Soap boxes of the world colliding..

Well, last night ended on a stupid note. I check my phone around 9 (after dinner, shower, ect.) to find that my Facebook wall exploded with an argument between two people on my friends' list. I've got a lot of friends. Some are fans, some are family, some are buddies I met through World of Warcraft. They're from everywhere, and some can't help but argue. Well, here I am giving the middle finger to the Boy Scouts of America for kicking out a kid who came out as gay, and someone from my list argues his stance as an Eagle Scout.

I'm gonna be honest with you guys. There's something about the Boy Scouts of America that I've always hated. Even as a kid, their little uniforms weirded me out. I never joined the Girl Scouts (too busy with music), and I always thought Boy Scouts were weird. The only kids I knew in Boy Scouts where white kids, and being from PG, there weren't a lot of them. They were just outside of my comfort zone. As I grew older, I got a little more accepting of this American tradition, but I don't know. Something about them always weirded me out. Well, now I'm seeing all this controversy about them not allowing gay kids, kicking out gay parents, ect. They claim it's because of their Christian beliefs, which is what this particular Facebook friend argued, and all I can say is... COME ON.

Guys, I'm a Christian. I love Jesus. I love God. I love all the good stuff about this religion, and I'm not ashamed to admit that there is some pretty ridiculous shit in the bible that we've been actively ignoring. Like... slavery. Multiple wives. Marrying your rapist. Things that people are A-Okay with ignoring, you know? But as soon as the whole gay thing comes up, wooooah, holy shit, we can't allow THAT kind of "sin". Are you fucking kidding me? What is up with these people and gay folks? Why do they actively pick on gays, especially? I do not understand. They say "it clearly saays in the bible...", but then they get tattoos and have babies out of wedlock. I'd love to see the BSOA kick out a kid for being someone's bastard child. Give me a break, people. There's something about gay people that this sect of Christians just doesn't like, and I do not get WHY. Hell, I know priests who are more accepting of gay people than these Christians. I say "accepting" because I'm starting to hate the word "tolerant". Like.. when you tolerate something, it's when you grudgingly accept it. Like someone's bad behavior. I hate the idea that people are just grudgingly accepting someone's sexuality as a bad behavior. Number one, it's none of your business, and number two, you should be ashamed of yourself for thinking you can judge someone in that way. Isn't that God's job? And doesn't God love all his children? Don't you sit there and tell me that being gay is a bad example that you can't have your precious Boy Scouts be exposed to. I'm pretty sure he's gonna meet a gay person at some point in his life. The kid's gotta buy a suit sometime, right?

I just don't understand this hatred. Some people get so worked up about why they don't like gay people and it bothers me. Maybe because I hear some people use the same hate speech toward Latinos, I don't know. But it bothers me a lot and I hate hearing it, especially from people who are supposed to be friends and/or family, who claim they're Christian. Being Christian doesn't just mean going to church and reading the bible. You're supposed to show your love and acceptance. You're supposed to be like Jesus. There's a lot of crazy shit in the Old Testament that Jesus kinda pushed aside. We don't just follow everything in the OT. That's why we're CHRISTIANS. See that "Christ" in there? It means we follow Jesus' example, and never once did he say to kick the people you think are sinners out of your organization and hate on them. Never once did Jesus say, "forgive everyone, but not the gays. Those guys are icky," and never once have I heard a story in which Jesus told a gay dude that he can forgive the infidelity, the tattoos, the not honoring of the Sabbath, and all the other crap this does in front of everyone... but being gay is not allowed, so kindly leave the village and never come back.

I don't like using the word "retarded". It's offensive, and I understand that. But seriously, you guys are being retarded and I just can't come up with a better word for it. Excluding gays is retarded. You are retarded. And you're shitty Christians, so fuck you.

So hey, I lost a pound this morning! :D I'm also gonna see Batman tonight, so I'll probably post a view... after the weekend.

Gay Marriage in DC!?

Well, looks like DC might be getting gay mariage! I must say, I'm proud of my city for it.

Now, a lot of people might say, "Wait a sec Nina, you're a Christian! How can you condone such a thing??"

To this, I give you my explanation as to why gay marriage is okay. First off, "marraige", as in, the union of a couple that allows them to recieve government benefits, is not a religious institution. The religious part comes when you do it in a church. Since I'm a Catholic, I know they're not going to get married in my church. They're not changing MY church at all, so really, what would I be offended by? I'm the type of person who believes that gay people should be treated like straight people. Namely, that being slutty is gross, and if they wanna get married, thank goodness!! You'd think that we would be encouraging gay people to get married!

