Page 6 The Myth of Christianity by Jason Simmons Catkgian Staff Often I hear and real the preaching of people telling everyone to look towards God to provide a path of enlightenment and to find answers. I have yet to understand why these righteous people dr not ask us to look into ourselves for the answers, assuming such answers exist, and to utilize our own talents to promote our well being. Why look externally when our success relies upon our own dedication and adherence to responsibilities? We can not sit back and wait for things to magically appear, we must make things happen. Do not follow luck, but create it. Our inborn talents give us a specific edge that makes no single person the same. Dedication, persistence, work ethic, and problem solving are the workings - of our brains, not that of an entity. Such as in everyday affairs like our omnipotent college work, myself as an example has been receiving A's and a few B's during this semester, not because of a belief in God, but due to my own dedication to my I was leading a letter a lesbian had posted to the LGBSA list-serve last week. She seemed to be stressed out about her job situation, and it went something like this: "...I want to tell my coworkers I'm a lesbian, but I'm afraid of the consequences..." I've always felt that there was a certain inconsistency with queers thinking they needed to come out to straights. I have never had a co-worker or new acquaintance hesitantly approach me and in a hushed voice say, "I'm... I'm ... I'm a hetero I'm a ... I'm straight." Have you ever seen anyone wearing a button that read: "9 out of 10" or "Heterosexual Ally" or "Take Heed, We Breed?" Speaking from experience, I know all there is to know about being gay in an anti-queer job. I work weekends for a forester and weekday mornings at a shipping dock. Foresters are a breed of people -- mostly men -- who primarily like to talk about hunting, fishing, and sports, and they usually assume any gay man will automatically want to bed them down. Dock boys are men who talk about females and female private parts and they swear and they • grab their crotches' (their own) and they spit and they blow their nose by placing their thumb against one nostril and forcibly exhale through the other nostril. These are less than ideal jobs for being gay in. But I have had jobs where I was out: cashier, bus-boy, sales clerk, etc., and I never actually CAME out. My co workers figured it out on their own, as I'm sure my current co-workers might eventually do. And I've never had any serious problems related to being gay. Of course, I wasn't planning on any of these jobs as a permanent life-long job, so I didn't care much about the consequences of anyone discovering "The Horrible Truth." But I learned some valuable rules from these experiences. People who know you will usually treat you the way you treat yourself. Now, this might seem a bit profound coming from someone like myself who is merely a Math major, but here's what I mean: Since I myself felt comfortable with my queerhood and didn't care who knew, most everyone else felt comfortable as well. And the very few who didn't like it kept their hill-billy attitudes to themselves due to peer pressure. school work. I looked within to temper my desire to play and frolic in the woods; to give up the temptations of procrastination was my choice, and I worked through my nights to receive my grades. I made a commitment to myself to improve my college grades. By now I know you must disagree with my viewpoint. God is an all encompassing entity filled with benevolence and forgiveness. It is also our Creator. So where is It? Where is proof in Its existence? The Bible is the answer one may be tempted to say, but it is merely a book that may be written by the greatest con-artist mankind has yet to acknowledge. But the Book has no proof that it came from God. Just because the text says it is from God, does it mean it is true? Do you believe printed material has to be true? I also acknowledge the fact that I can neither disprove God's existence. The existence of God can not be proved either way. That is why most theological discussions between those of opposing beliefs often end up in arguments. One Letter to the Editor But don't forget that I never actually came out to anyone. I'm not saying I hid it or lied about it, I'm just saying I didn't go out of my way to be flaming or shocking. I purposely didn't wear "gay" clothes, but don't we all have a certain way we need to look for our job? There are certain dress-codes and "behavior-codes" we have for when we're at work and when we're at home and when we're at the Mall and when we're out cruising the bar for meat, and this is true if you're queer or bisexual or heterosexual or