These idiots

If you are familiar with the Westboro Baptist Church, then you probably know what it's like to both laugh and cry at them simultaneously.

Laugh because they are so ridiculous that they couldn't be real.

Cry because they actually are real.

I recently saw this movie called Fall From Grace, which centres around the Westboro Baptist Church. And it gave me so many angry feelings that I just have to vent a little but about this. The documentary is worth a watch. It in no way supports the views of this church, but exposes it for what it is, with opinions from other religious leaders, theologists as well as those who have left the church.

In case you do not already know, the Westboro Baptist Church are a pro-hate, anti-gay, anti-American, anger-inducing congregation based in Topeka, Kansas who have no other skills than that of holding up signs in the middle of the road while screeching incoherently.

Who says flags can't be turned into aprons? This is what you call thinking outside the box.

This old grandma has such style.

Two hands? SIX SIGNS. That's how well they can multi-task.

According to this church, your way into heaven is purely based on how well you can picket, yell at and hate people.

Because clearly, that is what the Bible says. 

Oh gee whiz, I guess I got it wrong the first time around and Westboro Baptist members really know where it's at.

I don't know anymore, but as messed up and corrupted as organized religions like Christianity can be, I don't think the source of it ever said to be annoying, ignorant, bullying, disrespectful, unsympathetic, judgmental assholes. Don't take my word for it, I am not a theologist, but I can pretty much guarantee that Jesus' teachings did not advocate for any of that BS.

It's gotten to the point where I am really convinced that this Westboro group are a social experiment, something that a small group decided to start in order to test the first amendment, investigate society's tolerance for hatred, challenge us to define our own values and our own need for love and compassion as human beings.

I'd like to think that they are a social experiment, simply because I don't want to believe that there are people in the world who are made up of this much stupid.

But then again, maybe I am ignorant in that I hold human beings to too high standards, seeing as we really are capable of failing one another in the most ridiculous of ways. 

What seems incredibly ironic is that a lot of the hatred and destruction that goes on in this world comes from those who kill in the name of some kind of god, as if this justifies the actions, as if dropping the god-reason somehow excuses us from being proper human beings and using our common sense. We say that God is love and love is God and then we condemn and hurt others and then say that we do it out of love.

Which makes absolutely no bloody sense to me, I am sorry. If you shout love and do the complete opposite, I am going to call you a bloody hypocrite.

The first amendment makes what these guys are doing perfectly legal, which is unfortunate. What they are doing  -- picketing events such as funerals, gay pride parades, celebrating tragedies involving the deaths of others, as well as preaching the damnation of all those who do not follow their interpretations of the Bible, is simply nothing but hate speech. Hate speech is not exactly defined and differentiated in the first amendment in the United States in the same way that it is in Canada, and many people, including Westboro, benefit from this.

Let me just say that I think the first amendment is a valuable right. Because just as it allows for the Westboro Baptist Church to act like total morons, it gives us the right to challenge their moronic actions and spit in the faces (not literally) of what they believe in. It raises great discussion on the value of freedom of speech, on the value of learning from others (even those who are douchebags) and the value of really knowing what we believe in and standing up for it. 

Like this kid:

To be quite honest, I think that Westboro are doing it all wrong. If they want to get people to believe what they believe, do they really think that picketing funerals and earning the reputation of most hateful group in America really the way to go about it? I mean, I'm speaking from a detached, logical view here. If you want to gather followers, wouldn't it be a better idea to be more welcoming, more friendly? Wouldn't you use gentler language, wouldn't you pick a better font for your signs? Wouldn't you try to make yourself a little more alluring? Wouldn't you take all the money you have as a church and use it to feed the poor? Wouldn't you try to be a little more loveable?

Then again, what am I saying, they're advocating for anything but love. They represent hate and everything that is ugly in this world, and they physically and verbally embody it perfectly.

Do everything in love. That is all.

How we met and the sparks flew instantly.

G'day, mates!

I've noticed lately that there is a lot of really negative press going on out there pertaining to this girl:

Now, I don't really have anything against Taylor Swift. Sometimes, I find it really creepy the way she writes songs about her exes and drops really obvious hints as to which ex the song is about (ex. Dear John was probably not about John Mayer. Nope). And sometimes, I feel that she victimizes herself to the point where you become convinced that that is just part of her image, the way she markets herself, and the way she sells her music. Which is fine. She is a business woman and a musician, after all. She knows her audience, she knows her persona, and she plays with it the best way that she can. But at the end of the day, I have to admit that I do enjoy her music and although she isn't the best singer in the world, her songwriting skills are quite good, and I do hope that she continues writing if not for herself then for different artists for the rest of her professional career. 

Sometimes though, I feel that the media take things a little too far when it comes to focusing on her private life, calling her all the things we tell ourselves not to call women, and blaming her for things like breaking up One Direction. Which, let's be honest, is never going to happen.

This is true love.

