly cancers, so the CEO can take his Bermuda trip this fall. There is a local playground in MD, built over a landfill. There is also a K-9 unit. Over the past year, 9 out of the 12 dogs housed there, have gotten cancer, and 3 have died. The unit has been shut down. The playground,about 100 yards away, has NOT. And don't expect to be able to claim bankruptcy when your medical bills have grown so high you can't see the top. You think those lobbyists paid all that money to have you default on your bills? Try getting a tissue for under $20, I dare you.

This world, this country is FUCKED. And the ones I see in charge, are the ones wielding the bible like a fucking sword, and I'm tired of having to defend my views, and fight a fight that our founding fathers tried their damnest to prevent ever having to be fought again. There is a reason they made a point to separate the church, from the government. Now we have assholes screaming at the top of their lungs that these people, didn't really mean what they said in the constitution. They really didn't mean "SEPARATE",just that government couldn't interfere in religion, not the other way around, they were born-again, dammit. Well, I was born okay the first time, thanks anyway.

So, I'm sorry if you were offended. I love you, and I don't want to hurt you. But I'm NOT going to apologize for blasting the religious right, and I'm not a bit sorry for my views. Perhaps if more people were screaming, if more were really as pissed off as they ought to be, I'd feel less strongly. But right now, I feel as if we're fighting a fight we'll never win, because most Americans are too afraid, or too lazy, to take a good hard look at their leaders, what they stand for, and what they're doing. And most of them are doing it in the name of gog.

If I were gog, I think I'd be pissed, and if he/she isn't,he/she can kiss my ass too.

d "

flagellation always welcome: drried-blockston@cavtel.net