Got the following email from an MNB user:
Hi Kevin. Held off on chiming in on the story regarding the "LGBT Safe Places" article. After seeing comments and responses I felt inclined to give my two cents.
Liberals tend to think laws and policies that provide special protections are obvious and essential to a progressive society. I personally view these laws as political tools that fracture society even if they have the best of intentions. If you disagree then just listen to how the news reports a police officer using deadly force. The first words will be the race of the officer and victim regardless of the more pertinent facts. We are always pitting group against group and these laws add fuel to that fire. I would rather live in a nation where we are granted equal protection under the law. This is what Martin Luther King Jr worked so hard to achieve and ultimately gave his life for.
I think that everyone would rather live in a nation where everyone is granted equal protection under the law. The problem is that not everybody gets it ... that there sometimes is a gap between the ideal and the real.
On the same subject, another MNB user wrote:
Do they really need that or shouldn't they just call police? It's called battery and/or assault. I can't remember ever seeing anyone making that big a deal about someone's sexual identity.
I sat next to my gay friend last night, I had the calamari and he had the fish and chips. We talked about why Andy Dalton couldn't win important night games(and he congratulated me on taking the under in the second half) and the subject of sexual orientation never came up. Don't most of us judge people for who we are, not what we are?
Since it is the Seattle Police Department that initiated the "Safe Places" program, it sounds to me like it was conceding that more needed to be done than it could do.
And, with all due respect, just because you've never seen anyone making that big a deal about someone's sexual identity doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Often. Sometimes with terrible consequences.
We had an email yesterday from someone who wrote:
As a conservative Roman Catholic, I think..... Never mind. I'm sure you've already formed your non-biased tolerant opinion of what I have to say.
Which prompted another MNB user to write:
The Roman Catholic who made that comment did a huge disservice to our faith. They need to spend a little more time reading their Bible before making statements. Sure, there are a couple of passages in the Bible that make a reference to orientation, but there are dozens that talk about not judging people and loving everybody. Just look at our current pope. He's made some huge statements about not being an exclusive religion, about making Catholicism accessible to everybody, even those who don't check all of the traditional boxes. He's really making headway in the Catholic perception globally, but intolerant people who believe it is their right to judge others are really hurting this progress. That MNB reader really needs to reexamine his theology.
We've had some debate here on MNB about a piece I did comparing the efforts by some NYC churches to adjust their Sunday school offerings to make them more appealing to young people to what I think businesses need to do in order to remain relevant.
To which MNB user Lisa McDonald responded:
Having been raised Methodist I tried to give my children the same opportunity to explore their faith. I have enjoyed seeing my 25 year old daughter grow in her faith during her college years at an extraordinary community church.
They have a laid back service (they start at 10ish), you can come in your pajamas, there are bean bags to sit in and the whole service started out in a bar on Sunday morning that had obviously had other activities the night before. They serve coffee and doughnuts and give out cool t-shirts for the kids to wear.
I’ve been to a few services there and experienced it – while definitely not the traditional service I was used to – it definitely filled a need and a community and got the word out. The first service I went to the sermon was titled “the F word” and I was startled, but in this case the F word was FAITH.
Church, like retail, needs to know their audience and deliver the message in a way they need. Not that the message changes – just the delivery.
Finally, on a lighter note, I mentioned yesterday that I was not familiar with the beers of craft brewer Ballast Point, which has just been acquired by Constellation Brands for $1 billion. Prompting MNB reader Julie DeWolf to write:
As a native Californian, I am a huge supporter of Ballast Point, which has achieved much more than a cult following in our home state. In fact, it is one of the best known and most frequently bought beers in our circle of friends. I would say it’s much bigger than Stone at this point, which I’m sure you HAVE heard of. Make sure you try Sculpin and the new Grapefruit Sculpin ASAP—delicious!! And if you like stout, the Sea Monster is fantastic as well.
We look forward to you getting more distribution in your home state so you can learn what we already know about this great brewery.
Me, too.
