February 14, 2002 // 9:40 a.m. // Discrimination
I thought I was going to be able to get into my own problems, but I'm just not ready yet. While everything I say here is the truth, it isn't always the whole truth and much of it doesn't get said at all. We all have those experiences that are hard to talk about in our journals/diaries, and as I sit here composing this entry, I can think of a whole list of them. With the Olympics here, the world has its eye on our city, our state and many people's beliefs are seen as out of date or old-fashioned by outsiders. To add to this, Denver Post columnist Woody Paige wrote a scathing opinionated article Tuesday (which was removed from the Denver Post website less than 24 hours after being posted) that touched on the Mormon religion and various stereotypes such as how much everyone loves Jell-O. I'm just as guilty of this as anyone is. I've made derogatory remarks about the LDS beliefs, because even though the religion makes up the majority of the state's population, it has now been established that the entire state thinks and believes in the same thing. I'm reminded of the first few episodes of The Real World when it was in New Orleans (a city Mr. Paige also rips into. Doesn't he like anywhere but Colorado?) where Julie, of LDS faith, was asked if she was married, if she drinks caffeine or if she had a big family because of her religion. Those are just three of the stereotypes brought on by the church, which sadly is one of the reasons the religion is such an easy target and part of why much resentment is aimed toward the church and its members. In fact, on a trip to Denver 8 years ago, when we were asked where we were from and said Utah, the response to us was, "are you Mormon?" Normally this would have been no big deal, but it was the demeaning tone that came with it that angered us. A few years ago, my mom called a corporation headquartered in Houston, and when she said she was calling from Utah, the man on the other end of the line yelled out clearly that "he had a Mormon on the line from Utah." One thing I observe on a regular basis is everything I see on TV is not our city. I realize that in New York, or Las Vegas or even Phoenix for that matter, you're likely to see hundreds if not thousands of people walking around the city at midnight. Until this week, you may only see a half dozen people on any block at that time. Another thing I observe is the values system. It's not too different from any other religion out there, but it's the few "quirky" things about Mormonism that makes it stand out. I'm reminded of hearing a girl two years ago say while crying that it pains her to hear what she believes in so deeply always being put down, and while the religion may not be right for everyone, it's right for her and would be whether she lived in Utah or not. Even those like me not of the church who were taught that smoking, drinking and pre-marital sex among other things were wrong are suddenly labeled as Mormon's before given a chance to explain otherwise. I've lost the train of thought and hypothesis I had at the beginning of the article, which happens quite often as those of you who read on a regular basis know. I guess I'd just like to re-emphasize that stereotypes aren't fun, I'm going to continue to try my hardest not to stereotype, and will stay tolerant when stereotyped myself. After all, some of us are sick of Jell-O. Jason Last time on Apexsensatin : Now on Apex : Apex Archives : Next time on ApexsensatinI read this entry on Mal's diary, and not only did it make me think about everything I've joked about, but everything people have joked about with me.