So, you can go to:
How not to root for a Mormon, when you are one, To see how it all started out.
This was my first comment (and no I am not making it, I wish I was):
This is my first election cycle in this ward, and since I have been on bed rest since most of the primaries started, I haven't interacted much with my ward. My husband has been a Republican since birth, but even he can't see the Ryan/Romney ticket as a good idea. He really missed Reagan. A lot.
Given that I haven't been at church, and I have never actually talked to her before, it was kind of weird to have a ward member call me and ask me which of several days I wanted to come make calls at their home. I was confused and asked her what activity she needed to have calls made for. She then went into a long speech about God, church, country, the terror of Socialists and how wonderful it was to help Sister Romney. I finally stopped her and asked what exactly she had called about.
Well it turns out she is the chair of a Republican subcommittee of something or other, and she was calling all the Republican women on "her list.". (I knew as soon as she said it that she was talking about the ward list, but since we aren't supposed to use the ward list for business or political reasons I decided to play dumb.) I asked her which committee list I was on, and she said she wasn't sure, that she had just been appointed and given a list of women in our area. I asked if she was sure, since we had recently moved here (15 months ago) and I hadn't voting in anything other than the primaries. (We vote by mail in Oregon.)
She then made some paper noises on the other end of the phone while she said she would check. She asked me what committee I had been on previously. I told her I had been PTA secretary, scout and cub committee chair and advancement chairmen. (She now seemed very confused.) She pulled herself together and told me that we could figure out what paperwork I needed when I came over, and then rattled off the names of several Oregon lawmakers who would be joining them on a few of the night's if I wanted to pick one of those times. (At this point, I just wanted off the phone.)
I told her that I was pretty sure there was a mistake and that she must have the wrong list. She then read my address off to me and said she was pretty sure she had the right person. I then told her that I have never been registered as a member of a party, so I was positive the Republican party did not have my contact information. (Now she was mad, and probably feeling trapped.) she asked me is I was one of the gay tree huggers. (I am pretty sure she didn't know how badly worded the question was.) I told her that like liked my husband and my trees. I giggled, she harrumphed and told me that if I was going to be that insulting I did not deserve to meet (Oregon Republican lawmaker) and then hung up on me.
I have to admit, I am kind of hoping that she remembers who I am when (Oregon republican lawmaker) tells her Hi from me next Thursday. She is right, I don't deserve to meet him at her house, we both have much more fun playing Scrabble when we get the chance. (Although to be fair, his wife and I often play Scrabble without him.) ;-)
This is my first election cycle in this ward, and since I have been on bed rest since most of the primaries started, I haven't interacted much with my ward. My husband has been a Republican since birth, but even he can't see the Ryan/Romney ticket as a good idea. He really missed Reagan. A lot.
Given that I haven't been at church, and I have never actually talked to her before, it was kind of weird to have a ward member call me and ask me which of several days I wanted to come make calls at their home. I was confused and asked her what activity she needed to have calls made for. She then went into a long speech about God, church, country, the terror of Socialists and how wonderful it was to help Sister Romney. I finally stopped her and asked what exactly she had called about.
Well it turns out she is the chair of a Republican subcommittee of something or other, and she was calling all the Republican women on "her list.". (I knew as soon as she said it that she was talking about the ward list, but since we aren't supposed to use the ward list for business or political reasons I decided to play dumb.) I asked her which committee list I was on, and she said she wasn't sure, that she had just been appointed and given a list of women in our area. I asked if she was sure, since we had recently moved here (15 months ago) and I hadn't voting in anything other than the primaries. (We vote by mail in Oregon.)
She then made some paper noises on the other end of the phone while she said she would check. She asked me what committee I had been on previously. I told her I had been PTA secretary, scout and cub committee chair and advancement chairmen. (She now seemed very confused.) She pulled herself together and told me that we could figure out what paperwork I needed when I came over, and then rattled off the names of several Oregon lawmakers who would be joining them on a few of the night's if I wanted to pick one of those times. (At this point, I just wanted off the phone.)
I told her that I was pretty sure there was a mistake and that she must have the wrong list. She then read my address off to me and said she was pretty sure she had the right person. I then told her that I have never been registered as a member of a party, so I was positive the Republican party did not have my contact information. (Now she was mad, and probably feeling trapped.) she asked me is I was one of the gay tree huggers. (I am pretty sure she didn't know how badly worded the question was.) I told her that like liked my husband and my trees. I giggled, she harrumphed and told me that if I was going to be that insulting I did not deserve to meet (Oregon Republican lawmaker) and then hung up on me.
I have to admit, I am kind of hoping that she remembers who I am when (Oregon republican lawmaker) tells her Hi from me next Thursday. She is right, I don't deserve to meet him at her house, we both have much more fun playing Scrabble when we get the chance. (Although to be fair, his wife and I often play Scrabble without him.) ;-)
Eric's response:
Wow. This conversation is hilarious to read, though probably less so when it
happened. Are you a gay tree hugger? I have no idea which of my trees is gay. .
