calimary
calimary's JournalWelcome to DU, honeyward!
Good to have you with us.
Hey, none of us knows what really happened in that family. However, as I said farther down thread, it is NOT an unreasonable assumption to make, considering the political-social climate and the bad attitudes and prejudices many people still have about gays. Young people have so much to process and make peace with, Just As Is. Even the ones who are purportedly what society would define as "normal." And it's something that we've seen happen before to other families.
It's hurtful all around. And you know that, as parents, the Warrens will always wonder what they could have done, or done differently, that might have avoided this outcome. So incredibly sad. I mean - just think for a moment. Suicide is regarded as a very grievous sin in many religions. Used to be, from my understanding being a Catholic, that if you committed suicide, you were not allowed to be buried in a Catholic cemetery. It was a taboo. And it wasn't discussed. And it was a huge shaming. So imagine you're a kid in that family where the ongoing belief system is that homosexuality is an abomination against God. What if your family has a head-of-household who goes out on TV and the lecture circuit pounding away at this belief system in as high-profile a way as Rick Warren sought out for himself. What if you hear it again and again - "homosexuality is a sin before God," and yet when you're brushing your teeth in the morning and you look in the mirror something deep down inside you says - "but that is also ME." I can't imagine a more painful existence! I can't imagine what would contribute more to a serious depression or inner instability.
But how do we know, as well, whether this family's heartbreak might ultimately lead to something healing for other families - and more importantly, prevention of even one other suicide? If perhaps (and of course, ASSUMING THE SPECULATION IS TRUE) this were confronted and discussed, maybe it would be the critical-mass moment for other families with this inner struggle - the way many gun afficionados have been moved to change some of their attitudes about gun ownership after the Sandy Hook tragedy smacked them in the face? Because this stuff happens. AS speculated here - even if it seems unkind or too blunt. Unfortunately, this shit does happen.
Welcome to DU, OldRedneck!
Hey, good to have you here. Gotta admit - this was the first thing that crossed my mind, also.
Offspring with tangible emotional or psychological issues - in an environment that is possibly quite rigid, dictatorial, repressive/suppressive, and controlling - ESPECIALLY if religion of any sort is in the mix. How could it not be, in a household headed by a VERY public religious figure? Especially since Rick Warren made sure to question then-candidate Barack Obama in a VERY public forum that got a shit-ton of coverage, to make sure that he and his followers could be confident that the candidate's stand was "right" on the whole gay marriage thing. Doesn't anybody remember that? That was the biggest take-away from his televised interview with then-Senator Obama, and it got a massive amount of press. Imagine a child with inner confusions and doubts - being brought up on a household like that. I can't imagine how painful that would be! And to have to carry that around - the shame the son might have felt deep-down, the disappointment he may have assumed his father would feel towards him, the "failure" this might imply to someone brought up in that culture - where being gay is regarded as sinful. I'd shudder to think - if my father were out there pounding away on the superiority and, indeed, Godliness, of certain rigid belief systems, while inside myself knowing something about that just doesn't add up for me in my own personal reality. Depression that profound and deep stems from something deeper. How do we know this wasn't it?
Unfortunately, jumping to this kind of conclusion is sadly understandable in THIS politico-religious climate, among those who insist on bringing religious theory and dictates into EVERY issue.
I don't know how the Warrens were as parents. I don't know how tolerant or intolerant they were. I don't know what philosophy or moral code or ethical code they fed their kids with their breakfast cereal every morning. But if one of those kids starts feeling like the proverbial square peg in a round hole, results like what happened in their family are not completely surprising. Sad as hell. But, sadly, not surprising.
Amen.
Needledick bugfucker always filled the quota for me...
Poor sweet innocent baby. In better, safer care now, I hope.
Let the Counter-Programming BEGIN!!!!
Only about 30 years behind...
Guess you gotta start somewhere. As long as it starts!
It's part of OUR taking OUR country back. Note - when I say back, I don't mean backwards!
As a mom, they remind me of the sniveling brats I've seen - throwing a temper tantrum in the middle
of the cereal aisle at the grocery store because Mommy wouldn't by them five boxes of Cocoa Puffs. Selfish, short-sighted, cheapskates.
