I honestly don't know if I should blog today... I'm feeling sentimental, philosophical and all together quite preachy. Nevertheless, I'm feeling inspired...
A friend of mine, who's coincidentally named Christian, shared the following link to a blog post by "Single Dad Laughing" titled "I'm Christian, unless you're gay" (oddly enough, Christian knows I'm gay and yet he's always referred to himself as such... oh that's rich!). I couldn't sleep this morning, so I thought I'd give it a quick read. Well, there was nothing quick about it, but I'm nevertheless pleased to have read it. If you, too, are having trouble sleeping or perhaps just don't want to study, I encourage you to click the link below and read this (at the very least) thought-provoking blog post.
http://www.danoah.com/2011/11/im-christian-unless-youre-gay.html
If you chose not to spend 15 minutes reading a message that could've been summed up in 5, I'll give you an even more brief synopsis. In this blog entry, Dan Pearce discusses the exclusivity of Christianity and the failure by some of its more rigid, conservative followers to essentially "love thy neighbor" ... particularly if this neighbor is gay, an alcoholic or "different" in some other way. While I'm not crazy about "gayness" being likened to diseases such as alcoholism (my sister was once told being gay is the equivalent to being an alcoholic... that one must resist the tempation for same sex relations, like an alcoholic must avoid the drink), I appreciate the message Pearce is trying to relay -- in order to feel better about themselves, humans who feel inadequate hate and dehumanize those who are different or "sinful." He essentially asks, "Why can't we all just love and get along?"
I, however, find myself asking, "When will we stop referring to my lifestyle as 'alternative' and debating whether it's 'right' or 'wrong'?" I'm confident that day will come, and perhaps even in my lifetime. Until then, I continue my daily struggle to not just tolerate, but accept the unaccepting. Lady Gaga is far better about this (perhaps what I admire most in her), as I can't even sit through an Eminem song without purging. But, I don't think I should have to subject myself to that sort of verbal abuse in order to "accept" Mr. Mathers.
Conan O'Brien joked last night that America can't afford transitions... With that being said, I'm now going to very choppily jump to an overview of my Thanksgiving festivities. I spent the holiday at home in Whitehall with my mom's family. We were missing both sister Kassie and cousin Erik, as well as everyone's favorite uncle Kenny... nevertheless, those of us who were present had an amazing time. I often refer to the "Tjoflats" as a big group of large, beautiful people. I'm happy to report, however, that these large people seem to be making their health a major priority. Sure, we all ate ourselves into a state of turkey-drunkenness, but many of my relatives have recently shed some excess weight. I'll use my cousins Hannah and Evalyn as examples. They signed onto The Hauser Sister 10lb Thanksgiving Challenge and lost 15 and 16lbs respectiviely! So proud of these long and increasingly lean, beautiful women!
I'm also happy to report GAGA was quite the fixture in this year's festivities. After finally sobering up a bit from our turkey-drunkeness, everyone (except "the men") sat down and watched A Very GAGA Thanksgiving. It was awesomely cheesey and hilarious, but there were also some very touching moments and song selections. If you didn't catch it, I would at least advise you to youtube her performances of Hair, Bad Romance or The (pl)Edge of Glory. I'm just so happy to live in a world where Lady Gaga has her own Thanksgiving special, and it's one my family wants to watch with me! But the highlight of my Thanksgiving likely came on black friday. That morning, rather than migrate to the nearest mall, I cranked the GAGA and held an outdoor, family GAGAerobics session! To watch my sister Liz, aunt Mary and cousins Hannah and Evie follow my lead and GAGAcise in sync was somewhat of a dream come true! It was honestly so much fun!!! I'd love to show you the video my mother took, but we're having trouble uploading it... that, and Ellen may or may not have filmed it upside-down!
uote from a man (I'm now doing everything in my power to resist including a sexist remark about the inferiority of the male psyche). As for my quote, I've been thinking a lot lately about how surprisingly often I discuss the issue of weight with even the most exceptional of women... sadly enough, strong women seem just as plagued by body image issues as the next. As are the thinnest and most fit... it seems, unfortunately, women are taught never to be satisfied with their figures. I'm not saying we shouldn't discuss our weight with one another... I'm merely saying we shouldn't obsess over such issues and have unrealistic expectations for our bodies. On the other hand, we shouldn't make excuses for one another. Ultimately, we must encourage one another to live healthier lifestyles without preaching or conversely beating the dead, "I wish I were skinnier" horse. I warned you earlier about my "preachy" mentality today...
Love. Peace. GAGAerobics.
Jackie
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