. .
My response to his comment:
Actually she called at the "magic time" when the pain pills were actually
starting to work, and I wasn't totally loopy. The fact that I thought I might
know who she was, but we hadn't even had a conversation, and I could tell she
had no idea who I was, made it easier to be patient at the beginning. I also
REALLY hate it when someone uses church lists for political purposes. I wish
this had been a first time, or first ward. (Don't get me started on the bishop
who received a "revelation" about who the Lord wanted the entire ward to vote
for, in a city council race. Really? No clue to the prophet for president, but
yes to a city councilman? THAT is the race it is worth breaking the church's
stand of, issues. not individual politicians? Sheesh. Okay, deep breath, calming
down.)
I hadn't thought about the fact that I might have gay trees in my yard. (We have a lot of trees on our acreage, so as a percentage of the population, there have to be some. Since they haven't been advocating for gay tree marriage, do I just love the tree since I can't find a sin to hate? Wow, the theological possibilities are staggering. Now I just have to find the "tell" so I know which ones to make sure are dressed appropriately. Hmmmmmm.........)
I have found that NOT belonging to any party makes me hard to quantify in wards were there are usually only Nephites (Republicans) and Lamanites (Democrats). It is really difficult for people when I say I am generally more conservative on social issues, and very liberal on economic issues. When I try to tell people that I am about the opposite of a Libertarian, they usually look at my like I am a slow witted child, and helpfully tell me that there is no such thing. I try not to get cranky as I explain that we don't have a party with that mix of ideals, but that is not the same as saying someone can't believe in them. Unless some time in their lives a PoliSci class or two were part of their education, they don't really understand, but decide I am not like them and should be avoided when having future Nephite-Lamanites wars (sorry, political debates) in the church hallway.
I hadn't thought about the fact that I might have gay trees in my yard. (We have a lot of trees on our acreage, so as a percentage of the population, there have to be some. Since they haven't been advocating for gay tree marriage, do I just love the tree since I can't find a sin to hate? Wow, the theological possibilities are staggering. Now I just have to find the "tell" so I know which ones to make sure are dressed appropriately. Hmmmmmm.........)
I have found that NOT belonging to any party makes me hard to quantify in wards were there are usually only Nephites (Republicans) and Lamanites (Democrats). It is really difficult for people when I say I am generally more conservative on social issues, and very liberal on economic issues. When I try to tell people that I am about the opposite of a Libertarian, they usually look at my like I am a slow witted child, and helpfully tell me that there is no such thing. I try not to get cranky as I explain that we don't have a party with that mix of ideals, but that is not the same as saying someone can't believe in them. Unless some time in their lives a PoliSci class or two were part of their education, they don't really understand, but decide I am not like them and should be avoided when having future Nephite-Lamanites wars (sorry, political debates) in the church hallway.
Since I partially agree with parts of both "sides," I am
particularly dangerous (confusing) which makes their poor children (interesting
and interested teenagers, who don't necessarily *want* to join a political party
they don't understand) who could so easily be led astray (taught to think for
themselves) so that they might have the curse of the Lamanites (Democratic Party
Voting Cards) or even worse they might become something truly damaging like a
Gadianton Robber (Green Party Member).
Okay, I am done riffing now. Giggle
Okay, I am done riffing now. Giggle
I hug trees all the time - best part of my day. :)
ReplyDeleteBut that was a very odd phone call to get, I'm only surprised you were that patient. Although given that you knew the woman, if only slightly, that would have made hanging up awkward.
I prefer to that if someone is going to hang up, that I am not the one that does it. I am also likely to tease telemarketers unless I am busy. (I have worked as a telemarketer, and part of what made me successful was identifying people like me, who will talk forever but never buy anything.)
ReplyDeleteThe part about this call that made it worth sharing was the church connection, and the strangeness of the question..... I still have giggles over "gay tree hugger"
I very rarely post comments that are emailed to me. Before this week I have only done it four times, and now I am doing it for the second time in two days.
ReplyDeleteBefore I post it, I wanted to share what my criteria is for posting an email comment on to my blog, and why I usually don't.
You can check out the new tab at the top, labeled "All the World's a Critical Stage."
(This is most of an email sent to me several days ago. I am ONLY including the portions that are a response to this post. I let the author of the email know that I would be posting the relevant portion. He asked me to remove five (5) sentences that he considered personal and possibly a way to identify him. I chose to alter three (3) sentences by removing expletives. I don't feel that the altered words or sentences themselves were important to understanding the content or tone of the comment.
ReplyDeleteI will be responding to the content of the comment, and my feelings about reading and commenting on blogs in general in a post, and a permanent tab: "All the World's a Critical Stage")
I like you, but I REALLY hate it when you talk about politics. It was bad enough in high school when you read communist stuff and Godless philosophers. There is NO REASON for anyone to read things that go against the scriptures.
