Followup

I had a good discussion with my mom yesterday on how to handle my co-worker. I have trouble calling this person a friend as friends (in my view) are not cruel and crass to each other. Not where it counts, anyway.

Another email arrived. One that started out with inaccurate statements and then went downhill from there.

To begin, I will concede that when asked about the gay rights sticker I have up at work, this discussion was launched which, in turn, lead to a discussion regarding crime. I now realize I was nieve expecting the discussion to remain on crime by my will alone.

What I intended to be a continued discussion regarding crime rates magically expanded into the presupposition that homosexuals are (by definition) sexual predators and hardened criminals. Not sure how that connects, but that's where it started.

I then was lectured on how bigotry has a closed mind.

It then progressed to the world has gone to hell because prayer in school has been banned. This was even backed up with charts (didn't give me the source and I'm sure I don't want to know). You know, the kind that go up and down and up and down. Somehow that up and down behavior is assumed to have been a downward trend. Until school prayer was banned, then the charts skyrocketed (meaning that bad things were going on).

In conclusion, I stand accused of being a non-Christian. Not sure where that comes from. I'm honestly not sure if that was simply an ad-hominem personal attack or if it was a wide-open attack on all Catholics. I suspect the latter.

My wife councils not responding. Unfortunately, that doesn't seem to work. My mother coucils being firm and telling my co-worker that I really don't appreciate hearing these views and having them forced upon me. That seems more logical. After all, I never asked for this.

What would Jesus do? I think He would forgive. I think, in time, I will too. At the moment, however, I really just want to cry.

Hate is such an ugly thing.