I have two recent examples, because I'm all about examples. There was this one picture of a kid meditating, with a quote from the Dali Lama (sp) saying something along the lines of "If we taught all 8 years olds to meditate, we'd obliterate violence in society" (paraphrased). And whilst I don't think that is actually possible, it would go a long way if all people did indeed have those skills from a young age. Anyway, I made the mistake of reading the comments, and sure enough there's a bunch of Christians/Catholics going on about how human kind is of flawed design, we're inherently all bed people, we can't resist our evil nature and no amount of mental discipline is ever going to do that (well not with that attitude it wont!) And a few "If everyone meditated on God's word, that would bring world peace". Peace my arse, I've read that book and it was the number one most violent thing I picked up before I discovered game of thrones. So it leaves me sitting there wondering why Christians always feel the need to come along and flop out their depressing faith and ruin a beautiful thing for everyone else.
Example two: Today one of the birth/women support pages I follow posted a banner saying "peace. Love. Unicorns" and it's a sparking unicorn on a rainbow banner. I didn't get it at first, so I read the comments. Apparently back when this group first started doing their thing, they posted a picture of a newborn wrapped in a rainbow blanket/pride flag with the words "born this way" and a whole lot of people got up in arms about it. I can't even articulate why. You're born with your sexuality, it's a good message AND there are plenty of same-sex parents doing a fantastic job and this group was showing them that they too are welcome to come be supported. For course, Christians are willing to forgive you for doing something they think is wrong, but hell is going to freeze over before they accept you for who you are in the first place (unless they can move past your sins by telling themselves and anyone who will listen that they love and embrace you because we're all flawed sinners and they wont judge you now because their God will brimstone you later. And I see this ALL THE TIME it's like the key phrase that allows open-mindedness to coexist with that faith, except it's still as judgmental as fuck).
Where was I? A tangent came. Oh right. So in the comments of this thing, there are Christians getting worked up because God gave Noah the first rainbow and so it's a Christan symbol and has nothing to do with gays. Maybe I'm alone here, but if I see a rainbow flag I know exactly what it's supposed to mean, and I'm not thinking "Oh what a beautiful reminder that God isn't going to flood us a second time". Dear Christians: Not everything is about your God. Can it.
There was another one that shat me to tears recently. This one was Mormon, but same God, so you're going to be thrown in the same boat. It was a blog about why Mormons dress modestly. One of the points they make is this:
"* We believe there is a beauty that comes from being loving, charitable, kind, smart, healthy, and happy. Modesty helps us focus more on those qualities."
That's nice and all but combined with the rest of the article I came out of it thinking "Right, so every one of us who put on a tank this morning was too busy thinking about how much skin we could show and are thus unable to be loving, charitable, kind, smart, healthy or happy?" Maybe we just threw on the first thing we saw in the basket so we could run off be all those nice things without over-thinking our wardrobe first! Maybe we haven't spent generations shamming each other and realise that this flesh we're in is all the same and not something we have to hide to be good people. Maybe we can embrace people as they are, no matter what they wear, without judgement?
I had to give them kudos though, because not once did they say dressing modestly was about discouraging impure thoughts in men. Which I'm sure that's what it's actually about, but if you're getting something deeper out of it, more power to you! Now stop acting like the rest of us are skanks, k?
Well it was nice to let that all out! Again, people don't go taking this as a personal attack. This is just me observing the world. I'm not saying Christians are bad people or that there's anything lacking in the good they bring to the world. It's just, I see a butterfly, and I say "Hey, a butterfly!"
I've been feeling a lot of conflicted feminist feels about the idea of modesty in Abrahamic religions as well--how very screwed up the whole idea of women being inherently tempting and how they have to cover themselves in order to keep the men around them pure and Godly. (At least in Judaism, both men and women have to cover their heads to placate God. But only married women. I don't know what to make of this.) Living in France I see a lot of Muslim women wearing hijabs, and while I would never be so arrogant and clueless as to assume that women are manipulated into wearing a hijab and don't do it of their own free will as educated practicing Muslims, I have to wonder the kind of things they read/hear/believe to feel as if they need to cover up their physical beauty so that their inner beauty can be appreciated (one of the most common reasons I have heard for wearing a hijab in my conversations with Muslim women). I always feel culturally imperialist and guilty for thinking that's a bit fucked. It was really heartening to read that you're feeling some of the same feelings.
I for one think that the threat of burning in hell (being dragged into it by the hair if you didn't wear the hijab before your death, having your hair burned first, etc., if you want the graphic details) is pure emotional blackmail, that is used by men, but also by women to coerce one into covering up one's hair. Never underestimate the pressure put on muslim women by other muslim women. They are just as oppressive as men, if not more. During my lifetime, not one man has ever talked to me about hijab, not my father, not my relatives, not my friends. It's always been female relatives. There is no family gathering I attend without having an aunt or a cousin asking me "when God was going to lead me to the righteous path" of Hijab (I should answer "why don't you ask him??")
Of course it's not always threats. It's mostly propaganda bullshit about how pure and desirable it makes you, how superior it should make you feel towards "western sluts who walk around with their tits hanging out" and how (this one is my favorite) you will find a husband soon after you wear it, and IT HAS BEEN PROVEN!
Of course many times a woman would wear the veil out of sheer intensity of her faith in God (although the verses about the hijab are somewhat open to interpretation) but since I strongly believe that Islam is man-made and that the Quran was written by men (possibly Mohamed, but most likely several other dudes after him), that's still coercion to me.
Also, we posted exactly 12 hours apart and that is super rad.