I have a dream . . .

If I were to come to these forums as a black person, and someone called me a n!gger, there would be outrage.

If I were to come to these forums as a homosexual, and someone called me a faggot, there would be outrage.

If I were to come to these forums as an overweight individual, and someone called me a fat lazy slob, there would be outrage.

If I were to come to these forums as Hispanic, and someone called me a "spic", there would be outrage.

If I were to come to these forums as a Native American, and you called me a redskin, there would be outrage.

If I were to come to these forums as a woman, and someone said I was worth less then a man, there would be outrage.

But if I come to these forums and say that I am Christian, it's open season on me to bash, criticize, and otherwise act as if I were a lesser individual, a person without feelings, someone not worthy to be treated with any respect.

In my short time here on these forums, and I'm not even banded yet, I have seen people bash Christianity like I've never seen it anywhere before. (And I've been in nursing for over 20 years, and on the internet since it started, so I'm no new kid on the block.) You've called us wacky, you say our ideas are rubbish, you tore apart the reasons for Christmas, you mock the Bible, you mock our belief in God as nothing but a crutch, and you do all of this under the guise of "stimulating conversation".

In many ways, Jesus Christ is still being crucified. Not this time with a cross and nails, but with cruel, thoughtless words and deliberate intent to harm the beliefs of others.

Christians have been treated here, as if there were not PEOPLE behind the keyboards. But they are - hello everyone, we are people with as much intelligence and feelings as you yourselves claim to have.

This is a free country. You have the right to be atheist, agnostic, whatever . . . and I have the right to be a Christian. You don't have to accept my beliefs, you don't have to accept my God, you don't have to accept any aspect of Christianity. You don't want me to insult you for your beliefs, and all I ask is that you do the same - we are all here with a common goal, to lose weight with a device called a lap-band. Why can we NOT treat one another with some respect?

Today is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. He had a dream. A great American man with a dream, someone I deeply admire:

" . . . I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . ."

" . . . I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character . . ."

" . . . I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers . . ."

" . . .And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!"

I have a dream too . . . when can we, as atheists, Christians and all others of different beliefs, agree to disagree on our spiritually, learn to respect our differences, sit down together, join hands and share conversations without insults?

I shall step forward and be the first . . . I accept all of you as you are, I respect you as individuals with different beliefs.

Now can you please accept me as I am - just a another overweight individual seeking release from this prison of obesity, who happens to believe in Jesus Christ? I am not better than you. Nor are you better than me. The dream is to see each other and treat each other with respect. Isn't there enough stress and strain in this confusing and often angry world of ours?

I have a dream . . . Thank-you Mr. Martin Luther King, Jr., for your brave words and inspiration. You have my love and deepest respect. I know God holds you close.

Rose, it helped me to realize this point: on this board there are wonderful, eloquent, helpful people (about 95 percent); then there are the biatches (about 5 percent). The sooner I stopped worrying about those 5 percent, the happier I was. Let it roll off your back. It's just an aggravation to you to worry about it.

I used to come to this site daily just to see what "those people" posted next. My husband called them the pack of wolves. Then I started laughing about it. I just couldn't care less anymore. Now I come to rants 'n raves to have a good laugh.

Don't let it worry you.

Linda

Rose, it helped me to realize this point: on this board there are wonderful, eloquent, helpful people (about 95 percent); then there are the biatches (about 5 percent). The sooner I stopped worrying about those 5 percent, the happier I was. Let it roll off your back. It's just an aggravation to you to worry about it.

I used to come to this site daily just to see what "those people" posted next. My husband called them the pack of wolves. Then I started laughing about it. I just couldn't care less anymore. Now I come to rants 'n raves to have a good laugh.

Don't let it worry you.

Linda

Thanks Linda, that was nicely said, and you are absolutely right. I wasn't gonna post on this topic again, but I wanted to thank-you for your kind and sensible reply. Your husband's insight is funny :biggrin: My husband laughs at this too. I'm not losing sleep over it, as I've been pre-occupied by getting ready for my surgery! It's coming up soon, I'll have my date confirmed sometime this week. I'm looking forward to it! Tomorrow hubby is taking me out to dinner before I start my pre-op diet . . . one last steak dinner and a couple of margaritas, and I'm oh-so-ready to start a new life!

Thanks again for the smile :frown: I'm looking forward to sharing more laughs & experiences with the wonderful people that are here. God Bless that 95%!

Take care & have a great night :party: