Right, then.
May. 12th, 2006 10:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
silveradeptJust got pack from seeing the stage show my little brother was in at my old high school. Luckily, I've been out of there long enough that the only people who would recognize me there are the staff.
...heaven help us all if I have to sit through it again. Admittedly, there were two sketches that were reasonably funny, but not because of the acting. It was definitely a high school production, shall we say, and leave it at that. Onward with the linktastic-ness, which is what you're all really here for.
The Semi-colon's Journal of Dreams. See what a little-used punctuation mark has to say for himself.
The Sun is a dangerous, dangerous, thing and should be destroyed!. Much like dihydrogen monoxide.
Did a pornographic novel predict what would happen to Patty Hearst?. Maaaaaaaaaybe. Or maybe things just lined up in a weird coincidence sort of way. You never know, with these things.
If you're feeling down, and just need a random compliment to cheer you up, try Sam's Complimentary Service. He'll give you a personalized, unique compliment that applies specifically to you (do give him some details about what you'd like the compliment to be about).
The government has finally done something that we were wondering about for a long time - The government went hunting for criminals' blood. Nevermind, of course, that this was a hacker, and that he offered alternative for their DNA testing, and even cited what should have been the trump card, potential religious objections to having blood drawn, and yet, the government still wants his blood for their files. Something about this is just slightly off-kilter, don't you think? Must be that he's not one of the recognized religions in the country, which could be anything from Islam to a different synod of Baptist.
Speaking of religion, I think I like the attitude that these street preachers take: Salvation from Proselytization, using the tried and true methods of the people who claim we're all going to hell in a handbasket on the street corners and meeting places and public transport devices. Isn't it nice to have someone on the street who's not going to judge you?
The final triple shot link is all about sex. Well, mostly, anyway. Okay, so maybe there's not so much sex involved, but a lot of talking about sex... okay, talking about the attitudes that some people have towards it, really. The people we're interested in are the types who hold things like Purity Balls, which takes the idea of the "no-sex-until-marriage" virginity vow, and makes it into a public oath-swearing. Guess that the girls just don't have the willpower to say no on their own, and so they have to have a nice group pressure and the potential public humiliation to keep them in line, right? Coupled with the extraordinarily effective sex-education courses they'll be receiving, which rightly espouse the superiority of abstinence and all the evil things that happen when you have sex with someone else, and don't tell you at all about sinful things like contraceptives, then they're going to be happy virgins just waiting for their husband and their wedding day, and not be tempted at all by any sort of earthly or fleshly pleasures.
Psst. It doesn't work. Check out this article on the failure of Purity Balls, which shows that people who make their virginal pledges are quite likely to break them, and that they're not really any better about dangerous things than anyone else. They might even be more inclined to dangerous sex because they haven't been informed about contraceptives and preventing STDs and other such fun things. Also, they may not end up being good lovers even then, with little experience and a mindset that tries very hard to prevent them from enjoying or finding out what sort of sex is good for them. Rather than try to hide the fact, let's just admit that people do have sex, and quite a bit of it outside marriage. From there, let's then inform them on how to have safe, enjoyable, empowering sex so that they're not afraid of it.
Who's to blame for this? The Slacktivist says Origen and Augustine are the culprits, especially since they couldn't keep Neoplationist ideas out of their interpretations of Scriptures. So, the answer to the question "Why do Christians hate sex?", is that it's all their fault. Thanks a bunch, guys.
...heaven help us all if I have to sit through it again. Admittedly, there were two sketches that were reasonably funny, but not because of the acting. It was definitely a high school production, shall we say, and leave it at that. Onward with the linktastic-ness, which is what you're all really here for.
The Semi-colon's Journal of Dreams. See what a little-used punctuation mark has to say for himself.
The Sun is a dangerous, dangerous, thing and should be destroyed!. Much like dihydrogen monoxide.
Did a pornographic novel predict what would happen to Patty Hearst?. Maaaaaaaaaybe. Or maybe things just lined up in a weird coincidence sort of way. You never know, with these things.
If you're feeling down, and just need a random compliment to cheer you up, try Sam's Complimentary Service. He'll give you a personalized, unique compliment that applies specifically to you (do give him some details about what you'd like the compliment to be about).
The government has finally done something that we were wondering about for a long time - The government went hunting for criminals' blood. Nevermind, of course, that this was a hacker, and that he offered alternative for their DNA testing, and even cited what should have been the trump card, potential religious objections to having blood drawn, and yet, the government still wants his blood for their files. Something about this is just slightly off-kilter, don't you think? Must be that he's not one of the recognized religions in the country, which could be anything from Islam to a different synod of Baptist.
Speaking of religion, I think I like the attitude that these street preachers take: Salvation from Proselytization, using the tried and true methods of the people who claim we're all going to hell in a handbasket on the street corners and meeting places and public transport devices. Isn't it nice to have someone on the street who's not going to judge you?
The final triple shot link is all about sex. Well, mostly, anyway. Okay, so maybe there's not so much sex involved, but a lot of talking about sex... okay, talking about the attitudes that some people have towards it, really. The people we're interested in are the types who hold things like Purity Balls, which takes the idea of the "no-sex-until-marriage" virginity vow, and makes it into a public oath-swearing. Guess that the girls just don't have the willpower to say no on their own, and so they have to have a nice group pressure and the potential public humiliation to keep them in line, right? Coupled with the extraordinarily effective sex-education courses they'll be receiving, which rightly espouse the superiority of abstinence and all the evil things that happen when you have sex with someone else, and don't tell you at all about sinful things like contraceptives, then they're going to be happy virgins just waiting for their husband and their wedding day, and not be tempted at all by any sort of earthly or fleshly pleasures.
