One Sunday I was sitting in a NG Kerk, an Afrikaans white only conservative beyond words church, it was a hot day and everyone was neatly dressed in their suits and hats. It is a day I will never forget and one that helped shape my religious views, one of the reasons that I will never belong to a “religion”.
The church was full, there must have been close to 500 people, you name it, if it had a white skin, it was there. The pastor stood up after the introduction hymns were sung and started his sermon. He started talking about the unbelievers, the sinners, he was talking about the Blacks and the Coloureds (mixed race) people. How they are dirty and will go to hell, how they are sub race. See, rules were being passed that meant that the church wasn’t going to be an all white congregation anymore. “HOW CAN THEY LET SINNERS SIT AMONGST US” was the cry.
Hearing those words I felt an anger rise within me, I couldn’t understand how he could stand up there on his little pulpit and pass judgement on fellow souls just because they had a different colour skin. What gave him the right, I could not understand. Why can’t I be friends with “them”? Why are they sinners just for having that colour skin? What’s the big deal? They’re human right?
A man of God
Anything non white is a sinner, it doesn’t matter what they do, they are sinners.
I lost respect for religion. It is just a man made manufaction to manipulate the masses detracting from the truth of God and his true love for everyone and everything. A mouthful but that is my belief.
Apartheid ended and schools opened their doors to all races. I remember hearing the whispers and the gossip about how they are letting the unbelievers into the school. I remember people saying “Think it is time to move our children, this school will go down hill FAST now”. I was relieved because it felt as if the chains on society had been released, I was allowed to speak to them now, to me they were just people, they were just like me. I made many new friends, all races were included in my group of “specials”. I was surprised though when I was outcasted immediately for even spending time with them, I didn’t understand it. I didn’t care.
Slowly peoples attitudes started changing, they soon saw that the school didn’t crumble and fall down, they didn’t see what they expected (or were told) to see. Slowly the races started to mingle more freely.
Who are the sinners today? Who are the ones that are spurned and spat on?
Be honest and think about it
Who?
Once upon a time the colour of your skin determined whether you were born a sinner, whether you could get married in certain churches, whether you were legal at all.
Now?
Now, it is your sexuality. No longer is it the colour of your skin, no, now you are a sinner if you love the same sex.
So this is my statement to you.
If you were against the racial divide, if you were against the Apartheid and what it stood for, if you are against any kind of racial discrimination how can you be against same-sex relationships and marriage.
How can you, in the same breath, call it a sin?
Each time you do I lose more and more respect for your religion and what you “stand” for. To me you are only standing up and shouting “Look at me, look at how false my religion is”
This is my stand point on the matter. I don’t care what colour you are or whether you are with a male or female and most of all I don’t care what religion you are.
I don’t care about all the statements about choices, believe what you will. I believe that people are created as they are intended, that they are meant to love who they love.
What I look for in a fellow human? Morals, whether they are kind to children and animals, whether they want to make the world a better place, can they bake cookies, do they have good hearts, compassion. It isn’t a tall order nor is it a judgement, I just like to be surrounded by people with good souls.
Think about it, what do you look for in a person and what stops you from being friends with everyone.
Time to drop a few masks and see through the mist of society, time to see what God intended, time to stop doing Gods work and stop judging.
He is more than capable don’t you think?
Who are you to judge?
This post was inspired by AngryAfrican’s The Gay Agenda and And one more thing
Lindsey
•15 years ago
We are all human. We belong to each other, we need each other.
I just want the pain to end. I hate it when I see teenage boys broken over their sexuality- all people should be embraced and celebrated. I guess I feel that someone hating themselves for their sexuality is just as tragic as hating yourself for your skin.
Christ, I was lucky to be born straight and white and in America.
Lindsey
•15 years ago
Oh, and great post. 😀 one of your best!
angryafrican
•15 years ago
You go girl! Give it to them. We’ll play their game from now one. No more mr and ms nice guy/girl. Take no prisoners. They need to be treated with the same disrespect they show to us and our friends. I am sick and tired of being the nice one. Being the reasonable one. You don’t hug lions. They will eat you for lunch. You don’t play nice with bigots. They will throw it back in your face. You go girl! (Damn, now I have to learn how to bake cookies as well.)
angryafrican
•15 years ago
Hum… I meant “from now on”. (Bleddie Ingels)
Hayden Tompkins
•15 years ago
“he was talking about the Blacks and the Coloureds (mixed race) people”
What was this, 1953??
