Look, I am not a fan of certain things in our culture that clearly go against the word of God.
That being said, I think that I have to write about this growing hatred and lack of respect in public for people who are different than I. Hatred comes from bias, fear, and evil. That’s it. Jesus warned us not to hate but instead love our neighbors. I take from that the following: everyone is my neighbor. Remember the parable Jesus told, about the good Samaritan, who was the only one who helped a man lying by the roadside, wounded and left for dead by thieves. The Judeans were not cozy with people from Samaria. The two hated each other and clashed often.
The story begins when an expert in Jewish law tried to test Jesus,saying, “Teacher, what need I do to have eternal life?”
Jesus asked, “What does the law say?”
The man recited that one should love the Lord God with everything they had and to love his neighbor as himself. Jesus answered, “Yes. Do this, and live.”
Not satisfied, the expert asked, “And who is my neighbor?”
“A man was going down to Jericho from Jerusalem when he was set upon by thieves. They took everything the man had, even his clothes, beat him and left him. Soon, there came a priest down the same road, but when he saw the man, he crossed to the other side and continued on his way. Then, a Levite did the same, leaving the poor man as he was. Finally, there came a Samaritan who saw the man. His heart was filled with pity. He cleansed the man’s wounds and bandaged him. On his donkey, he took the man to the nearest inn and cared for the man overnight. The next morning, he gave the innkeeper two denarii and instructed him to care for the wounded man. He told the innkeeper that he would return soon and settle any further costs.
“Now, which of the three men was a neighbor to the wounded man,” Jesus asked.
The law expert said, “The one who had pity on him.”
Jesus said, “Go and do likewise.”
The story tells us two things: first, that Jesus was patient as a teacher even to those who tested him, and second, that it does not matter what comes between us; not race, not gender, not economic class, or anything else. Because everyone is our neighbor.
And I get it. I may disagree with lifestyle, dress, and identity. I am charged with loving all of you. Everyone. My grandmother once told me, “You can hate a sin, but you always love the sinner.”
So what is the point? Why am I doing this?
I just read a disgusting article from yesterday in Variety that at a screening of Jaws, Richard Dreyfus used some offensive talk about Barbara Streisand (she had too much power for a woman!) and the LGBTQ population and the MeToo movement as well as women in general …
That’s disgusting. It’s hardly the time or place or audience for such hateful and sexist drivel. Keep hateful speech unspoken. No matter what I may think, everyone is still my neighbor. I must treat them as such.
Here is his stage entrance, accompanied by a Taylor Swift song, which I doubt he had permission to use.
I don’t know exactly what he said, so I’m not going to dig anymore. There seems to be no record of this available; just a few clips. Not that word didn’t get out. He mocked everyone except homophobes, misogynists, trans-haters, and anyone else but white, straight, Trump cultists.
Well, I never liked him as an actor anyway. In Jaws, his character (Hooper) was supposed to die. In the novel, Hooper was already dead when the shark jumped out of the water with Hooper in its maw. That would have made it worth the price of admission. Just saying.
Let’s say I’m walking on the sidewalk. I can see that you are any one of the people Dreyfus hates. I won’t be the one mocking you, I will be the one who has your back. You know why?
It’s simple. You are my neighbor. I will show you no disrespect. I will not mock you. That would be a grave sin.
I wonder: with so many wars and natural disasters happening in the world, don’t the haters have more important things to be concerned with? It says a lot about how badly off we really are. A nation doomed.
Did you know?
In healthcare, the 2023 rankings list 68 countries that have better care than the United States. Dreyfus said civics was ejected from school curriculums 50 years ago. If we don’t correct it, we’re all going to die.
Hooper, I’m sure sorry to tell you this, but we’re already dying. This summer, the deaths from heatstroke and other heat injuries including dehydration in drought areas, as well as the horrifying tornadoes that are already killing, hurricane season, flooding, and more, will be killed by the numbers. Add in traffic accidents, falls, homicides by gun, mass shootings, disease, and yet you deign to mock people that you condemn out of your own evil moral beliefs?
Look, folks, I do have my own Christian values, but none of them allow me to mock, persecute, harm and hate anyone.
Except for you, Matt Hooper-whose-character-should have died in the movie. Tonight, I’ll mock you. Just a little.
And I hope Taylor Swift sues you for using her song.
Memoirs of an American Asshole 