Psst. It doesn't work. Check out this article on the failure of Purity Balls, which shows that people who make their virginal pledges are quite likely to break them, and that they're not really any better about dangerous things than anyone else. They might even be more inclined to dangerous sex because they haven't been informed about contraceptives and preventing STDs and other such fun things. Also, they may not end up being good lovers even then, with little experience and a mindset that tries very hard to prevent them from enjoying or finding out what sort of sex is good for them. Rather than try to hide the fact, let's just admit that people do have sex, and quite a bit of it outside marriage. From there, let's then inform them on how to have safe, enjoyable, empowering sex so that they're not afraid of it.
Who's to blame for this? The Slacktivist says Origen and Augustine are the culprits, especially since they couldn't keep Neoplationist ideas out of their interpretations of Scriptures. So, the answer to the question "Why do Christians hate sex?", is that it's all their fault. Thanks a bunch, guys.
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no subject
Date: 2006-05-13 03:51 am (UTC)Purity Balls...yeah, they were pulling that crap when I was in HS too. I used to be very involved in my church al lthrough middle and high school and subscribed to a magazine called "Campus Life" - a christian magazine for HS/College kids. That magazine ALWAYS had articles about waiting for marriage, and making promises and all sorts of stuff....and I mostly laughed at it. I mean, it's one thing to make a vow with yourself that you are going to wait -- but another thing entirely to do it in front of a group. I alos think the whole wait for marriage thing is a bit overrated. I mean, I'm not advocating everyone going out there and screwing the first member of the opposite sex they see or anything, but there's nothing wrong with stretching your wings and exploring what's out there -- as long as you're safe about it.
I agree with you that the biggest problem with these vows/purity balls is that they do ont teach the kids what they need to know about safe sex -- only that it's "bad" to do before marrige.
Incidentally, HS Sex Ed in NJ is a lot different than it is in PA from what I hear from my friends who went to HS in PA...tell me if it's different in MI. We learned ALL about all the different contraceptives - even passing around examples of each so we knew what they looked like (hehe and a male classmate ate a birth control pill on a dare), and we all *had* to be able to put a condom on a model penis (or banana, depending on which teacher you had) in order to pass that semester of health. We had the sex ed stuff each year, and then when we were seniors we had a more in depth session, and also talked about protecting yourself at college against rape, etc. Abstinence was mentioned as an afterthought for the most part, but most defiitly not as a form of birth control. My friends who went to HS in PA only got the abstinence talk, and a "but if you're going ot have sex, use a condom".
What's sex ed like in MI?
no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 04:22 am (UTC)Waiting until marriage works for some. For others, not so much. Either way, the decision to have sex or not is with the person. They just should be aware of how to do it safely in case they decide to... even if they do wait for marriage.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 04:50 am (UTC)I do think that waiting or not is an individual descision. Whenever we talked at church about promising to wait and all that, I nevre would agree to sign any of the papers, because I belived in leaving myself open to make the descision to have sex before marriage if i so choose, without having this whole "oh, you made a promise" hanging over my head.
And wow, what do you know? I was still a member of my church in good standing when I decided to have sex outside of marriage..and I didn't get struck down by God for it!
Being safe about sex is something that a LOT of people don't know how to do. I mean, just looking at what my friend's soon-to-be-ex-wife is doing shows that thre's a definite lack of education.
Somewhere I have on my old LJ instructions for putting on a condom because a naieve friend of mine had no idea how to put one on came to me and asked me for instructions. [A-ha. Found it. (http://minniefay.livejournal.com/534320.html)]
I like the approach my high school took - making sure all boys AND girls knew how to put on a condom...that knowledge has served me well, as I've been with men who weren't as knowledgeable as me. Perhaps if I hadn't been able to aid them, we might have gotten into trouble.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 12:03 am (UTC)More people don't know about safe sex, as I said, because giving an education like that would be admitting that kids do have sex, and that's not something a lot of peopel in this country want to admit to. Knowing how to use protection in all sorts of forms, and to some degree, how to troubleshoot it, would probably be a good thing for many kids - the ones who are going to have sex are going to have sex, so if they're equipped to do it safely and confidently, there's less likeliness to be problems.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 12:05 am (UTC)*nods* we had sex ed pretty much every year from 4th grade on, although 4th grade was learning about puberty and body changes and less about sex.
a lot of teen magazines get banned if they put in articles about safe sex, but if the kids aren't getting it at school or their parents, where are they supposed to get it?!
no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 03:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 03:16 am (UTC)Peers are no good, because they're most likely just as misinformed, and I know it took me until I was 18 to even admit to my doctor that I was having sex, let alone ask him about safe options.
Or, as the "until-marriage" crowd sometimes thinks, if they can't access any information, then they won't know about having sex, and won't do it.
*rolls eyes* riiiight. Nope, they won't do it and just have unsafe sex.
no subject
Date: 2006-05-15 04:59 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-13 04:02 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-13 05:04 am (UTC)But it's SINFUL and god will HATE YOU
no subject
Date: 2006-05-13 02:48 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 03:51 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-05-14 01:13 pm (UTC)