oh for crying out loud

[rivendellrose]

Tulsa, Oklahoma, mayoral candidate wants to put a creationist exhibit in the Tulsa Zoo.

There's some background to this, for me. Yesterday, I received a plea for money from the Secular Coalition for America, of which I am a member. I thought "well, maybe," because, let's be honest - I have a trip to Asia coming up, my tuition for the Museum Studies thing still needs to be sent in, and there are a lot of other charities that could use my money, particularly since my county is working on a serious budget shortfall this year, and I'd like to do what little I can to help out with that.

And then this showed up in my morning link-feed. A quote, for those of you who don't feel like reading the whole insane article:

"Today we are announcing that God will be glorified in this city. He shall not be shunned. Upon our election, we hereby commit to honoring Him in all ways that He has been dishonored," said Anna Falling.

Thanks, you flipping idiot. I needed a reminder of exactly what kind of wack-jobs the Secular Coalition exists to fight. They are officially the winner of my charity money this month.

In other WTF news, apparently 50% of Americans think it should be legally required for women to change their name to their husband's last name when they marry. They can get right on the "out of my country, you freaking psychopaths" wagon along with the afore-mentioned Tulsa politician and all the idiots who actually listen to anything Sarah Palin says.

It comes to my attention that I stupidly thought electing Obama meant that Americans were getting less stupid. This is clearly not the case.

But wait! There's more stupid out there!: Apparently some moron named John C. Wright (apparently a sci-fi author? I've never heard of him...) is upset that the Sci-Fi Channel is going to be including more homosexual characters in their shows. So upset, in fact, that he's coined a new word - "homosex."

Have a rage-inducing quote: Someone explain to me by what series of events persons with serious sexual-psychological malfunctions would somehow be awarded the status of moral arbiters, something like priests and confessors and sages -- except that the passkey to being a guardian of public conscience in our age is the absence of moral value, not the presence.

Fuck you, too, Mr Wright. I have never heard of you before today, but you can bet that I will be avoiding your books in the future, and working as hard as I can to convince everyone else I know to do so as well. Bigoted idiot.

* * *

Religion fail, sexism fail, and now homophobia fail, too - look, everybody, I've got a full house! *Seethes* I'm going to go read www.givesmehope.com for the rest of my lunch break, and try to remember that there's parts of the human race that are actually still worthwhile.

Comments

[jfrog78.livejournal.com]

For the name change thats funny. When I got married to my ex it was a short conversation, me:"You want to change your name to Golembiewski?"
her: "Not really."
me: "Ok"

I was raised with the name change thing and though it was a big deal till the actual time came then it was like whatever.

[irishninja.livejournal.com]

Shadawyn and I have talked about the name change thing as well. She wants to keep her maiden name to preserve her father's name (since he doesn't have any sons) and I'm cool with that. We briefly talked about her hyphenating, but good lord... type out what that would look like and you'll quickly reject the notion as well, I wager. :)

[shadawyn.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I might still hyphenate for the sheer ridiculousness of it.

[irishninja.livejournal.com]

Would it become lul-worthy at that point?

(Sorry to have co-opted your angry post, Jen!)

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Don't apologize, I'm amused. ♥

And for the record, I think the hyphenation would be really fun with your names.

[shadawyn.livejournal.com]

I changed my name for my first marriage, but I'll probably hyphenate this time (because who doesn't want a 16 character last name? It just off-sets my 3 letter first name!). Cos I like my last name. It's one of my quirky things that make me, me. But hey, M has a Mc-name, and that's pretty awesome, too ;)

My dad wants me to change my last name, M would kind of like me to, but understands why I'd like to keep my own.

I'll take both!

[irishninja.livejournal.com]

With hyphen, it would actually be 18 characters long. O_O

[jfrog78.livejournal.com]

I still got you all beat my whole name alone is 22!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

See, and that's totally cool. It's a decision, and I'm cool with whatever decision the people involved want to make.

