Wednesday, April 20, 2005

Happy 4-20! People are still stupid, and it ain't cuz of the pot

In honor of this unofficial holiday, the Holmes would like to run through a few stories he ran across today that demonstrate that stupidity is still alive and well on our little space-hurtling dirtball of a home:

- Today, the legislature of my home state passed a bill that would make Texas the first and only one in the Union to ban gay people from becoming foster parents if it becomes law. Given the fact that we already have too few resources to take care of displaced children, this is nothing short of legislated bigotry, the greatest victims of which are the many children that desperately need a foster home. The bigot that introduced the bill, Rep. Robert Talton (duh, guess which party) was quoted as saying "I don't think it is right for young children to be exposed to this type of behavior when they are young and innocent." And what behavior is that Bob? Love? Affection? Compassion? What, you think there'll be fisting in front of the children?

- I ran across a story today about the popularity of the writings of Dan Brown in Italy. Yes, the story's from 4-11, but I just saw it, so...yeah. For those unfamiliar, this is the author of the insanely famous novel, The DaVinci Code, among other works. Now, this book is an excellent work of fiction, a great read, full of some amazing ideas. But apparently, the Catholic church's official opinion is that it should be avoided, and it has asked that its followers not read the book. Now of course, I've yet to meet a Catholic who does every little thing handed down by the Vatican. You'd probably have to look pretty hard to find one. Maybe at a Mel Gibson party, I dunno. But the thought of being told to stay away from a book, this really chaps the Holmes hide. When I was going to Baptist school as a tyke, I remember there being a huge uproar about "The Last Temptation of Christ" and we were told that we shouldn't see it, which of course I didn't because I was a little kid. Plus, I remember thinking that the idea of seeing a movie about Jesus sounded boring since I spent so
much time at school learning about him already. The thing is, if something like an idea can shake someone's faith, then their faith is for shit to begin with. And anyone who tells you not to read a book, see a movie or a play, watch a TV show, basically anyone who tells you not to expose yourself to an idea is full of shit, and what
they're selling is most likely a pile of crap.

- This morning on NPR, a concerned young citizen was aghast thatparents were so out of touch with their kids as to not know the significance of 420. Here's the deal, clown: kids don't tell their parents everything. It's part of making your own identity. It's a bit of a frightening thought for me since I'm on the verge of becoming a parent myself, but it's a fact. And considering that the 420 thing has been around since the 70s, I'd say that parents of today who aren't at least aware of this reference aren't necessarily out of touch with their kids, just with certain subcultures. And no, contrary to your stupid suggestion, we should not change 4-20 fromStoner Day to Talk To Your Kids Day. Try talking to your kids more than once a year.


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