On Friday it will be two weeks since Terri’s feeding tube was removed. In that time, I have seen the true wretches of society bubble up in the cesspool.
Oh sure there are legal issues surrounding the case and those are worth discussing because the outcome of this case, one way or the other, will shape the way things are done from here until the end of eternity. Whatever way this ends, it will be nothing short of a landmark moment in American History.
It seems everywhere you look people are choosing sides. Some, like myself, believe saving Terri’s life is the most important thing we can do right now. Others believe otherwise. I am in the minority. I’m well aware of this fact, and I have no intention of changing my position just because it isn’t popular or cool.
But what absolutely amazes me is the complete and utter stupidity of some of the other low-class scumbags out there; some of them people I used to call “friends.”
One such “friend” while conversing with another such “friend” likened me to a Jesus freak who was intolerant of people who didn’t agree, and was stupid for believing what I do. Another friend accused me of ‘roid rage because after pressuring me in multiple interrogative emails, I told her once and for all to fuck off. Certain other friends found it funny to discuss myself and another blogging colleague in a chat room mockingly because we dare believe in God.
All the while one of these “friends” was crying on the shoulder of another about the lack of “real tolerance” in the blogosphere these days for anyone who “wasn’t wrapping themselves in the cause of Terri Schiavo.” I got comments from a guy who has never before read my blog, but who felt it necessary to point out that I didn’t get loud about the Schiavo case until Friday when the feeding tube was removed.
Well no shit, sherlock! What was there to write about before that? I wrote about Terri off and on from 2003 on, but the case blew up two weeks ago. What do you expect?
It isn’t about fame. God knows nobody knows who I am now, and nobody will know who I am when this is over. It isn’t about some religious kookism; if I walked into a church tomorrow the roof would probably collapse on me. It certainly isn’t just a “W says it, I agree” mantra. I’m hardly a partisan and anyone who knows me knows better. And it certainly isn’t about maintaining friendships. Let me explain to you what I mean by that.
I had a group of friends and we all used to hang out in a great little chat room set up by myself and another blog owner. Things were great.
But there was one thing I could never get over, and it’s the utter arrogance of the “atheists” in the group. In fact, during one discussion, the conversation went something like:
Me: I don’t understand why every atheist looks down their nose at people who believe in God like they’re stupid.
Asshole Reply: Because they are.
Me: You’re kidding, right?
Asshole Reply: Nope.
That’s the kind of stuff I used to just put aside.
Why do I bring this up now?
Because there’s some kind of notion out there among the people I used to call friends that this is some kind of snobbery on my part; or the defending of an “easy cause” that will cost me nothing in the long run. I’ve heard that I’m only defending Terri’s life because, well, it’s easy for me. I lose nothing in the end, and I look good doing it.
To whom?
If this is some vain attempt at making myself more popular and trying to influence people, wouldn’t it have been smarter to pick a better cause to do it with? I mean, as the same idiots saying this to me like to point out, most of the country doesn’t agree with me. Who am I trying to “get in” with? Those are the same people who accuse Bush of playing to his base with this, and yet even recent polls (putting aside the specific questions) show that even 80% of evangelicals, his very base, don’t like what he’s doing.
So who am I trying to impress?
The answer is no one.
I don’t really care if you like me, hate me, love me, think I’m a religious kook, think I’m an asshole, think I’m some rosary-kissing fundamental christian bible-banging nutcase… I really don’t care. I don’t care if you think I’m intolerant, mislead, hopped up on steroids, or whatever dismissive bullshit you’ve come up with to justify my position on this case.
But to the people that stick around, here’s a piece of information you probably already know:
I don’t hide my opinions, feelings, thoughts, or anything else. If I feel something, I say it. I don’t keep comments closed when posts get ugly (although if they veer too far off topic, sometimes I do). Other bloggers have resorted to closing comments in the middle of discussions so they can have the last word while the conversation was still going on.
With me, what you see is what you get, like it or not.
In fact, most of the people who hate me know for my stance on this issue and the amount of passion I put behind it are people who loved me in the past, but it was all over the same thing: I’m a straight-shooter and I speak my mind whenever I see fit. If you piss me off, you’re gonna catch some shit for it. I don’t care if you’re a hypocritical blogger, a former friend accusing me of drug-use, a closeted gay blogger who’s scared to come out, a smoker with a heart condition, or anyone else you wanna be.
At one point you loved me for speaking my mind, as long as I was doing it to The Other Guytm.
Terri has my support until the day she dies, and her family has my support long after that.
If you’re okay with me being a stubborn bastard, hang around. I’ll argue with you until you fall on the floor, and then we can go out afterward and have a beer and laugh about it. If you don’t like it, click the back button and move along; I don’t have time in my life for hypocritical shitbags who are only my friend when the criticism is directed elsewhere.
I choose to defend Terri, and I’m not the least bit ashamed of it.
