Today's Adventure

So I went for a walk today in Corwin Park. It was a good day for a walk. I however found a surprise there. As I was walking I struck up a conversation with two young ladies who appeared to be having a debate. As I approached them on my second lap they asked me “Where do you stand on the ‘Creation vs. Evolution’ debate?”

I replied “I will tell you on my next lap.” I fully admit I was looking for the “best” Answer. My actual stance is that as fascinating as trying to figure out how we got here is, we have bigger problems now that we are here. Teaching evolution as the scientific theory that most of the evidence supports makes sense in a science class. Teaching creation in a church that includes that in its holey book makes sense in said church, or in a religious studies class. Arguing over witch improvable thing is true, is a waste of time. I also have seen a parallel between the two stories so, being a storyteller I went with the smart ass easy answer. “Well ya know, the ‘primal soup’ was clay”, I then continued my lap around the park.

As soon as I passed I could hear them getting ready for my return, and I knew I was going to have to stop my walk to deal with their response to my answer. As I walked, I watched them prepare. What I expected to have happen, based on years of dealing with people in the High Desert, was the following: The Creation girl (whom I shall call C for her religion) was going to come down hard on me. Quote the Bible, and insist that I believe we all came from monkeys (witch is not part of any REAL theory of evolution) and be angry at me. The Evolution girl (whom I shall call A for her religion or lack there of) would laugh at my comment. I expected this because; those are reactions I have experienced before. That is NOT what happened.

I reached them the final time and I received two surprises. First surprise, C thought I had a point. She admitted that evolution might be the way god made us, and found my comment to be supportive of that. Now C is not the first Christian I have met with this point of view. She is however the first Christian who was not a personal friend that has shared this point of view with me. C was very pleasant for the brief moment of discussion we did have. I would have liked to have talked a bit more with her BUT then came surprise number two.

A was angry with me over my “flippant non-answer”. She then began a tirade about all the harm that has been done in the name of Christ. “How can you even jokingly support a superstition that has caused so much harm?” At that point I walked away. It was the same “This argument is not worth my time” walk that I give everyone who tries to preach at me. I knew that there were militant Atheists, out there, I have read their blogs and often laughed. However this is the first time I have met one in person. It was interesting but not fun.

I want to once again note that both of the above reactions took me by surprise. Saying that I need to apologize to ALL Christians who are like C above. I know there are more of you then there are Bible Thumpers. It is just hard to remember that when I am called names and am being told I am going to hell. It would be nice if some of you would stop your brethren from doing this, but they are scary and I would probably try to pretend they didn’t exist too, were I in your shoes. So to all Christians who “judge not” I am sorry for misjudging you.

I would like now to answer A’s question; “How can you even jokingly support a superstition that has caused so much harm?” I find the question flawed in a way that makes a direct yes-no answer imposable. First off joking support is NOT real support. I have in jest supported the destruction of the planet earth and I obviously do not actually support said destruction. Joking about agreeing with something you don’t can be a good way to point out its flaws. As such I can agree with ANYTHING jokingly, especially things I don’t actually agree with. Second off, calling someone’s religious beliefs superstition is an insult. Even if you believe their views to be such, to say it to their face, is to say “you are an idiot child and I am better”. If you were better then a child, you would know to be more polite then that. Even if your views are (and I am not saying they are I am saying “IF”) more correct your attitude is still that of a smart ass brat. Third off, I have an issue with the word “caused”. Yes religion in general and Christianity in specific has been used the excuse for a lot of death and pain. However that does not make it somehow the fault of the religion. I have seen men come to violence over sports teams, who was the better captain and Marvel vs. DC. I do not blame sports, Star Trek or comics for this violence. I blame the idiots who are fighting not the thing they chose to fight over. In the specific case of Christianity I find it ironic that so much war has been waged in the name of the “Prince of Peace” but I don’t blame all of his followers.