You always said the reason you read all the weird stuff was because you needed to understand it to be a good debater. You aren't debating now, and still you make fun of people who are working for GOD. Romney was a BISHOP! Obama has never held a calling or made a lemonade stand. Romney was a STAKE PRESIDENT! Obama hasn't ever been a good enough person for God to give him any responsibility.
Julia, it is time for you to stop being STUPID. You are too smart to let Satan tell you what to say and do. You should be telling everyone the Truth. God gave you your talents and the gospel and church gave you the Truth.
You need to do the RIGHT thing, instead of just trying to be popular to a bunch of apostates, liberals, and other people who offend God! I am calling you to repentance and I hope that you can still hear the Holy Ghost enough to go what YOU know is RIGHT!
I am emailing this to you because I KNOW you WON'T let anyone who agrees with you have a comment on your posts. You just want everyone to tell you that you are wonderful. You might think your post is funny, but really it is just a MOCKERY OF GOD!
I decided to respond here, but will elaborate on this, and another situation, in a post on a later date.
ReplyDeleteDear old classmate,
I am honestly sad that you are still so angry with anyone who disagrees with you. I understood in high school that a lot of your anger came from the other classes we were in together, and not things I said in seminary. I am guessing that your frustrations with this post have more to do with the general concepts of the blog, and not really this particular post.
I am going to address a couple of your specific points, since you must be reading my blog, if you are responding to it. I am not aware of any prophet who has told the members of the church to join a particular political party, or to support a political candidate. There are lots of faithful members of the LDS church who chose to be Republicans or Democrats. I don't think that choosing not to join a party counts as working against God. I think that religion does impact political choices, but it is not the only factor. I have volunteered for the campaigns of both Democrats and Republicans, because I believed in the candidate, not because they were a member of a particular party. I don't think that is going to ever change.
I want to learn about people who are not like me. Sometimes that means learning about people who are strictly aligned with a political party, sometimes that means learning about people who have chosen to leave the church. I do not see anything in the scriptures that would tell me to close myself off from those who are not LDS. I think that those friendship are appropriate, especially because we claim, in the Articles of Faith, the privilege of worshiping God as we choose, and we claim that right for all people.
I have no desire to offend God. I feel the promptings of the Holy Ghost on a daily basis. I am careful and thoughtful when I post something like this post. In this post I was careful not to give enough info that would point to exactly who she was, and if I am not able to obtain permission from someone, I am very careful to change details that might point directly to a person. Sometimes it is enough to just leave a name out, other times I change the dates or location so that they mau remain anonymous. Just as I gave you the chance to remove anything that you felt would identify you.
My basic personality has not changed since high school. I am still outgoing. I am still competitive. I am still curious and enjoy learning new ideas, activities and perspectives. You are right that God gave me all of those talents, and I am incredibly grateful for them. I think that if I stopped learning, stopped connecting with people with a variety of backgrounds, or if I walked away from those friends who don't think the same way I do.
As I was rereading this comment, and your original email, I thought back to other times you "called me to repentance. While it made me mad at the time, I now look back on them rather fondly. I know that for you, each time you did, you only saw the "spiritual transgression" that provoked your righteous indignation. Then, and now, I always felt a little sorry for you. You are a smart, funny and devoted man. Then, and now, I wish you could relax and let your guard down so that we could be friends.
ReplyDeleteSo, as a walk down memory lane, here are the "calls to repentance" that I remember:
Studying at inappropriate times, just so I could show off. (If I remember right this was the Thursday morning after the Chem final. You saw me reading the Chem book on Sunday, when I was waiting for a Youth Council meeting. In retrospect, do you think the fact that I set such a high curve might have been fueling your indignation?)
Dating "inappropriate people," and ignoring "my people."
(I honestly never understood your anger that I brought an African American date to a church dance. You had lots of non-Caucasian friends, and I have never known you to belittle anyone because of their race. If you remember why, I would love to know your reasoning.)
Reading Godless philosophers and writers.
(I understood that you thought reading books that weren't assigned for a class, or that were not from Deseret Book. I never understood what you were afraid of, my losing my testimony, or you losing yours.)
So, I officially invite you to respond in the comments, or if you prefer, you can write a post for my Guest Post series.
Some people are so stupid. Of all the Mormon people I knew, you and Greg and Cory are the best good example.
ReplyDeleteMy husband is a REpublican and so I guess I am too, but I dont think being a democrat or nothing, or anything makes you a good or a bad person. You keep doing what makes you good and special and ignore people who say stupid things.
Tina
For comments and thoughts from Main Street Plaza, from current and former members, feel free to hop over and see what others have to say.
ReplyDeletehttp://latterdaymainstreet.com/2012/09/10/the-hammer-of-judgment-what-would-you-say/
Thanks for the laugh. Hilarious!
ReplyDelete