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Last Updated: Sunday, 12 May 2013 21:57

My previous content about Men in Skirts and why I wear skirts has been moved to www.theskirtedman.eu with effect from 28th April 2013. Click here or on the link under the Menu 'Men in Skirts' which can be found on the left hand side.

The Crowd Say I'm Not Normal.

What is normal? Who is normal? Am I or are you? It is simply ones perception, a belief, view point, opinion, and most humans are very adapted at blindly following without question what a group or an individual who holds a perceived status, therefore what s/he says has got to be true - why not?

Well I'm one of the minority of humans that looks into matters, thinks and rationalises about what I hear and do not do for myself but deny others the same or similar requests.

Below are some quotes that I have come across. I have specified the author and source. They are quotes that I can see much logic in and fully appreciate and endorse.

The following 5 quotes are from the book: 'Bloodline of the Holy Grail: The Hidden Lineage of Jesus Revealed' by Lauence Gardner.

"...based on the notion of the 'survival of the fittest'. Today it is plain that wealth, rather than health, is a major stepping-stone towards being socially fit, whilst another criterion is obedience to the law.

Above such considerations, however, there is a further requirement: the requirement to toe the party line while paying homage to the demigods of power. This prerequsite has nothing to do with obeying the law or with behaving properly - it relies totally on not rocking the boat and on withholding opinions that do not conform. Those who break ranks are declared heretics, meddlers and troublemakers, and as such are deemed socially unfit by their governing establishment. Perceived social fitness is consequently attained by submitting to indoctrination and forsaking personal individuality in order to preserve the administrative status quo. By any standard of reckoning, this can hardly be described as a democratic way of life..."

"... By virtue of this, individual rights, liberties and welfare are controlled by political dictate, and such dictates determine who is socially fit and who is socially unfit at any given time. In many cases this even corresponds to decisions on who will survive and who will not. To this end, there are many who seek positions of influence for the sheer sake of gaining power over others. Serving their own interests, they become manipulators of society..."

"...It is not by chance that, from the Middle Ages, the motto of Britain's Princes of Wales has been Ich dien (I serve). The motto was born directly from the Grail Code during the age of Chivalry. By gaining kingly succession through hereditary lineage rather than being elected, it was important for those next in line to promote the ideal of service. But have the monarchs actually served? More to the point, whom have they served? In general - and certainly through the feudal and Imperil eras - they have 'ruled', in collusion with their ministers and the Church. Rule is not service, and it has no part in the justice, equality and tolerance of the democratic ideal..."

...In this present age of computer technology, satellite tele-communications and an international space industery scientific advancement takes place at an alarming rate. With each stage of development arriving ever moe quickly, the functinality competent will emerge as the 'survivors', while the rest will be considered 'unfit' by an impetuous establishment that ses its own ambitions but not its subjects..."

"... Yet in whatever form it is portrayed, the Grail quest is governed by an overriding desire for honest achievement. It is the route by which all can survive among the fit, for it is the key to harmony and unity at every social and natural station. The Grail code recognizes advancement by merit, and acknowledges community structure - but above all things it is entirely democratic..."

"...To a large extent we have all learned history by way of strategic propaganda, whether church or politically motivated. It is all part of the control process; it separates the masters from the servants and the fit from the unfit. Political history has, of course, long been written by its masters - the few who decide the fate and fortunes of the many. Religious history is no different, for it is designed to implement control through fear of the unknown. In this way the religious masters have retained their supremacy at the expense of the devotees who genuinely seek enlightenment and salvation..." 

These quotes are from a book about how the Church and Governments suppress information within religion and the authors aim is not to re-write history but "bring history back to its original base". Many in society blindly follow the doctrines of religion that predates Medieval times a religious body that shows no acknowledgement to facts, truth and findings subsequently discovered. These quotes can apply to life generally within society with its perceptions to individuals who do not want to blindly follow the group. Like men in skirts, women in trousers although this was so for women in the 1930's these days they are now a group, gays, lesbians to name but some. They equally apply to local politics, politics within communities and offices. Society in the Western World took a huge step in the 1770's with the Industrial Revolution  and Political Revolutions. Democracies in the West were still very young and life changed to a commodity/wealth driven and brought out new winners called survival of the fittest, how can I out wit my neighbour. Religion became questioned due to education and Charles Darwin revelation of evolution. Clothing styles changed, mainly for men, and the introduction of trousers as general ware for men, away from stockings and tunics. The modern day suit was invented in the 1830's. Virtually all of modern day life stems from and is based upon changes undertaken at and around the year 1800. Societies perceptions towards others who these days are finding their individuality again should note this. Prior to the Industrial Revolution it was men and women of high Society versus men and women of serfdom. After the Industrial Revolution women became politically and economically prejudiced. In the early 1920's they began fighting for rights, political and economic recognition. Fighting for equality and rights by others should not be frowned upon within modern day socities based upon others sufferings and their struggles but humans are always struggling for power so now we have a modern day struggle of Man v Woman, women are superior to men etc. Equality comes when barriers are dropped and the past is learnt from.

This brings me nicely to quotes I have noted from another book.

The following quotes are from the book: 'The Cross in the Closet' by Timothy Kurek.

"...The sad fact in life is that labels really do divide us. They seem to dictate in no uncertain terms, how we relate to each other as people. Labels serve as a barometer of sorts, how comfortable we will be in each others' presence...and I don't think I'll ever be as comfortably received again as I have been this year..."

