A Comment on Carrie Underwood Endorsing Gay Marriage & the Backlash

The following is a guest post by an American reader who wishes to remain anonymous.

Country superstar Carrie Underwood has gone 180 degrees against the Country current by endorsing gay marriage. In an interview with The Independent UK, she had the following to say on the matter:

“As a married person myself, I don’t know what it’s like to be told I can’t marry somebody I love, and want to marry,” she said. “I can’t imagine how that must feel. I definitely think we should all have the right to love, and love publicly, the people that we want to love.”

“Our church is gay friendly. Above all, God wanted us to love others. It’s not about setting rules, or [saying] ‘everyone has to be like me’. No. We’re all different. That’s what makes us special. We have to love each other and get on with each other. It’s not up to me to judge anybody.”

I am not pro-gay marriage. Not for religious reasons but for reasons I will talk about later on.

The responses her endorsment has been getting are mixed between those who approve based on liberal ideologies and those who disapprove based on a twisted understanding of the bible.

The infamous verse that is quoted nowadays is Leviticus 18:22: “Thou shalt not lie with mankind, as with womankind: it is abomination.” Bible-nazis are taking this sentence and flaunting it around. If you don’t follow it, then you are not a proper Christian.

Well, I’ve got a few words for them. And what better words than from the Bible itself.

Exodus 21:7:  “If a man sells his daughter as a servant, she is not to go free as menservants do.” Would those Bible-loving men and women sell their daughters as servants? I don’t think so. That’s one thing of the Bible they wouldn’t abide with.

Leviticus 25:44: “Your male and female slaves are to come from the nations around you; from them you may buy slaves.” According to another Leviticus passage, I’m allowed to have slaves provided they are from neighboring countries. Does that mean illegal Mexican immigrants are our slaves now? The Bible says so. It must be. No?

Leviticus 11:10: “And all that have not fins and scales in the seas, and in the rivers, of all that move in the waters, and of any living thing which is in the waters, they shall be an abomination unto you.” The Bible forbids me from eating things coming out of the Sea. But I’m a seafood lover. Do you eat seafood? If you do, then you must stop. Immediately. The Bible demands it.

Leviticus 19:27: “Do not cut the hair at the sides of your head or clip off the edges of your beard.” This states that men are not allowed to cut their hair nor shave. Do you cut your hair?

Leviticus 19:19: “Ye shall keep my statutes. Thou shalt not let thy cattle gender with a diverse kind: thou shalt not sow thy field with mingled seed: neither shall a garment mingled of linen and woollen come upon thee.” To the awesome Americans of the Bible-belt, many of you have farms, right? Do you have different types of animals in your farms? Do you grow different crops? Because if you do, then you are committing blasphemy, in which case Leviticus would also demand that the entirety of your town comes forward to stone you.

The thing about Leviticus, my fellow Christians, is that it is part of the old testament and it is what Jesus Christ came to Earth to change. The thing about Leviticus, my fellow Christians, is that the only part of it that you know is the part pertaining to homosexuality.

When it comes to my Christianity, it’s about the message Jesus wanted to bring forward: a message of love.

Jesus Christ forgave those that were killing Him before he died on the Cross. Leviticus would call upon those people to be stoned and burned. Jesus Christ called on those without a sin to cast the first stone. Jesus knew that none of us is without sin. Jesus knew that when it comes to life, compassion is the most important emotion to get us by. Compassion makes everything else seem so small.

So next time you want to quote the Bible to prove a point, make sure you quote the part that makes you a Christian today: the New Testament, whose pages are all about the redemptive power of love.

When it comes to me, I’m not pro-gay marriage but that doesn’t mean I’m against those who are homosexual. How’s that? As I look around, I see families crumbling around me. The concept of a family sticking together like my grandparents did, for more than fifty years, is becoming more and more nonexistent. My parents got divorced when I was ten. My cousins’ parents divorced when she was twelve.

Out of my high school friends, at least half of them came from houses where they were raised by a single parent – and not because “death did them part.”

With crumbling family values and surging divorce rates, I don’t approve of adding another portion of society to the whole mess of marriage because, like it or not, homosexuals feel the way we do and they change their mind. And because the notion of marital love fades away after the initial infatuation and many are left wondering: Is this really what I signed up for?

Moreover, you don’t want the kids gay couples will adopt to be more disoriented than those of heterosexuals couples as well in case of a divorce.

And as a cherry on top, I think there are way more important issues that are worth the discussion today than this. Just a quick question to illustrate this point: how would any married couple, regardless of what that couple is, have an optimal marriage in the horrid economy we live in?

When it comes to Carrie Underwood’s comment, I am neutral. I like what she said because it doesn’t seem forced. She’s not telling people what to believe like many other celebrities do. She’s stating her belief. On the other hand, in a time when much more serious things are happening around the world than accepting gay marriage or not, I think other stances precede this in importance. And for an artist who had publicized her refusal to comment on anything of a political nature, regardless of how she spins it, I wonder what changed her mind.

There will be backlash. It has already started. It won’t be pretty. But kudos for Carrie for saying what she believes in, despite it coming out of the blue.

To conclude, here’s a quote for you all:

“I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” – Mahatma Ghandi.

You have your Christianity and I have mine.

Myriam Klink vs Nemr Abou Nassar, Myriam Klink Is Everywhere… Enough is Enough, Lebanon!

Hello bundle of hotness…

I never thought that after posting about Myriam Klink yesterday morning that I’d come back home in the afternoon to find that post with hundreds upon hundreds of hits and Klink all over the place.

It was funny at first. Comedian Nemr Abou Nassar picked up on it and started picking on Myriam via twitter who didn’t let him down and actually replied.

