Facebook statuses (great ones!)

 (In response to a post comparing America to Sodom and Gomorrah) Um... hellooooooooo, genocide happens, slavery happens, rape happens, female genital mutilation happens, murder happens, government oppression happens, and depending on where you live, those things may remain legal and left alone. Was Germany destroyed by God because of the Holocaust? Were we destroyed by God because we enslaved African Americans? Was the Middle East destroyed by God because of conflict and terrorism? Was Africa destroyed by God because of female genital mutilation? Was North Korea destroyed by God because their government is corrupt? Heck, if you want to get into things that don't violate the Non-Aggression Principle, was Nevada destroyed by God because gambling and prostitution are legal there? Was Ireland destroyed by God because heavy drinking is a part of their culture? Of course not. So why do you think legalized gay marriage is gonna kill us all? No offense, dude, but you're crazy, and this is coming from someone who is 99.9999% sure the government is conspiring against us (or is going to), and the vast majority of people think I'm insane when I say that. Let's also consider that rape and other horrible things happened in Sodom and Gomorrah. I can think of a trillion things that may lead to an apocalypse, and legalized gay marriage is not one of them. Also, if you want to talk about the Bible, Ecclesiastes 7:10 reads, "Say not thou, What is the cause that the former days were better than these? for thou dost not enquire wisely concerning this." Roughly translated, that means if you're wishing for the "good old days," you're not thinking about this critically. Just saying.
Still, comparing it to Sodom and Gomorrah is kinda dumb. But even if gay marriage isn't recognized by the state, people are still gonna be in same-sex relationships, and unless we start to enforce sodomy laws again, the state's not going to do anything about it. There is certainly a disintegration of the family unit in America today, but that's because parents are neglecting their children, making irresponsible decisions, and even killing them before they're born. It's because people are selfishly leaving their partners as soon as children come into the picture, it's because spousal abuse is more common than we like to think. All these things involve the loss or abuse of another human being. Loving gay relationships don't. Even if same-sex relationships are sinful, it's not the disintegration of the family unit you speak of. Different, certainly, but not necessarily horrible. And aren't all families different? It's not like there's a Mary in every family, or a [name of cousin-in-law] in every family. Some families have no children, some families have two, and some have eleven. Some families have a mom and a dad, some have just a mom, some have just a dad, some have grandparents living in the home, and yes, some have same-sex parents. If anything, the discrimination against same-sex couples may contribute to the disintegration of the family. I mean, how would you like it if you're living with your family, you all love each other, and then some people decide your family doesn't fit their minimum standards of normal and you don't receive the same treatment as the families that are considered "normal?" What about the LGBT+ youth who are abused or disowned? I'm not accusing you of supporting the latter, but it is a result of discrimination. Focusing too much on hating the sin causes people to hate the sinner as well, even if their mantra is "love the sinner, hate the sin." God's the best judge of choosing the consequences of sin, especially for sins that don't violate the Non-Aggression Principle. There is no reason for us to legislate this kind of morality if no one is being hurt. He will decide who deserves what, and unlike our government, He knows everything. I don't know everything about God, but I do know that He is not going to damn the righteous to hell because of the wicked who surround them. Remember the second Article of Faith? We're not going to be punished for Adam's transgression, or anyone else's. Even if there is a possibility of an apocalypse, there is no reason to take away another person's freedom if they are harming no one else. What's next? Are we going to get rid of the domestic partnership status or civil unions because they're not actually marriage? Please.

To those who are calling the Supreme Court's decision "sad and wrong" or acting like it's the worst thing ever:
The world is not going to end because of gay marriage!* Sure, it's one thing to believe it's a sin, but by that logic, it would be "sad and wrong" that the government offers benefits to couples who are just living together. What's "sad and wrong" is that people are so upset that their personal beliefs are not legally affecting others. I personally plan on abstaining from alcoholic beverages even after I'm 21, but I don't think it's "sad and wrong" that non-destructive recreational drinking is legal.
*Unless, of course, there's a zombie apocalypse and there are gay, married zombie couples, but the problem is that they're working together to kill us, not that they're gay.