"...When someone comes out as gay, it is a pinnacle moment in his or her life. It is the moment when the decision is made to be who he knows he is, and to let the chips fall as they may. Will he face persecution from the mainstream? Yes. Will he risk relationships, friendships, and his standing in the family? Probably. But what good are those things, if you cannot be honestly with you? It takes courage to declare that you know yourself and that you do not care who else knows it because you know it..."

"...I long for the day this issue is obsloete, the day that my friends do not have to feel like their lives are political. I long for the day when equal rights isn't a campaign issue, when the news won't run front-page stories about celebrities and news anchors coming out of the closet. Then maybe, just maybe, our focus will be on something meaningful, something we can eradicate for the better, like the sex trade, or poverty, or AIDS, or homelessness..."

"...the bible says the truth shall set us free..."

"...I never understood who I was condemning before...or why I was condemning them. I am a different person now. A better person, I think..."

"...I was raised a religious bigot, and I knew that something was desperately wrong with me. I came out as gay to everyone in my life so I could try to understand the pain and stigma that is attached to the label, and for the past year I've been living in the closet as straight..."

"...For the first time in a long time, I feel whole. Not because my eyes have been opened to a "new way of life," because there is nothing new about this. Love is the original way. I also feel inspired because most of my fears were never realized. I was in the end, accepted wholly and completely, as myself, by people who I have only this year learned to accept and affirm..."

"...I have learned something about labels this year. It is the journey that defines us, not the labels people try to associate with us. I am not gay Tim; I am not even straight Tim. I am Tim, and in the end, that is all that really matters..."

"...We live in a society that condones culture wars, and even proudly proclaims them, but as with any type of war there are casualties, and those casualties are not people we can afford to lose. The sanctity of human life that I have been taught about all of my life doesn't just apply to a fetus inside its mother's womb, it applies to all living and breathing men and women. It applies to me and to you. It applies to the murderer on death row, and the 5th grade school teacher that faithfully teaches children day in and day out. We don't get to choose who is made with the Imago Dei, the image of God, and we don't have the right to choose who we are called to love..."

"...For years I have been living on a self-created mountain of moral absolutism, and thankfully my year taught me that that life is not what Christ has called me to. Since my year ended I have struggled daily with one qwuestion. Where do I belong? And now I feel I know the answer. As a Christ follower, I am called to live in the wounds that my mountain has created. It goes beyond living in the tension because it means living within the hearts of others, walking with them in the ever deepening of their pain, and if I am ever to emulate Jesus then I must live in the blood and gore that the church has created. That I created..."

"...I have heard the question posed, at what point can one be an ally to the queer community? I think for me being an ally means that I must shift my focus off of my perceived moral imperative and live in community and relationship with all people. I must sacrifice and serve without the condition of labels and without worrying how it will make me look. and while all of this may sound like the typical ranting of a now liberal Christian, I challenge you to see past those labels..."

"...My mother said it best towards the end of my year. She looked at me and said in earnest, "I don't think Satan is just the father of lies, I think he is the father of labels"..."

"...I may never again be confident that my truth is absolute, and I doubt I will ever be able to take definitive stands on certain ideas that seem to divide everyone else. There are issues that conservatives rally behind, and those outside the church rally against, and I may never be one hundred percent either way. I will never understand how people that claim to love Christ can bully someone to death, nor will I understand why certain people among us allow their self-destructive natures to guide them towards a reckless abuse of alcohol, power, or sex. I will never understand hate and the many forms it takes. It is a cruel shape-shifter, and an evil master..."

"...I am sure of love, of the radical and unyielding power it holds, and I'm sure of the barriers it can overcome. I am sure of relationships, especially those fuelled by love, and sure of the prejudicies that relationships can overcome..."

"...I'm sure of arrogance, and its ability to poison anything that can be called good. Most of all I am sure of my teacher empathy, who taught me that if we take a moment to step into another person's shoes before we open our mouths, we can learn more about this life and our god, than by anyother means..."

"...And for the first real time, the words from my favorite hymn have meaning and are alive to me. "I once was lost, but now I'm found, was blind but now I see"..."

 These quotes from The Cross in the Closet were written by the author while he was summing up his one year experiement living as a gay person within the LGBT Community. Although straight, he made a public announcement that he was gay and only two friends knew. One of these became a friend when he realised he needed support within the LGBT community. His family turned against him until he was forced to let them know of his experiment. His mother "who was once an adamant conservative, is now an ally of the LGBT community". The author was a conservative Baptist who was about to take the steps to become a preacher when he decided he should question what his church and other churches were preaching. As the author said, he was a religious bigot. He received a damning e-mail from his Pastor on his announcement claiming he was a sinner and God does not like sinners etc. It is a very good and powerful book. A must read if you have a conscience. Tim has not walked away from being a Christian, he just has a more open, tolerant and understanding attitude to religion and its preachings. This book refreshed me, the real me that 'came out of the closet from a man in a skirt aspect' back in 2010. We have not lost our true friends. Some aquaintences have gone by the way side but then we have gained other aquaintences. Just as many talk to me randomly out and about as before. It has shown and proved to me my suspicions of my immediate family, there is a big distance between my parents and younger brother but I know it is not of my making although I acknowledge to them it is. Both my parents have spoken negatively to me. My mother pre-1990's was 99% in skirts, now it is a rare sight, usually weddings and funerals. My younger brother sent me an email, just like Tim's Pastor sent him one. Yet my relationship with my elder brother who is deeply religious and devoted Christian has strengthened. I am a Christian, but my lifes experiences will not make me become a practising Christian, I have met to many bigots who claim to be Christians within their religious settings that as far as I am concerned, the settings are contrary to the lifestyle of Jesus. I don't trust religous groups. They are human based, human led and produce the same failings of a standard dictate.