Spending time with a person I hate

[greybeta]

So, shortly after I embarass myself thoroughly on the piano, I get a phone call. Oddly enough, it's the red headed Brigid, my friendly nemesis. I was tempted not to pick the phone, but I did out of politeness.

B: Hey, you should come over to my apartment. Quite a few people are here for my birthday bash. Come on over for a drink!
D2: I don't drink.
B: Daniel, it's my birthday.
D2: Fine, I'll come over, but only because it's your birthday.

I have to explain something. I do hate the red headed Brigid, if only somewhat facetiously. I actually really admire her. She's really smart, can play the piano well, and ain't willing to take crap from no one. It's just that we are diametrically opposed when it comes to religion and politics, which we all know are the dividing lines in America.

So I come over and quickly realize I'm the only guy there. Besides Brigid's roomie, there are three of Brigid's sorority sisters. Liberally minded sorority sisters, at that. I had this sinking feeling that my embarassment this night could only continue.

A half hour after my arrival at the party...

Drunk: You're a f***ing a**hole!
D2: Um, okay.

So, yes, this drunk person whom I have never met in my life just calls me some curse words. I guess I should be less straightforward when dealing with drunks. I just shrugged went to play the piano.

Drunk: No, wait, I've changed my mind. You're not an a**hole, because an a**hole couldn't play the piano so well. A**holes wouldn't care about playing the piano.
D2: Careful, you might be surprised.

More random conversation, wherein I am reminded that the red headed Brigid wore these dreadful dreadlocks her freshman year. Another sorority girl and her boyfriend shows up.

Drunk: Okay, I want to apologize. I think you're a really cool person. You see, the people I think are cool, I call them a**holes. As for real a**holes, I treat them politely.
D2: Well, since I'm an a**hole, I'm going to have to refuse your apology.
Caleb: Oh, he just went old school elementary on ya!
Drunk: [laughs] See, you're so cool, you make old school new school!

Thankfully, the drunk passed out. And it was soon decided that we should go to a bar. Again, the birthday excuse was used to coerce me to go (sigh, I'm too polite sometimes).

So at the bar, the red headed Brigid tells me she's singing at a local Episcopalian church. She invited me come, Hmmmm, I wanted to refuse but I knew what excuse was coming. So I agreed to go in lieu of my normal Sunday excursion to First Baptist.

The service itself was different than your typical Episcopalian service. That's because they were celebrating Black History Month with the remnants of a Black congregration. Apparently, this black bishop (not the chess piece mind you) started preaching a message of "inclusiveness", and shortly thereafter he lost half his church and the church building itself. They were welcomed to use the facilities at Trinity Episcopalian, however, and it has turned out to be a huge boon by mixing fresh blood into the congregration.

I didn't take communion. Instead of holding my hands out to receive the bread, I crossed my arms to receive a blessing. Quite frankly, Baptists don't do communion. We do the Lord's Supper.

My time with the red headed Brigid concluded with lunch and our usual political tiff. She was none too happy to find out that I was planning to apply for a Republican internship this summer. Funny, I'm none too happy that she wants to be a tree hugger.

I had a good time, as I don't get to intelligently discuss religion and politics too often. However, she thinks that the stories I tell in Senate are a waste of time.

Have I ever mentioned how much I hate tree hugging liberals?

Comments

[happydog.livejournal.com]

you know you want her.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

you know it

[wldntulk2knwwho.livejournal.com]

Hmmm I remember crossing my arms at a Catholic mass once, but I was only 7 or 8 so I was just doing what my parents told me.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

Well, I went to a Catholic wedding mass once, but I just stayed in the pews along with the half of the family that was Buddhist.

[purplkat.livejournal.com]

Have I ever mentioned that I'm a tree-hugging liberal who doesn't drink, ever, for any reason, and who also knows and gets along just fine with quite a few conservatives and dates a very religious guy from a very religious family? Politics and religion don't have to be dividing lines unless you make them so. You just accept that the person has different views than you, and if they're the sort of person who's comfortable having a different opinion than a friend about something, you keep the talk respectful. If they're not comfortable with that, you find something else to talk about and never broach the Forbidden Subject.

There's something to be said for the old maxim that politics and religion aren't polite dinner conversation. In fact, I think they're not polite conversation in general, in that so few people can discuss them politely. I actually left a social gathering I was really looking forward to a couple of days ago because my enjoyment of it was entirely spoiled by a couple of guys who insisted on dragging me into some fucked up arguement about whether they should be allowed to do hard drugs -- crack, in the example they were shouting about -- in their home or not. I kid you not. I could hardly believe I was having the discussion. But it would have been fine if they hadn't started screaming at me a couple of minutes in.

Sigh.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

I HATE YOU!!! ^_^

The red headed Brigid doesn't have a lot of tact, as she usually says things like "You're wrong, you'll come to my side in the end" when it's obvious that I'm not going to budge one inch over that particular political matter. When I told her I was considering applying for an internship for Senator Coburn, she took my notepad (that I use to keep notes for my opinion editor job) and wrote "Coburn is a f*cking idiot!" on it.

But I actually appreciate the honesty, cause otherwise we wouldn't be friendly nemeses. ^_^

[purplkat.livejournal.com]

Tsk, tsk.

I think the thing that's made me so balanced about dealing with people as people even though my ideals can be pretty wild and I believe them intensely is that I've actually hung around with politicians. It isn't this way so much anymore, but it used to be that democrats and republicans in politics could get along with each other even if they opposed each other on the floor. There's a woman here in California who used to be (I don't know if she still is) speaker pro tem for the California State Assembly. She's openly gay, very, very gay, and she has friends and admirers among both the democrats and republicans. That doesn't stop the republicans from voting against gay rights bills, but she also doesn't go into their offices and scream at them about it. (Though she does, I understand, use her presence as a way to make them feel very guilty :P)

But people who get into politics these days don't have examples like that, because everything has become so polarized. So instead of getting the encouragement to be mature and respectful, they're encouraged that the political die-hards should be calling each other names and shouting obscenities at each other.

Just another breakdown in the American political system, IMO.

[kmg-365.livejournal.com]

I didn't take communion. Instead of holding my hands out to receive the bread, I crossed my arms to receive a blessing. Quite frankly, Baptists don't do communion. We do the Lord's Supper.

Were it a Catholic church, and not Episcopalian, you wouldn't be allowed to take Communion. :-)

I wonder - are Episcopalian's less strict about that?

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

I believe the Episcopalian church is going through an ecumenical movement towards inclusiveness (which is why they ordain gay ministers).

[kmg-365.livejournal.com]

Some of the Episcopalian churches in our area have "seceeded from the union" over that very issue.

[greybeta.livejournal.com]

The Southern Baptist church "seceded" from the Baptist Church because Southern slaveowners believed God was okay with slavery. I don't think it's a coincidence that Southern Baptists are among the most vocal against gay rights.

[kmg-365.livejournal.com]

Some of the declarations from the Southern Baptist leaders are what caused my wife to eschew Southern Baptist (which is the faith she was raised in, being from the south and all).

Something about a woman's place being in the home, barefoot and pregnant.