If we refuse to accept knowledge because it frightens us, we will never grow. If we give in to fear, we will never outgrow hatred
Knowledge and education are the key to this human tragedy which is a bonfire of hate fueled by ignorance.
Some people don’t like ‘different’, it makes them scaredOf people who aren’t like them, I think that’s weird.
People wonder who is who,Everyone is different – even you!
Some people think everyone should be the same as them:Look, dress, sound and act just like them.
Those who deny any group of people human rights are really denying the humanity of that group – and their own.
The idea that all people can and should live together in peace is not really a new one – but yet in practice it is very young indeed.
The truth of the world is that in every group you will find some good and some bad people – which is why i am keenly aware that no group is ALL bad, just as no group is ALL good.
Some people do everything, some do something, many do nothing – which is bad enough – but the worst of the lot are those who break down what others have built.
Any religion which demands death for other people is itself worthy of nothing less than it expects for others. In fact, it is probably long overdue.
isn’t lying supposed to be a ‘sin’? Or is it okay to lie when trying to make people you hate look bad?
Nationalism leads to all sorts of nasty things (even Nazi things) like fascism and war.
How very like humans to pervert a message of love and peace to make it into an ideology of war and oppression to serve their own ends.
In my view, any government whose state is perpetually at war, and remains so in spite of initiatives to make peace, is incompetent and unfit and should resign.
What i know from history is this: Those who do not appreciate their freedom and aren’t prepared to protect it, will lose it.
Freedom is being whole on my own and not needing somebody else to complete me.
Because freedom and liberty and equality are as vital as breath, we only notice their absence when we are left gasping when the colors of diversity and individual liberty are drained from the world around us.
It seems that the price of having freedom is having to constantly fight to keep it.
Freedom isn’t hard to lose – but it’s a hard thing to win back once it’s been lost.
It seems to me that wherever religion and politics mix in one body, fascist values – and not ‘family values’ – rear their ugly head.
If you ‘don’t do politics’ , trust me – politics will do you.
If you ‘don’t do politics’, trust me – politics will do you.
Right now though, there is little that concerns me more than the impending assault on the human rights and equality of women and the pink community in South Africa. Right now there are events afoot in this country which justify my concern.
Beauty… Is what you are after a lifetime of struggle in the face of hostility, surviving, and standing scarred and unafraid, triumphant before your enemies.
Irony: When those who call others a ‘threat to Christianity’ reject the crucial tenets of their own faith themselves.
Christianity is constantly in danger of being hijacked by people who act out in hatred – by people who will not even hear the cries of their victims, let alone own up to their guilt.
The only marches I have ever witnessed under a banner of so-called “Christianity” have been to enforce oppression and incite hatred and intolerance – and to deprive people of their equal civil rights.
As a South African I honestly cannot understand how people can’t see South Africa as a unique nation, untied by ties of history, bonds of suffering, victory, struggles, hope – and in more ways than I ever before thought possible – blood.
Apparently some people (who don’t know history) seem to think that marriage ‘always has been’ exclusively between males and females – and that this modern inequality somehow justifies the enforced continuation of this inequality.
How in any way does EQUALITY with other people equate to ‘religious persecution’? Does the survival of a religion depend on the vilification and desecration of the humanity of others?
It should be made clear that religious freedom DOES NOT include the right to persecute others, nor the right to take away their humanity and equal treatment before the law.
Everybody is unique and different. Nobody is the same as anyone else. there is no ‘normal’ – it is a lie taught to us by a system so flawed that it is threatened by the awesome diversity of nature.
Voting on things is democratic, yes – but not on deciding on whether or not people should be equal or have human rights. That isn’t democracy, it is mob rule.Everybody should be equal in a democracy – that is the nature of a democracy.
Everybody should be equal in a democracy – that is the nature of a democracy.
Knowing who you are is half the peace of accepting yourself.
The ‘institution of marriage’ is being threatened – by people getting married? Huh?
Make sure you date someone who always makes you want to dance, with or without music.
How do YOU know what God meant? Did he whisper into your ear? Did he put the knife in your heart? Did he put a gun in your hand?
Slavery of the heart, oh Love – a prisoner of will thou art – proof that love, while blissful, can oft also be Hell. Demonstrative definition thou art, that love can be strategic as well!
If you don’t follow Christ or love others in the way Christ said, and let yourself be bogged down instead with fearfulness, hatred, violence and the persecution of others – HOW can you call yourself a ‘Christian’?
There are many different forms of family and there is in fact NO ‘the’ family.The basic building block of any close relationship – and thus any family – is LOVE.
So, show the world, make it seeYou are you, and I am me.
Start thinking for yourself, ask ‘why?’ and even venture to say ‘why should I?’ and pretty soon you will have half the world at your throat for being a ‘trouble maker’.
Is there any good left in the world/ And if there is, can you still find it in the places that matter? Why is it that the only places i see it now, is in the graves of the victims, and the tears of those who mourn them?
There are enough real enemies and threats in the world without having to invent imaginary ones.
There’s no point in arguing with an idiot – save for exposing their stupidity in their own words.
