I've not seen any of the movies, but just the images all over the stores have disturbed me. Since I'm not at all interested in the glamour of it all, I will not watch the movies, but I am interested in you. I think your life is valuable, and I'm interested in where you are coming from ...and where this is all taking you.
That being said, I Googled for a synopsis. It gave me more insight into the wrong that I strongly felt that was there. I also reminded me of a time I was at a friend's house. Speaking of fangs, we usually think of snakes, dogs, and large cats ...and of course, some of you think of vampires. I am going to relay a short story about a cuddly little house pet. This cat was loved very much, especially by the youngest in the family, a sweet little girl. I was visiting the family when the little girl came crying to her Mom, that something was wrong with her cat ...it wasn't acting right. We all went to the cat to observe. They all stood back at a distance while I approached the cat for a closer look. The cat tried to bite me, and I jumped back quickly, stating, "Don't go near the cat, there is something definitely wrong with it!" The little girl was moved by a sense of loyalty that she felt the cat had towards her. She extended her affections once more, to pet her cat. The result was that the cat bit her finger, and would not let go. She could not get the cat's fangs off her finger, and Mom could not help her either. I was eventually able to pry the cat's fangs off her finger, and she ran crying to her bedroom.
That was an innocent experience where there was a trusting relationship between a little girl and her pet cat. Many of us know of pet owners who have dogs that have caused harm to others, but there is a sense of security in the fact that they are viewed as protection for the owner of the pet. Let's take those human emotions a bit further, and let's look at gangs. Gangs are usually looked at as groups of people joined together in numbers that make them feel safe or not threatened, but that is only possible because they do appear as a threat to others ...otherwise, there would be no safety unless the threats of one group balanced the threat of another. Having worked in the prison, I saw the gang mentality, where friendships were formed by those who didn't want to be on the receiving end of aggressions, so joined the fray. And the newcomers were the ones who usually had to prove themselves and take most of the risk.
Now, this is not just in prisons, or within gangs and more organized crime within large inner cities. Many of us experienced small versions of intimidation within our neighborhoods and schools, especially while growing up. I've seen unfair treatment and mild forms of professional bullying even within the workplace. But whether it is just mild harassment, or more outward bullying ...it is all wrong. How much more wrong is it when there are actual cases of aggression or violence?
So, the movie synopsis showed that there existed much violence ...and to credit the girl involved in that movie, she did attempt to distance herself at some point from it. We should all attempt to distance ourselves from activity that hurts others, even if we feel we are exempt from it being directed at us. In reading the synopsis of the movie, I did think the girl used some sense in trying to run away. But the others would not let her just walk away, or run. The one who got her into it in the first place came to her rescue, to defend her.
Now, isn't this what usually happens? We shouldn't get into it in the first place. It is nothing like the innocent little girl and her cat ...pets are nice. We should actually have pets, instead of those acquaintances we may refer to as 'pets'.
But, that is not where I am going with this. I am going to try to focus on the all too common way of thinking that considers how something benefits us, irregardless of how it may affect others. Many things in life appear to be attractive and intriguing. But if we get drawn into them by mere emotion, and feel-good experience ...then it is very hard to run away. We may accept being defended by the very ideology that has entered us into the wrong in the first place. What we thought benefited us, did not ...and we may eventually end up joining the fray of decay that defends it.
Let me take you to a slightly different thought. It was a Twilight Zone episode that I saw years ago. I don't know it some of you ever saw the Twilight zone ...there are so many re-makes, I don't know if this one has any, but I'm talking about the originals (I think) ...okay, I'll try to grasp where I'm coming from, as we used to refer to anyone who we thought was 'really' out there, as being in the twilight zone. Let me get to the episode:
An adult single lady was able to go back in time. She decided to do something extremely humanitarian. We all want to be able to change our world at some point, but hindsight is much easier than trying to figure what may be the right thing to do for the present. She decided that she wanted to prevent something horrific that had happened in the past, so she chose to be the nanny for the Hitler family. And though her resolve was quite intense, she had a very difficult time looking into the crib at little baby, Adolf, and viewing him in a way any different than any other precious little baby. She spent weeks caring for the sweet little baby, and mulling over her thoughts. Then one day, overwhelmed by the thought of what he'd grow up and do one day, she took a pillow and smothered the child ...it would appear only as crib death.
What happened next? The father was in agony, having lost his son ...and went wailing out in the streets. He came upon a frenzied lady, covered with blood and screaming for whatever reason she was completely freaking-out. She had a baby in her arms, and tossed the baby in an alley, before screaming away down the street. He heard the baby cry, and thought of his own torment. He picked up the baby boy, cuddling him in his arms, "It will be okay, Adolf."
Now, let's not miss the point. I think the story shows that we can attempt to do something horrifically wrong, in attempt to try to fix something, but the end does not justify the means ...and in this case it did not even change the end story. I'm sure the story did not intend to point out how a baby from a crazed lady, turned out to be a crazed man in adulthood. I really believe this would be crazy thinking. But there have been documented practices that have birthed crazy ideologies that have done very similar things, perhaps worse. And it goes back to the selfishness that resides in each of us, that if left unchecked and allowed to grow, becomes selfishness and self-centeredness to an evil degree.
We should never let sin dominate our landscape. We can all be forgiven ...yet, let us be clear about how we can best go about it. We don't escape sin by attempting to defend it, or joining the comfort of numbers of others who have also joined in the sin, and attempt to convince you it is not sin.
Liverpool Care Pathway, in the UK, have been providing "death pathways" for infants who have been born, but are somehow deemed undesirable. It also falls in line with an article a while back in the Medical Journal of Ethics that I believe falls in line with outright evil ...stating that if the mom feels she did not realize beforehand how much time and effort goes into caring for her child, and it is beginning to cause her some stress, she should be able to terminate the life of her child. There is much evil in the world, but the worse of it is that which is simply dismissed, because it is deemed as being acceptable.
