Tuesday, December 18, 2012

Coming Out Of The Closet


Tucson Weather Today

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To be ostracized is to be excluded, but it does not have to be apparent. One can be excluded for exhibiting honesty, such as declaring one's self as not believing in a Christian society's majority acceptance of the one true God, or by refusing to go along with that society's moral code even when that mode of behavior is ridiculous, such as adhering to  a current radical sports (basketball, football, baseball) mania.

Recently, I read from an atheist blog, "I don’t think most Christians understand that Jesus found public praying to be hypocritical."  I looked this thought up in the Bible, the King James Bible (Cambridge Ed.)  and found at Matthew 6:5, the verse that declares: "And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites are: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward."

But how many citizens within a population of dedicated Christians does not publicly shun the outspoken atheist who refuses to pray with them in public and themselves decry the scientific proofs propounded against ignorant supernatural theism?

Publicly admitting that one is an atheist is somewhat akin to a gay person coming out of the closet by publicly declaring his or her homosexuality.

There is an excellent article on that subject:

Coming Out Link . . .


The form of ostracism known as social rejection is especially insidious. This occurs when an individual is deliberately excluded from a social relationship or social interaction. A person can be rejected on an individual basis or by an entire group of people. This rejection can be either active, by bullying, teasing, or ridiculing, or passive, by ignoring a person, or giving him or her the "silent treatment."

Rejection by an entire group of individuals can have especially negative effects, particularly when it results in social isolation. The experience of rejection can lead to a number of adverse psychological consequences such as loneliness, low self-esteem, aggression, and depression. It can also lead to feelings of insecurity and a heightened sensitivity to future rejection.

So many of the young shooters involved in tragedies wherein innocent victims are killed have been described as being loners, being social misfits, and one must wonder if this social isolation is due to the shooter's isolationist personality or is perhaps instigated by an ostracizing society itself.

It's a real mystery.

Right?

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WORD FOR TODAY


ostracize
verb
-  to exclude, by general consent, from society, friendship, conversation, privileges, etc.
-  to banish (a person) from his or her native country; expatriate.
-  (in ancient Greece) to banish (a citizen) temporarily by popular vote.
Synonyms
banish - proscribe - exile

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BORN ON THIS DAY IN HISTORY


Brad Pitt

Born Dec. 18, 1963
Age:   48 years old

William Bradley "Brad" Pitt is an American actor and film producer. Pitt has received four Academy Award nominations and five Golden Globe Award nominations, winning one Golden Globe. He has been described as one of the world's most attractive men, a label for which he has received substantial media attention.

Pitt first gained recognition as a cowboy hitchhiker in the road movie Thelma & Louise (1991). His first leading roles in big-budget productions came with A River Runs Through It (1992), Interview with the Vampire (1994), and Legends of the Fall (1994). In 1995, he gave critically acclaimed performances in the crime thriller Seven and the science fiction film 12 Monkeys, the latter earning him a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor and an Academy Award nomination.

Four years later, Pitt starred in the cult hit Fight Club. He then starred in the major international hit Ocean's Eleven (2001) and its sequels, Ocean's Twelve (2004) and Ocean's Thirteen (2007). His greatest commercial successes have been Troy (2004) and Mr. & Mrs. Smith (2005). Pitt received his second and third Academy Award nominations for his leading performances in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008) and Moneyball (2011). In addition, Pitt owns a production company, Plan B Entertainment, whose productions include The Departed (2006), which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Moneyball, which garnered a Best Picture nomination.

Following a high-profile relationship with actress Gwyneth Paltrow, Pitt was married to actress Jennifer Aniston for five years. Pitt lives with actress Angelina Jolie in a relationship that has attracted wide publicity. He and Jolie have six children—Maddox, Pax, Zahara, Shiloh, Knox, and Vivienne. Since beginning his relationship with Jolie, he has become increasingly involved in social issues both in the United States and internationally.



Born Dec 18, 1916
Died: July 2, 1973

Elizabeth Ruth "Betty" Grable was an American actress, dancer, and singer. She was celebrated for having the most beautiful legs in Hollywood. Her iconic bathing suit poster made her the number-one pin-up girl of the World War II era.

Grable appeared in several smash-hit musical films in the 1940s, most notable: Mother Wore Tights in 1947, with frequent co-star Dan Dailey. She came to prominence in 1939 when she signed with Twentieth Century-Fox and signed on to appear opposite Ethel Merman in the Broadway musical Du Barry Was a Lady. But it was not until she was called back to Hollywood to replace Fox's musical queen, Alice Faye, in Down Argentine Way, that she became a household name.

Throughout her career, Grable was typecast in her stereotype-musical film roles, and when her career faltered in the 1950s, she found it hard to reinvent herself as a serious, trained actress. In 1958 she appeared as herself on The Lucy-Desi Comedy Hour with then husband Harry James in an episode entitled "Lucy Wins A Racehorse".




Born: Dec 18, 1878
Died:  Mar. 5, 1953

Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was the Premier of the Soviet Union from 6 May 1941 until his death.




Born Dec. 18, 1886
Died: July 17, 1961

Tyrus Raymond "Ty" Cobb, nicknamed "The Georgia Peach," was an American Major League Baseball outfielder. He was born in Narrows, Georgia. Cobb spent 22 seasons with the Detroit Tigers, the last six as the team's player-manager, and finished his career with the Philadelphia Athletics. In 1936, Cobb received the most votes of any player on the inaugural Baseball Hall of Fame ballot, receiving 222 out of a possible 226 votes.


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Closets are for clothes.
--Bumper Sticker


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