The Republic of T. Archives

Bill, over at Bill and Kent’s Place on the Web, makes a statement that has been on my mind lately. It rolls around every year, around this time, when certain folk drag out their bells and the kettles and solicit donations.

I got a card today in the mail from the Salvation Army. It read:

Dear Christmas Friend,

Could you open your heart and share your blessings this Christmas? With your donation, we can give the less fortunate in our community holiday meals, warm clothes, toys, and Christmas joy.

A gift of any amount is very much appreciated!!

Thank you and God Bless.

I know this sounds harsh, but to the Salvation Army and the Boy Scouts who both ask for donations out in front of Highland Market where I shop for groceries, I want to say, “fuck you!”

And Bill asks “Have I become a hardened person?”

I say, no. You haven’t become a hardened person. You’ve become a person with an ounce of dignity and self respect. You’ve become a person who doesn’t feel the need to empower those who would disempower him.

As you yourself pointed out, the Salvation Army is known for its anti-gay activities. The Boy Scouts went all the way to the Supreme Court to protect their decision to discriminate. Why give them a dime with which to promote discrimination and bigotry against you and people like you?

A hardened person would not only refuse to donate to these organizations, but would refuse give a dime or lift a finger to help anyone. Like you said, those who know you know how much you would do and how far you would go to help others. And there are plenty of things you can do, without giving a hand to those who hate. You can give time to an organization that delivers hot meals to people with HIV/AIDS, for example, or you can donate to an organization that fights for the dignity and equality of all people; yourself included.

One of the first things I learned when I began studying Buddhism was the importance of compassion. The biggest challenge I faced was dealing with the reality it start with compassion for yourself. I have a suspicion that’s something a lot of gays and lesbians have struggled with, because we live in a soceity that constantly tells us we are ultimately not worthy of compassion, but only worthy of contempt.

It’s something that can take a lifetime to unlearn. But if you have realized that compassion for yourself&from which compassion for all others extends—means not giving a hand to those who’s aim includes doign you harm, you have made a huge step foward.

You are not a hardened person. You are a person with heart enough to embrace others, without excluding yourself.

This entry was posted on Thursday, November 18th, 2004 at 9:11 pm and is filed under Current Events, Gay Rights, Religion. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.