September 25, 2007

I have read quite a few post from other people in my class.  It really shocks me how many straight laced conservative people are around.  I am in no way saying that it is a bad thing because variety is the spice of life.  It is just hard for me to figure out why people can’t see things the way I do.  (Just like it is hard for me to see things the way they do !)

There seem to some people in this class that are extremely religious and really stick to their guns.  I too was once pretty religious.  My mom and dad made me go to Sunday school and church every Sunday.  I had to go to the youth group meetings every Sunday night.  We did bible study on some Wednesday nights.  For them it was peer pressure to go to church.  We lived in a small town in west Texas, where everybody knew everybody.  If you were missing from church, the next time someone saw you, you were expected to give an explanation as to why you weren’t there. 

That is not to say that my parents weren’t both religious.  They both were and still are.  But as I was growing up, I decided that I thought it should be my choice what religion, if any, I wanted to be.  I wasn’t sure that I believed everything that I was saying at church.  I was reciting words from a book but I questioned those words.  So I understand the christian religion but there are somethings that just don’t fit for me. 

Some say that homosexuality, bisexuality, transgender, etc is not what god made and that it is not natural.  So if we go back and see that god created the earth and everything in his likeness.  He created nature and everything around us.  Maybe some people believe that everything happens for a reason.  For example, when the body rejects an embryo because genetically there are defects, that is god’s natural selection process.  He is weeding out the bad and keeping the good. 

So if god creates everything…I’m not too sure how to tie this in to the point I’m trying to make, so bear with me as I try to explain.  God is nature and nature is god.  Babies are gods babies and they are born heterosexual.  (If we go off of the christian religion.)  Homosexuals, bisexuals, and transgendered people CHOOSE to be that way.  They are not born that way…then how does religion explain intersexed people. 

Intersexed people are born with some form of both sexes.  Some have enlarges clitoris’ that look like small penis’.  Some begin to develop breasts at puberty but have been named a male.  Some people are born intersexed because of genetics and some are that way because of hormones.  When these children are born, parents panic and doctors respond.  “Pick a sex!  What ever you want it to be, we can make it into that!  With a little nip and tuck, you can have a boy or a girl!” And they choose the sex of the baby!  Just like that.  But what if they choose the wrong sex?  What happens if they were wrong and made the wrong changes?  That’s what happens a lot unless a parent or doctor says, “Wait!”.  Let’s figure this out.  Lets see what develops.

So when religious people say that being transgendered is a choice, they are also saying that intersexed people are making a choice. (Kind of…)  Feeling like you are in the wrong body is a serious thing and is not a choice.  It is a feeling.  It is sometimes genetic or hormonal.  It’s not just about not liking the sex that they are so they want to change.

 So Oprah had a show last week about intersexed people and she goes on to defend the LGBT community.  So with that said (and no point really made)…you should watch this clip.

http://www.oprah.com/tows/slide/200709/20070921/slide_20070921_350_101.jhtml

Women’s Professional Football September 25, 2007

So everyone is going on and on about women wanting to play men in football and how a man can always beat a woman..well duh!!! These men are bred to play football.  Boys are raised to play football.  They have pee-wee football to start athletic development specific to football. 

There are a few women’s leauges for football but women can not join until they are out of high school.  They miss out on 18 years of practice and training.  But these women can hit!!!

 I am a huge fan of the Dallas Diamonds.  www.dallasdiamondsfootball.com  They are the WPFL team for Dallas.  The play teams from all over the United States to qualify for playoffs and ultimately the Superbowl.  My best friend used to play and now coaches for the Dallas Diamonds.  These women play for the love of the game, not for the money.  They actually have to raise money/sponsorship in order to play.  And must hold full time jobs, outside of football, in order to survive.  There are no press conferences, no million dollar contracts, no fame…just football. 

I admire these girls because they put their heart and soul into football.  They take time away from their families to practice and play a sport that they are passionate about.  Many of them suffer from chronic injuries resulting from the hard hitting…the same injuries that the NFL boys suffer from.  Many of them end up having knee surgery or rotator cuff surgery.  They suffer from concussions and head injuries. 

