True Understanding
once a year only one month atlas the time has come that I can spam my discord servers with gay memes and text my friends about wishing them a happy pride month. This month is the month Id sham bully's for mocking us if I were to be in school, this month is when I get together with my friends and support them as they support me. Finally, I am able to notice how, how people actually have human decency showing that you hate someone off of their character and not off of something they can't control, and I can be sheltered by others being discriminated against. I am happy to be bi with all the support I receive from this month.
Trump Vs. The Ten Commandments --- Which One Wins
It wasn’t long ago when Donald Trump was asked what his favorite scripture in the Bible is. He replied, “That is personal.” When he said that, he meandered with several words as if he wasn’t coherent regarding the Bible.
This prompted me to look at the Ten Commandments just to see how many of them he has broken, especially when he has said on many occasions, he is a very spiritual individual.
“Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” - Exodus 20:3
God wants what is best for you. If you put something else before Him in your life, it’s harder for him to bless you.
Trump’s entire life has always been about him and himself only.
“Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.”- Exodus 20:4
Anything you worship more than God is a “graven image.” Cars, clothes, sports, even our jobs are dangerous things to worship because they can go away. But God will never go away, and that’s why it’s best for us to only worship Him.
Trump’s career has been about building the biggest and the best at th3e expense of other people to further his n personal agenda.
“Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.”- - Exodus 20:7
This can mean using God’s name like a swear word, or it can mean saying you are a Christian but not living or acting like Jesus would want you to act.
In 2019, at a rally, Trump openly said, “You may not like me and I may not like you but you’ll support me or else you will be so god damn poor it won’t even be funny.”
“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” - Exodus 20:8–10
Sunday, or the Sabbath day, is a day we can all go to church, worship God, and learn how to be better people and Christians. Keeping it holy means doing our best to remember Him throughout the day
.
Trump attended church fourteen times while in office. The rest of his Sundays were spent on his golf course.
“Honor thy father and thy mother.” - Exodus 20:12
It’s important to show our parents' respect. This might look different for everyone, but we should always try to love and care for those who cared for us first.
As far as I know, Trump never disrespected his parents but there have been occasions where he disrespected a Gold Star Mom of a fallen soldier and no less by telephone.
“Thou shalt not kill.” - Exodus 20:13
A simple but important rule for anyone.
I cannot say Trump has killed anyone and when he was president, he did give orders to have people killed. There have been several presidents who have been faced with this situation. But for Trump to say, "I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters, OK?" This tells me a lot about his idealisms.
“Thou shalt not commit adultery.” -Exodus 20:14
Men and women make promises to each other when they are married. These promises are important and breaking them causes deep sadness. Keeping those promises help men and women have happy marriages and happy lives.
In an interview in 1990, he was asked about adultery. “I don’t think it’s a sin but I don’t think it should be done.”
The reporters pressed: “Would you, do it?” After which, Trump responded “I’ll let you guess.”
After the incident with Marla Maples and his current wife at the time, Ivana Trump did open up somewhat on his many other sexual escapades.
“Thou shalt not steal.” - Exodus 20:15
It is important to God that His children are honest with each other. Taking anything that doesn’t belong to you is stealing and is against His commandment.
Let’s see, fraud at his Trump University for starters. Fraud within the Trump organization. Illegal misuse of charitable funds for personal gain. There is a list a mile long and a mile wide of how he did in fact steal money.
“Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.” -Exodus 20:16
This one is about honesty. If you lie to someone, you are “bearing false witness,” and may cause harm to yourself and to others.
Where to start with this one. Trump has lied so many different times, it is hard telling where to begin and even now, he still perpetuates the lies, which I won’t go into or else this will end up being s 2,000,000-word post.
“Thou shalt not covet.” -Exodus 20:17
To covet means to be so jealous of something someone else has that you want it desperately. Coveting makes a person miserable and keeps them from putting God first. This commandment helps keep you from falling into this bad habit.
Trump loves his wealth. He loves Mar-A-Lago. He swears up and down the election was rigged.
Trump spoke about the Constitution saying, “We should terminate all rules, regulations and articles, even those found in the Constitution.”
Were that to ever happen under his presidency, you would no longer have the right of free speech or assembly, nr the right to bear arms. The Press would be abolished,
Think about that.
Gay and Queer
There4 was a time when gay meant being happy. There was a time when queer meant odd. Not any longer.
