Smrt Lernins

To all the bigots,
To all the bashers of any[one/thing] non Xtian,
To all the misogynists and the homophobes,
To all the ones who equate being gay with being a sexual predator,
To all the ones who subtly or not-so-subtly blame women for their assault because of how they are dressed,
Or because of how they act,
Or how they don’t act,
Or because they had already had sex once anyway so what does it matter,
Or because they had the misfortune to be born with dirty-dirty vaginas and uteri instead of Paul-approved penises,
To the ones who throw around the word “heretic” as though it were the 16th century,
To the ones who throw around the word “heretic” without realizing how incredibly damn ironic it is for a Calvinist Protestant to call someone a heretic,
To the ones who call anyone who believes in a different flavor of Christianity a sinner,
To the ones who shame their daughters for being anything other than their primitive and controlling version of “feminine,”
To the ones who shame their sons for being anything other than their primitive and controlling version of “masculine,”
To the ones who claim to “love the sinner, but hate the sin,” when you obviously hate both,
To all of you who would rather keep your children ignorant than risk them learning something that’s outside your teensy little bubble…

We will win.

We “heathens” and “heretics” and “sinners” will win.
We will win because we have less shame about our bodies.
We will win because we aren’t afraid to accept new ideas.
We will win because we can distinguish between evidence-based science and something written by men, translated by men, voted on for inclusion by men, preached by men, and enforced by men.
We will win because we don’t think someone or something made us inherently wrong or bad.
We will win because we will not teach our children to hate who they are.
We will win because we will not let our children tell other children to hate who they are.
We will win because we will accept your children into our families with love and tolerance when you have driven them away with shame and hellfire.
We will win because we won’t accept victims being blamed for the crimes against them,
Because we don’t equate “purity” with character,
Because we don’t equate individuality with sin,
Because we don’t equate intelligence with heresy,
Because we don’t equate pettiness with godliness.
Because we don’t equate shaming with modesty.

One day those hateful seeds you sow
In your churches,
In your communities,
In your children,
Will grow into ugly plants,
And when that is all you will have to reap,
You’re going to have a lean, lean winter.

Enjoy your harvest. You’ve earned it.

Love,

The Heretic The Heathen The Sinner Smrt Mama

Saturday seems like a good day for linking, so here are a few good ones that have come across my desk* this morning:

• Hold your babies close. You aren’t spoiling them (really, you can’t spoil a baby), but you may be giving them a better ability to recover from fights with future partners.
• While the Egyptian revolution wasn’t really a “Facebook/Twitter revolution,” social media did play an important role in revolutionaries’ ability to communicate with each other and the world. In return, the Egyptian revolution taught Al Jazeera how to embrace digital media and social networking to better report the news as it happened.
• NP-in-training and abortion provider Dolores P. provides an honest look into what it’s like to be an abortion provider, sharing her personal experiences on both ends of the table. While her humor is a little morbid, especially where her own life and health are concerned, she is completely respectful of the women coming into her office. [Just a note here, Smrt Lernins is a pro-choice blog; while I am happy to engage in a wide array of discussions, one thing I won't tolerate is anti-choice comments.]
• The next time your kids are climbing the walls, just remember, they could always be literally climbing the walls.
• The eastern cougar has been declared extinct. Sadness.
• See? I’m not the only one calling the “mommy wars” a bunch of BS. The Bloggess says so, too. Of course, she also probably offends everyone in the process, but that’s her MO, so if you’ve got punkin’ feelins, apply elsewhere.
• Ok, women. Are you pissed off yet? (and please, don’t give me the “that’s why I’m glad I don’t live in GA/the South” response — similar bills have been introduced in South Dakota, Utah, Nevada, and probably some other states, too — this isn’t a Southern problem; it’s a religious right wingnut problem)
• Also, lets stop portraying women as disposable while we’re at it.
• Patchfire has been posting videos every day. Some educate, some entertain, some delight, some just make you say “oh HAIL YEAH.” Please go enjoy and comment, letting her know how much you enjoy her little project for March.

There you go, folks. Some links to make you think, to make you glad or mad, to make you read something or watch something a little different. Enjoy (or not. Whatever. Do what you want. I’m not the boss of you.)

*Yes, I have an actual desk. It’s an IKEA Expedit and I luff it. It is currently piled high with crap that was on our old bookshelves, but which hasn’t yet been situated in our new bookshelves (also Expedit).