Traditional Marriage

Boy meets girl. Boy and girl exchange pheromones which trigger the brain the release endorphins. Despite this feeling of "love", boy and girl resist the urge to copulate until the elaborate cultural ceremony attended by boy's family, girl's family, anyone who ever knew boy and girl while growing up, business associates of boy's parents and girl's parents, and their dates. A religious leader decrees that now, in the eyes of their god, it is permissible for boy and girl to copulate. Boy and girl mate, have 2.5 offspring, and live happily ever after.

This seems to be considered the "traditional" definition of marriage. It is what the religious right believes should be the standard for all marriages. Of course, this is anything but traditional. Love and marriage have only gone together for the last century. Prior to that the traditional definition of marriage would go something like this:

Father meets man. Man pays bride-price/father pays dowry. Man gets daughter. Father and man become business partners while daughter pops out sons. Much simpler.

Perhaps we should return to traditional marriages, only with modern twists. Say, both families have to write out business proposals on the nature of transaction. Instead of using goats or cattle for bride-price/dowry we can use mini vans or gift cards from Wal Mart. All the documentation would have to be approved by a marriage broker, lawyers, accountants, and clergy, signed and presented in triplicate to the matrimonial judge. Please allow six to ten weeks for marriage license delivery.

I think same-sex couples would be thrilled to be exempt from "traditional" marriage.

Accepted Racism

This weekend, I was required to listen to a small group of people discuss the "indian problem." How natives are naturally more prone to having social problems, how the government coddles them, how it is their own fault that they are poor and live on welfare. Normally I speak up and point out the blatant racism in their statements. However, this time it was family, so to keep the peace I held my tongue and prayed that they don't talk this way in front of impressionable children. Living in Saskatoon, I am exposed to racism against natives almost every day. The sad thing is, most people don't even realize they are racist. If you were to ask them about blacks, Asians, Hispanics, or other groups, they would assure you that these groups are equal to whites, and that they are certainly not racist. Natives are another story.

For all those that believe that natives should just get over the injustices done to them, that they should overcome the constant poverty and disfunction using sheer will, then may I suggest an experiment. Have twins, one boy and one girl. For sixteen years, tell the girls she's a whore and a slut, and tell the boy he's useless and lazy and stupid, all the while beating them and denying them access to amenities. After sixteen years, suddenly apologize, provide them with an allowance, but still verbally degrade them behind their backs. After two more years, when they are eighteen, blame them for being disfunctional and unable to successfully integrate into society. They should emerge from this as well rounded adults, right?

Whew, I feel a little better after venting. Until I think about how my thoughts and opinions are drowned out by the overwhelming racist attitude of this city. Then I just feel sad.