Protesting the circus?

Lately, I've noticed I have little tolerance for the antics of animal lovers. It's not that I hate animals, I just don't give them the same amount of love and respect that I give to people. I also don't mistreat animals. When I see one, I usually talk to it, pet it, and act tenderly toward it.

I've been trying to give my dog away and finally, a non-profit agency is taking her away tomorrow. They've found a great family in the Northeast US who will take her, which I'm genuinely happy about. We had neither the means nor the time to care for her, and with another baby on the way, we knew we'd better give her away. The only problem is that the people taking her away are acting like we beat the dog, or like we totally ignore her, neither of which are true.

Now, with the circus coming to town, people are getting all painted up naked just to protest the mistreatment of animals?! This is insane. There are plenty of people being treated worse, go protest sex slavery in parts of Asia or governmental oppression in Africa! People are definitely being treated worse than animals in many other parts of the world!

"'The animals are kept in tiny cages so small they can barely turn around. Elephants are chained for 90 percent of their lives.' PETA claims the use of exotic animals in circus acts poses a danger to everyone."

These people are unbelievable. Please don't pay attention to these people, no matter how many naked women are painted up like tigers.

ht: The Daily Advertiser

Bishop Walks Out

This came across the local news wire and I thought it displayed exactly what is wrong with followers of Jesus: we cannot celebrate in a raucous manner.

From the article:

Bishop Michael Jarrell, in a written statement Wednesday, said he walked off the stage during the Teurlings Catholic High graduation earlier this week in response to an "intolerable situation."

And for that, he is not sorry, despite earlier statements made on his behalf.

[...]

Walking out during a graduation is not something I enjoyed, but it is something that needed to be done," he wrote. "It was a lesson about taking a stand in protest of rude and disrespectful behavior."

[...]

Jarrell said he received both criticism and support for his actions. But, for him, the issue remains one of respect, not public opinion. "I believe the graduates, the school and I were being disrespected," he wrote. "I wanted to make a statement that rude and disrespectful behavior was not acceptable. ... I hope the graduates think about my action in that light and remember forever the lessons they were taught in Catholic school."

So many times the Bishop refers to what he did as "a lesson" and mostly a lesson about respect. To be honest, I believe he taught a lesson, but it was nothing about what he calls respect.

What Jarrell did was teach everyone that when it comes to things religious and spiritual, a pious and somber attitude is one that God likes the best. To act in a celebratory manner is to be "disrespectful."

The best part was when he says "the school, the graduates, and I were being disrespected," but I am sure 99% of the people couldn't care less about respecting or disrespecting the Bishop, the graduates, or the school. He missed the entire point - people were there to celebrate.

Graduations are ceremonies as much as they are celebrations. If you can't scream for someone when they graduate high school, then when can you scream for them. God was definitely cheering for them and I don't think God was offended when others joined him.

The lesson the bishop taught was that he wanted to have control of the room [par the course of a mass] and for the room to be quiet. When he couldn't have control, he walked out.

In reality, the event was bigger than the bishop, the graduates, and the school. It was a group of people who are venturing into adulthood. They need love and support at this juncture, not someone to steal the spotlight because they were upset.

ht: The Daily Advertiser