Well, usually not much since I stay on "auto pilot" most of the time, but today my thoughts are a jumble. First, I am glad they passed the "Gay Marriage Bill" in New York. New York has always been on the cutting edge of the Gay Rights Movement, more so than even California in my humble opinion. I have always been rather on the fence about the word "marriage" in connection with same sex couples, but they never gave me a choice in the matter so of course I supported it all the way. I could have been satisfied with a different word, but that is just me. I am very happy that my gay friends are making strides in that area and I celebrate this victory! Now as long as they are given the same rights as hetrosexual couples it will be a good thing, but there is still that federal government to contend with, isn't there?
As I look back on my life, I almost cringe at the inhumanity to man that I have seen. I realize I did not actually "see" slavery, but I did see the Blacks treated as less than second class citizens. I seen the riots because people of a different color wanted their children to have an education equal to the people they served. Blacks were chattle which, if you remove the "h" becomes cattle. Americans went to Africa and kidnapped them and brought them over here and then when they were freed, screamed at them to "Go back to Africa!" They did not want to come here in the first place, but I am not going to go there this morning. You are all aware of the Civil Rights struggle.
Now, is that worse than what was done to women? How many years or centuries were women deemed to be the property of some man and had no rights what so ever? Ever study up on how women were treated since the beginning of time? They could serve the husband, but if he died they were flat out of luck. Where would I be today if I lived in those times? Not here on a computer sharing my views with the world, that is for sure.
I think the homosexual population is going to be our last vista as far as equality is concerned. I realize we still have the politically correct things we need to observe and they are more than even I can keep up with sometimes. Like in our church, we must refer to God in the neutral sense, meaning he is neither male nor female. Sorry, I was raised that God is male. God is God. Years ago I had a tee shirt that said "When God made man, she was only kidding!" But I never believed that for even a minute. I know there are people reading this who will scoff at me, but who cares. I scoff right back at them because I am a free, white woman and that is what I do.
Back to the man's inhumanity to man thing for a bit. I can recall way back when I lived in Nickerson. Kansas and dad would talk about a family of "niggras" that lived on the edge of town. It was alright if they came to town to buy stuff in the daylight, but they better not ever try to come to town after the sun went down. In all honesty, I could not imagine why they would want to go to town in the dark because everything was closed! I always thought my dad would have made a great KKK member and the only reason I think he wasn't was because mom could not spare the sheet! I never laid eyes on this elusive family, nor did I ever see the "Gypsy's" that were camped over to the West of the McQueen place. And those are the ones I needed to watch because they were the ones that would steal me and go sell me some where if I was not a good little girl.
Nickerson was a very white community. Oh, we had our share of odd balls, but we were odd balls ourselves. Darn good thing that was not illegal or they would have hung us all. There was Hank Windiate, who was crippled on one side and went to town in a buckboard with a sad looking old horse. Never married. Across from him was Jerry and Ora Ayres. She had a bit of brain damage from an accident when they were first married. He grew enough produce and peanuts to feed the county. Jake Smith used to be a deputy and sat in a chair all day long cleaning his gun. Rudolph Reinke lost his wife with the birth of his last daughter. He raised his last 4 girls alone, was a handyman and did his work while singing at the top of his lungs in German. We were the first house on that block. Now this is just one block, and it is only a sampling. This does not include Whittlin' Joe and Johnny Carson, or the family in the boxcar.
My point here is simply that I am not one to throw stones. My childhood was typical, I feel, as was yours for your time and area. Did God make anyone of us better than the other? Is it my job to be judge and jury for mankind? I rather think not. I am going to set right here in my little corner of the world and continue to dispense my words of wisdom as they occur to me. No doubt I will die a lonely old woman, but that is alright too. When I get to heaven I am going to put on my dancing shoes and dance all over heaven. Maybe God will let me set on his lap and help judge a few of the hypocrites that come knocking on the door. Hey, maybe he will let me judge that one guy that told me just last year that I was going to rot in hell and should be burned at the stake for what I believe. Know what? I would probably let him in cause I bet he is sorry. He just grew up on a different street than I did!
As I look back on my life, I almost cringe at the inhumanity to man that I have seen. I realize I did not actually "see" slavery, but I did see the Blacks treated as less than second class citizens. I seen the riots because people of a different color wanted their children to have an education equal to the people they served. Blacks were chattle which, if you remove the "h" becomes cattle. Americans went to Africa and kidnapped them and brought them over here and then when they were freed, screamed at them to "Go back to Africa!" They did not want to come here in the first place, but I am not going to go there this morning. You are all aware of the Civil Rights struggle.
Now, is that worse than what was done to women? How many years or centuries were women deemed to be the property of some man and had no rights what so ever? Ever study up on how women were treated since the beginning of time? They could serve the husband, but if he died they were flat out of luck. Where would I be today if I lived in those times? Not here on a computer sharing my views with the world, that is for sure.
I think the homosexual population is going to be our last vista as far as equality is concerned. I realize we still have the politically correct things we need to observe and they are more than even I can keep up with sometimes. Like in our church, we must refer to God in the neutral sense, meaning he is neither male nor female. Sorry, I was raised that God is male. God is God. Years ago I had a tee shirt that said "When God made man, she was only kidding!" But I never believed that for even a minute. I know there are people reading this who will scoff at me, but who cares. I scoff right back at them because I am a free, white woman and that is what I do.
Back to the man's inhumanity to man thing for a bit. I can recall way back when I lived in Nickerson. Kansas and dad would talk about a family of "niggras" that lived on the edge of town. It was alright if they came to town to buy stuff in the daylight, but they better not ever try to come to town after the sun went down. In all honesty, I could not imagine why they would want to go to town in the dark because everything was closed! I always thought my dad would have made a great KKK member and the only reason I think he wasn't was because mom could not spare the sheet! I never laid eyes on this elusive family, nor did I ever see the "Gypsy's" that were camped over to the West of the McQueen place. And those are the ones I needed to watch because they were the ones that would steal me and go sell me some where if I was not a good little girl.
Nickerson was a very white community. Oh, we had our share of odd balls, but we were odd balls ourselves. Darn good thing that was not illegal or they would have hung us all. There was Hank Windiate, who was crippled on one side and went to town in a buckboard with a sad looking old horse. Never married. Across from him was Jerry and Ora Ayres. She had a bit of brain damage from an accident when they were first married. He grew enough produce and peanuts to feed the county. Jake Smith used to be a deputy and sat in a chair all day long cleaning his gun. Rudolph Reinke lost his wife with the birth of his last daughter. He raised his last 4 girls alone, was a handyman and did his work while singing at the top of his lungs in German. We were the first house on that block. Now this is just one block, and it is only a sampling. This does not include Whittlin' Joe and Johnny Carson, or the family in the boxcar.
My point here is simply that I am not one to throw stones. My childhood was typical, I feel, as was yours for your time and area. Did God make anyone of us better than the other? Is it my job to be judge and jury for mankind? I rather think not. I am going to set right here in my little corner of the world and continue to dispense my words of wisdom as they occur to me. No doubt I will die a lonely old woman, but that is alright too. When I get to heaven I am going to put on my dancing shoes and dance all over heaven. Maybe God will let me set on his lap and help judge a few of the hypocrites that come knocking on the door. Hey, maybe he will let me judge that one guy that told me just last year that I was going to rot in hell and should be burned at the stake for what I believe. Know what? I would probably let him in cause I bet he is sorry. He just grew up on a different street than I did!
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