I know more than a few people who are less offended by gay people than by their culture, and how it often promotes promiscuity. This is offensive to gays everywhere. Just because you're gay does not make you a slut. I think it's disgraceful that some people allow their sexual orientation to dictate how they handle their bodies, and that goes for straight and gay people alike. Straight people, and this includes men, disgust me. They disgust me all the time with how they treat their bodies, and how it negatively impacts others. It disgusts me how they treat marriage! The divorce rate is through the roof! Yet when gay people, who have solid beautiful loving relationships, want to get married.. straight people are grossed out?? Gimme a gaddamn break!!

As a married woman, I can say with the utmost confidence that if two dudes tie the knot, it will not destroy the sanctitiy of my marriage. If two chicks adopt a kid, thank goodness that kid will get a home. If my bible says that it's an "abomination", then I will argue that it's the lesser of two evils. We, as humans, are sinners. We sin all of the time. We try to do well, but we make mistakes. Do I think being gay is a mistake? I don't think so. Personally, I have a feeling that much of the bible, including the bits about gay people being an abomination, were written by some very frustrated men. I know where I stand with the good lord, and as a Christian, I believe that his love extends to everyone. That includes the gays and their love.

So, go DC!! I can't wait to see a bunch of couples come to my city to get married! And for the record, if any of them need a wedding singer, I am totally available.

40 days of Lent

Well happy Mardi Gras! Today it is traditional to eat pancakes, because in ye olden times, people would eat pancakes to prepare for Lent to get rid of their dairy products, since we can't eat them while fasting.

Also can't eat meat.

Or during the day.

So basically, for the next forty days, I will be observing Lent by giving up food during daylight hours, meat, and alcohol. Sound strange? It is. But I want to give this a try. Maybe it will help me to appreciate life a little more.

Also, I'm giving up one other thing:

Complaining about my weight. So for 40 days, I will do my damndest not to do any of these things. Eeee.

The First - A plea to artists

So this is my first post in what I hope will be an adequate blog to showcase how I feel about the world, and the people in it. I'm usually not one to take my own opinions seriously, as I'm both a nerd and an artist. So let me start off by saying..

Please. If you don't agree with what I say, comment. I don't mind. I like hearing other people's opinions.

A little about myself:

I'm in my early 20's, and I'm from DC. I'm an artist, and I work as a 3d modeler for an Engineering firm. I'm a singer, and I sing for a power metal band called Blood Corps. Any other information, you're likely to get from my blog.

And so we begin!

As an artist I find it fairly simple to pull at people's emotions. We're expressionists, we can bring people happiness, joy, anger, and we do it for money. Personally, I like to make people excited with my art. Happy. I'm a happy person, so I want others to be happy. Some people want to make people sad with their art, which is also cool. Having the ability to invoke emotions is a gift.

What I don't understand is people who want to hurt people with their art. For example in

this article here

we learn about a European cartoonist who's on the run from Al Qaeda because he decided to draw the Prophet Muhammed as a dog. He claims to be

a self-described atheist, points out he's an equal opportunity offender who in the past sketched a depiction of Jesus as a pedophile.

Now. I've got no issue with people who's beliefs are different from mine. If he wants to insult my religion, he's free to do so. I'm not arguing the validity of his beliefs. What I wonder is why he'd do it. Why, when you have the skill to make people happy, would you go out of your way to make people unhappy? Why would you put your life in danger, for something so trivial? Is it for popularity? For the thrill? I honestly don't understand.

Bear in mind, I'm not the type to shy away from joking. I joke about everything from religion to race to sports, but I've never gone out of my way to insult someone else's beliefs.

Except for Scientology.

And therein lies the biggest argument of them all. Am I a hippocrite? You betcha, but at least I'll openly admit it.

However, let it be known that my art will never be used to paint an ill picture of anyone's beliefs. I don't agree with Scientology, so naturally, I won't bring it up. What would be the point? I think it's a scam, so the last thing I want to do is advertise it. I'd rather let it's followers do their thing without getting into some sort of weird situation where people are trying to kill me for drawing Xenu as a hampster.

So I guess what I'm trying to say is.. please people, lets try to be courteous to eachother. There's no reason to hate, especially when there's so much hate in the world as it is.