Problems that only a teenager with my ideological views would understand: 1. Having a political discussion with other high school students, and you're the only libertarian in the room. 80% of the students are extremely liberal, 10% are conservative, and the rest go for a more moderate stance, usually because they have absolutely no clue what's going on, so they just copy what intelligent-sounding people say. 2. Having to explain that not all pro-lifers fit the conservative Christian mold, and they can be feminists, liberals, libertarians, moderates, LGBT+, atheists, agnostics, nonreligious, or otherwise non-Christian... and no one gets it. 3. Constantly speaking out against misogyny, expressing discontent with organized religion, criticizing social conservatism... and being labeled as a misogynistic conservative religious fanatic when people find out you're pro-life. 4. Understanding privilege and social justice issues while being frustrated with the extremes of political correctness. 5. Being passionate about women's rights, but not identifying with the mainstream feminist movement because their priorities are different. For example, ending FGM is a higher priority than having access to birth control. 6. All your religious conservative friends assume you're extremely liberal because you care about social justice (since when did being a decent person automatically determine your political views?). 7. Having to explain that thinking something should be legal is not the same as supporting it morally, and that thinking something is immoral is not the same as thinking it should be illegal. 8. Having to explain that you're a laissez-faire capitalist, not because you think the free market is perfect, but because you highly doubt the government can do any better. 9. Being accused of hating the poor when you express support for fiscally conservative policies, and then being accused of promoting socialism when you suggest that (gasp) the free market isn't perfect! 10. Having mixed feelings regarding sexual stuff. You understand the negative results of prudery and lack of understanding regarding that stuff, but reviewing information about sexual health in school is practically torture ("why are we still discussing the awkward stuff that everyone who's not living under a rock should know by now?"). 11. Criticizing the romanticized abuse in Fifty Shades of Grey, and then having to clarify that you're not using that as shorthand for you-know-what. 12. Criticizing Sharia Law and then being accused of Islamophobia. 13. Dealing with hypocrites. 14. Having no idea who you're going to vote for in the 2016 presidential election because all of them have major problems. 15. Being called an idealist just because you don't want to be a terrible person. For example, when I express opposition to war. Look, I'm not saying we shouldn't do anything. I'm just saying we should try a lot harder to avoid killing innocent people. 16. Having mixed feelings during national holidays. You admire the bravery of those who have risked their lives to save others, but you know so much about the horrors or war and the freedoms taken away in the name of fighting the enemy that you don't want to sound like you're blindly supporting every military-related thing there is. On Independence Day, you try to convince yourself that you're celebrating the ideals of freedom and not agreeing with everything your country is doing. 17. You question everything. Including things that most people think would be blasphemous to question. For the record, when I make posts about how there are many worse things in the world (in terms of sexism, racism, etc), I am not saying we shouldn't be critical of things that happen in our day-to-day lives. For example, I think it's good to criticize rape culture, so long as it is kept in mind that rape culture does not cause rape, but causes insensitivity towards the issue. I think it's good to avoid ableist language, so long as it is kept in mind that ableism is much more than the language we use. Heck, it's fine to be upset that you lost your car keys, so long as you don't start to believe it's worse than it being illegal for women to drive in Saudi Arabia. Small problems aren't necessarily stupid problems, and I know we're all guilty of blowing things out of proportion, but it's best to keep things in perspective.   I don't care how "offensive" white liberals think it is: I will wear clothing inspired by Dia de los Muertos, time periods before the civil rights movement, and Japanese street fashion all I want. Cultural appropriation my behind. It's not like I'm making fun of these cultures or disrespecting people of other races, and for what it's worth, most non-white people are not as easily offended as you are, and they're probably sick of being patronized. Besides, culture is fluid, so maybe you should stop using fireworks, perfume, paper, umbrellas, kites, cards, chess sets, buttons, rulers, shampoo, cotton clothing, the decimal system, the quadratic formula, zero, flush toilets, speech, religion, laws, art, rock music, trigonometry, geometry, guitars, coffee, and many other things you use in your daily life if they do not come from your culture. I understand why it's insensitive to wear religious symbols and clothing when you are not of that religion, I think it's bad when people are taking all the credit for something they didn't invent, and I definitely think it's bad to pretend you're of another race, but those are totally reasonable requests to