So when someone says girls can’t play football, especially a man, I challenge them to go up against one of these girls!  Then we’ll see who is laughing!! 

Homophobia…it’s everywhere you turn!! September 13, 2007

I was very surprised by some of the postings concerning homosexuality and homophobia.  I amazed me that people are so close minded and ignorant.  I’m sure they would say that I too am ignorant for thinking the way I do.  This is the 21st century and we all still hold prejudices against one another. 

 Everyone brings up religion when they are talking about homosexuality and they reference the bible.  But considering the bible is not even close to the original text, as it has been rewritten so many times, who know what it really says about anything.  For me the bible is just another story book the people believe as the rule book how to live their lives.  I like to think of Scientology and how crazy everyone who is not a Scientologist thinks they are for believing what they believe.  Don’t you think they think christians are crazy too. 

Back to my original thought, homosexuals are not trying to get married so that they can be like all the straight people in the world.  Believe me, they don’t want to be straight or take anything away from straight people.  They want to be afforded the same rights as straight people.  They want to have children together.  They want to named them as their spousal benefactor.  They want to be able to see them in the ICU if something happens to them.  They want to be able to share health benefits through employers just as straight people do.  Homosexuals are not trying to be straight or take anything away from straight people.  They just want things to be fair and equal. 

 Having someone very close to me be gay has turned me into a huge Gay Rights Activists.  I could go on and on about Gay Rights and where we need to go and where we need to be.  I take things personally that people say which is one reason I try not to get involved in these gay/straight debates.  Then when I take things personal, I attack people on a personal level.  And I know that is not right.  So just sit back and read and remember that arguing on the Internet is pointless.

But don’t tempt me because I will say something…:)

My sweet little Rock Head… September 6, 2007

After having to give up my golden lab, Diesel, I vowed that I would not get another dog until I was done with school.  I made it almost a year.  Since giving my sweet Diesel to a family with another dog, Zeus, lots of good things have happened to me. 

 I started dating my best friend.  I really got my stuff together and made a plan for my education.  I achieved great things at my job and became a little more financially secure.  But there still seemed to be something missing.  I came home every night to a quiet apartment.  (And at that time, I still had no cable or internet.)  I watched movies that I own and have probably seen 3 times each. 

So my partner and I decided to take the leap and move in together.  I mean, it really made more sense to not drive back and forth to each others apartments everyday.  We decided to get a two bedroom apartment so that we would each still have our own room if we needed it, but it still saved us loads of money.   My partner already had a dog, Maddie.  With Maddie, I was able to “have” a dog but not have the responsibilty of owning a dog.  So this worked out for a little while for the both of us…I walked the dog, fed the dog, washed the dog, and my partner paid for the dog.  But then as winter rolled around and there was no one sleeping in my bed with me, I was a little lonely again.  Maddie went to bed with her parent and I went to bed alone. 

So I decided I wanted a dog too.  We searched online for dogs in shelters, the SPCA, the city pounds, and even the classified ads.  Then one day I just decided to go look at a shelter to see if I made a connection with one of the puppies.  I was sure I wanted a puppy because then I wouldn’t get someone else’s bad habits.  So I searched and searched the kennels looking for the perfect dog and had given up.  I was ready to go home when the electricity went off because of a storm.  The lady at the shelter asked if I wanted to see any adult dogs.  I figured it wouldn’t hurt since I didn’t want to go out in the storm anyways.

So we went straight passed the male dogs..Maddie is fertile young female boxer so no males allowed.  As we went up and down the isles of female dogs, I thought I was really wasting my time.  And that’s when I saw her.  This little wasted away boxer who weighted about 35 lbs. 

I took her home that night, named her Roxy and she has been such a joy to have around.  She is not hyper like most boxers are.  She likes to relax and eat, which are two of my favorite things to do.  She has grown into a healthy 50 lb. stunning boxer.  She was truly a diamond in the rough…she’ my sweet little Rock Head.