But it is so not an issue for any kind of legislation. Dear god, I just don't know what people are thinking sometimes...

[jfrog78.livejournal.com]

I missed the legislation part! Hey stay out of our health care but make that person change their name that's ludicrous!

[lovelies.livejournal.com]

Wright and his wife are both disgusting human beings, but for extra ickiness, she's 24 years younnger than him. They actually pretty much make my skin crawl.

[sigelphoenix.livejournal.com]

Oh, seriously? I've heard from commenters on this whole mess that Wright's books include creepy older male/young girl interactions. O_o

Incidentally, rivendellrose, if you want to know about his wife (who is also a spec fic author), you can find out here.

Quite a pair, these two.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I just looked at some of that post, particularly the links to Ms. Ignorant's LJ, and my brain is officially sore. Not only is the woman socially ignorant in the worst ways, but she hasn't even got a decent grasp of the English language and she calls herself a writer?? I'm horrified on behalf of the rest of the writing profession, and suggest we vote her OUT. Of, you know...EVERYTHING.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Oh dear, she's the one behind that, is she? I heard a bit about that, but the details on that link... ARGH. That woman (the subject of the post, not the OP, obvs) has some serious problems if she thinks that's any flavor of appropriate behavior.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Eeeugh. I mean... I'm okay with a difference in age, but... 24 years is way too "she could literally, easily be his daughter" for me. o_O

Of course, I wouldn't mind if they weren't otherwise obviously skeezy beyond belief.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

He came across as an arrogant, bigoted, overeducated asshole who thinks that doing the Great Books course at St. John's means that he knows everything. Any impulse I had ever had to purchase his books (or those of his wife, who comes across as a whiny, spoiled airhead) vanished.

I pity their kids.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Eww. They reproduced? Charming.

[ellid.livejournal.com]

Three sons, named (and I swear I am not making this up) Orville, Roland, and Justinian.

That's right. They named a kid Justinian.

And another kid Orville.

*winces*


And oh yeah - these clueless racist fools are, if tekalynn's information is correct, attempting to a adopt a little girl from China.

*shudders*

[netgirl-y2k.livejournal.com]

apparently 50% of Americans think it should be legally required for women to change their name to their husband's last name when they marry.

So, on a vaguely related note, this woman calls me at work to tell me the reason she hasn't paid her bill is that the reminder came to her house with her maiden name on the address, so she didn't know who it was for.

Hang on for a sec, a letter came to your house, with addressed to someone with your first name and what was until a fortnight ago your surname and you didn't know it was for you. Tell me, are you a moron?

Yeah, I'll file that one under Never Gonna Fly.

[jfrog78.livejournal.com]

That is awesome next marriage I'm changing my name to use that excuse on my student loans!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

...Well, of course! I mean, would you recognize your own name if it had a name you'd presumably had for most of your life up until the prior fortnight attached to it? How shocking of you to expect better of her!

/sarcasm

Seriously, I'm appalled by the kind of crap people will try to pull. It just boggles the mind.

[livii.livejournal.com]

I think it's indicative of how much fail I've been reading lately (Wright's wife is the one who failed so epically on race at Writercon!) that when I got to the term "homosex" in that post yesterday I just burst out laughing. I honestly could not make my brain believe he was anything other than the stupidest of trolls. It was good, in a way, as it kept my blood pressure down.

I appended my husband's last name onto mine when I got married, no hyphen; I actually did it legally, which most people never do, but I figured I needed a legal name of permanency for my occupation. Of course, then when I got my green card it wasn't on my passport yet so I actually have a different legal name in the US and in Canada, and my health card right now only has my maiden name, and and - if I had to do it all over, I would just keep my maiden name, none of his, argh (though I don't mind using it socially; I tend to abbreviate just to first name + his last name socially and especially on the telephone, for ease of reference).