The following are some of Nemr’s tweets:

And some of Myriam’s tweets:

Everyone else, including yours truly, is talking or has talked about Myriam Klink as well. Obviously, no one has anything nice to say. She’s officially a representation of everything going wrong in the country, everything that we need to burn down, everything that we need to hate.

The past month or so? A distant memory. No. The only thing wrong currently is Myriam Klink’s song.

Sure, it’s a horrible song. It’s something that shouldn’t even be put on airways. But that didn’t stop many “singers” before Myriam Klink from releasing songs and eventually not making it. The only artist that “made” it with a sultry attitude is Haifa Wehbe. And even she knows her show is less about her singing and giving art than about actually giving a show.

Nemr Abou Nassar will be using Myriam Klink as a much-needed source of jokes in his upcoming comedy shows. He even has one scheduled for tonight and, surprise surprise, it’ll be all about her. On the other hand, Myriam Klink’s video jumped from 1000 views on youtube yesterday morning to over 26K today. Her twitter followers have also doubled overnight to about 2000. I’m getting referrals to my blog from people googling her name.

She has officially made it.

And yet, people don’t seem to let go. I’ve never had a subject burn on me as fast as this. In the past 24 hours since Myriam Klink was first exposed, she exploded with such a magnitude that any Myriam Klink related tweet today is causing me nausea. People have nothing better to do?

So for all matters and purposes, leave Myriam Klink alone and she’ll get back to what she does best all by herself. As for everyone else, here’s how it should break down.

You like the song? Then listen to it with your earphones on as much as you want.

You hate the song? Then express your hate without calling Myriam Klink the stupidest person that has ever walked the Earth. She actually has a biology degree, if that proves anything.

You hate Myriam Klink? I don’t see why you should. But if you do, then fine. Just don’t let me know in every single waking moment that you consider her an abomination.

You like Myriam Klink? She sure is lovable. And you’re so rare that I’ll give you a free-pass for now. But if you’re gonna shove her down my throat…. Never mind, you can do that as much as you want.

The whole point is: when it comes to Myriam Klink, enough is enough.

Update: Nemr has had a radio show in which he had a 30 minute rant about Myriam Klink. Check it out here.

Where Do We Go Now is Banned in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia may not have cinemas but it allows some DVDs to be sold in its shops. Where Do We Go Now won’t be one of those DVDs because the Saudi government has deemed the movie offensive and unsuitable for a Home Video release. Therefore, the movie was banned entirely.

In retrospect, this is very much expected. A movie whose ultimate message is about religious tolerance will be allowed in Saudi Arabia how?

In simple terms, Saudi Arabia is here and the concept of religious tolerance has escaped them so much that it’s flown all the way to Pluto and settled there.

The way I see it, in this day and age, banning any movie, book or TV show is irrelevant. The only entity that will get hurt here is some wallets.

There’s simply  a little bay for pirates where everything can be found. If Nadine Labaki’s aim is to deliver a message first and foremost instead of filling up her treasury, I’m sure she wouldn’t mind audiences in Saudi Arabia making a slight detour to that bay.

Or the Saudis, whose government still allows them to come over to Lebanon for the summer, can purchase the super-overpriced DVD here. You know they can afford it.

Beware! Tomatoes are Forbidden for Being a “Christian” Fruit… So Says an Egyptian Islamist Association

Crazy people with a platform. Hello bad side of the internet.

One of my Facebook friends shared this picture on my timeline with a sarcastic comment to show their corresponding disdain of its content. And I’m sharing it here for two purposes:

1) Comedy is needed these days.

2) Sometimes calling groups on their stupidity is needed.

The Egyptian Islamic Popular Association (or my translation of Alrabita Alsha3bia Almasriya el Islamia) has decided to call on people to stop eating tomatoes because it’s a Christian fruit which holds the Cross in it. Wait, there’s even a picture!

Praise Jesus! He is risen in a berry!

The translation goes as follows: “Eating tomatoes is forbidden because it’s Christian, praises the Cross and calls on you to worship three gods and not one. We beseech you to share it because a sister in Palestine saw the Prophet in a vision crying and warning his nation of eating tomatoes. If you don’t share it, know that the devil has forbidden you.”

The devil. We don’t want to upset that now, do we?

Their Facebook page, which you can access here, supports Mohammad Morsi for the Egyptian elections. They’re also happy that Shakira has converted to Islam and they have the picture to prove it. You don’t believe me? Here’s a screenshot of that:

That’s not Shakira… or is it?

Meanwhile, the tomato post has a caption which calls Christians a blasphemous bunch (Kuffar), about 2700 shares and 1200 comments. The good thing is? Many of those comments are calling it as it is: retardation.

As for me, I’m classing this under humor.

Myriam Klink – 3antar!

Myriam Klink is the new model turned singer to “grace” the music scene.

My eyes are satisfied.

But my ears? They’re bleeding.

My language processing centers? They’re shutting down.

A friend told me about this a few days ago but I just found the YouTube video of it. It’s even worse than she made it out to be. The song’s name is “3antar” which translates to “strong.” It’s not about a guy because the lyrics “3antar 3al terwi2a w 3antar kell d2i2a” told to a guy would cause mental arrest for many in the region.

No, 3antar is…. *drumroll*…. a cat. Yes, a fluffy cat.

Let alone the fact that she can’t even pronounce the word “3antar” properly, I have no idea how someone can actually fathom singing this.

What’s interesting is that while searching for this YouTube video, I stumbled on an interview of hers with MTV’s “Men el Ekher” where she said she wouldn’t go into the singing domain because “ma bedde etjarras” (I don’t want to make a fool out of myself). I wonder in which category this fits.

Her official website can be accessed here. Don’t panic when you hear Barbie Girl (or whatever that song’s called) blast from your speakers.

But she is hot. That’s all.