I try my best to respect others and their beliefs. To do otherwise would be to make me as bad as an extremist. In a speech I saw a few days ago, I heard a well known astrophysicist say that it's important to show compassion and understanding of the other side's point of view, because otherwise, they simply will not hear you. Too true. And man, I really try to do that.

But there are a few things that make me mad. Not just mad, but disgusted and mad. It makes me amazed that people are capable of such things, and it makes me feel personally persecuted and assaulted. It is the biggest form of disrespect to me, and I have a very hard time not taking it personally.

One of them is the interment of Japanese Americans during WWII. I know a lot of my friends who are japanese do not feel as strongly about this issue as I do. But my family was put in the camps. Time was taken away from them. I've had people tell my family that it was good for them, for their own safety. That is amazing ignorance. We were citizens of the United States, thrown into camps because of the color of our skins and our ethnicity. There is NO good reason why innocent people were forced to live behind barbed wire.

I recently heard that the US Census Bureau were reponsible for turning over the ID of those who were Japanese American. This was perfectly legal due to the powers of war act, but I still don't believe it's right. I think I personally will boycott doing any kind of census reponse due to their part in the internment of innocent US citizen for no other reason than confused fear and pointless racism.

The second thing makes me even more mad, because some people believe that it is okay to do. It is the stomping of my personal beliefs, mainly my religion. A few years ago, I learned of the existence of some Christian groups who's sole purpose was to convert Buddhists (yes, Buddhists SPECIFICALLY). More and more of these groups seem to be popping up.

http://suntimes.com/news/metro/325856,CST-NWS-lama04.article

(I will say that these groups are of the extreme..and do not represent all christians and catholics)

But then I saw this. God, I hate putting this fucking link on my blog, but I have to for the sake of this particular blog.

http://www.chick.com/reading/tracts/0016/0016_01.asp

All I have to say is. Where the FUCK do you come off targeting my religion and my faith? Simply because it's different than yours? WHERE DO YOU COME OFF TELLING ME THAT MY BELIEFS ARE WRONG. This comic is incredibly disrespectful, not to mention WRONG. I certainly enjoyed that they were on their way to see someone "FAR more important". That buddhists are represented as being rich, ignorant, idol worshippers. It's really fucking incredible at how blatant audacious this comic is.

Everyone in this country has the right to believe what they want (1st Amendment), and like Bob Ross (Joy of Painting) said, "If it don't hurt nobody, go head and do it". But seriously, what is the malfunction here? I'm pretty sure all religions can coexist peacefully. But apprently some Christians don't think so.

This isn't like some one saying "There is only one true god: mine". No, it SPECIFICIALLY says that Buddha is an IDOL. Can anyone tell me why Christians feel so threatened by Buddhism?? can you tell me why you can't simply respect other's beliefs??? I myself have been confronted by many Christians/Catholics who haved questioned my beliefs and tried to "save me". Several times I've explained, "No thank you, I have my own beliefs" only to be met with more and more mental pushing.

Earlier, I was super pissed. Now I'm more confused. This isn't a game. Organized religion isn't a GAME. This isn't about whoever has the most people at their church wins. I don't get what people gain by having more and more people come to their church, besides more money. And don't tell me heaven and hell. For you to tell me that your beliefs are correct, or for I to tell you that mine are correct, would require us to come up with kind of evidence. And neither of us will have any. Get it?

To those that actually believe in that comic's bullshit content, maybe before you go off and try and skewer another religion, maybe you should do your fucking homework and try and understand it. Buddha wasn't an IDOL, he was a human being and in fact, a teacher. Let me say that again since you probably have a small brain. A...TEACHER. Maybe you should take the time to understand something before you bad mouth it. Seriously, the thoughts presented in that comic are borderline facist.

And don't try and turn it around on me. I've neve been anything but buddhist, but I went to a catholic high school, I've read the bible front to back, I took four years of classes on catholicism and christianity. I took to it with an open mind, and I think that understanding other religions, including Judaism, Hinduism, Shinto, etc. are interesting. I happen to think that the bible is a good book, and has excellent lessons in it. I think that Jesus Christ was a great man, who did great things. I am not catholic or christian, but I see the good in the main teachings of Jesus Christ, because Jesus Christ, like Buddha, was a great TEACHER. You see the similarity?

I think so many people get so caught up in their faith that they fail to realize that it isn't really faith anymore. No kind of faith would translate into you think that your religion is better. No kind of faith would translate into you criticizing another belief system.

Let me make this absolutely clear: I DO NOT THINK THAT BUDDHISM IS BETTER THAN CATHOLICISM AND CHRISTIANITY, OR ANY OTHER RELIGION. Religion is a PERSONAL choice for everyone; for me, Buddhism has helped me understand myself and appreciate life, and thus is my choice. But at the base of ALL religions the generally same message is presented: RESPECT AND LOVE ONE ANOTHER. I guess that message is lost in the messages of "EVERYONE ELSE IS WRONG"

Reiki says "Just for today, do not anger". Buddha says "Let go of anger, let go of pride, when you are bound by nothing, you go beyond sorrow". The Bible says "A man's discretion makes him slow to anger and it is his glory to overlook a transgression (Proverbs 19:11)". Elizabeth Kenny says "He who angers you conquers you". And I know all this, and I try...man, do I try. But when I get targeted so personally by the majority group of this country, and can only react in anger for their actions, and sadness, for that is the extent of their character.

I cannot put into words how angry and disappointed I am. I realize that the people who created the comic and the people who are in these groups are only representing a small part of the majority of Catholics/Christians. It should go without saying that I know many people who have enough common sense to respect everyone's beliefs and not impose theirs upon everyone. But I will say, paraphrasing a good friend of mine, that I do not see any groups condemning the behavior that upset me.

And finally, if you read this blog and you're angry at me for what i've written, it's probably because you agree with the material that pissed me off. And if that's the case, I strongly suggest that you keep your objections to yourself. You may think I'm requesting that because my opinions simply differ from yours, but in this case, that is not how it is. You are simply wrong. Because disrespect for another for no good reason is NEVER correct. Sorry.