A tough day
This, that, and a bit of the other.
It was a tough day at Res. House.
B. was mad at us because she had missed our three calls on the P.A. system for her shower. She was adamant in her belief that we had not called her, and that we were plotting against her so that she could not shower.
She launched into an all too familiar diatribe against me. “What kind of a Pastor are you?” she asked and added more crap like that. Then she stated that she would report me to the Director of Res. House.
Lacking in patience or charity, or maybe calling her bluff, I immediately asked my supervisor to talk with B., which she did. There are days when we volunteers “don’t take no shit”.
V. was spoiling for a fight. He’d had an encounter on the streets with M. last night.
M. showed up at Res. House, despite the fact that he has been banned for anti-social behaviour -- we call it “red-jacketing”.
I asked the Boss to expel M. which he did. But M. continued to hang out in the street outside, whilst V. and others taunted him from the doorway.
By now the Boss was busy, and I had to ride hard on the taunters and tell them to come inside. I like V. and I did not want him to have a rumble which would have led to his arrest.
Later Police Officers arrived and warned M. off for trespass. But the Officers hung around and V. got nervous lest he too would be arrested.
The Police had a description of V. as dressed in a black tee shirt, so another volunteer kitted him out with another shirt, and we let him leave by the back door.
V. is no angel, but we go easy on him for the sake of his girlfriend J.
By noon my buddy volunteer Mike and I were ready to leave, more than ready.
I went to the office where my boss and my supervisor were chatting. “I have one word with which to describe this morning” I said. Then I yelled out “SHIIIT”. That broke the tension, and we each laughed.
I am also mad at the Religious Right and John McSame for the lies they are spreading about Senator Obama.
The Religious Right ( the Evangelicals with whom I was raised) do a “nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more” act in which they suggest that Senator Obama is a Muslim.
‘Tis a pity that these ”born again, Bible believing” Christians do not honour the commandment which says “Thou shalt not bear false witness”.
For they imply a lie when they suggest that Barack Obama is a Muslim. He is Christian.
But there is a deeper and more important issue. So what if Senator Obama happened to be Muslim? Is there to be a religious test for candidates for political office in these United States?
I would sooner vote for a progressive Atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or Rastafarian candidate than for a regressive born-again Christian.
These moralists of the right have a double or triple standard. Filled with moral rectitude as they are, they yet back Senator McCain who ditched his first wife for a wealthy woman half his age.
It pains me to note that Evangelical Christians in the U.S.A are liars and hypocrites.
For that is the tradition in which I was raised.
It was a tough day at Res. House.
B. was mad at us because she had missed our three calls on the P.A. system for her shower. She was adamant in her belief that we had not called her, and that we were plotting against her so that she could not shower.
She launched into an all too familiar diatribe against me. “What kind of a Pastor are you?” she asked and added more crap like that. Then she stated that she would report me to the Director of Res. House.
Lacking in patience or charity, or maybe calling her bluff, I immediately asked my supervisor to talk with B., which she did. There are days when we volunteers “don’t take no shit”.
V. was spoiling for a fight. He’d had an encounter on the streets with M. last night.
M. showed up at Res. House, despite the fact that he has been banned for anti-social behaviour -- we call it “red-jacketing”.
I asked the Boss to expel M. which he did. But M. continued to hang out in the street outside, whilst V. and others taunted him from the doorway.
By now the Boss was busy, and I had to ride hard on the taunters and tell them to come inside. I like V. and I did not want him to have a rumble which would have led to his arrest.
Later Police Officers arrived and warned M. off for trespass. But the Officers hung around and V. got nervous lest he too would be arrested.
The Police had a description of V. as dressed in a black tee shirt, so another volunteer kitted him out with another shirt, and we let him leave by the back door.
V. is no angel, but we go easy on him for the sake of his girlfriend J.
By noon my buddy volunteer Mike and I were ready to leave, more than ready.
I went to the office where my boss and my supervisor were chatting. “I have one word with which to describe this morning” I said. Then I yelled out “SHIIIT”. That broke the tension, and we each laughed.
I am also mad at the Religious Right and John McSame for the lies they are spreading about Senator Obama.
The Religious Right ( the Evangelicals with whom I was raised) do a “nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more” act in which they suggest that Senator Obama is a Muslim.
‘Tis a pity that these ”born again, Bible believing” Christians do not honour the commandment which says “Thou shalt not bear false witness”.
For they imply a lie when they suggest that Barack Obama is a Muslim. He is Christian.
But there is a deeper and more important issue. So what if Senator Obama happened to be Muslim? Is there to be a religious test for candidates for political office in these United States?
I would sooner vote for a progressive Atheist, Buddhist, Muslim, Hindu or Rastafarian candidate than for a regressive born-again Christian.
These moralists of the right have a double or triple standard. Filled with moral rectitude as they are, they yet back Senator McCain who ditched his first wife for a wealthy woman half his age.
It pains me to note that Evangelical Christians in the U.S.A are liars and hypocrites.
For that is the tradition in which I was raised.
I admire you volunteering to work with such people. A lifetime of dealing with adolescents has discouraged me from such work.
ReplyDeleteSome of our best (in my opinion) prime ministers in Australia have been avowed atheists. I suspect any politician who wears his Christianity on his sleeve.
Yes, it dismays me the lengths that many who call themselves "good Christians" will go to ruin someone with whom they disagree, and to what lengths they will go to attain power. We are all hypocrites in some ways, even if just in small ways, but it is usually the ones holding the banner of "morality" and "purity" that seem to be the biggest liars and hypocrites of all. And, unfortunately, many of them have associated the term "Christian" with their heinous behavior, driving even more people away from Christianity.
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