Hug someone who is different

A couple things before I get to the main topic for today:

I paid Charlie on the completion of basement renovations. Getting all the stuff out of my den and back into the basement will be a long term project.

I'll be traveling over the next 4 days. Postings will resume sometime after that.




Dan Pearce, who blogs under the name Single Dad Laughing, wrote an entry that has become an internet sensation. Pearce wrote about a gay friend he calls Jacob, who was cut off when Jacob's other friends found out he is gay.

That gets Pearce to talking about the way we treat people who are different. Yeah, the way gay people are treated is at the top of the list, but Pearce doesn't stop there. People talk of the different with disdain and disgust and wrap it in pious words. Christians say those things believing they are speaking love. But Christians aren't the only ones who say these things. Believers in lots of religions say, "God hates…"

But the core beliefs from every one of these same religions say things like this: "A true Muslim is the one who does not defame or abuse others; but the truly righteous becomes a refuge for humankind, their lives and their properties." And: "Examine the contents, not the bottle."

Pearce discovers those who have no religion are sometimes the most Christ-like. And many who profess to follow Christ say I'll act like a Christian unless you are gay.

It all comes down to giving up the need to be better than others.

If you aren't able to put your arm around someone who is different you are being a bully. Whether you think the other person's behavior is sinful does not matter. Love them anyway.

So. Find someone different from you, who makes you feel uncomfortable, and give them a hug.

Six days later Pearce shared some of the response to his words. Nearly a half-million readers. Nearly 2000 comments (and two days later that is approaching 3000) plus direct emails. Pearce posted the most powerful comments. Two accused him of redefining the religion, branding him a heretic. Five more overwhelmed him: the estranged gay man who said the post prompted his mother to apologize, the worker who was prompted to apologize to a gay colleague, the mother of a bullied teen who shoved the column at a school official and found her daughter's life improve, the gay teen who read the column and warm responses and decided not to commit suicide, and a gay man who reconnected with his ex-wife and kids after she read the posting.