Blog: Go pound sand in your ear, minority lover

Actually, that’s the less vulgar version of where a casual acquaintance I bumped into at the grocery store told me to put it, obviously referring to my last blog dealing with the impact the nation’s rapidly changing demographics would eventually have in making the white population a minority.

And with his face still crimson red, he bellowed out so loud that I almost dropped the bag of apples I was holding: ”No wonder Latinos are the fastest growing minority, multiplying as they do like rabbits, and as devout Catholics wouldn’t use condoms even if they were free.”

Now, while I’d anticipated that my blog would ruffle the feathers of many readers, I wasn’t aware that it would stir up the pot of racism to the point of boiling over as it obviously did with him and those of like mind.   

Now, whenever I hear that controversial subject of contraception brought up, in whatever context, I have an instant flashback to the Republican primary, when it, along with Darwin’s theory on evolution were debated ad nausum-with nary one candidate taking other than a negative position on both.

And his stating, that as devout Catholics (of which a reported 75 percent are), they’d never use any birth controls, aroused my curiosity as to the stance taken on birth controls by other religions throughout the world.

But before proceeding with my research-I planned on conducting in between watching my favorite shows on the boob tube-I felt compelled to first verify that Roman Catholicism was, in fact, as resolute and unwaveing in its position on the matter as most Americans have been led to believe.

And from what the Wikipedia enclyopedia described as its religious views on birth control there’s no doubt about it, with a portion of it reading: ”Roman Catholicism, whose opposition to artificial contraception and orgasmic acts outside the context of marital intercourse dates back to the first centuries of Christianity, and that the only form of birth control permitted is abstinence. (Needless to say, many Western Catholics take its rigid stance on contraception with a whole mountain, rather than just a grain of salt.)  

The following describes the positions taken by other religions on the subject:    

• Protestanism:  It wasn’t until 1930 , when the Anglican Communion reversed its policy on contraception, which heretofore was also disallowed by non-Catholic Christians.  Soon after, most Prostestant groups came to accept the use of modern contraceptives as a matter of Bibically allowable freedom of conscience.

• Hinduism: There  is no ban on birth control. However, most Hindus accept that there is a duty to have a family, and so are unlikely to use contraceptives to avoid having children altogether.

• Islam:  The Qur’an  does not make any explicit statement about the morality of contraception, but contains statements encouraging procreation, a la the prophet Muhammad is reported to have said, “marry and procreate.”

• Judaism:  Jewish views on birth control varies between the Orthodox, Conservative, and Reform branches of Judaism. Orthodox Jews only consider birth control as acceptable  when a couple already has two children. Conservative Jews, while generally encouraged to follow the traditional Jewish positions on birth control have been more willing to allow greater exceptions to its use to fit better within modern society. Reform Judaism has generally been the most liberal about it, by allowing its followers to use their own judgment in what, if any, birth control methods they might wish to employ.

• Other religions do not take a position, although Sikhs have no objection to birth control. And in Buddhism, there’s no widely recognized policy on it.

But leave it to China, to come up with the strictest birth controls imposed on married, urban couples-aka its one-child policy. And with only allowing exemptions for twins, rural couples, ethnic  minorities, and parents without any siblings themselves.(Authorities claim, that since it was introduced in 1978  it has prevented 400 million births between 1979 to 2011, and  that a 2008 survey undertaken by the Pew Research Center reported that 76 percent of the Chinese population support the policy.)

Be that as it may, the combined populations of China and India account for the lion’s share of the 7 billion humans on Earth. And that even with declining birth rates in developed countries, the UN estimates that by 2050 the global population will be somewhere between 8 billion to 11 billion, and could reach 15 billion by the end of the century.

Looks to me, that with that many humans around, we’ll need to find a second planet the size of Earth, that has the same amount of natural resources, to send the overflowing  number of ‘em to, on a one-way trip. Lawyers, funeral directors and car salesmen would-if put to a nationwide referendum-no doubt be chosen  as the vanguard.

I’m sorry for having dumped so much disheartening facts and figures on you. But hopefully these lighthearted quotes will allow you to think less harshly of me:

• “My best birth control now is just to leave the lights on.”  Joan Rivers

• ”One year they asked me to be the poster boy for birth control.”  Rodney Dangerfield 

• “A birth control pill for men, that’s fair; for it makes more sense to take the bullets out of the gun, than to wear a bulletproof vest.”  Yours truly

• “For birth control, I rely on my personality.”  Milt Abel

• “It would be a service to mankind if the pill were available in vending machines, and cigarettes were placed on prescription.”  Malcolm Potts, MD

• “It needs to become as easy to get hold of a condom in a poor country as a Coca-Cola.”