Until the late sixties, gay people across the globe were secretive about their personal actions. If they weren't, they would lose, their jobs, their family, their friends. The term "coming out of the closet" became the metaphor to disclose their sexual orientation. Then came a thing called the "Stonewall Riots".
On June 28, 1969, the Stonewall Inn, a gay bar in New York's Greenwich Village, was raided by police. But instead of responding with the routine compliance the NYPD expected, patrons and a growing crowd decided to fight back They wanted their freedom to congregate, and the police tried to take that away from them. This incident changed the face of gay and lesbian life. Communities from all over the globe lent their support, and from this, the phrase, "Hell no, we won't go" came to be more than a phrase but their outcry for independence.
Myself, I'm a straight white male who never had a thought of turning the corner but that doesn't mean that I'm afraid to turn the corner and accept people for who they are. I will say that when I was younger, gay men came on to me, but I declined and there was no pressure, no hatred. We simply understood what we did and did not want.
I have met and become friends with many gay individuals over the years and in many respects, outside of their sexual preference, they are no different than anyone else. They have a mind, two legs, two arms, two eyes, and when they bleed their blood is as red as mine.
However, a major turning point was when AIDS hit the globe everywhere. People became frightened and angry with gay people and those old enough may remember the stupid things people said regarding getting AIDS from gay people. The big one was "toilet seats". Then came sharing needles. "Breathing the same air". The list is almost endless.
It took decades before AIDS came under control and today, people don't talk about it that much, but then came the right to live openly with a partner. Their significant other. And that blew open a new can of worms. Gay people wanted the right to get married.
The LBGTQ+ community marched, they gave speeches, they supported one another. No other movement in U.S. History has ever seen such an outpouring, such an outcry against human rights. Religious leaders spouted from the Bible where it would say. "one man and one woman", but history has shown us that being gay has practically been a thing since the beginning of time.
The most famous homosexual couple in Roman history around 500 A.D., are two Roman leaders, Antinous and Hadrian Although Hadrian was married, ancient sources reveal that he also had several relationships. And both insured each would have a stable or concubine of male slaves for their enjoyment. In 67 A.D., Nero, also an emperor, actually married his male slave, Scorus, in a public ceremony. These are just a few factual examples.
In today's society, being gay is pretty much an accepted way of life. Granted, there will still be a small percentage that will snub gay people, mainly the church "hardliners", but science has proven a complex interplay of genetic hormonal and environmental influence, meaning that that the X and Y chromosomes are and have become interchangeable determining one's thought process and their gender identity.
It all boils down to one thing today. Acceptance. If being gay makes you happy then I see nothi9ng odd about being queer.
To those who refuse to buy into any of this ... get over yourselves.
(FYI ...The federal government formally recognizes marriage in law for the first time with the passage of the Revenue Act of 1913. In 1929, all states now have laws regarding marriage licenses.)
For Jason
In a better world
I could hold your hand
he said to me
that day on the beach
I smiled
not knowing what to say
I felt my heart
swell with pride at the thought
But in my inner world
your hand was already in mine
as we walked through the sand
our fingers interlocked
like an inextricable puzzle
And in a better world
I would have
pressed your body
so close to mine
and kissed you
deeply
passionately
fearlessly
22 March 1998
Rainbow and People
There was one time that I received ribbons with rainbow and pink-blue patterns. Each ribbon was in a separate event or I received it at different times. Anyways, it was free to get one ribbon with a safety pin or both sticker and ribbon. I knew it was no discrimination based on people’s appearances, everyone should be equal and it related to other terms being used in the government, politics, and the community.
There was one classmate in the Printmaking class at the university that looked like a male with short hair but had a deep female voice. He said that he had a girlfriend like he said one time in the class. His girlfriend was from Mexico and she has ties with her family. The project we were doing was Printing a River by the border. That topic was already redundant.
I was confused by one classmate. It may seem heterosexual at first, but maybe it was a woman. So, a lesbian perhaps. I shrugged it off thinking he was the male.
In high school, people always call other people “gay”. During that time, I was not thinking much of that word. People basically say inappropriate words and do not like one another. I get along with people who are still not considered “gay” or actually “gay”. We are classmates, though.