Maybe it’s because I grew up in a series of large cities, maybe it’s because I’m younger, but homosexuality just doesn’t seem like that big a deal to me. It simply doesn’t effect me.
froggywoogie
•15 years ago
The funny thing (not funny haha) is those very strict religious people would be the ones banning the saint man named Jesus if he was amongst us nowadays with his speechs of tolerance and helping the poors and talking to the “sinners”.
Spirituality is a great thing when not biaised through religions.
All beings (not only “humans”) need to be respected for having been donated Life. Life has no color nor gender, it’s just purely Life.
I am because you are…
SanityFound
•15 years ago
Lindsey… question is can you dance? Couldn’t agree more sista!
AA Bleddie hell jou Ingels is smaak maar lekker I tell you! Thanks you, yeah enough is enough time for the crunch I think.
Hayden erm how old are you? Coz this was 1993 in South Africa. Homosexuality isn’t a factor in my life either, it doesn’t bother me, the same as race, neither bother me… I’m ancient thoughs
Froggywoogie indeed Ubuntu, I am because you are, there is no better way of saying it! I couldn’t agree more that is for sure!
Joy
•15 years ago
I have nothing to add to this. You said it all perfectly. Well said San.
SanityFound
•15 years ago
Thanks hun 🙂
sandworm
•15 years ago
Nice post,…. Ok, everyone together now….
Come on you people now,
Smile on your brother,
Everybody get together,
Try to love one another right now….
hunny girl
•15 years ago
Hard to believe that happened only about a couple decades ago. Like the saying goes, we’ve come so far but have so much more to go. Thanks for standing up against homophobia. It pains me to see family and friends who are GLBTQ be the brunt of discrimination simply because they are “different”….when in fact we are all the same.
Yeeaa totally subscribing to this lol.
SanityFound
•15 years ago
Sandworm lol I had forgotten about that song perfect!
HunnyGirl Perhaps by showing the world how to do it, how its done, how to love and respect everyone and everything… perhaps person by person we can change the world…
Smile on your brother… « SanityFound’s Rambling’s
•15 years ago
[…] on your brother… August 30, 2008 Sandworm reminded me of this song in a comment on Black, White, Gay, Straight… What’s the dif? Perhaps very […]
glaize
•15 years ago
I echo them above me 🙂
vanessaleighsblog
•15 years ago
Love it girly girl….. awesome!!!! well said, well felt, and of course, the similarities are so much the same….. color, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender, race…. all discrimation is the same thing, oppression of those that are different than ourselves…. it all stinks and no more excuses…..
I am with Lindsey, again setting the bar high, one of your best posts…..
SanityFound
•15 years ago
Glaize thanks you
Vanessa Hippy Happy Biffdaaaaay!!! *does partay dance* Thanks you am glad you enjoyed this one!
Robert
•15 years ago
Hi Sanity, a very good point. A strong one.
I guess it all comes down to the question of handling diversity – on psychological as well as on the cultural level. I would say that, from a psychological perspective, our sense of identity tends to always, to a certain extent at least, feel threatened by the differences out there. On the conscious level we are all for differences and have our mouths full of ideas how much we love widening our perspectives by exploring the differences, but on the unconscious level we react immediately when faced with different opinions, let alone when confronting different life styles, religions, approaches, sexual orientations…
And our cultures have all their identities built around the idea of “us and them”, us being on the right side and them being on the wrong one. If we are OK, great or even the chosen ones, and if they are rather different, that of course must mean that they are wrong. Threatening us with their wrongness!
So let’s go get them. Let’s wipe them off our pure little worlds, so that we can finally rest in peace.
And I believe it always takes generations to get over such prejudices. And it is US who will do the change.
So, keep the good work, Sanity, since you are changing the world with it.