do animals. This is not being insincere! And anyway, gay or straight, a $5O GAP shirt and a G string wouldn't be appropriate for the. loading dock! Some people might think I'm a big fake or a manipulatrix. But I believe it's more important to be ourselves and do our job than to worry about our fellow workers learning of our secret identity as a queer agent. I do good work at both my jobs and lam well liked by everyone. So if my co-workers eventually use all two digits of their IQ to figure me out, then (just like before) they'll already know me for ME and not just that my partner has a unit instead of a vaj! And people will figure it out. People are animals, and just like the lower animals (for all the vegetarians and animal rights people, when I say "lower" I mean the other animals besides humans, and iO.'W-FAitlY afvm CoNstove. Liww. Opinion just can't prove one's point upon another. Evidence leaning towards each theological spectrum may be given and supported, but too many unknOwns are intertwined in the logical equation of theology; just as X has more than one answer in an algebraic equation. Oh, and yes lam an atheist. I have felt this way since I was young as I can remember. lam neither cruel nor cold hearted. I may not believe in moral standards in the sense that most do, but I do have values that are preferable to act upon. It is preferable to be kind and trustworthy. It is also preferable to be treated as such. The word atheist is not synonymous with evil or bad; it is only another logical viewpoint. I wish not to impose my beliefs upon others despite their criticisms towards mine, however I wish only to briefly present another belief. My belief in particular, tends to look inwards towards myself to do good and accomplish my goals instead of looking outwards towards a god that may or may not exist. I'm not trying to make a morale statement that other animals are less valuable than people, even though it's a scientific fact that we ARE higher up on the food chain than them), people would be able to figure things out a lot faster if it were socially acceptable to greet each other with a good butt-sniff instead of the less interesting hand shake. To conclude, I would like to ask the gays and lesbians why .you are at your job. Are you there to be queer? Is being queer a requirement in your job description? Just be yourself! My personal belief is that you are not a queer person, but you are a person who happens to be Queer! If you run into problems because you're queer, just remember this: there are always going to be job problems! You are not having problems on the job simply because you are a lesbian! A person will have job problems if the following two conditions are true: they have a pulse and they have a job. Gay, straight, or whatever, some people are going to be cutthroat and mean on the job, and that's just the way it is! So keep your chin up, make sure your outfits always match, and enjoy the challenge of being queer! Dan Ester Senior Math Major 4eirkiaVlnsame-oriag ... , 61411GRAli Thursday, February 22, 1996 The Behrend College Collegian Published weekly by the students of The Pennsylvania State University Th Rely Col Editor In Chief Jennifer V, C()lvin Business Meager Jennifer Hellman News Editor Danielle Murphy Assistant News Editor Doreen Foutz Sports Editor Nick Zulovich Assistant Sports Editor Julie Stocker Entertainment Editor Joe Mottillo Photography Editors St*Ha Bickel Joe Stiller Opinbn Editor Chad Clouse Adviirtising Manager Thomas D. Keefe Copy Editor . Michelle Gtuenctl Advisor Mrs. Cathy Mester Collegian Staff: Mary Began, Ryan Bogart, Richard Casey, Crystal Dehart, Nicole Gennuso, Brian Gregory, Bryan Gomolctiak, John Hafner, Bryan Harkins, Kyra . Kindon, Adria Kovaly, Steve Landon, Adam Levenstein, Heather Mc Mahon, Sarah Mek:hiorre, Sharain Naylor, Jeannine ()ellen°, Matt Plizga, Colette Rethage, John Rossomancio, Joe Ryan, Sean Siekkintm, Jason Simmons. Photographers: Brian Chamocic s Brian Fisher s Colleen Gintzens Gana Leone, Bob WuDoh, Chris Nelson POOR! The C gide published weekly by the students of The Pennsylvania SlalellnlvandlY al Erie. The Senrand Collage; Ph* Fleet The l Eimer Reed Unlen Bu ildi ng, station Road, Ella* PA 1 6563. 814 .898 - 6 4 8 VT' 814-1194140191e54 ISSN 1 071 -9288 Lett**... Pt11":.6--:•vtii . T .r t .• :•.o:::o. e...i..:w. Coll egi a n.......e..::Rf,,..an encour.Aos4:itttr r E prf : .i ' l . i, . tYiiiiivrit"!"-!'itiv).• ;'-.7e:iiiiiiiio,..,;;if"..!: - 4ihe :1400.ara: . i"A.7...- s a w !;;;...,:::::; , ;.:;;.Ti i ii i i :Iwatisi- , atet* ""!!"!74.:Mwil . .titineljagke newspapet••• ..: ----: '..•••-••••••:•41.'ng'..: Pi..• published every :•.. •• .. v . - . ii.tqwf- ..:......
Significant historical Pennsylvania newspapers