Thursday, December 4, 2008

A secular amendment to a secular constitution was passed partly in order to protect the integrity of spirit children

Maybe a cheap shot, but then again, so was Mormon opposition to Prop 8. Andrew Sullivan has a good primer on how it happened. In terms of American religions right now, Mormonism must be considered the most intolerant and, frankly, evil. There are many good Mormons, many decent Mormons, but the fact remains that this is an institution that treats homosexuals in the most deplorable fashion imaginable: forced "reeducation", outings to family and friends, excommunication. Not to mention the use of the political process to strip gays and lesbians of rights, as well as turning groups like the Boy Scouts into ideological fiefdoms.

I grew up with a lot of Mormons, and I know that they're generally good folks. If Mormons stand for this sort of business--and I suspect most will, as conformity is so ingrained in that culture--then I think a lot of stigmatization is a fair price to pay.

The Man, The Myth, The Bio

East Bay, California, United States
Problem: I have lots of opinions on politics and culture that I need to vent. If I do not do this I will wind up muttering to myself, and that's only like one or two steps away from being a hobo. Solution: I write two blogs. A political blog that has some evident sympathies (pro-Obama, mostly liberal though I dissent on some issues, like guns and trade) and a culture blog that does, well, cultural essays in a more long-form manner. My particular thing is taking overrated things (movies, mostly, but other things too) down a peg and putting underrated things up a peg. I'm sort of the court of last resort, and I tend to focus on more obscure cultural phenomena.