Here is what it comes down to for me. If you are so fanatical about your beliefs that you shout (or worse) at people you barely know because they think differently then you, then you are a fanatic. Once you become that you are wrong, even if your facts are one hundred percent accurate. Once you are behaving as a fanatic you are chasing people away. If you are one hundred percent certain you are right, you don’t need to yell. If need to yell you are not certain, and your yelling proves it. Fanatics who yell are doubters afraid to admit they doubt. They may claim to be Christian, Atheist, Pagan, Jewish or what ever but they doubt and lie loudly to hide it. They are false X, were X equals what ever they claim to be. That holds true for any set of beliefs, Religious, Political, Sports, Arts, etc. If you yell it you don’t really believe it.

So, thank you for the surprise and the incite C and A, what ever your real names may be.

Bradleyman

Blog

09/17/07

This goes out to a select group of people, the people who, for my criticism of the war in Iraq, have suggested that I need to leave the country, if I disagree with the president. It should probably be read by any Bush supporter BUT if you support both him AND my right to disagree then this isn’t really aimed at you.

A bit of information about where I stand before we move on; I supported the war in Afghanistan. When the towers came down I wanted Justice (maybe even revenge). When we stated talking about W.M.D.s in Iraq I knew we were going to attack, and opposed it. When we did attack Iraq I did not protest (or even talk about it much). We were at war in the region and there were W.M.D.s somewhere so I bit my tongue and kept quiet. That stopped with the lack of W.M.D.s. When the reasons given by The President and his crew changed to “spreading democracy”, with out admitting they had made a mistake about the W.M.D.s, I became vocally anti-war. I felt lied to, and I said so.

(Understand that my first vocal expression of this was well before The President’s approval rating hit where it is now. In fact it was possibly at its height. So my timing (as always) might have been off. The first person I said anything too (well wrote really), was a friend of conservative bent. I said “I have been lied to.” He said he didn’t think it was a lie. He felt that “spreading democracy” had always been part of the reason for the Iraq war. While I disagreed with him (still do) he had a point. I had not necessarily been lied to, I felt lied to. So I was very careful about how I sated that from then on. )

I felt lied to. So I stated publicly that I felt lied to. Most people didn’t seem to care. Most of the people I knew personally seemed to agree. Some people disagreed. Some of those who disagreed called me “Un-American”. Now this is what angers me, on a personal not political level. When we disagree on politics; I will not attack you personally. I feel that calling someone who is a Citizen of the U.S.A., “Un-American” is a personal attack. I may think the Patriot act, is unconstitutional and goes agents what the founding fathers wanted for this country, BUT I am not going to call any one “Un-American” for disagreeing. In this country we have free speech; it is part of what every soldier in our history has sacrificed for. No matter how you feel about what I say, or how I feel about what you say, we are being patriots by saying it. I even stand by people’s right to call me “Un-American”. Part of free speech is that you can make ANY statement. However “Un-American” is a personal insult. It is an ugly hateful thing to say. Remember that this hate was thrown at me for “feeling lied to”, not for wanting peace, not for the way I chose to support the troops (keep them alive), not for even for supporting socialized medicine, but for “feeling lied to”. In other words I was a “traitor” for doubting.

I should point out that doubting and questioning what our leaders are doing IS patriotic and the opposite of being a traitor. But that is a political point…and I am here to make a personal one.

When you call someone “Un-American” or “Anti-American”, and they were born here, you are calling them a traitor. You are saying they have betrayed their country. That is not a light insult. It is accusing them of a high crime. If you don’t have proof of said crime it could also be slander. It is a hateful personal attack.

When I say “attack”, I mean attempting to hurt. Once you go to this level you are not making a point you are trying to damage my reputation. You are no longer supporting your view with argument; you are trying to damage your opponent instead.

When I say “personal”, I mean me. Not the views I support, not the group you have lumped me in to, ME, Bradley Austin Null.

When I say “hateful”, I mean full of hate. It is an action witch is motivated by hate and is designed to cause hate. It is an action that would be condemned by both Jesus and Buddha. It is an action that means your anger has become destructive.

So when you call me “Un-American” or “traitor”, you are no longer debating a difference in ideas, you are trying to damage my personal reputation because you hate me. Not my ideas, Me. Not my point of view ME. You have also proven that in your attempt to hurt me you will accuse me falsely of treason.

