Religious prejudice

I come from a long line of working-class Catholics (mother's side) and Protestants (father's side). My paternal grandmother was first a Baptist, but joined a Pentecostal church later. She could talk in tongues and taught bible study for children. Cool, but kinda scary.

My Tennessee Grandma was the best person I ever knew. She told me that she once chased the devil out of her house because he was trying to turn her against Jesus. Yeah, I know, sounds a little fanciful. I'll tell you what, though, if anyone could pull off a caper like that it was her.

She was a die hard Democrat until JFK ran for president - my Grandpa made them both switch to Republican because he hated Catholics. She was raised to submit to her husband as the head of the household. Plus, I'm sure her pastor was raising (un)holy hell over a Catholic trying to get elected president.

Scotch Irish Appalachians have hated Papists since John Knox left the priesthood to follow John Calvin in the 16th century. The Reformation was sadly necessary because of the corruption of 16th century Catholicism. In fact, the Catholics reciprocated and behaved just as badly. Wars were fought, people killed, men glorified, women diminished. If there turns out to be a divine force we call God, I'm sure s/he is perfect. People are not, though. I can't put my faith in religion. Faith is too precious and important for man-made constructs.

It hurt my heart to realize Grandpa hated Catholics, because at time I was a soft hearted Catholic school girl. Grandma found ways to let us know she knew Catholics were still Christian, and that Grandpa was too harsh. Grandma's God was a loving God. Grandpa's was a God of fire and brimstone. As a fully indoctrinated Catholic, this made me think about the limitations of dogma at the tender age of 9. I expanded my concept of spirituality because I loved my Grandma. I found ways to let her know she wouldn't go to Limbo* for not being baptized Catholic, ha. It's ridiculous looking back on these religious prejudices. It's hard to believe they still exist, but I'm afraid they do.

It's the nature of our reality that evil has always existed in this world, and always will. We have to choose to walk away from it in our own lives, but it still exists out there. Sometimes people are fooled if they don't exercise their mind and search for the truth. Grandma might have voted for Donald Trump the first time, because he pretended to be anti-abortion and folks were preaching conservative politics from the pulpit. However, I'm confident she would not have supported him a second time. Why? Because he's a liar and a cheat. He's filled with hate and tries to spread it around. Grandma knew the difference between good and evil.

Sometimes good people come together, regardless of 
propoganda, dogma, or belief systems

*Limbo re Wikipedia: "The unofficial term Limbo /ˈlɪmboʊ/ (from Latin limbus 'edge, boundary', referring to the edge of Hell) is the afterlife condition in medieval Catholic theology, of those who die in original sin without being assigned to the Hell of the Damned."

Paying Forward

I went to the grocery store the other day. I had about $116 worth of food, and went to the check-out lane. A friendly older woman was working the register, and the bagger was a high school boy. We exchanged pleasantries, and then it was time to pay. I reached into my purse to pay and in horror realized I didn't have my credit card. As you can imagine, I was distraught. 

I told them I only lived about 10 minutes away and asked if they could put my bags in the cooler until I returned with my card. They were very sweet to me, but I was humiliated.  

Suddenly, a woman in the next check-out lane walked over and announced she would pay. I tried to talk her out of it, but she insisted. She told me to consider myself blessed. What can one do when confronted by an actually good religious person? I pulled the 3 packages of Halloween candy out of the cart and asked the bagger if he could put them back for me. I would accept her kindness, but I wasn't going to take advantage. I joked that she was for sure going to heaven for this act of kindness, and she laughed. I thanked her profusely, as one does when they are embarrassed. I promised her I would "pay it forward" and do the same for someone else. 

The very next day I returned to buy the Halloween candy. The woman in front of me in the check-out couldn't get her card to work, and was upset. Something was wrong. I uneasily recognized her humiliation. I stepped up and paid her bill. It was $118, almost the same as mine from the previous day. When she tried to dissuade me, I told her my own story and that the amount was virtually the same. She accepted and promised to pay it forward. Wow!   

And if you think this is all about the goodness of white people, think again. The only white people in this narrative were me and the high school boy.  

No Kings, Clermont, Lake County, Florida, 18Oct2025

Me, sitting down on a picnic table in the
back, because I had pneumonia a few
weeks ago.

 

Feeling better

Yesterday was my last antibiotic.  I'm feeling better, but I am Oh So Tired!  I suspect it will be weeks before I feel like myself again.  In the meantime, I sleep.