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June 05, 2001
What in the hell is wrong with people?
I'm sick of people in my family being so petty. I just want to smack them in the face, and tell them to grow up.
For some reason, it always tends to surprise my mom when I say I'm not Catholic. She doesn't quite grasp the fact that, when I say I'm not Catholic, it means I don't believe in the religion and therefore, shouldn't be going to the Catholic church. I've made this announcement more than once, and so has my older sister. In fact, my older sister and my older brother are the ones my mom blames for "ruining" me even though they had absolutely nothing to do with my disdain for Catholicism (if anything, it was the "you must go to church and feel guilty about everything even when you do nothing wrong" that put the bad taste in my mouth, but I digress).
Now, with that said, I also mentioned my sister as not being particularily fond of the Catholic religion as well. She's of a Christian belief, but she doesn't actually give it any particular denominational label except "I know what I believe in, and I don't need anybody to tell me how I should or shouldn't think." Yes, I applaud that because I'm the exact same way where nobody has the right to tell me how I should believe in anything, just as I have none in telling any other person. In regards to this, she also refuses to force any kind of religious structure on her children, but gives them the option to persue it (they're seven and under). This is where the problems only begin.
She recently had another baby (which makes four including her step daughter) which she does want to get baptized. She, however, doesn't want to have him baptized as a Catholic, but as a Lutheran because of her personal qualms with Catholicism. This fact alone has recently become cause for war in my mom's eyes.
My mom now refuses to go to my nephew's baptism and party tomorrow JUST BECAUSE he's being baptized Lutheran and not Catholic. She feels that my sister is blatantly slapping her in the face by doing this. She also is pissed off because she thinks my sister is "converting" her kids to the Lutheran faith. I love my mom and all, but god damn, GET OVER IT. She's willing to destroy her relationship with her own daughter and refuse to take part in the baptism of her baby nephew because of this. I honestly can't believe how she can be so petty. When she complained about it to my sister, my sister's only statement was "be happy I'm getting him baptized at all." It's shit like this that makes me infinitely glad that I don't participate in any of it. If being Catholic meant I had to act like an ass for something stupid, insignificant, and frankly not my decision, then I'm certainly glad I dropped the religion many many years ago. My sister even told me that I don't have to go to the baptism itself because she knows how I feel about Christianity, but she wants me at the party afterwards. I think that if even I can set aside my differences and support my sister and my nephew, my mom should easily be able to, as well.
Of course, this does make me think. If and when I decide I want to get married, I absolutely refuse to have it done in a Catholic church or under its guidelines. I assume this means my parents won't be coming to my wedding, either as they'll see it as me just "slapping (them) in the face." Excuse me, but six months of classes, aptitude tests, begging for permission, promising to subject my kids (if I were to have any) to Catholicism, and all of their other money-making rituals Added to that, my particular ill feelings towards it, as well as the fact that my boyfriend (if we were the ones to marry) is Agnostic (raised Episcopalian (sp?)) and I have a pretty good case against being married Catholic which doesn't even involve my parents. Oh well, at least Elvis at the Happy Elvis Chapel-O-Luvin' in Las Vegas isn't discriminatory. You can always count on Elvis to be there when nobody else will...uh-huhuh
Posted by ladyx at June 5, 2001 12:56 AM
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