prejudice

so i havnt been posting a ton lately. its hard blogging sometimes because if you dont keep up with it, then i feel like things build up and that i have so much that i dont even want to try and catch up with everything. that, and a lot of times i feel like a lot of things are just small random thoughts that dont necessarily warrant a whole post, or they are just random insignificant thoughts that i dont know if i should even take the time to write about them. here is one such recent thought:

a few weeks ago we went to the byu/ucla football game. it was a great time. here are a couple of photos from the game. it was great to go with lance. one of the last activities we did before he went on his mission. (and by the way, we really beat the 'last' game to a pulp before lance left. everything we did for the whole summer before he left was considered 'his last.' im sure we didnt make it any easier for him by causing so much buildup for so many months).

anyways, so byu lost the game. it was upsetting. the most upsetting part of it was that there were many questionable calls that occurred throughout the game that were against byu. calls that even tv announcers said should have gone in byu's favor. but it wasnt so much that the calls were upsetting as opposed to my thoughts or reactions. i cursed out loud and punched five ucla fans, started a small riot in the stands and got arrested. actually thats not true. i didnt say anything, but i thought many things.

sadly, one of the first thoughts that came into my mind was that the refs were making the calls against byu because they were anti-byu and more specifically were making calls against us because we were a mormon school. i know, its a terrible thought and i have thought a lot about it since. mainly because im ashamed that i thought it or even potentially believed it for a bit for various reasons.

a main reason is because its such a cheap card to play. its like in arguing you are taught that the 'slippery slope' argument is the last resort argument and the worst argument or 'card to pull.' and its true. if you are ever using that argument, its usually because you cant think of anything else to say. i feel like the thinking other people are racist or prejudiced and that is the reason or motive behind their action is the cheapest and weakest argument. doesnt mean it might not be the correct reason behind the things someone is doing, but its a terrible place to start. isnt it much more plausible that the refs, from the pac 10 conference, just flat out favored ucla because ucla is from the conference that they represent, as opposed to thinking they all have some issue against mormons?

another reason, is because im always critical of people that pull the 'race card.' granted, this isnt a race issue, but its similar in nature. anyways, apparently im critical and hypocritical. im critical because i always think that although there was widespread racism years ago, but its really not as prevalent in society today, so when people pull the racism card, im critical of their thinking. granted, i admit that it exists, but i dont think it exists as much as it is argued or as often as the card is pulled. also, i think that a lot of the people that are using the race card havnt really been persecuted like previous generations. yet here i am, being hypocritical because im doing the exact same thing. im thinking some sort of prejudice against me, yet i have never been persecuted for my beliefs. never. yes, early mormons were persecuted and murdered and driven from their homes, but i havnt ever received anything in my lifetime. which puts me in the same boat as everyone else. just sitting back and complaining even though i have absolutely no reason to complain or think that the world is conspiring against me. they havnt done anything yet to me to show that they are conspiring against me, so why should i think it?

well, i might be making something out of nothing, or drawing parallels where they dont exist. nonetheless, the thoughts just got me thinking and i finally decided to write them. basically, if i had to come to a conclusion about the thoughts its that, i really dont think all the refs had an issue against mormons and they decided to use their moment to ref the game against byu as an opportunity to demonstrate their prejudice against mormons. but even more so, when it comes to religion, i am in a minority. and im not sure if its natural as a minority to automatically think or feel that the world is conspiring against you, especially in areas where your minority status can come into play. but regardless, its a terrible way to live to have that mentality. really it is. life is no fun thinking that everything revolves around your minority status. id like to give society the benefit of the doubt and assume that they arent viewing me different because of it. and even if they are, even if the refs really were calling the game in favor of ucla because they dont like byu and/or mormons, i just dont want to go through life thinking that people are like that. its a terrible way to live, and no fun at all, so im going to try not to (sorry this post ended up being long as usual and to end it in a preposition).