So to all of you who said that I was “Un-American” for my moment of doubt, if I seem a bit tense around you, it’s because you attacked me. I am indeed on guard when it comes to those who hate me, as you have proven you do.

Let me state (again) that this does not go out to everybody who disagrees with me. Let me also state that this should go out to some of the people who do (not that any lefties have done it to me BUT…). However if you think it would be OK to call me Anti-American for my liberal views, It’s not OK, It never was OK, and by calling me that you make this personal NOT just political.

Bradley A. Null

“To announce that there must be no criticism of the president, or that we are to stand by the president tight or wrong, is nor only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American Public.”—Theodore (Teddy) Roosevelt

I Love Comics

I love superhero comic books.

For everyone who is thinking “aren’t all comic books “superhero” comic books?” (and if this isn’t you skip to the next paragraph*), I have five answers; Johnny the Homicidal Maniac, Archie, The Sandman, Cherri Poptart and Alien Vs. Predator ,all of which are representatives of non-superhero comic genres that have been popular. We will call them “dark humor”, “kids”, “intellectual fantasy”, “adult humor” and “other media based” in respective order. That doesn’t even cover the other types of humor, the other types of fantasy, or ANY of the types of Horror. Really “kids” can be dived in to sub genres to. So the short answer to the question would be “no”.

(*skip to here)

I love superhero comic books.

For everyone who is thinking “oh a fan boy”, while picturing some version of “the comic guy” from The Simpson’s (and if this isn’t you skip to the next Paragraph**), I have a response question; “Do YOU like being judged by you worse stereotype?” I know that A LOT of comic collectors resemble the stereotype, but not all. It’s not that I can’t laugh about it. I make fun of it my self; the image is true on some levels. And if you are joking about it WITH someone who either is a comic collector or is involved with one (comics widows and sports widows tell almost the same jokes), then that is fine. HOWEVER when you use the “joke”, as a way to judge me as a person, especially when you use the parts of the “joke” that do not apply to me as part of your judgment that’s not O.K., not even close. Not all comic collectors are fat sexless slobs with no life, and isn’t that what you thought of when you said “fan boy”? I am not fat. I have a great sex life. Alright Yes I am a slob, but not that bad. I have a life. (I hate the term “get a life” and all related slang, but that is a rant for a different day.) Why dose this upset me so much. Because when you thought “fan boy” you meant “Fat ugly slob”, do you like being called a “fat ugly slob”?

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I love superhero comic books

For everyone thinking “cool one of us”, (and if this isn’t you skip to the next Paragraph***) I must respond with “are you sure?” I love the DCU (all 52 of them now) and Earth 616 as well. (If you don’t understand that sentence then you might as well skip ahead too***) I love that there is a continuing story thread that goes back to well before I was born on which these “worlds” are based. The changing history of these worlds and how it reflects society at the time fascinates me. However ultimately I care if the story is entertaining (good or bad). Yes I enjoy the crossovers. I enjoy the “when did that happen in continuity” game. However I like “what ifs” and “Else Worlds” as well. I like a good story or a really bad one. I like to be entertained. If a good story happened but can’t be shoehorned in to continuity it’s still a good story. Using the “rich boys with to many toys” from the above worlds, if you think Batman or Iron Man has recently been acting “out of character”, you annoy me. Tony (Iron Man) Stark varied back and forth between weapons manufacturer and philanthropist in the first decade of his existence. Since then he has been a drunk, a traitor and a teen, and that was all before “Heroes Reborn”. Bruce (Batman) Wayne has been soooooo much. Some of my favorite bad comics of the 50’s and the 60’s are Batman Comics. Some the BEST stories I have ever read in comics are Batman stories. But when I here someone say “Batman would never do that”, I wonder do they mean the one in the comics now, the weird Sci-fi hero of the 50’s, the brooding vigilante of the early book or maybe one of the Movie versions (because West and Keaton play the parts sooooo similarly) or one of the cartoons. Continuity is a fun game, but its story that’s important, and if you feel otherwise then you and I are not actually an “us”.