And it's a good thing. Not something to be sneered at by a bunch of "people" with
hearts like BBs. "Heart like a BB." That's what my mother used to say about people who were cruel, selfish, and uncaring.
I'd like to go farther than that, even. I'd like to point out the different "makers and takers"
among the states, and then take steps to equalize things a little more.
http://blogs.e-rockford.com/applesauce/2012/09/18/republican-states-generally-pay-less-in-federal-taxes-than-they-get-back-in-federal-spending/
http://taxfoundation.org/article/federal-taxing-and-spending-benefit-some-states-leave-others-paying-bill-1
Thanks!
It was a post I originally wrote on kpete's thread - the link is up top.
I just think it's excruciatingly important, critical, VITAL, to help people connect the dots. I dunno - sometimes maybe it just takes people being hit by a freakin' 2x4 across the face before they wake up and, indeed, face what's going on. Maybe there's a backhanded gift to the sequester. Well, SHIT, whaddya want? When all you want is lower taxes, then you're gonna have to give up some of those things that really AREN'T luxuries - they're everyday necessities that you rely upon. Necessities that aren't all about some imaginary welfare queen still lurking somewhere inside the roach-infested skull of the corpse of ronald reagan.
Necessities like Head Start programs for EVERY child who needs it, not just those lucky enough to win a lottery.
Necessities like air traffic control at small airports - like maybe what we have here in greater Los Angeles. One of the busiest skies in the world. And we have quite a few local airports for civil aviation in this general area, that's dominated by the colossus of L.A.X., and some of these little airports will be losing their control towers. Oh yeah - THAT'LL be great. What could possibly go wrong?
And how'd you like to play Russian Roulette every time you go to the meat counter - 'cause you won't have as many FDA meat inspectors on duty behind the scenes anymore.
And how'd you like to find out that the state has dictated that you should just go away and die - because funding for the cancer treatments you relied upon have dried up.
And ... well, you get the idea...
People HAVE TO BE EDUCATED about what those taxes fund. What those taxes pay for. It's not all the simplistic lazy moochers sucking it all up and we're just gonna teach all of "THEM" a lesson. "THEM" is US. Guess some people are gonna learn the hard way. We pay taxes and levy taxes - BECAUSE THOSE TAXES PAY FOR STUFF WE WANT AND NEED. LEGITIMATE STUFF WE WANT AND NEED!!!!! And those taxes are NOT, repeat, NOT bad things. They're necessary. They're part of what it takes to BE America. They're part of what we love about our country and what our country can do for us. BECAUSE WE UNDERWRITE ALL THOSE LEGITIMATE AND VERY NECESSARY PROGRAMS WITH OUR TAXES. Remember when President Kennedy stated - "ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country." I'd say what you can do for your country is PAY YOUR FRICKIN' TAXES. AND STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT IT!!!!! Those taxes are the DUES we pay to be part of a country like this. Those taxes underwrite and support the things that make this country the wonderful and desirable and beloved country that it is. America is America BECAUSE WE FUND ITS WONDERFULNESS AND BOUNTY WITH OUR TAX MONEY.
And I hate to say this - but I wonder how many people, who are now distraught because of what America can't afford to provide for them in their legitimate need, voted republi-CON. Because that's what you get when you vote republi-CON. You get IGMFU'd.
I'm absolutely NOT opposed to Pentagon cuts. About time. WAY overdue on that score.
I've even heard the voices of people I respect, from Howard Dean to Ezra Klein saying they don't mind the sequester BECAUSE it forces Defense Department cuts - and that is NOT a bad thing.
It's just too bad that Pentagon cuts are partnered with things we really don't want to cut, and in actuality cannot afford to cut.
I'm glad this stuff is starting to hit home. So people can see it's not just those dreaded "welfare queens" who were a figment of ronald reagan's feeble mind and feeble-minded speechwriters and political strategists.
I like to remind people - especially the CONS among us that - YES. Freedom is NOT free. It costs the blood of patriots. But it costs even more than that. IT ALSO COSTS TAX MONEY - whether they like it or not.
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