You see a lady push her pram down the street with a hijab (head scarf) covering her hair and neck. The Jewish man with his kids, big black hat and long wool coat with a couple-a-hundred penny's inside. The organic eating, bottled-water drinking, non-meat and dairy vegan Buddhists... and what do you think?
"Good on here for practicing her faith and believing in God... I wish I did..."
"That poor guy has had family go through tough times without doubt in Nazi Europe, and still persecuted to this day."
"Well this person must be a really insightful and happy being!"
What about a Christian? Old men dressed in different coloured gowns, performing strange rituals with a piece of wafer and some wine from out the back. Boiled lollies in his pocket to lure kids back to his gingerbread presbytery. The followers are all just dumb sheep, following another dumb sheep. A bunch of goody-goody losers. Why?
I am gay. I use drugs. I enjoy the gothic sub-culture. I'm about as alternative as you can get - but I am still Catholic! Whenever I get slack for it, I bet if I were Muslim, Jewish or one of the Eastern Religions, nothing would be said because it would be a hate crime. Attacking Christians (verbally and physically) is also a hate crime, but it is seen differently because we are not a minority.
Everyone tip-toes around the other religions, even scared to ask them something - "Why do you wear that on your head? What is it called?" Christianity on the other hand is simply dusted under the carpet which the secular world sees as an archaic, ostentatious institute with no place in the modern world - almost as though it is a big embarrassment!
When will there be a day that someone finds out I am Catholic - but still everything else I am - without being shocked? Will there ever be a day like that? Sadly, I think not. No matter how many companys try to upsell Christianity, all the different churches drawing in crows such as Hillsong, but I doubt their faith is that big, just a free concert.
One only needed to go to World Youth Day in Sydney, 2008, to see that Christian's can be kool! There were plenty of your garden-variety Catholic's who take their faith for granted because it never left them, the ones who came back and ones slowly dripping back, but plenty of different ones such as myself! Roaming the streets of Sydney, chanting "Ozzie Ozzie Ozzie!!! Oy Oy Oy!!!" then competing with the Yanks "U S A! U S A!" Whistles in mouths being blown like the entire city was one big club, minus the music and alcohol.
On the trip back from there I met some alternative guys from Canberra who were at WYD08 - they were detained by police for a little bit on the way to Randwick for the final Mass with His Holiness, Pope Benedict XVI. Why? Because they were yelling things back at protesters; people holding massive banners such as "Sydney Atheists" and more. Atheists hey? Might drop my WYD backpack full of Catholic items and join atheism! As if - what a waste of a day they had!
Enough rambling... just look inside and see that we can all have beliefs, yet be completely different, even contradictory to certain teachings either because of not agreeing with it, or out of weakness like myself and drugs. As for the gothic sub-culture? That has been there for ages, and always will be. I may not dress that way much anymore, but I still have the clothes, chains and fashion!
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