Monday, December 10, 2012

Bigotry - definitions of and Daniel Clancy

B'H
I received a message the other day which I saw just yesterday. It was from a man calling himself Daniel Clancy on the 14th of November. It goes like this:
"You are a disgusting bigot, and I will be calling the Victorian department of Education to demand that you be sacked."

What is interesting is when you look at the definition of a bigot, I fit into some of it, but as for calling for hatred and intolerance of members of the Gay and Lesbian communities, I do not.
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bigot

 I do say, that I am not a supporter of same sex marriage, I do say I am not in favour of lesbian or homosexual lifestyles being touted as 'normal' because I believe they are not. I do not advocate in any way violence, discrimination or hatred against homosexuals. I just do not. It is not in my nature to hate another person. I might dislike their lifestyle and their views but them personally, no. I can thankfully, separate the person from his or her views.
What Daniel Clancy wrote to me is mild compared to what Michael Barnett of Aleph has written about me, a lot of which is patently untrue or slanderous. Michael is so lucky I am penniless and cannot engage a decent lawyer because what he has written about me is vile and damaging to my reputation and person. I also get these anonymous crowd who have over the past year or so promised
1. to have me raped with instruments not normally used even by gynocologists to the point of death because such a wicked evil homophobic person as myself does not deserve to live'
2. to have my head smashed in
3. to have my son raped in front of me and that is low, because he is a child and it shows their level of depravity and hatred
4. Told that such a person as myself should never have had the nerve to teach in schools because I would damage countless numbers of gay children because I would discriminate against them and cause them to commit suicide. That one, just after promising to anally rape my child in front of me. The irony of that one was not lost on me.
Let me tell you that this sort of abuse constitutes what is pure and outright bully behaviour, whether it is done to a gay or straight person. I can disagree with a person's views, have them at my table, work with them and socialise to some degree with them. In fact, I had even invited an old associate of Michael Barnett's to my Shabbat table, but she never returned my call or even bothered to pick up a phone to say just hi. You see, I don't have a problem with gay or homosexual people. Some of them have the problem with me, because I am simply one of these people who refuses to be bullied into acquiesing to their view that two men or two women should be allowed to marry. I say 'No'. simply honestly and without hatred or malice. I just do not believe it is appropriate for two men or two women to get married. I believe it is rite of passage for a man and a woman who are going to create a family with Hashem's blessing and they will procreate and have children. If that means I am a religious bigot, then so I will wear the title gladly and with 'straight' pride.
Look I have been refused employment in quite a number of Christian Schools because I do not subscribe to a 'Christian World view'. I respect their right to choose who they want to employ in their schools. By the same token, they respect my right to never want to work in a Christian school  even if I was starving and in dire need. I would rather die of starvation than subscribe to a Christian world view because it is contrary to my Jewish world view. That is me. I like my faith. I will not become a Christian, a Muslim or a Buddhist for any money or any sustanenance or whatever reason. We are told that it is better to face our Creator than to renounce our Jewish faith. And so it will be.
I have received more hate mail with regard to my view on this than I think is warranted, but I am glad that I can speak out, because anyone else who thinks what I say,  is met with a barrage of hate from the gay and lesbian community that beggars belief. I don't hate anyone. I don't accept that it is right to hate people. However no bully, Gay or Straight will get me to change my views. They will stand and people do have a right to voice views that do not call for discrimination against a group, but simply supports the notion that a certain rite is not right for this group.
Do I want to go and pray five times a day and do a Haj despite not being a Muslim. Do I want a statue of Buddha in my house? Do I want to eat pork chops? No. I am a Jew and for me it is forbidden.
On this note, if you have the impression that my views are simply a mirror reflection of common views held in the Orthodox Jewish community, they are not. They are my views and my views alone. I take full responsibility for them. That is why I state that I am a convert and it is for this reason I do so, so the broader Jewish community is not tarred because of my views which are considered extreme by many. Yes, I am an extremist. I believe these times call for extremist views to separate between what is holy and right and what is profane and wrong. But while I may end up sacrificing my life for my beliefs and faith, I will not be instrumental in bringing harm to others. You see I respect life and people. I believe the creator created us all with infinite mercy and love. We are all here a purpose. In my life I have had a few accidents and suffered a bit of pain here and there, more than most people. I have the scars both emotional and physical to prove it. I thank Hashem for entrusting me with those scars and that pain. It has made me a stronger person. A person who is not weak in the face of hardship or pain.
Once when I was around 18 I went to someone who was a palm reader and tea cup reader. She read my palm and cried.  I asked her why. She did not want to tell me. She said I would have an interesting life and had the possibility to have quite a few children (on that she was wrong) and she said I would not marry until I was in my late thirties or early forties, but could have at least six children. However she was right about other things that she told me. The only thing she did tell me with urging was that I would have a very ugly death, but that my death would save others. Interesting. I hope, only at the end to be able to recite clearly the Shema Israel prayer and then I know my purpose in this world is finished until ....
I am a religious bigot and I will wear the title with pride because it is better to have a belief system and to live by it truthfully than to live profanely in a corrupted world. The greatest evil is caused by those who stand by and watch wrong actions and harm caused to others and do nothing.

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