This is my monthly column about our life, life in a triad in general, or whatever rants & raves I feel like talking about at the time.

Previous editions of this column can be found in the Monthly Columns Archives.

Unnatural Disasters

As I was thinking about what the topic should be this month, it came to me suddenly, as inspiration often does. This column is dedicated to everyone affected by Hurricane Katrina. I hope you find peace in the wake of this horrible disaster.

Hurricane Katrina recently devastated the Gulf Coast of the United States, and in the wake of this disaster we saw people react differently. We saw some donate money to help alleviate the already stressed Red Cross. We saw some mobilize and go to the storm ravaged areas, ready to give their own strength to those in need. Still others waited at home, frantically hoping for some word that their loved ones were okay after this horrific storm totally obliterated a once thriving, prosperous city. I actually felt that our country had unified in an effort to fight back against the latest natural disaster, that is until I stumbled across something that actually made my stomach turn as I read it. The storm had barely started to subside when I happened along a press release from a group calling themselves Repent America. These people, who supposedly worship their God according to the Christian bible, actually had the audacity to say that Hurricane Katrina was not a natural disaster of cataclysmic proportion, but the work of their God. Repent America actually issued a press release on their website that states that Hurricane Katrina struck because they held an annual homosexual celebration in the French Quarter of New Orleans. This logic so unnerved me that I had to read more of their diatribe. They go on to mention that Mardi Gras, abortion clinics, and a high murder rate contributed to this "act of God destroying a wicked city".

If this was to hold true, then we had better alert the folks in Berkeley about this. This city is majorly friendly to gay folks, so I guess that means that some God will strike them down for allowing this to happen? After all, they are sitting right on top of one of the most unstable earthquake faults in the world. I shudder to think what will happen if a major earthquake should again strike this city or the surrounding areas. Will this also be credited to the wrath of some god for allowing gay people to live there? What about the thirty four unfortunate elderly folks left in a New Orleans nursing home to die? Did they too commit some unmentionable sin and deserve to die in some God's eye? How about all the children who lost their lives or became homeless after this storm obliterated their home? I guess they had "homosexual tendencies" and deserved to die too, huh?

How can folks living alternative lifestyles ever expect to be treated rationally when there are people out there who actually believe this stuff to be true? In my July 31, 2005 column, I talked about people in prominent positions using their power to reinforce their own viewpoints. This is in the spotlight again if you actually take a few minutes and explore the Repent America website. Remember Judge Roy Moore? He was the Chief Justice of the Alabama Supreme Court who was removed from his post for defying a federal judge's order to move a Ten Commandments monument from the state Supreme Court building. Apparently he too subscribes to the beliefs of the folks at Repent America, because he submitted a poem to their website. I'll let you read this "poem" yourself if you wish, but here's the opening paragraph:

"America the Beautiful, or so you used to be.
Land of the Pilgrims' pride; I'm glad they'll never see.
Babies piled in dumpsters, Abortion on demand,
Oh, sweet land of liberty, your house is on the sand."

This man was in the position to make life-changing decisions every day of his life. Am I the only one frightened by the prospect of this? We can only be thankful that at least this person was removed from his position. How many more like him exist, though? For every poly friendly professional we add to the list, how many more exist that seek to not only persecute us for what we believe but others living alternative lifestyles as well? People have been fighting for same sex marriages for far longer than we have been trying to have our lifestyle accepted. I am by no means saying that I'm going to give up the lifestyle I live, it's as much a part of me as my black hair or my brown eyes. I may, however, build a bomb shelter just in case.

~ Chias, September 26, 2005

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