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I know what you mean. I was sitting there after posting this, seething about the whole thing, and I thought "gee... and I wonder why my heart-rate is unusually high." *Sighs* The 'homosex' thing is funny, it's just everything around it that drives it over the edge into total "wtf are these people thinking?" territory.

Yeah, I can see how that could be a total mess. I'm not sure what I'd do if the situation came up, but I think whatever people decide based on what matters to them is totally cool - I'm just very against anyone trying to legislate on this or telling other people what they should be doing, because, um, personal decision? Yeah. :P

[velleitas.livejournal.com]

The name change pissed me off more than I thought I would. My name is very, very Nigerian. I can't imagine if I married someone with the last name Parker or Smith how ridiculous my name would sound. Please. Or my cousin's who's is longer? Nwanyibueze Smith. That hurts my brain just to look at it. And besides that, I remember this story a friend shared with me about two people about to be married:

Man: So when are you going to change your name?
Woman: What? I'm not. Do you want to change your name to mine?
Man: No... I've had my name my whole life.
Woman: Yes?
Man: Oh.

LOL, so great.

I figure with all the stupid running around, and how it actually seems to have gotten worse, what with the irrational Obamaphobia, I have to gear down and buy my own little private island somewhere and only the people that can string two rational thoughts together will be allow on it. I'm scared for the future. Seriously.

[velleitas.livejournal.com]

i have to add that the click fest that ensued after reading on the articles you linked, I have a major headache at work, and my body is in serious danger of spontaneous combustion. Sometimes I actually want to post serious stuff on my LJ, and then my friends do it for me and I remember why I don't. It's to keep my flying off the handle into a furious rage. People are exhausting!

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Oh no! I didn't mean to give you spontaneous human combustion at work. Or a headache, but the combustion is just messy. :(

In all seriousness - would you prefer if I filtered for politics? I know a lot of people do, I just hadn't decided if it was necessary yet.

[velleitas.livejournal.com]

Oh, no, no. I was just making an observation. Despite getting enraged at that general American population from time to time, I subject these things upon myself, with or without the help of my flist and it's nice to know at least that my friends (mostly) share some of my points of view. So don't worry about it! Plus, it gives me ample opportunities to use my Spock icons. Because, uh, you know, he's logical.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Nwanyibueze Smith

I can see what you mean about it looking very odd, but I have to say - that's also kind of adorable. ♥

Totally with you on the fear. I feel like... so, I must have been totally nuts back in November, but I genuinely thought that Obama winning would mean people would get less crazy. That the conservatives would settle down a little and realize they can't have everything their fricking way. Instead, it's like they've all turned into temper-tantrum-throwing three year-olds who've had their toys taken away, and they just can't stop proving that there's always a lower, stupider, more asinine place that they're willing to go to. :P

[icebluenothing.livejournal.com]

I dunno, I think "homosex" is a great coining. It sounds like the fun, hip new thing all the cool kids are doing. It's edgy! It's got a good marketing vibe! Hey, kids -- you wanna try some "homosex?"

In all seriousness, though, I had to comment to say -- I'd never seen givesmehope.com before. Thanks much for that.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Lol. That's a good point. It's kind of a cute term, it's just... wow, the rhetoric that was going with it. Wow.

And yay, I'm glad you liked it! It's an awesome site. &heart;

BTW, now that it's literally months since the last time we talked about it, did you still want to meet up for tea sometime? My schedule's fairly open this month and next, and then it all goes to hell again for a while in October, when I start my certification program.

[icebluenothing.livejournal.com]

I'll be honest -- I'd completely given up all hope of our schedules ever intersecting. :) But sure, I'd still like to! Fire me an email -- montoure@gmail.com -- and let me know when you're free. Cheers.

