I don't know how it came up last night but I went on a rant with some of the guys I work with. One of the things I hate most in the world is hypocrisy. Its one of the main reasons that I do not get more involved in organized religion. In grade school, I was very caught up in religion and was a very devout Roman Catholic. I went to a Catholic grade school, was baptized into the religion, received First Communion, went through the Confirmation ritual, and all that. I was pretty into it. So much so that I was, at one time, interested in becoming a priest. Then I went to Glen Dale.
Glen Dale was the children's home that I lived in through my high school days. It was a part of the Kentucky Baptist Homes for Children network. Now, while there, they wanted all of the members of the home to go to church together so you were encouraged to go to the local church, Gilead Baptist Church with all of your cottage-mates. I was okay with it. I got to attend mass when I went home to visit my family and it exposed me to another religion. It was here that I first encountered what I knew to be hypocrisy. Most of the people that went to the church were pretty cool with the home kids. Yeah, a lot of us were miscreants and troubled youth but we, predominantly, behaved while at church. There were a few though that did not treat us with any respect and went out of their way to snub us or treat us badly. One of those was not only a church member but a teacher at our high school and a basketball coach. He absolutely hated us home kids. Stuff like that really turned me off of religion. I know, its a couple of people that acted like that but the old saying comes to mind... a couple of bad apples spoil the whole bunch.
So, what got me going last night was the hypocrisy of a lot of women. I don't remember how it came up but I got reminded of it this weekend and it has been in my head for a few days, now. I get so sick and tired of hearing these women's groups going on about how men exploit women by buying magazines with naked women in them or, heaven forbid, someone should get a porn movie.. I could see it back in the day when the women weren't getting paid worth a damn but, therse days, porn stars are making damned good money. So, is it them being exploited or doing the exploiting? I mean, what woman doesn't know that most guys think with their dicks? Personally, I think it is a big conspiracy. Women know guys want to look at naked women. So, they make the porn and smut and get it distributed. Then the women turn around and start complaining to keep the porn off the shelves making it hard to find and buy. Its like they want to keep it regulated so that the prices are higher. I mean, if women walked around naked all the time, guys would get used to seeing the naked form, and the porn industrty would fall on it's face. So, the answer is start opening more nude beaches and such. Right? Like that'll ever happen when there is industry where women can get PAID to take off their clothing.
So, this little thing on HBO I saw kinda got me thinking about this, again. It is a topic that I can go on and on about. It was a naked porn star showing off the latest and greatest in the adult toy industry. Use a naked, good-looking starlet and you've got the guys' attention. But you could tell that this show was, for the most part, tailored towards women. The first 90 5 of the show was all toys for women. The last few minutes had a couple of things for guys. I mean, get real. Its okay for a woman to go out and spend $40 or $50 on a dildo but a guy spends $15 on a year's subscription to Playboy and he is a perv? I mean, the last time I saw a Playboy, there were a handful of pictures of women and all the rest was stories and articles and a lot of non-sex related stuff. But open up any women's magazine and you'll find some article on how to train your man to pleasure a woman properly or 100 best places to have sex or some other BS. No pictures, of course, but you get the idea. Either way, its all the PORN INDUSTRY that is being supported by both sides of the fence but only men get called pervs. Goes back to that whole concept of different strokes for different folks. A woman grabs a man's ass and its funny. A man grabs a woman's ass and it's a fireable offense. Yeah, things are swinging around because you have so many "sensitive" guys these days. Really, though, to me, its all just a big hypocrisy.
Overall, it's all about people. You can have a full-proof, idiot-free, GREAT IDEA but get a couple of people involved in it and in no time flat, it sucks. Religion to me is a great concept. At a time when man was running around killing each other without thought, here comes a NEW CONCEPT. This higher power is looking down on us, watching what we do and say and think and feel and judging us. If we are good boys and girls, eat our veggies, and play nice with each other, we get to go to heaven! If we aren't well, we burn in hell for eternity. I think the concept started out very well. Then man started sticking his hands into it, mucking about and changing things. I think that God started off as this very forgiving, loving, nurturing being. As man changed things, though, he became vengeful, spiteful, and unforgiving. To me, that is just WRONG. Take Abraham for instance. God wants to test old Abe so He tells Abe to sacrifice his son to Him as a show of devotion. Abe is flabbergasted. He loves his boy and he loves God, so he is heartbroken when he leads his son out to slay him. At the last second, God stays his hand and says that Abe passed the test. WTF? That doesn't sound like the God I like to think as all powerful and all knowing. That sounds to me like a man testing a man. Actually, it sounds more like a WOMAN testing a man. LOL! Just kidding... sorta. Honestly, though, I wonder what the original bible actually said. It has been changed and strained and editted by man so much that it is probably unrecognizable to the original texts.
So, as you can see, I have some problems with religion. Actually, I have problems with a lot of things that people put a name to. I think that man has taken to many liberties with naming and getting involved with stuff. We have rules to just have rules or so some jackass can make sure his name goes down in history. Rules surround us and they are only getting worse. Soon, we will have so many restrictions placed upon us that we will no longer be the land of the free and home of the brave. We will be the land of the people smashed into tight little boxes of conformity, home of the people afraid to leave their own homes for fear of offending someone else and getting sued. The land of lawyers and rule makers, whiners and morally-better-than-you, can't haves, wanna haves, and since I can't have it no one cans.
I get so frustrated by all the legalese bullshit that takes place around this time every year, too. Christmas. It can't be a Christmas tree any more because that offends someone somewhere. Instead of laughing behind their hands at the Christmas trees pagan connotations as the Yule Log, the Wiccans and other pagan organizations are getting militant and sue happy. Can't have the 10 commandment without the 3 fold law in the court house! WTF are people thinking? Our laws are based on the 10 commandments. Can't have a Christmas tree displayed unless you are displaying a menorah and everyone else's holiday icon. And then, to top it off, Christmas has become such a glut of spending and commercialism that it starts earlier every year. I can understand a big spending day after Thanksgiving but now I'm seeing Christmas shit displayed BEFORE HALLOWEEN! Come on, people.
Anyway, I've got a million and one things to bitch, moan, groan, whine and complain about. Like I always tell people, if I don't have anything to bitch about, I ain't happy. So, until next time, stay out of my way, drive like you got sense, stay the fuck off your cell phone unless you can put both hands on the wheel and talk and drive at the same time, and Happy Holidays! I'll be posting my Christmas wish list soon!