(*** skip to here)

I love superhero comic books

Now when I say love you may think I am exaggerating, but I’m not. I don’t mean the kind love you have for your significant other or family. I do, however mean a type of love. Any fan of any thing knows what I mean. It is the love the Trekie/Trekor has for Star Trek. It is the love the “Jedi wana bes” have for Lucas’ two trilogies. It is the love Lord of the Rings produced twice, once as books and once as movies. It is the love the Car enthusiast has for his four wheeled “baby”. It is the love every sports fan has for his or her team. It is the love every techie has for their machine. It is the love historians have for all things “period” to their specialty. It is a real love, a true caring and emotional involvement. It may or may not healthy. It may or may not be “right”. But it is a real love.

I love superhero comic books

I love doing things “for the greater good”. I love the way the media and the genre support each other so nicely. I love keeping track not just of my favorite hero and teams but of the different versions of them that show up. I love wondering who would win a fight between X and Y. I love the good guys coming up on top barely every single time. I love flashy costumes and silly codenames (both of which start with Superman) I love secret identities. I love the problems caused by having secret identities. I love the problems caused by not having secret identities. I love the magic (even when it tries to pretend to be science fiction) of the powers. I love the mythologies that surround the characters. I love the really silly bad stories. I love the “politically motivated” stories. I love the beautifully crafted stories. I love multi-issue crossovers with dozens of stars. (A place where the same over reaching story arc can produce both “good” and “bad” chapters a “win-win” for me) I love escaping in to a world (or worlds) where things are both simpler and more complicated. I love “Truth”. I love “Justice”. I love any version of “The American Way” that can be included with those two things. I love the trying to guess what is going to happen from month to month. I love the idea of “hero traditions” and “heroic legacies” I love the beauty to the beliefs the superhero is based in. I love seeing those beliefs played out in the artistic fashion that was born along side them.

I am not saying everybody should run out and start buying comics. I am saying I Love them. The stories may or may not be your thing. But for me they represent the best of Camelot and Greek Myth all rolled up together and modernized. I do think there is a super hero for everyone, and if you want to have fun go try and find yours (mine is The Green Lantern of the Golden Age). However there are things other people love that I can’t get my head into so maybe the super set isn’t for you. That’s cool. But for me:

I Love Superhero Comic Books

Bradleyman

Nine Thoughts

09/05/07

So this is the blog where I say some stuff. I am going to talk about my views on nine things. In places this blog is likely to be emotional. My views may anger you. If so write me a little note and explain why. If there is a flaw in my reasoning I am willing to listen, as long as you explain you’re self clearly. Understand however, that I am the one who gets to decide what “clearly” means and that if I don’t think you were clear I will quite possibly make fun of you for it. Now in the interest of time and space I am going to do short paragraphs on each. If you want more ask, I’m not saying I will say more, but if you don’t ask it may not ever occur to me.

Personal:

It’s just a Game:

This one goes out to Soooo many of my friends (mostly male) it’s not even funny. Guys we love our hobbies, some of those hobbies involve “games”. Thos who have stumbled in to one of these game type hobbies often take said game WAY to seriously. Regardless of whether of we are talking about the “stats of your team” or “the level of your fighter”, it is ONLY A GAME. Your girl friend IS more important then the game. Your job IS more important to then the game. Even if you (or your team, or your character) has just done the incredible, imposable thing that will make you a legend among those who truly understand, it’s still just a game. A game that is as important to those around you as any hobbies is to an outsider. To put that last sentence in to perspective using one of my two hobbies, The world cares about your game/hobbies as much as you (unless you spend the spring with me) care about getting your Elizabethan Language right. (Those of us who stumbled in to non-competitive hobbies, such as cars, comic books, computers, or Star Trek have this problem less, but it still surfaces.)

Be polite:

Add “please” and “thank you” to your vocabulary and people treat you better. Smile at people and they treat you better. Act as if the clerk is a human in a job rater then the company that messed up, and they treat you better. Write a letter or email that is not insulting and they treat you better. Basically treat people better and they treat you better.

Value your siblings:

Ok, this one comes from an outsiders view point, as I am an only child. However there is a bond between siblings that I am amazed by. Those people you share parents with are the most likely people to get where you are coming from as they came from the same place. They may not have ended up where you did but the start was as close to identical as you are likely to get.

