This week we are gonna find out that Pastor Vor actually DOES have a few buttons.
You see, I was accused of being a bigot. Ordinairily this would be no big deal. Most people have some prejeduces... but to be called a bigot? well, that, my friends is my button.
When The Church was first getting started I think alot of us were happy to find a place that they could feel like they belonged to. A big part of that was insistance that EVERYONE was welcome. No matter what! I even invited Jessie to The Church. The inclusion of all people based soley on the fact that they are DUNERS was and still is one of the cornerstones of our little group, as I see it.

But I found out today that I am a bigot. Don't get worried folks. My moral values are still intact. My sense of fairness and openness has not changed one bit. I just discovered one group of people that I simply cannot stand to be around at all. I didn't think I would ever find some group that I would catagoricly dislike. But I did.
The one group I do not like is not an ethnic group, nor is it a sexual preference, religious preference or any other preference. No, the group of people I dislike could be of any race, creed, color or national origin.
The group of people that I dislike are bigots. This is the ONLY group of people that I have discovered so far that I simply do not like!

So, to all you bigots out there. I am sorry but your "type" rubs me the wrong way. While it is not in my power to "prevent" you from becoming a member of "The Church", you will probably find that I will not be willing to "help" you much either.

Ps, If you find yourself calling ME a bigot remember, I AM.

Pastor Vor


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May the Dune Gods Smile Upon You
The Church of the Shifting Sands

[This message has been edited by Voice of Reason (edited 04-20-2001).]

Hey man even a cop has to speed up to the same speed as the "offender"to pull them over. Does that make them "ofenders" too?
cops site them then go on as "normal"

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Damage INC

Hey VOR,
That was good.
I reminded me of another favorite saying:

"I am Never wrong.
I thought I was wrong, once!
But, I was mistaken."

Pastor, Slappy just love readin your words, and da messeges behind them. Da McScrappbook been hungry, it be time to feed it. You never cease to amaze da Slapster, don't ever stop.

Hey VOR,

The definition, as I understand it, of a BIGOT is someone who hates based on a trait of ethnic condition that is out of control of the group that is hated. That for me does not include someone who hates people who choose to act stupidly. The choice of an individual is the only basis on which we can honestly decide to dislike or hate that individual. If there is a group who together choose to act in a way that you/we consider as stupid, can hating that group be bigotry?

Thanks, Troy

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Show me a better sand box and I'll take my toys there. Till then, leave my Glamis alone!

Troy E. Kennedy
Oceanside, California
troykennedy@earthlink.net

Well said Troy,
And Robbie.. That saying is one of my favorites!

I've always defined bigotry as hating any group (racial or otherwise) based on the group, not on the individual. In other words a person who hated blacks or homosexuals or environmentalists or duners would be a bigot in my book. Maybe not the traditonal definition but one that works for me.
I don't know if any of you recall the old days when every other day we would get a
"Bikers suck" post. These were bigots in my book. As you well know I have gone way out of my way to try to include any and ALL groups of people and take great pains to emphasize that any critisism I might have for someone is for that person, not any particular group. I am not perfect and I am sure I have made mistakes in the past. I am sure I will make mistakes in the future but one thing I know that I am not is a racist or a bigotted person. That is why the accusation that was leveled at me hit me so hard. I was accused of treating someone unfairly based on their race. When in fact that person was doing what he was accusing ME of. It still continues to this day. His accuisations are still being leveled against me.

Let me fill you guys in on something. I'm a white guy. I am just as proud of being white as you are of being whaterver race you are. I will not be bullied into submission by baseless accusations of racism and bigotry. I am proud of my record on racism and it stands for itself. As the first post pointed out... If you accuse ME of racism or of bigotry then you had better take a long hard look at yourself because I have a long history of fairness and openness for all races and infact push the "The internet is a raceless/sexless society" as much as possible. On the internet one need not be ANY race unless one chooses to identify with a race.

A person who cries racism when there is NONE is simply trying to defend himself when he is indefensable. He has been raised to claim "all of my problems are due to racism".
No, all of your problems are due to yourself.

Pastor Vor


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May the Dune Gods Smile Upon You
The Church of the Shifting Sands

Amen Brother ... you said it better than I have ever heard before. Well Done.

Voice, you bigot are you scaring off board members again?

After reading your post, I remembered what I told my daughters when they were growing up and were fond of telling their sisters "I hate you!!" (I am both paraphrasing and editorializing a little here!!)

Love and hate are both four letter words. They both evoke strong emotions and equally strong spoken words, and can put passion in your facial expressions. The only difference is that one makes you angry and the other makes you happy. I absolutely refuse to hate anyone or anything. I choose to put the offending person or thing that makes me feel that way out of my life. I ignore them or it. I have better things to do. It takes a lot of time and energy to feel either one of those emotions. Hatred is a waste of time, and I have never met anyone that was filled with hatred that was truly happy. Love, on the other hand...[ ]

I happen to be beige. I am a mutt, anglo, indian and mexican and it hasn't stopped me from getting what I wanted in life, and I never accepted anything from anybody simply because I happened to be a "minority". What I have, I earned on my own. If you don't like me because I'm brown, well, that's YOUR problem, not mine!! Some of my best friend are white!! [ ]

Amen Oldtimer.
There we are.
Thanks all.
Troy

Pastor VOR, I like you more & more. Claiming race as the root of a person's ill-luck is their sorry excuse for not respecting themselves enough, or for not having developed the self-esteem needed to get them to where they want to be in life. It is an excuse for not pursuing the dreams we all, as humans have inside. It is a poor excuse to settle for much less than the God-given talents that live inside of each and every one of us, regardless of age, gender, ethnicity, religion, creed, etc. We are human, and we are excellently made. We have been given different colors for variety. An all-Strawberry world would be a boring one, indeed. The fact that each of us is alive on this Earth is proof positive of our inherent value and worthiness. We all have preferences, developed through sifting through our experiences and deciding what we want & don't want. But once the term "bigot" comes in, that indicates judgementalism, and the non-allowance of another's own preference. If we value another's opinions and values as we do our own, our own lives and experiences will be more fulfilling, as our friendships will be enriched. I believe we are all of the same mind, and when specific interests are shared, we can connect on more levels as companions. Glamis can unite people as any other interest. I must say, meeting this group of Glamis-lovers has been very exciting. Keep the philosophy coming, Pastor!

[This message has been edited by Banshee Gal (edited 04-29-2001).]

Whew! Too many beers.

Well said!!