Religious Discrimination and Religious Bullying

"Religious Bullying ... Ain't nobody got time for that!"
(I created this meme using Sweet Brown's photo & slogan at MemeCenter.)



I like to use humor a lot because sometimes having a good chuckle lightens you up enough to be more receptive to the ideas of others.

I am against all types of bullying. Religious bullying bothers me because some parents (and some family members) are rejecting their children because they are LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender) or if they don't out-right reject them, they try to preach their sexual orientation out of them. The Bible is being used as a weapon against their children. This makes for a "hostile home environment" and many children leave home to get away from being bullied. There is no bigger turn off to me than for someone to preach to me even when obviously well intended.

"I don't understand why people think that having a gay child means they
failed as a parent. Disowning your child means you failed as a parent."
(Source: PolitiComments.com)

Here are 4 articles with my excerpts:

1.) "Big Bullies: How the Religious Right is Trying to Make Schools Safe for Bullies and Dangerous for Gay Kids" Source: People For the American Way

"Students deserve an education that is free from bullying and harassment, and in many districts parents, teachers, principals, community members and students are working together to create a safe and welcoming environment for all children. Bullying can impede learning and ruin lives. ... However, many Religious Right activists want to derail efforts to combat bullying. An increasing number of conservative leaders and organizations have fiercely opposed anti-bullying programs developed by schools and education groups for the sole reason that such programs identify and attempt to combat the widespread bullying of LGBT youth. ... The crux of right-wing opposition to comprehensive bullying prevention programs is that by addressing bullying directed towards gay and gay-perceived students, schools may engage in “homosexual indoctrination. ...”

Feel free to use this graphic that I made from "Manifesto Against Religious Bullies" (by Richard J. Rosendall) on your Facebook pages and elsewhere.

2.) "Manifesto Against Religious Bullies" by Richard J. Rosendall
"... There is nothing wrong with people proclaiming their faith publicly; the problem is when they seek ...to impose it on everyone else. When Jesus said, "Judge not, that you be not judged" (Matthew 7:1), He was talking to bullies and hypocrites. ..." Manifesto Against Religious Bullies as a handout in .pdf format. (Adobe Reader, free PDF viewer download).



"Religion is like a penis, it's fine to have one and be proud of it, but when
you take it out and wave it in my face, that's when we have a problem."

Your religious freedom is not a Billy Club. (Source: AddictingInfo.org)

3.) "Religious Bullying Could Become Reality In Kentucky If This Happens" By Rika Christensen (March 23, 2013).

"... According to the ACLU, people and organizations have been using religious freedom with increasing frequency as justification for discriminating against people that, in some way, do not fit with their religious ideals. Some types of discrimination that they’ve seen include graduate students who are in training to be social workers refusing to provide their services to gay people, schools firing women for becoming pregnant out of wedlock, pharmacies refusing to fill prescriptions for birth control, and wedding service providers shutting out gay and lesbian couples. Therefore, the statement beginning with, “The right to act or refuse to act in a manner motivated by a sincerely held religious belief…” could be used to refuse any and all manner of services, even publicly funded services, to the LGBT community. ..."

"Our faith forbids us from providing parenting services anymore."



The ACLU Campaign to End the Use of Religion to Discriminate - Join & Donate


4.) "Using Religion to Discriminate" (Source: ACLU, American Civil Liberties Union) This article is packed with a lot of information and specific examples, so be sure to see it.

" ...With increasing frequency, we are seeing individuals and institutions claiming a right to discriminate – by refusing to provide services to women and LGBT people – based on religious objections. ... Religious freedom in America means that we all have a right to our religious beliefs, but this does not give us the right to use our religion to discriminate against and impose those beliefs on others who do not share them. ..."




"Excuse Me Ma'ma ...
I'd like to take a minute to talk to you
about our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ."








OPPOSE PRIVATIZATION OF PRISONS! The mentally ill need to be in mental heath hospitals, not prisons!

THERE IS SOMETHING WRONG WITH THIS: 

The United States of America is home to ...

4% of the world's population and 25% of the world's PRISON population.



Here are some examples of what is wrong with this:

1) Kids for cash scandal demonstrates why we should never privatize prisons: "The 'Kids for cash' scandal unfolded in 2008 over judicial kickbacks at the Luzerne County Court of Common Pleas in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. Two judges, President Judge Mark Ciavarella and Senior Judge Michael Conahan, were accused of accepting money from Robert Mericle, builder of two private, for-profit juvenile facilities, in return for contracting with the facilities and imposing harsh sentences on juveniles brought before their courts to increase the number of inmates in the detention centers. ..." Also see: "Judges, Mark Ciavarella & Michael Conahan Guilty in Scheme to Jail Youths for Profit" and "Pennsylvania Judge Gets 'Life Sentence' For Prison Kickback Scheme"  by Walter Pavlo, Contributor.

 

2.) "Maine officials seeking pepper-spray video leak" By David Hench (Staff Writer). This video is very disturbing but this is how the mentally ill are treated in prisons. They need to be in mental hospitals:

 

"... The newspaper's story and the accompanying video offered a rare glimpse inside the prison and into a confrontation between officers and a medicated, mentally ill inmate.

Paul Schlosser had received hospital treatment for a gouge he inflicted on his left arm, but had repeatedly removed the dressing in an effort to get medication and a book to distract him.

Inmates who hurt themselves to manipulate staff are among the most difficult to deal with, Ponte said last week.

Officers restrained Schlosser in a restraint chair so the medical staff could treat his arm, because he refused to go to the medical unit voluntarily.

When one officer pinned his head to the chair, Schlosser struggled and spit at an officer. Welch sprayed him at close range with pepper spray, called OC spray, from a canister intended to be used on multiple people at a distance of 18 to 20 feet, according to an investigator's report. ..."

 

For a more direct link to just the video and not the article, 17 minute video.

 

3.) Prisons are becoming big business. If you privatize prisons, the crooks will come out of the woodwork to run them. Your son, grandson, or other relative may be sentenced a lot harsher so the judge gets his kickback and the prison make more money. OPPOSE PRIVATIZATION OF PRISONS! See: "13 Signs That America's Prison System Is Out Of Control" by Michael Kelley.

 

4.) "Lake Erie Prison Plagued By Violence And Drugs After Corporate Takeover" by Chris Kirkham.

 

"... The report's findings offer ammunition for those decrying the trend toward privatizing prisons -- not only in Ohio, but across much of the country -- as strapped communities seek to raise revenue and minimize costs by handing control of inmates to profit-making entities. ... Corrections Corporation of America, which bought the Lake Erie institution in late 2011 for $73 million, has touted the purchase as a model of the benefits of prison privatization, arguing that it saves state taxpayers money while elevating the welfare of inmates."

There are many other examples of what is wrong with the prison system. I do not believe that: prisons should be run for-profit; mental ill inmates should be transferred to mental health hospitals/facilities; prisoners should be rehabilitated; prison rape should be stopped; etc.

If you have time, please follow the links to read the articles in their entirety.