Quasi-Indefatigable Xenolith

Assorted Essays

Your Opinion Doesn't Matter

The current "race" debate (or lack thereof) is essentially about the honoring of opinions from one side, but not the other. There is no equal footing here. The only way to get on common ground is to put both sides in an equivalent place - Only my opinion and worldview matters to me and the attitudes of others are irrelevant. Now, we are both fighting with swords.

My only interest is what God thinks of me. If you think I am a bigot or that I might be more compliant or cowed if I am called a bigot or perceived as one, my best course of action is to diffuse the power you would hope to gain thereby, so I should likely shrug, say "So what?", and move on in my own behavior to retain my ground. I don't care what you think of me - your opinions hold just as little influence as the opinions of anyone else. I get more media play and attention if I grab the stage while the cameras are turned on me. That is how Donald Trump wins - making the stage his own everytime his enemies point the camera at him with the hope that he will be defensive and weak. Trump is good at holding onto the camera while it points at him and dominating everyone's attention. When he says something controversial, perhaps even off the cuff, it just makes sure that he controls the attention of the camera and viewers. His detractors are confused - they think the weapon is a stinging label, but the actual weapon is the camera!

The weapon on the current field of battle is the disarming of one's opponent. I am attacked with the weapon of a supposed superior "virtue". As I take virtue off the table in not defending against an attack of perception, they are stripped of their ability to engage in a duel where they strut about like knights in shining armor (think Pharasees) and because they attack me, I must be the villain that needs correction or destruction. You can hit me with your "bigot" shot and it doesn't matter, I will try to seize the garnered attention and use it to spread the message of my God.

My responsiblity is to God. You can choose not to listen, but I am not going to comply with some selfish demand from others to be silent. I have decided that I will also not be "guilted" into being silenced. This is one crazy, homophobic, transphobic, and racist bigot that is far more concerned about how God and Christ feel about me and my actions than I worry about inflammatory hurled labels.