I try not to be angry with the Church–not because there is no reason to be, but because there is no point to be. I feel that my frustration will not change anything but myself; it will only make me a sorrier person.
There is one exception to this. I know that regardless of how angry I am, the Church will not change their position on homosexuality. No matter how hurt I am, or how hurt others are, the Church will not reverse their stance. No matter how badly we want it, there will be no apology for their actions.
Yet, I cannot help being angry. I cannot help being hurt. And I cannot help hoping for things that will not come. Yes, it is futile, but I can’t help it.
And then this happened: An official release from the Church in support of two nondiscrimination ordinances for the city of Salt Lake–one setting up protection against housing discrimination, and one against employment discrimination, both of which were acknowledged by the church representative as “common-sense rights”. And that’s exactly it. This is no great sacrifice on the part of the Church. This is not a ground-breaking civil rights move. This is common sense, a simple acknowledgment that gay people shouldn’t have to be homeless.
Yet the praise for this move is endless. It is being hailed as a “huge step for the Church,” “truly breath-taking,” and some truly disillusioned person said “this shows that the Church isn’t about discrimination.” No. This move doesn’t show a thing except that the Church is willing to budge a millimeter when they face a PR nightmare. “Oh, so we’ve been party to one of the biggest American civil rights violations in the past thirty years? Ok, lets give the gays the right (that they already had) to have a roof over their head. That should make us look good.”
As one popular blogger put it, “This was a ruse from the Mormon church. Plain and simple. And most of us should see right through it. You can’t strip rights from thousands and then say ‘um, ok you can have a house’ and then call yourself a champion of civil rights.”
So for all those who suggest that this should mitigate the Church’s anti-homosexual actions, I’m sorry, but no. Hell no. This action is a slap in the already sore face that had to endure the fist fight of Proposition 8. Honestly, the Church shouldn’t have even said anything. If they’re not going to apologize for what they’ve done, they should just disappear back into non-political oblivion and wait for the anger to blow over; not remind us of their bigoted stance through acknowledgment of what is already “common-sense”.
I’m sorry, Church. It is not enough. I don’t forgive you.
. . . 
Just wanted to write to tell you I always appreciate your musings here. And you make some good points, too!
Thanks, Brandon. That means a lot to me. I can’t wait until Thanksgiving when we get to have all of our discussions in person again. I miss you guys!
I don’t think that this was meant to be an apology. In fact, I don’t think it was geared towards you in any way. Do you think the leaders of the church are that ignorant that they would want this public statement made so that the church would “seem” like good people. I don’t think they really worry about what other people think. I think that if anything, this was meant as an example for members who are taking their beliefs too far, the ones that blur disagreement with intolerance. If the church were trying to apologize and ask for forgiveness, they would outright say it. They wouldn’t try to mask it by supporting a non discriminatory ordinance. The church said they still do not believe that homosexuality is ok nor that marriage is anything but between a man and a woman, but that everyone deserves a place to live and work. I still think that proposition 8 was misunderstood this way. I personally do not believe that homosexuals should be denied certain rights because they aren’t married to each other but I also believe that marriage is between a man and a woman. Its a very fine line and is something that is very hard to come up with a compromise. I know that you are on the other side of the spectrum and you want a fair compromise just as much as I do. But you can’t forget that there are people like me that don’t see things the way you do. Like I said, I believe that marriage is between and man and a woman. I voted yes on 8, but guess what, I still want equal rights for everyone. Just as much as you don’t see it is fair do deny homosexuals this right, doesn’t mean that it is fair to impose a belief onto me that marriage is between a man and man or woman and woman. How can you be so angry with a church who has certain beliefs when you are so rooted in your opinions and can voice them as much as you want without any consequences? This does not seem fair to me. Are you angry that the members stood up for what they believe in? I think that is a fundamental part of being American. I honestly am not trying to tell you that you are wrong or should change your opinions. I just can stand to see you so angry about something that I feel is misunderstood.
Hey Lauren, thanks for stopping by my blog.
Uhmmm…. so speaking of me “misunderstanding” the position of the church and others, I really feel like you are misunderstanding me. I am well aware that we disagree on the position of gay marriage, I’ve known it ever since we’ve been roommates, as was I aware that our other roommates (and mostly everyone else in Utah) disagreed with my position. As such, I really tried hard, despite the hurt that I was feeling, to not impose my beliefs on you or others, and I feel like I did a good job of that. I know I frequently shared my beliefs and my frustrations, but I feel like I allowed others to share theirs as well. I never told you that you were wrong in our discussions, I did not try to hide your mail-in ballot although I knew how you would vote, I did not try to repress the speech of anyone speaking in favor of Prop 8, nor did I do anything else along those lines of political intolerance, so it surprised me to read your accusations of me doing so.
In terms of this post, I do stand by everything I wrote as my opinion. I understand that you disagree, and (once again) I’m completely ok with that. I do have anger towards the Church and many of its members because of Proposition 8, and if you are curious as to why, feel free to call me and ask; I will happily explain my reasoning behind all of my statements. I can say, though, that despite my frustration with the Church and its members, I would never deny any of them the right to voice their opinions and fight for what they believe in. Yes, I will likely criticize them, but that is a fundamental part of the American political system that you yourself brought up; If you put your beliefs out there, they will be subject for scrutiny. That, and only that, is what this post is about, and I feel like it is doing me a disservice to accuse me of anything otherwise.
I know Utah is lost forever, but do you forgive Texas?
http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/12/13/houston.mayor/index.html
I’ll never forgive Texas. Everything is bigger in Texas, including my grudge.