Now, I understand that much of Taylor Swift's draw is the men that she dates and the songs that she ends up writing about them. Many people look to her personal life to make assumptions about her music, and many people look to her music to make assumptions about her personal life. What I find really surprising though is that despite our obsession with Taylor Swift's personal life, it seems like most of this lies in her relationships with men, and not so much her relationships with women, or rather, her life outside the Jake Gyllenhaals and Harry Styles and teenage Kennedys and what not. Although the mainstream media see her as this girl that's desperate for love and a serial dater, I think it's important to be aware of how it is that we criticize the things that Taylor Swift does. Her image and the way that she has been judged her entire career (for things other than her music) is something that I feel would be a very interesting study for those of us who pay attention to women in music. Her status as somewhat of a gay icon in queer girl culture is also something that I find intriguing. She isn't Lady Gaga or Nicky Minaj or Ke$ha in terms of how you normally view female musicians who are also gay icons, and her aura comes mostly from the fact that queer women view her as being ambiguous. While the whole world thinks that Taylor Swift is nothing but her personal life, many of us are convinced that her personal life as it truly is is completely different than what is put on gossip magazines and talked about on entertainment shows. There's still a mystery to her that makes her seem distant and unknown. I don't mean to say that Taylor Swift is lesbian or bisexual or asexual, like a lot of queer women are hoping/thinking. Frankly, Taylor Swift can be anyone she wants and she doesn't have to outright say what or which. But for the sake of combatting the press' obsession with her love life with men, I'm going to be a total anarchist dick right now and focus on Taylor Swift's relationship with women. Taylor Swift is a gay icon for me as well as many other women, and if you're wondering why, I will explain in a picture essay why:

THE TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS OF TAYLOR SWIFT'S POSSIBLE NON-HETEROSEXUALITY:

an essay in photographs

Taylor Swift with Emma Stone.

Taylor Swift wears green to go with Emma Stone's red hair. This was not done by accident.

Trying to be discrete. But we all know what's going on. Yes, we do.

                                             

 Girls who buy candy together, do, uh, other things together, buy candy together.

GIRL SANDWICH!! Taylor Swift does not look surprised. Because she does this all the time.

I can't be the only one who thinks they purposefully try to complement one another in their clothes.

This is so cute I just can't. If I was that close to Emma Stone, I'd be doing exactly what Taylor Swift is trying to do right now. I mean, SCREW THAT TEEN CHOICE AWARD, EMMA STONE IS RIGHT THERE AND SHE IS BEAUTIFUL.

 Taylor Swift with Hayley Williams.

Taylor Swift is a total upgrade from New Found Glory's Chad Gilbert. Hayley thinks so too.

Paramore's Jeremy Davis clearly approves of this relationship. 

Taylor Swift doesn't care if you're a foot shorter than she is. She loves you anyway.

Taylor Swift with Dianna Agron.

You know you love a girl when you start dressing like her. 

They made matching floral crowns as they declared their love for one another. 

Taylor Swift with Selena Gomez.

 Menchie's is a way to a girl's heart. And Taylor Swift knows it.

Taylor Swift models the proper way of charming women. Justin Bieber takes notes.

Taylor Swift wearing stripes, Selena Gomez wearing flannel. You know what that means? TOTALLY STRAIGHT. 

Selena Gomez can't believe her luck.

Taylor Swift with various other women.

 Taylor Swift smirking at the fact that she's tricked everyone in this world into thinking she is straight.

Some quiet time with Emma Roberts behind a trailer. 

For Jennifer Lawrence, Taylor Swift beats getting a golden man statue.

 

Taylor Swift showing the world how's it's done.

 Taylor Swift in red. Julianne Hough is hoping she dances with her later on in the evening.

Taylor Swift consoling a very flustered Lena Dunham. It's not her fault all the girls are obsessed with her. 

 Taylor Swift wearing Selena Gomez's plaid shirt while out with another girl. This player.

 Breaking even Michelle Obama's heart.

Taylor Swift's engagement photos will probably look exactly like this. 

Taylor Swift going home with Katy Perry. Crushing the dreams of all the boys in the process. 

Rolling around in paint with girls. Just another day in the life of Taylor Swift. 

Where has all the chivalry gone? To Taylor Swift, apparently.

 They're all feeling 22. Amongst other things.

Hey girl, if you marry me, all of this will be yours.

Leonardo DiCaprio only wishes he could pick up blond supermodels the way Taylor Swift does.

Taylor Swift has no idea where these women came from. She's not complaining.

I think this picture speaks for itself. 

Also, as an aside, Taylor Swift's style, at least in recent times, is pretty femme queer if you ask me:

And her new music video, which was just released today, is totally gay in my opinion:

That is all. If you swooned at all during this post, Taylor Swift says you're welcome.

 Dang it. Now I want Menchie's.

No but seriously though, I think Taylor Swift is a good person who makes decent music and is more self-aware than we make her out to be. She seems to really appreciate her fans and she's super cute around her friends. Love her or hate her, she's probably not much different from the rest of us. I honestly think that a lot of what defines her public image, from her dating life to her queer symbol status, comes from how we interpret our own personal lives through her music. And that's the mark of a smart artist, I think.

P.S. I'm re-reading this post and I've come to realize that it probably seems ridiculous and does not have a real point to it. I was on a caffeine high when I was writing this though, so forgive its illiterate nature. I think I was trying to make it funny and somewhat of a serious discussion at the same time, which made it fall a bit flat.