Your issues/My issues

I've recently begun to think that as the current elder generation moves on from this life that the 'issues' of our society will drastically change. I thought for a while that may be just the position on the same issues would shift, but quite possibly this issues themselves may be what shifts. Along these same lines, I found this to be a fascinating revelation by a local young Methodist clergy. He often has fantastic insights to life and faith. He compiled a list of the possible difference in issues across the generation gap. Examples from his post:

These are very broad and not scientific, but I add these thoughts to the conversation.

“Your generation” issues:

Homosexuality

Universal Truth

Hell/Heaven Dichotomy (soul sorting)

Liberal/Conservative (Red/Blue)

Community as face to face time

Women in ministry

Pro-choice/Pro-life

“My generation” issues:

Ecology

Bioethics

Fair Trade

Innovation

Health Care

Rebuilding things

Pluralism

Secularism

Global Village creation

More feminist then I think?

Or is the world still more sexist (or other -ist) then I want to believe. Where are the people who are creating systems that continue to make certain groups into second class? Are they oblivious or are they like the Disney illustrators who sneak the word sex into the dust of the Lion King?

My fiancé received a speeding ticket last weekend. As I've not gotten a ticket in quite some time I was interested to see this quickly printed document no bigger then a receipt. Among the identifying information name, address, etc was the expected Sex: but unexpected was the answer rather than M, the ticket read Sex: 1

Now assuming the officer recognized my fiancé as male and/or took that information off his driver's license then 1 apparently represents male. Which would lead me to believe 2 is female. But is there a 3? I'd like to be Sex: 52 if you don't mind. This is a case in which my typically supportive of women's rights fiancé thinks I become ridiculous - but I don't. Why is male 1? Is 1 and 2 really easier or more cost efficient in this completely electronic system then M and F? California (and other) sports systems may be going to a no winner sports system for kids to bolster self esteem, but in the real world someone gets the Gold -someone is number 1 and 2nd place is the first loser. It is bad enough that the words themselves female/woman are derived from male/man, but to continue by applying numbers us?

I am not shocked when I hear that Mississippi is canceling prom so 2 girls won't go together and one of them wear pants. Cause God forbid a woman wears pants in 2010! I'm just sad. Sad when people don't understand how little things like Sex:1 do matter because they represent a larger ill that continues to penetrate our society.

A different look at theft

I love that I have friends who think out of the box.

Dear Sir or Madam who stole my bicycle wheel -m4m- -m4w- (By Lake Merritt)

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Date: 2009-07-21, 2:25PM PDT

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Dear Sir or Madam who stole my bicycle wheel,
I have a proposal.

For several days after you stole my 27” rear wheel from my mountain bike, you caused me a dilemma. All I could think of were two options.
1) Buy a new rear wheel – This hardly seemed worthwhile because my bike only cost $25 from Goodwill when I got it and a new back wheel/tire will cost two to three times that much.
2) Buy a used wheel from the Ashby Flea market – We all know this is where stolen wheels go to find new homes. (In fact, I have searched here for my wheel to no avail.) While this option is cheap ($10), it would feel like I am benefiting from someone else’s misfortune. (Probably because I would be benefiting from someone else’s misfortune).

But then I had a brilliant idea.

Rather than buying a new wheel or a used wheel stolen from someone else, why don’t you sell me back my own wheel. I can pay you the $10 you would have made and then I can save the time and stress of finding a new wheel. If it makes a difference, I could even pay you in alcohol or whatever drug habit you were trying to feed.

We can even meet on the same corner where you took my wheel and make it feel all natural. You can walk by and say, “Hey buddy, I notice that your bike seems to be missing a rear wheel. Well, it just so happens I have an extra rear wheel right here with me. Would you like it?” And I can say, “You’re right, kind sir. I am missing a rear wheel. That is very nice of you. It just so happens that I have $10 worth of alcohol, that I was going to use drown my sorrow about not having a bicycle wheel. But now that I have a bicycle wheel, I don’t need it. Why don’t you take it.” And then we can both feel good about ourselves.

Please let me know if this works for you.

Sincerely
Josh

• Location: By Lake Merritt
• it's NOT ok to contact this poster with services or other commercial interests