u cant do ur job u say?

ok...so something is really buggin' me. a lot of things are actually buggin' me but tonite im gonna vent about this; religion and work. or rather, how religion gets u out of doing ur job. or more like, how i combine my job with my religious views to discriminate upon people i dont know.

something like that.

its been bothering me for a while. every so often a story will pop up in the news, like today, where a city clerk in england is now the victim of discrimination, according to the courts, for being told she had to do her job. ok...let me explain. she, as a city clerk, one of very few in this city i presume, is responsible for issuing marriage licenses. all people who wishes to get married will need one of these. the only place to get them would be at the city clerks office. and u have to get them in the city in which u live. its not enuff to just go to any old city clerk. ur kinda stuck going to the one u belong to. i know u probably know all this, but im just spelling it out to illustrate the utter idiocy of what is about to happen.

so...

her job is to issue these licenses to all the people in her town who wishes to get married. at some point in time, she decides that it is within her power to be selective about who she hands them out to. gay people for example, she says, do not get them at her office. even if this is their city clerks office, the only place they can get a license. and even if these people dont really intend to get married, but simply want a civil union. ok...so u might be asking why the lady is the one being discriminated against. surely, u say, the people who are denied their civil rights are the ones with the right to cry foul.

yeah, ud think.

but alas, someone told this lady that because she happens to be a public servant, an employee of the city, paid with taxpayers money, she has to perform her job regardless of wether she likes the people that comes into her office or not. she claims her religious rights permits her to be a racist. and she claims that she is in fact the one being discriminated against....and harassed! by her boss into performing actions that is against her religious believes.

and guess what? she won!! holy shit!

what does this mean now exactly? im a teacher... special ed teacher... lets say im a hindu... just play along ok?? so im a hindu, special ed teacher. as a hindu, cows are extremely sacred to me. in fact, they are so sacred that there are only two provinces in all of india where slaughter of cows is legal. any slaughter of cows can lead to criminal persecution and jail! thats how sacred they are to me.

so...

here comes johnny into my classroom. johnny is a student with, lets say he has CP. cerebral palsy. i look at him and ask him if he eats meat.

"ever had a hamburger, johnny?"

poor johnny loves his big mac with extra fries. oops... i ring for the principal. cant have this kid in my room. he is unclean. he eats the sacred cow. i cant teach him. my religion gets hives just by being in the same building as the cow-eating kid. i dont want to risk running into him in the hallway on my way to the bathroom. it would be safer for my religion if he wasnt even allowed in the building. in fact...all these kids eat meat. and most the teachers too. best get rid of all of them so not to disturb my religion. and do not try to tell me differently, or i will get the courts to pay me alot of money. ur money. bwwaahhaaa!!

hmmm... where was i going with all this?

oh yeah.

im sorry, lady. u dont get to do that. u dont get to pick and choose how to do ur job. and doctors dont get to pick and choose who they treat. and pharmacists dont get to pick and choose who to hand drugs out to. i dont care if the people u have to serve are black or green or gay or hindu or whether they need an abortion or a by-pass or a flu-shot. as a teacher ill teach all ur kids. even the snotty, obnoxious ones. and i expect u to do ur job accordingly. hiding behind religion to pass judgement on other people is not ok. even if the court agrees with u.

if u are that religious that u cant hand out a civil union license to a gay person, or if u are so religious u cant fill a perscription for birth control pills for a lady, or if u are so religious u cant perscribe a rape victim the morning-after pill, then dont get into a job or a career where u have to violate ur own religion. i mean...if ur a hindu and u worship the cow, dont go take a job at the fucking slaughterhouse! be a farmer....take care of the cow...make the cow happy...loooove the cow.

dont be an asswipe and use ur faith to make other people's lives miserable. do ur job or get the fuck outta there.

and thats all i have to say about that.