In the AP Government class in high school, a teacher mentioned about the Christian/Conservative baker vs the same-sex couple. The same-sex couple wanted a wedding cake for their upcoming event. But the baker refused and it was against his religious beliefs. The court rule in favor of the baker, not the same-sex couple.
I wished that case is turned around and protect everyone’s rights to get whatever cake they want. It does not matter the religion or the first amendment, it matters for equality among individuals. Still, everyone has their own views on politics.
Eira
When I met her, I had no opinion of Eira. She seemed polite, kind, but not the type to stand out in a crowd. She had friends, but not too many. She was in two of my classes, Art II and Sociology. I barely noted her existence until I found her outside of class one day.
I was at the park because I didn't want to be at home. It was a cold December day so I didn't expect anyone else to be there, and was shocked to see Eira sat on a swing. When she saw me in the dark she smiled and invited me to the swing next to her.
Ignoring my hesitance, I cleared snow off the swing and smoothed out my dress and sat next to her. She complimented my dress, saying the way dark blue blended well with the colors of the next. I expressed a similar sediment in the rings she was wearing, the way the silver reflected off the snow made it appear to be glowing.
She smiled and asked what I was doing there. It was the first time she ever said my name, and it was lovely how the vowels in 'Ada' sounded.
I explained my woes of being at home. Although my parents were given a daughter, I was more inclined to the romantic pursuits of a son.
Eira laughed at my phrasing, saying she always found my dramatic nature to be charming. I blamed my flush on the cold. She explained she preferred to be in cold, and how she wasn't fond of the summertime.
We talked about dull things for hours, although being next to her made them seem like the most interesting things in the world. It wasn't too long before the cold got to me and I began to shiver.
She noticed and told me I should head home. It wasn't until then I noticed she had no winter clothes, just a long sweater and leggings. I forced her to take my scarf, fearing her getting frostbite. She said she would only take it if I took her ring.
After I allowed her to slide it onto my finger, she kissed my cheek and told me she would be there the next night too.
Evening after evening, we would meet up. She would be wearing normal clothes besides my scarf I refused to take back, while the only stable thing about my outfit was the silver ring. Eira would observe it on my finger with a look of happiness I rarely saw in her any other time.
It changed on the first day of spring officially, when it was obvious there would be no snow. I went to the muddy park, dressed in a light coat along with the ring, and she was not there. I waited for her, and she did not show.
I went to the park and waited for a week, before something bright red caught my eye in the darkness, right underneath Eira's swing. It was the red scarf I gave her all that time ago.
That was what filled me with dread as I realized I would not see my love again. I slipped the silver ring off of my hand and wrapped the scarf around it, before sticking it back in the mud.
The only thing I can I do is wait for winter.
Pride
I really like it because I can actually find pride merch in stores (although I am asexual so I'm slightly less likely to find that stuff over other stuff).
Okay but it's important to celebrate it because it helps us remember history wasn't too kind, like with any event celebrating a type of minority. Makes us feel more accepted, and human.
Be Careful What You Say
I take words to heart and remember them forever. This can be both good and bad, depending on what was said.
Someone criticized my piano playing once, and I went from practicing hours a day to not touching a piano for almost a year. (I never touched the music ever again)
I overheard my older brother say I was beautiful about 10 years ago, and I still remember it so clearly, I can tell you where everyone was standing when it happened.
I was told that being nervous was a sign of immaturity, and to this day that comes back to haunt me whenever I have to speak or perform in public.
My dad told me once about five years ago that I cooked like my mom (AKA throwing random things into a pot and having it come out good) and I still think about it every single time I cook.
I remember things, and I remember them clearly. So be careful what you say to me if you don't want it to become a permanent memory for me!
A Quick Update
Hello, everyone! Hope you're all well. While I do plan on finishing and posting an entry for the current Challenge of the Week, I also plan on writing a piece dedicated to my grandpa. He passed away at the end of last week. I think writing about him will help me through the grieving process. I'm still very much in the denial stage. His health had deteriorated so quickly. His wake will be held tomorrow and his funeral the day after. I think the next two days will be challenging for me, but I'm going to do my best to grieve and cope in healthy ways that'll be a benefit to me as opposed to relying on unhealthy coping mechanisms, like self-harm. So I won't be too active this week, but I intend on being more active next week. Thank you for taking the time to read this. I appreciate this community and I want very much to continue being apart of it. Can't wait to read more of your work! Be well. Happy writing!