An apology

I have tried for weeks to be able to write a good follow-up post to my last one. I know it sparked a lot of negative feelings in people, and it was written in reaction to negative feelings. But no matter how hard I try to write it well, the words just never come out right.

I may have strong beliefs on matters, but I never wish to make people feel compromised of their own views.

Before you jump in with a "But!!" I want to make something very clear. I do have an exception: when your views infringe upon the rights and freedom of others, I have a problem with it. I don't think slavery in any fashion is okay, and if you do, I have a problem with that. I think women should be seen as equals, and that even though our society is making positive progress, we (including you and me, no matter how progressive you may think you are) have a long way to go. I believe anyone should be able to love whoever they want, and no one should be allowed to trample all over their rights to express that in whatever way they see as necessary and fulfilling.

But, I didn't do a great job demonstrating those beliefs in my last post. I do not claim to be perfect even though sometimes I may joke about it. I say that I'm cool with you believing what you want until you try to use it against others, yet what was I doing in my last post?

I'm going to leave my last post up both as a reminder to myself how ugly I can get, and as a memory of what I was thinking in that period of my life.

I do want to make my intent of that last post very clear, and I hope this helps explain it a bit. I was feeling very damaged from some recent experiences. I was having a hard time seeing how and why anyone could use religion to (even indirectly) attack someone, so it was much easier for me to claim it all brainwash than deal with the hard details of it. I grew up around Christianity; I'm not coming from a position where I don't have any base knowledge. Yet, I should have used just that to reach out in love rather than contempt.

-QV