Spiritual:

A passage in a book is not proof to nonbelievers:

I get this mostly from Christians, although occasionally from the Jewish or Muslim direction as well. If I have not yet accepted the truth of your beliefs, why would I believe your book is any thing more then fiction. Regardless, whether your book actually has the wisdom of the ages or is crap, if I have not accepted your beliefs I still think like an outsider, pagan or infidel. From that position your book is just a book. Using it as proof (even if you are right) will look like insanity to the outsider.

There ARE views besides those of Christianity and Science:

This is a U.S. problem that has surfaced due to the “creation vs. evolution” debate. I believe things Science calls “superstitious foolishness” and that Christianity calls “Stannic Trickery”, there fore I am not part of either group and would like it if both stopped lumping me in with the other.

If you are going to call your self Christian try to act the way Christ asked you to:

Read the Bible, and you find that Jesus has some great ideas about how to run your life. Now as I understand it the idea in Christianity is to be more like Christ. This is actually not a bad idea even if you think he is fictional. Now I know a lot of true Christians who do try to be Christ like, to varying degrees of success. This is not aimed at them. However if you preach “god hates XXX”, regardless of weather or not XXX = me, gay people or Satanists then you can not be talking about the God who sent Jesus. The whole point of Jesus coming was that his dad didn’t hate ANY ONE, and all were forgiven.

Political:

Liberal does not mean Democrat. Conservative does not mean Republican:

I was raised Democrat, I used to be Democart but I had some issues with the party line. I hold mostly liberal views. I respect conservative views, I don’t always agree but I respect them. That said I have very little respect for those who currently call them selves Democrat, and have NO respect for those who call them selves Republicans. An open minded debate between conservative and liberal views will bring about a positive compromise. A debate between the major parties tends toward close minded view yelling with no real compromise or solution.

The U.S. is NOT a Christian nation:

According to The First Amendment of the Constitution, we get separation of Church and state. Even if the majority of Americans are all the same religion this is still part of being a U.S. Citizen. NO religion or its views should be favored over any other. If you want to be part of a “Christian Nation” you don’t want to be a U.S. Citizen.

Liberals (or conservatives) are no worse “Americans” then conservatives (or liberals):

The idea that ether side of the political spectrum is some how better at being “American” is ridiculous. Healthy debate makes for a healthy democracy. In fact expressing your opinion (no mater how insane it may be) is exercising your American rights and being a good American. That means that the guy who states ANY thing is more American then the guy who doesn’t. All protesters are good Americans. When two opposing groups of protesters meet they are ALL being good Americans as long as there is no violence. ANY thing done to limit protesting is Anti-American.

So there you have nine things I think…

Have a good one

BradleyMan

Labor Day

09/03/07

So it’s Labor Day. I wonder if we will see a celebration of the working man anywhere. On Veteran’s Day we hear all about the soldiers who have died. Why don’t we hear about those who fought for the common man on Labor Day? Why do we glorify the destroying more then the building? I do not mean that we should not honor our fallen troops. We should spend MORE then just one day remembering those who died so we could live. However we should also spend at least one honoring those who helped make the place soldiers died for a better place to live. Dieing is not the only thing you can do to help you country. You can live well and help other do the same. You can work to help the people around you. That is worth celebrating.

First post...*PoP*

09/02/07

So, two quick things:

One, I am going to try and Blog more frequently, Like daily but I will be happy if I achieve weekly at first.

AND:

Two, I sometime see things, call it logic or call it physic (what ever); I “see” events getting ready to happen. I am right now struggling with weather or not to warn people. What I do know is this, the two Ladies closest to me, other then Mom and my Lady, BOTH do the following. If I warn them they say: “stop spreading negitvity, you are creating this situation”. If I don’t when they find out I had an idea that “situation X” was going to go bad they say: “why didn’t you warn me”. I am honestly not sure what to do in these cases.

(Further if we do create our own reality, do I make it happen/ more likely to happen when I think about it, in witch case warnings are a necessity as I already caused a problem, OR when I say it, in witch case warnings create the problem? That however is a metaphysical quandary, NOT a social one; witch is my larger concern here)