I won’t mention an actual name or location; merely it was at a foodbank which I volunteer at. The organization serves a vital need and I don’t wish to dissuade anyone from contributing time or donations due to the bigotry of an influential individual.
What I overheard tonight was appalling. Let’s call her Ms. B.
“Sometimes I wish we were a Christian foodbank.“ Said Ms. B. Unsure if I’d heard correctly I asked what she meant by that. The reply boiled my temper.
“Well you know” As she flicked her head indicating two women who might have been a couple. Might have been. I don’t know, it wasn’t my business and so what if they were?
This offended me on so many levels, including the assumption that I would share such a narrow minded view. At a place meant to provide at least some help for the less fortunate, no less. My possibly overly loud response was “I think you’re missing the entire point of what we’re doing here.” At the very least, Ms. B. received my message. I checked out shortly thereafter; I don’t think my services will be very welcome in the future.
The tragedy of an empty supper table is not lessened by religion. A person’s worth is not defined by a belief or social status. No one has the right to judge you, tell you who you may love or impose their own sanctimonious viewpoints upon you. Life can be hard, as evident of where I was tonight and it can be unbelievably lonely. If you’ve found someone to share your life and affections with, good for you. May you continue to have good fortune.
No matter if you’re rich or poor, gay or straight, you’re still a person; a fellow human being to be treated with respect and dignity. You have value.
Never let anyone define you.
Thank you for taking the time to read.
This comes at such a good time for me. I've been working on not only being accepting of other people, but being less of a gawker. I'm not ashamed to admit that I'm a work in progress, acknowledging my prejudices, acknowledging that I've come a long way in not judging people, and knowing that sometimes I still judge and that I'm still fascinated by people that are different than I am (and that I'm not always good at being tactful about expressing/not-expressing that curiosity). Thank you for the little reminder that the first label that anyone should be given is "person".
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