[alto2.livejournal.com]

I was not surprised when my grandparents weren't told that my brother's ex was keeping her name when they got married ten years ago. I was, however, quite shocked when my mom told me that she couldn't understand why she would do that. Um, duh? It's her name? And in her case, it was also already the name under which she'd established herself as a professional musician. I flat-out told her I couldn't see myself changing my name, either, because why would I? It's MY NAME. It's not the shirt I wore yesterday. It's MY NAME.

GAH.

[websandwhiskers.livejournal.com]

. . I realize this may be entirely beside the point, but you know what else pisses me off about Mr. Wright's diatribe? (And I've never heard of him before either.) The whole "working Joes", average-American schtick - because liberals don't work, obviously. And conservatives are never rich. And there are no gays or liberals anywhere between Pittsburg and Las Vegas, apparently.

I mean, don't get me wrong, the anti-gay vitriol pisses me off too - but random and illogical insistence on polarization where none exists just really pushes buttons for me - as if all people not only should, but do, fit into tidy little boxes. And they must be the mortal enemies of the folks in the differently-shaped little boxes, because, well . . because?

And obviously people wishing to display integrity in all aspects of their lives without facing discrimination for it is a greater threat to the overall moral fiber of our nation than is the acceptance and furtherance of inflammatory rhetoric that uses neither logic nor fact to support itself and discourages its audience from rational thought and reasonable discourse while encouraging them to demonize anyone who disagrees with them or lives differently than they do. Because obviously, the former is so much more likely to result in social isolation and fear and violence and the general degeneration of a functional culture. Forthrightness bad. Sewing discord good.

[Please note sarcasm]

Mr Wright can officially kiss my working-class, pro-gay-rights, feminist, pro-life, pagan, pro-2nd-Amendment, pro-environment, shops-at-Walmart-and-at-Whole-Foods, registered-Independent-and-yes-I-vote-thank-you-very-fucking-much ass.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

I'm right there with you on the righteous fury over the "working guy" thing. Dude, I'm working class, too - and I'm about as crazy-liberal as they come. It drives me nuts when guys like him get off on that kind of thing. What a jerk. :P

[ellid.livejournal.com]

He went to St. John's College in Maryland, one of the most ridiculously elite schools in the world, and one of the most conceited. The entire course of study is reading the Great Books course designed by Robert Hutchins and Mortimer Adler 70 years ago in their failed attempt to turn the University of Chicago into a neo-Thomist paradise.

That's right. No majors. No texts written after the 1930s. Almost no texts by non-Europeans. Virtually nothing by women. Nothing by uncloseted gays. No science more current than Darwin. For four whole years.

Some very bright, creative people go to St. John's, but some incredibly arrogant fuckheads with no marketable skills save slinging bullshit pass through its hallowed halls as well. Mr. Wright and his trophy wife spouse seem to be firmly in the latter camp.

*so glad I went to Smith*

[websandwhiskers.livejournal.com]

Er, sowing. (Oops.)

[narsilion.livejournal.com]

Ummm, WHAT????

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Which one?

1. Crazy lady wants creationism at zoos, because... um... because God made animals? I don't entirely understand this, since I sure as hell have never seen significant amounts of information on evolution at the zoo... but maybe Tulsa is different?

2. Morons think women should have to take their husbands names. No idea why this matters so much to them.

3. Even bigger moron is convinced that the Sci-Fi channel is part of some kind of crazy Gay Agenda conspiracy. I can only hope that he accidentally watches Torchwood and his brain explodes.

[narsilion.livejournal.com]

Well, there was sooo much what the fuck in this one post, I had a brain melt-down.
I always try to see the best in people, but some people just literally scare the hell out of me.

[diea.livejournal.com]

I changed my name when I got married. For me, it symbolizes our status as a family and not just two people in a relationship. *shrugs* I guess I'm just old-fashioned when it comes to that.

However, I don't think there needs to be a law about it. People should be able to call themselves whatever they want, as long as it isn't aliases to avoid the law or something.