They make friends, they laugh, they shareThey stay in touch, they care.
Knowing who you are is more valuable than having ten ‘friends’ who don’t even know who they are, but who judge you anyway.
What would Jesus do? One thing is obvious, if there is one thing Jesus would NOT do – is to behave like his followers.
What would Jesus do? One thins is obvious, if there is one thing Jesus would NOT do – is to behave like his followers.
How can you put human rights to a popular vote and call it democracy? How many times do you need to redefine or haggle about the meaning of the word EQUALITY?
Regardless of what language it is said in, “I love you” stays beautiful, and two hearts beating together make the same sound. It is the language of Love.
I believe most people are good, even deep down, even if you have to dig a little – although some people can tempt one to pick up a shovel and actually put that to the test.
It is interesting indeed that some people think they are right to force others into believing what they believe.
What other people believe shouldn’t (be allowed to) hurt me.
Humans are intelligent and resourceful. If we’ve been around a million or more years, why are we so disinclined to believe that we could have built cities 10,000, 20,000, 50,000 or even more years ago?
Isn’t it interesting how nationalistic attitudes foster the notion that being gay is ‘un-(fill in your nationality/ religion/ culture here)’?
Anger – justifiable anger in the face of oppression and prejudice – should not be mistaken for hatred.
The Doktor was an old man. When he was a kid, his Dad bought him a chemistry set. He never played with silly putty like the other kids. The first time he lost his eyebrows he was only five.
Isn’t it strange that having a dick automatically makes you a man, but having a vagina isn’t enough to make me a woman?
Hate is no respecter of race – as apparently neither is stupidity.
I fail to see how somebody can hate me for ‘what I do’ and what I am without actually hating me as a person. That makes about as much sense as throwing the baby out with the bathwater – or gay man out the church door with his homosexuality.
If you hate others in the name of God, you should be looking within to see where it stopped being about God and where it started being about YOU.
The moment you hand over YOUR responsibility to manage your own rights, morality, and freedoms – to the government, that is the moment democracy fails.
It is quite ironic that those calling the loudest for ‘morality’ are typically the most immoral of all.
Some kids are black, or brown – some kids are red, and others white.Kids come in all different colors, shapes and styles – beautiful and bright!
Willful ignorance is something to be ashamed of, not proud.
Be assured, a God who spoke the universe into existence would not need grains of dust to fight holy wars for him.
It is easy for those who conflate religion with government to interpret any criticism of government or policy as an ‘attack’ on their ‘faith’.
Democracy is government by the people, for the people. Without the responsibility of the people, and without the involvement of the people – all you have left is GOVERNMENT.
It’s not in the interests of the self-serving government to educate the masses to the point where they are smart enough to see through the bullshit – because then people will be too smart to vote for them again.
I note the lengths to which Christianist groups are prepared to go to, to influence government and to network hate-churches in order to get their way and to rob people of their human rights, and it gives me cold chills.
Who is an elected government in a constitutional democracy to decide it will not tolerate dissent
Who is an elected government in a constitutional democracy to decide it will not tolerate dissent.
Liberals want all people to have choices open to them – which does not mean that everyone HAS to choose things they don’t want to or don’t agree with. Quite frankly, I don’t see why any sane human being would have a problem with that?
But it’s a hundred and twelve years old!” He protested.“She still works pretty good.” Deire maintained. “Stardrive gets a mite twitchy at warp 4, but that’s just a dodgy plasma injector.
Christians believe their God gave us all free will – strange that for over 2000 years, they have tried to take that choice away.
If you expect me to respect your private beliefs and faith and your rights and dignity as a person, how can you actually expect that from me if you are unwilling to reciprocate and continue to incite hatred and the vilification of mine.
One bright sunny day at a successful Literary Agency…Literary Agent: “So, Tina – we asked you to try and write a children’s story…”Tina: “Uh-huh.
Isn’t unconditional love supposed to work both ways? How can we expect unconditional love for ourselves if we are not willing to grant others the same mercy?
Apathy.The reason you may wake up one day being not only a 2nd class citizen, but a criminal because of who you are – and then wonder why ‘somebody’ didn’t do something when there was still time?
The best way to piss off your enemies is to out-succeed, out laugh and out live them.
Going to the extreme of inviting and welcoming people into your church in order to hear you condemn them or to know from your policy that you condemn them is not much better than bullying.
When something hurts them, they weep.By night, they rest, they sleep
I can’t imagine why a media company views a law preventing the commission of hate speech as a restriction on media freedom, but it is probably similar to how some religious folk view hate speech as being essential to religious freedom.
You can pass any law you like to make ‘criminals’ of those you don’t like and then justify it with whatever stupid reasoning that appeals to you. Is that rule of law – or tyranny?
How can you put human rights to a popular vote and call it democracy? How many times do you need to redefine or haggle about the meaning of the word EQUALITY.
You can only appreciate being up when you know what it’s like to have been down.
Literary Agent: “I meant manuscript wise.”Tina: “Ohh. Um, yes. I’ve brought a few with me, just some rough drafts. (shuffle, shuffle) You might say something of an experiment.