Hi Kevin. Held off on chiming in on the story regarding the "LGBT Safe Places" article. After seeing comments and responses I felt inclined to give my two cents.
Liberals tend to think laws and policies that provide special protections are obvious and essential to a progressive society. I personally view these laws as political tools that fracture society even if they have the best of intentions. If you disagree then just listen to how the news reports a police officer using deadly force. The first words will be the race of the officer and victim regardless of the more pertinent facts. We are always pitting group against group and these laws add fuel to that fire. I would rather live in a nation where we are granted equal protection under the law. This is what Martin Luther King Jr worked so hard to achieve and ultimately gave his life for.
I think that everyone would rather live in a nation where everyone is granted equal protection under the law. The problem is that not everybody gets it ... that there sometimes is a gap between the ideal and the real.
On the same subject, another MNB user wrote:
Do they really need that or shouldn't they just call police? It's called battery and/or assault. I can't remember ever seeing anyone making that big a deal about someone's sexual identity.
I sat next to my gay friend last night, I had the calamari and he had the fish and chips. We talked about why Andy Dalton couldn't win important night games(and he congratulated me on taking the under in the second half) and the subject of sexual orientation never came up. Don't most of us judge people for who we are, not what we are?
Since it is the Seattle Police Department that initiated the "Safe Places" program, it sounds to me like it was conceding that more needed to be done than it could do.
And, with all due respect, just because you've never seen anyone making that big a deal about someone's sexual identity doesn't mean it doesn't happen. Often. Sometimes with terrible consequences.
We had an email yesterday from someone who wrote:
As a conservative Roman Catholic, I think..... Never mind. I'm sure you've already formed your non-biased tolerant opinion of what I have to say.
Which prompted another MNB user to write:
The Roman Catholic who made that comment did a huge disservice to our faith. They need to spend a little more time reading their Bible before making statements. Sure, there are a couple of passages in the Bible that make a reference to orientation, but there are dozens that talk about not judging people and loving everybody. Just look at our current pope. He's made some huge statements about not being an exclusive religion, about making Catholicism accessible to everybody, even those who don't check all of the traditional boxes. He's really making headway in the Catholic perception globally, but intolerant people who believe it is their right to judge others are really hurting this progress. That MNB reader really needs to reexamine his theology.
We've had some debate here on MNB about a piece I did comparing the efforts by some NYC churches to adjust their Sunday school offerings to make them more appealing to young people to what I think businesses need to do in order to remain relevant.
To which MNB user Lisa McDonald responded:
Having been raised Methodist I tried to give my children the same opportunity to explore their faith. I have enjoyed seeing my 25 year old daughter grow in her faith during her college years at an extraordinary community church.
They have a laid back service (they start at 10ish), you can come in your pajamas, there are bean bags to sit in and the whole service started out in a bar on Sunday morning that had obviously had other activities the night before. They serve coffee and doughnuts and give out cool t-shirts for the kids to wear.
I’ve been to a few services there and experienced it – while definitely not the traditional service I was used to – it definitely filled a need and a community and got the word out. The first service I went to the sermon was titled “the F word” and I was startled, but in this case the F word was FAITH.
Church, like retail, needs to know their audience and deliver the message in a way they need. Not that the message changes – just the delivery.
Finally, on a lighter note, I mentioned yesterday that I was not familiar with the beers of craft brewer Ballast Point, which has just been acquired by Constellation Brands for $1 billion. Prompting MNB reader Julie DeWolf to write:
As a native Californian, I am a huge supporter of Ballast Point, which has achieved much more than a cult following in our home state. In fact, it is one of the best known and most frequently bought beers in our circle of friends. I would say it’s much bigger than Stone at this point, which I’m sure you HAVE heard of. Make sure you try Sculpin and the new Grapefruit Sculpin ASAP—delicious!! And if you like stout, the Sea Monster is fantastic as well.
We look forward to you getting more distribution in your home state so you can learn what we already know about this great brewery.
Me, too.
- KC's View:
