Sunday, January 31, 2010

Natsuhiboshi why are you so red?

Naruto, episode 183.

There is a village of ninja who have a fallen star which endows special power to those training in its midst. However, the effects of the training are deadly.

The following dialogue seemed extremely applicable to what I'm seeing in the whole homosexuality arena (especially in the LDS culture):

Child: If you continue in the star training, you'll all die!

Leader: Are you going to believe such nonsense?! Being unable to withstand the star training is because the heart that loves the village is weak! Those who really love the village can become true Shinobi and can also surpass the Hidden Villages of the Five Great Nations!

Village Person: Who's telling the truth?

Mizura (a child who has been training with the star and is on the verge of death, showing the villagers the damage done by star training): I take pride in the Hidden Star Village. Even though it was painful, I endured it and continued the star training...

Even so, were my feelings for the village still not enough?

I don't know how often I've had a similar conversation with several friends and members of my family--I playing the part of Mizura.

Their response has always been: "No; your feelings were still not enough."

My hopelessness was blamed on insufficient church attendance, my despair on a weak testimony of the gospel of Jesus Christ. My inability to overcome my 'same gender attractions' a culmination of all such things and an insincere desire to "do what is right." The physical manifestations of my emotional pain and scars were used against me to justify that what I was doing was insufficient.

What I wish is that people could open their eyes and hearts and realize what the villagers in this episode of Naruto did:

Village Person: I don't think there could be lies in that child's words... and body... We adults got carried away with our feelings for the village and may have made the wrong choice.

Leader: Do you intend to mislead everyone and crush the village?!

Village Person: They aren't traitors! They're children of our village! ... I can't go along with your way of doing things

4 comments:

  1. I would just like press the "like" button on your post. That's all.

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  2. Seriously, there are some really wonderful messages in Naruto. I suppose the thing that attracted me to the series initially was the fact that he had no friends. That's pretty much how I was as a freshman in college. And even though any college freshman is susceptible so such loneliness, the fact that I was hiding this "monster" within me made me identify all the more with little Naruto.

    But that was a long time ago. Since then, like Naruto, I've made friends and I'm slowly trying to learn how to use the "power" within to my advantage.

    Haha. So nerdy! Nerds unite!

    Now I want to meet you just because we can talk about and watch anime. I mean, how cool is that!? No other gay guys like Naruto! (except, PG, and I've met him already)

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  4. TGD: I'm glad you liked it :).

    PG: Little kids, indeed, know where it's at. Part of me would like to teach at a university, but working with kids is so much cooler than working with snotty-nosed post teens.

    boskers: I'm just "coming out" with my love for anime... sharing it on a blog is one thing, but in person... I don't know.

    heh, actually it's too bad we missed each other the other day; we could have totally nerded up the place... not that BYU needs too much help in that department...

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