Christ asked people who follow him to be the voice for the voiceless – not to wire their mouths shut.
Voting for a political party with a cross stuck on it doesn’t mean it reflects true Christianity (at least not how Christ intended it) nor does ‘biblical governance’ guarantee Christian governance.
Many times we refer to people who express hate or behave in a barbaric, savage ‘inhuman’ way as ‘animals’, but on closer inspection we can clearly see that this is in fact, an insult to animals.
It would seem that the right to equality and human rights is far more an exclusive thing than an inclusive thing.
While EQUALITY means no more ‘previously disadvantaged’ it also means that there should be no ‘currently disadvantaged’ to replace them.
The religious right sees every group trying to achieve equality with them as a threat, because obviously if they become equal to them, THEY won’t be able to abuse their human rights anymore.
Sorry to disappoint you, parents – but when your kids come out as gay, bi or transgender, it is not about you.
Those who meet objections to their forcing their religion on others with cries of ‘Show respect!’ clearly have no grasp of irony.
Not being allowed to persecute someone else in the name of your religion does NOT equate to religious persecution.
Other kids are kids almost just like you – it’s true.Other kids are kids too, but there’s no other you, but YOU!
It’s amazing, the increase in grammatical errors in proportion to the level of hatred in the content of hate mail.
Documentary evidence says where there is smoke there is fire, be it holy smoke or otherwise.
They run, they touch, they learn, they play, They listen, they work hard at growing all day.
Some boys feel they are like girls,They are gentle, and like their hair in curls.
But some boys like boys more -And some girls make other girls hearts soar!
Some girls feel they are like boys, They play rough, they like a lot of noise.
The simple truth is that the only real ‘ex-gay’ person is a dead gay person – and even then I am not too sure about the validity of that statement.
It is ironic that the only thing separating ‘friend’ from ‘fiend’ – is a single letter.
What is your talent? What are your interests? What resources do you have at your disposal? What can you do? What would you like to do? What can you do? You could apply your outrage to activism. Get involved. Do something.
Rejecting your gay or transgender child won’t make them straight. It will only mean you will lose them.
While there is no shame in being gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender or intersex – or even straight (but not narrow) – there is most certainly shame and dishonor in being a homophobe, a transphobe and a bigot.
Is the drive to refuse gay blood a fear of contracting HIV/AIDS, or is it an embodiment of the irrational fear that receiving blood from gay people will somehow make them gay?
If God made gay people, then did God not intend them to be gay? Did the Potter’s hand slip?
If I want religion, I know where to look for it – and if for example I don’t want it, then why should it be forced on me in media and public spaces?
Don’t be a bully, don’t be meanBe a hero, don’t be afraid to be seen.
The house was safe again, although a little bit more untidy, but at least Vluffy didn’t have to worry about big nasty two headed roaches chasing him down the hall anymore.
Advanced weaponry, victories in battle and space travel do not an advanced species or civilization make.
It is interesting how – depending on the person in power – our LGBT issues are either right at the top of the list – or right at the very bottom. And almost always for exactly the wrong reasons.
Some mommies and daddies find it hard to acceptKids who are different to the normal set.
But not all kids are exactly the same,Even when they share the same name.
Some kids are both or neitherAnd don’t want to have to choose, either.
Some kids also think it makes them coolWhen they pick on other kids, being cruel.
Aside from all that, she was carrying about a million tons of titanium ore to the heavy industries on Gorda. All told, that would take care of their traveling arrangements for the next year or so, pretty much.
Human rights is a numbers game. Who is going to care if only 20 people pitch for a protest?
Some might claim that like the secret of flying is missing the ground, the secret to immortality is simply not dying.
How many innocent victims of hate crime does it take before it becomes wrong?For us, one is already too many. For them, a thousand is not enough.
Nobody can take your faith away form you. Faith is something you have to lose for yourself.
Even when you’re down, there is still hope. No matter how bad things get and no matter how small a hope there is, anything is better than nothing, No matter how bad things get, they can always, ALWAYS get worse. Take my word on that.
Attention, aboard the shuttle! You are under arrest! Surrender immediately! Come out slowly, in single file, with your hands behind your heads! Leave all weapons behind. Comply and your lives will be spared!
Disagreeing with someone does not mean that they have to be enemies or opponents.
All it takes to be a voice against injustice, is to say something against it.
Isn’t it odd that some groups view being legally equal to other groups as ‘oppression’?
Just saying “I love you” can mean the difference between nothing and everything. Some people say it while they stab the person they say it to – some say it to the one holding the knife.
Human rights protection laws typically come under attack from those who made these laws necessary to begin with.
Those who object to human rights protection laws typically do so because they want to be above those laws.
They tell us variety is the spice of life – and yet diversity terrifies them.
Well… er -”“Expecting a rescue is beyond hope under the circumstances!” Sam Barthoff, Mayor of Atro City, interrupted grimly, throwing up his hands in hopelessness. “Hopeless!
16 days of activism? I don’t know about you folks, but I’m an activist every single day.
It is also aimed at experienced human rights activists who are looking for a handy collection of facts to use in any confrontations online – or in real life.