I’m assuming that you are actually asking this sincerely.
A pride flag is a symbol of acceptance. It’s saying that it’s okay to be gay. It’s not saying you have to be gay, it’s not saying you have to like that people are gay, just that it’s okay to be gay.
The ten commandments are rules. It’s not a message saying that it’s okay to be Christian, it’s saying that everyone must follow these rules.
The second one is authoritarian. It is restricting everybody, even those outside the group who created it. The first one is not authoritarian. Not giving orders to anybody, and not restricting people outside the group that created it.
A pride flag is a symbol of acceptance. It’s saying that it’s okay to be gay. It’s not saying you have to be gay, it’s not saying you have to like that people are gay, just that it’s okay to be gay.
Well, in the same way you could say that the Ten Commandments are just a symbol of respect. You don’t have to like them, you don’t even have to follow them, but it would be nicer if you did.
The first one is not authoritarian. Not giving orders to anybody, and not restricting people outside the group that created it.
Try seeing what happens when someone dares to remove the flag, or even just says in its presence that they don’t like gay people. I bet you the authoritarianism is going to show up real quick.
Again, I’m going to assume you’re being serious here and respond as if it’s a real conversation.
I appreciate that, and I will do my best to honor that.
You say that the ten commandments are a sign of respect. A respect for whom or what?
They’re a sign of respect for and recognition of the essential humanity of others. No one likes to be lied to, stolen from, murdered, or envied. There is no exception made for rich and powerful people, nor for different races, creeds, or sexual orientations.
Yes, you can make the case that they also proscribe a requirement to believe in the Christian God, in which case I would say that’s no different than arguing that the pride flag is not saying that you have to be gay.
So the pride flag is necessary because, historically and very recently, non-straight people have been oppressed. Oppressed so badly that many kill themselves because of how they’re treated. It is a travesty that we treat other Americans this way just because they’re different.
Christians do not suffer like that. It’s literally impossible for Christians to suffer like that, as they make up the vast majority of the country. No one can possibly oppress a majority. Hurt their feelings, maybe, but not oppress.
I think if we are putting up religious tenets as a way of showing respect, we should put up the tenets of a religion that is actually oppressed in this country. One that is treated with hostility, and whose members are hated for no reason other than their beliefs. That would show them that we’re an accepting country, who actually follow Jesus’ values of loving our neighbors.
Christians do not suffer like that. It’s literally impossible for Christians to suffer like that, as they make up the vast majority of the country. No one can possibly oppress a majority. Hurt their feelings, maybe, but not oppress.
Right. It’s not like the symbol of their religion isn’t literally a dead guy hanging on a cross. Totally a sign of how much they don’t suffer.
You’re acting as if Christians are somehow a completely homogenous group who all constantly agree on everything all the time. If anything, this shows how blatantly ignorant you are of the reality.
It’s not just that there are hundreds of different denominations whose only commonality is that they agree on who God is, but who constantly feud about various aspects and interpretations of their theology, but even within individual churches you’ll rarely find two individuals who are in complete agreement with each other about everything.
And it’s not as if Christians are somehow immune to addiction, self-harm, or even suicide. The smallest minority is the minority of one, and that’s in fact what the crucifix stands for, because Jesus went up alone against a mob full of murderous rage to defend the rights of the individual to be free from religious prosecution.
But I like your suggestion, so in the spirit of reconciliation, might I offer the following compromise: instead of the Ten Commandments, we use Jesus’s version found in Matthew 19:18:
You shall not murder
You shall not commit adultery
You shall not steal
You shall not bear false witness
Honor your father and your mother
You shall love your neighbor as yourself
There, no more reference to any God, creed, or mandatory holy days. Gay or straight, male or female, brown or white, Muslim or Buddhist, no one is excluded or unduly put upon. Except people whose religion tells them it’s good to kill or steal from other people I guess…
Those are worded in an inaccessable way. “You shall not…”. How about “don’t lie”? It’s the same message without the clear religious overtones that are obviously steeped in the Christian translation from Latin and Greek.