Did you see the Metaquote in response to Wright? It, and some of the comments, might make you feel better.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

Gosh, no - don't misunderstand, I don't mind if people want to change their name when they marry! I'm all for tradition, if it's what people want to do. The specific people involved. Not some asshat who wants to dictate to the whole rest of the country what's right based on an outmoded concept of female identity and rights. I'm all for absolutely whatever decision a specific woman chooses to make in that case. Or man, for that matter. Doesn't matter to me.

People should be able to call themselves whatever they want, as long as it isn't aliases to avoid the law or something.

Exactly. No problem at all.

And thank you - I think I shall need that when I finish wading through all the horribleness of all of this!

[gaslightgallows]

I wiki'd this Wright fella, as I'd never heard of him either, and this particular statement caught my attention:

'At the age of 42, Wright converted from atheism to Christianity. In 2008 he converted to the Roman Catholic Church of which he approvingly stated "If Vulcans had a church, they'd be Catholics."'

That's a poor excuse for a Trekkie right there. Now if you'll excuse me, Mr. Spock and I will be in the corner getting drunk on single-malt.

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

He... what?

Okay. I can kind of see that he might be basing that on the rituals we see in canon (such as in "Amok Time") - there's a vague sort of similarity there, I guess? But from a standpoint of actual belief system, um... wtf?

And anyway, what the hell should that matter in the choice of someone's religious beliefs? o_O

[gaslightgallows]

And anyway, what the hell should that matter in the choice of someone's religious beliefs? o_O

Not sure if that was directed at me (for being intolerant in the face of intolerance) or him (for making a seemingly arbitrary decision of religions based on which one would be followed by a fictitious race of logical aliens), but then again, it could go both ways.

I was raised Catholic, though I don't consider myself one now, and frankly the only thing that I see in Vulcans that reminds me of Catholics in general, drawing from the ones I know and have known personally, is the intolerance towards other people and other ideas as displayed in "Amok Time" (and to a far greater extent, in "Enterprise," although I don't know if Mr. Wright would have watched that).

But from a canonical standpoint, the idea of Vulcans even having a religion doesn't work. Vulcans eat, breathe, and live logic. They like facts, and evidence. What use would they have for any type of religious or faith-based system, faith being defined as the ability to believe what cannot be proven?

(I'm done now, I swear, but this has been bugging me all night... Time to get out of the house, I think.)

[rivendellrose.livejournal.com]

No, no, no - not at you! I was just boggling at the concept that Mr Wright seemed to think that was at all a sensible thing to be throwing out there about Catholicism - as if that was going to encourage people to join, or as if it was in some bizarre way his reason for becoming Catholic rather than some other variety of Christian.

That said, you're not wrong about the intolerance displayed by Vulcans... but, to be fair, in my experience here on the West coast, I've always seen Catholics as one of the more moderate Christian groups. I know that's not at all true on the East coast or in other areas, but it does somewhat color my view of the faith in a vaguely affectionate way, in that most Catholics in my area tend to be pretty liberal.

[gaslightgallows]

I was just boggling at the concept that Mr Wright seemed to think that was at all a sensible thing to be throwing out there about Catholicism...

There's a suspicious stick-and-carrot mentality about his choice of words. The way it was phrased, it seemed to be implying that geeky/nerdy people would be more interested in a system of faith if they could see one of their favorite scifi characters participating in that system. But if Mr. Wright is going that route, it further implies that people who are interested and invested in science fiction and fantasy are all godless heathens who need to be duped into joining a church. Which would be very funny to my friend Nathan, who is a practicing youth minister and writes scifi on the side.

And I envy you your experience of West Coast Catholics. I have relatives here in New York who've pulled their kids out of Catholic Sunday school because the teachings were too intolerant.

[cyranocyrano.livejournal.com]

In related name news, I recently saw an article about how difficult, lengthy, and expensive it is for a man to change his last name if he gets married. People are heavily invested in and really hung up on these gender roles, and will cling tenaciously to them.