Grow Up.

[captainsblog]

We had a little bit of an issue when Emily was a toddler.  Day care and neighborhood friends brought regular invitations to birthday parties (at least as long as we put them on for her, as we did), and there were months of difficult teaching times when Em would have an issue with the concept of giving without receiving. She was all about getting a present for Marty or Emma or Patrick (the elusive day care bud she was gonna marry someday;), but when the party day came and she didn't have a pressie for herself, she'd act out.  We gradually and lovingly talked her through this phase, and she's gone on to become one of the single most kind and generous souls I've ever had the privilege to know, all prejudice aside;)

What makes me think of this ancient history? The even ancienter reactions that came out (see what I did there?) when a parade of musicians from Macklemore to Madonna to Carole King and Sara Bareilles all made last night's Grammy broadcast a tribute to love and inclusiveness.  The latter two, mashing up the former's legendary Beautiful with the latter's beautiful Brave, was enough to get me to lug the laptop out to the living room so Eleanor could see it through the bigscreen tv and stereo this morning:

"" (Watch on YouTube)

Macklemore, meanwhile, did "Same Love" on a night where a few dozen couples took the opportunity provided in California, and a growing part of the country, to affirm that love is love regardless of chromosome counts.

That was most of the reaction I read about in the wee smalls today, but there was a sickening aftertaste of selfishness on the other side of the issue.  One pundit after another from Jesusland posted their intense displeasure with a broadcast of everyone having the same right to a present that their (at least currently) monogamous hetero selves get as a matter of course and privilege:

While the ceremony certainly brought tears to our eyes, we can always count on anti-gay pundits and citizens to let us know their thoughts about these events via social media. Among those disappointed in the ceremony were the American Family Association's notoriously anti-gay Bryan Fischer, as well as Fox News' Todd Starnes.

Heads up: Grammy telecast to feature sodomy-based wedding ceremonies. http://t.co/pbdVOkYuG8

— Bryan Fischer (@BryanJFischer) January 26, 2014

I've never seen such a display of intolerance, bigotry and hatred. #Grammys #antichristian

— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) January 27, 2014

Others joined in to voice their criticism:

@CBS CBS: Shame on you, the Grammy's is supposed to be a family friendly show. It was disgusting, and sick to have gay marriages.

— Dr R Joseph Milligan (@parsonjoe1) January 27, 2014

Total mockery of God on the Grammys tonight! The world has gone gay-mad! And it is sickening! http://t.co/diYnT3ONGz

— BusterWilson (@busterwilson) January 27, 2014

The quoted twits, urr, tweets degenerated into f-and-q-bombing after that, but just the first few, from prominent organizational and media representatives, had already set the tone and ruptured my one good eardrum.

Why are you so threatened by someone's happiness somehow approximating your own?  You somehow tolerate Judaism's "differences" from your Jesus-based preaching (mainly because your nutjobs NEED Israel and the Jews to be around so there can be a Rapture and a Tribulation and a Second Coming and a Pro Bowl- oops, already had that last one;), and yet your tolerance of other views seems to end as soon as two people seek religious blessing and/or governmental approvals upon their committed and monogamous unions. 

My toddler got over this selfishness before she got out of the Moppet Room. Go and do thou likewise.