make. I am an individual, not a culture, and frankly, we'd be pretty boring if cultures never interacted with each other. Also, for those of you who are thinking "what you just described isn't cultural appropriation..." well, good for you, you actually get it. And for those of you who are saying "you're white, so you shouldn't have an opinion on this matter..." well, by that logic, if you're white, neither should you. I know I don't face the same systematic oppression because of my race, but I'm sick of walking on eggshells because other white people are or have been racist. I've never been one to believe in original sin, even if the wrongdoing of my ancestors has impacted how I view the world. I understand that my request seems silly because of all the horrible things that happen to people in the world, and in the grand scheme of things, it's very minor, but you're also blowing things waaaayyyyy out of proportion. If I truly am being racist (by acting as if my race is superior to all others, using racist stereotypes, viewing races collectively rather than as individuals, ignoring racist violence as an issue, etc), I am sorry, and please know that is not my intention. I know I'm pretty oblivious when it comes to racial justice issues because I have never had to face them and I'm not close to anyone who has had to, but from what I do know, there are things going on in the world that are a million times worse than what you complain about. Just let me be, so long as I don't violate the natural rights of others. My thoughts on the Supreme Court decision. Seriously, ever heard of freedom? Legislated morality that is not based on the Non-Aggression Principle is stupid. If a gay or lesbian couple wants to get married, that's their right. If you don't want to have anything to do with it, that's your right. I have yet to find out exactly what the Supreme Court said about religious freedom. If they pretty much decided that religious people should be forced to support gay marriages in any way, that's a reasonable thing to be concerned about. But if you want to legally force your personal beliefs on people who just want to get married and have the same legal status as heterosexual couples, that's wrong. If I wanted to ban everything I didn't like, I'd ban cheesy romantic movies, pretty much all of today's popular music (notably including Katy Perry's "Roar"), canned tuna, use of the word "bae", baseball, Abercrombie & Fitch, most trendy clothing, stupidity, walruses, tarantulas, Valentine's Day, public displays of affection, obsessing over football, boring books, and many other things. I don't want any of those things to be banned, and I will protest if the government tries to ban them. Choose your battles wisely. Okay, why is it that I have to be offensive to support freedom, and if I'm not, I'm automatically some politically correct liberal who has no sense of humor and relies too much on emotion? And why is it that I have to give up my sense of humor and unpopular opinions in order to be considered a decent person among liberals? Can people just realize that you can be a good person without being insufferable about it? On one end of the spectrum, there are people who want to force their weird ideas of morality on others and are unsympathetic towards rape victims ("you were asking for it, so stop whining and suffer the consequences because this is God's way of punishing you for being a slut and tempting men who have no control over themselves"). On the other end, there are people who are so worried about what others think that they're always trying to censor anything that may have even the slightest chance of offending an underrepresented group? Before you ask, no, this is not going in the "libertarianism is better because _____" direction. In fact, many libertarians, while they do not want to legislate morality, will make a lot of offensive statements just to prove they're not obsessed with the opinions of others. What I have described certainly is not true for all conservatives, liberals, and libertarians, but it is something I have noticed, and frankly, it's pretty annoying. Sure, everyone has the right to state their opinions (even if they're offensive or ridiculous), but I also have the right to say that yes, it is possible to have freedom of speech without being a jerk about it. Besides, if people weren't allowed to state unpopular opinions, nothing would change for the better. Freedom brings opportunity for change. Censorship is only beneficial to those in control, even if they're totally wrong about everything. I hate it when "intersectional" feminists completely overlook issues like forced marriage, FGM, and governments that torture rape victims due to strict, unjust laws about chastity, and then they whine about there being a war on women because they can't legally have an elective abortion after 20 weeks, or because the federal government isn't stealing money from others to pay for abortions (seriously, do you realize how much that violates a person's freedom of conscience? And rights to their own property?). And this isn't about pro-life versus pro-choice; this is about checking your priorities. And how about taking your own advice by checking your effing privilege!! Now, don't get me wrong, there are some perfectly valid complaints that mainstream feminists make. I hate how sexual violence is tolerated and even romanticized by society. So... opposing legislated morality makes me a heathen or a libertine or whatnot? I hate people.