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| (Is it an experiment, a combobulation of paint, or the beginnings of somethiing interesting?) |
Today a woman dressed in shorts and obviously wearing a wig came into the
church office. She was distraught and wanted to see a pastor. The more we chatted,
it became obvious to me that this was a man dressed in women’s clothing. She (he) had attractive legs and a nice face.
I told her to come back in one hour and
perhaps our Youth Pastor would be here. She insisted that she really wanted to
see a Senior Pastor, and she would come back later. This situation reminded me of an incident that
happened in our Art Gallery.
I was working there one day when an older
looking woman in glasses came in. Her “disguise” was purposely made to look
artificial: an obvious curly wig sat askew on the top of her head, and she wore a frumpy skirt with a man’s shirt. She
had no makeup and made no attempt to act feminine. The minute she walked in, I
knew she was male. Since this happens often in the art world, I treated her as
any other art lover.
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| (Add a glaze or two, wipe out, and something new and interesting appears) I will define some of the detail and show you the next two phases. I need to add some more color for depth.) |
She stayed for over an hour discussing art
with the workers and indicating that she, too, was an artist. We told her about
our group and suggested she look into joining because it sounded like she had great experience and exposure.
A couple days later, she came back
dressed as “himself” with a partner. I acted as if I hadn’t seen him before,
and showed them the pieces they were interested in. His partner was a
collector.
I believe in both of these instances, the
gay person was there to establish acceptance and to see if there was any
prejudice or alienation in our attitudes or treatment. The “Gay marriage vote”
was on the docket in the Fall in our area. But this recent experience with a Pastor
was new to me. Perhaps the individual was sincere. I have no way of knowing.
When our youth pastor arrived, the woman
returned. Unfortunately, Pastor had to leave again for a meeting. He invited
her to come back at 2 p.m. As she left, I asked her if she intended to come
back. Her reply: “No he’s too self-righteous.”
I was surprised at that judgment call
since they had had only a few words. No one should expect to walk into a
business or a church and expect that someone is going to be there for them at a
moment’s notice. I think Christian churches are going to be tested in the next
few years. “Hate speech” is coming to the forefront and some are even implying
that the Bible be changed because of the hate speech it contains.
Ironically, when the Youth Pastor left for his
meeting at another church, guess who was sitting in the foyer waiting for an
appointment? Either serious help was needed, she wanted to be married in a Christian church or she was simply testing the church environment.
When we meet new people, we never know
where they’re coming from. That’s why everyone should be treated with courtesy
and respect. There’s no need to generate animosity or ill will. Our job as
individuals and entrepreneurs is to avoid making judgment calls on other human
beings. How they live their lives is none of our business. In like manner, no
one should tell us what to paint, who we may sell to, and when as long as we
are obeying the law. Freedom of choice should be every person's prerogative as long as they are operating within the law.
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| (I did this painting in much the same way, except the parrot was planned. It's mate is on the right.) |
Since when did we become a society of
“busy bodies” meddling into other people’s affairs? Why must our “free speech” be
labeled? Who is the authority that designates what is and isn’t “hate speech?”
Did they receive our vote? Why have they been given so much power and control over us?
Hate speech can work both ways. Recipients
of hate have no race, ethnicity, color, gender or orientation. All are susceptible. Each is unique with specific traits and needs.
Tolerance and understanding
can bridge the gap that seems to widen when hatred and anger are used instead.
Deal with your fellow human beings honorably no matter which side of the
spectrum they’re on.