I also disagree with #5. Not everyone’s parents deserve honor. Some are horrible and we shouldn’t make children feel bad for not loving shit parents.
But even if I agreed to the rest, it wouldn’t work. Those things are the basis of social emotional learning. The GOP is explicitly legislating against teaching that.
Putting it up at every classroom in the state does.
How is that different from putting pride flags in every classroom?
I’m assuming that you are actually asking this sincerely.
A pride flag is a symbol of acceptance. It’s saying that it’s okay to be gay. It’s not saying you have to be gay, it’s not saying you have to like that people are gay, just that it’s okay to be gay.
The ten commandments are rules. It’s not a message saying that it’s okay to be Christian, it’s saying that everyone must follow these rules.
The second one is authoritarian. It is restricting everybody, even those outside the group who created it. The first one is not authoritarian. Not giving orders to anybody, and not restricting people outside the group that created it.
I hope that actually answers the question.
Well, in the same way you could say that the Ten Commandments are just a symbol of respect. You don’t have to like them, you don’t even have to follow them, but it would be nicer if you did.
Try seeing what happens when someone dares to remove the flag, or even just says in its presence that they don’t like gay people. I bet you the authoritarianism is going to show up real quick.
Again, I’m going to assume you’re being serious here and respond as if it’s a real conversation.
You say that the ten commandments are a sign of respect. A respect for whom or what?
I appreciate that, and I will do my best to honor that.
They’re a sign of respect for and recognition of the essential humanity of others. No one likes to be lied to, stolen from, murdered, or envied. There is no exception made for rich and powerful people, nor for different races, creeds, or sexual orientations.
Yes, you can make the case that they also proscribe a requirement to believe in the Christian God, in which case I would say that’s no different than arguing that the pride flag is not saying that you have to be gay.
So the pride flag is necessary because, historically and very recently, non-straight people have been oppressed. Oppressed so badly that many kill themselves because of how they’re treated. It is a travesty that we treat other Americans this way just because they’re different.
Christians do not suffer like that. It’s literally impossible for Christians to suffer like that, as they make up the vast majority of the country. No one can possibly oppress a majority. Hurt their feelings, maybe, but not oppress.
I think if we are putting up religious tenets as a way of showing respect, we should put up the tenets of a religion that is actually oppressed in this country. One that is treated with hostility, and whose members are hated for no reason other than their beliefs. That would show them that we’re an accepting country, who actually follow Jesus’ values of loving our neighbors.
Right. It’s not like the symbol of their religion isn’t literally a dead guy hanging on a cross. Totally a sign of how much they don’t suffer.
You’re acting as if Christians are somehow a completely homogenous group who all constantly agree on everything all the time. If anything, this shows how blatantly ignorant you are of the reality.
It’s not just that there are hundreds of different denominations whose only commonality is that they agree on who God is, but who constantly feud about various aspects and interpretations of their theology, but even within individual churches you’ll rarely find two individuals who are in complete agreement with each other about everything.
And it’s not as if Christians are somehow immune to addiction, self-harm, or even suicide. The smallest minority is the minority of one, and that’s in fact what the crucifix stands for, because Jesus went up alone against a mob full of murderous rage to defend the rights of the individual to be free from religious prosecution.
But I like your suggestion, so in the spirit of reconciliation, might I offer the following compromise: instead of the Ten Commandments, we use Jesus’s version found in Matthew 19:18:
There, no more reference to any God, creed, or mandatory holy days. Gay or straight, male or female, brown or white, Muslim or Buddhist, no one is excluded or unduly put upon. Except people whose religion tells them it’s good to kill or steal from other people I guess…
Those are worded in an inaccessable way. “You shall not…”. How about “don’t lie”? It’s the same message without the clear religious overtones that are obviously steeped in the Christian translation from Latin and Greek.
I also disagree with #5. Not everyone’s parents deserve honor. Some are horrible and we shouldn’t make children feel bad for not loving shit parents.
But even if I agreed to the rest, it wouldn’t work. Those things are the basis of social emotional learning. The GOP is explicitly legislating against teaching that.