lent jokes are played out and so are you

every year around this time, it's the same thing. everywhere i turn, someone's got a lent joke or a joke about the ashes people put on their foreheads in observance of ash wednesday. none of them are ever new. they're all recycled jokes from the previous years and they weren't that funny then either. they're like stale bar jokes that have been handed down to us from our grandparents' generation. the only person that seems to truly be getting a kick out of these jokes is the person telling them. save it. that shit's played out like jokes about airplane food.

even if it wasn't played out, what's it to you anyways? what bothers you so much about lent that you need to make fun of it? it's harmless to all those who don't practice said religion. it's no where near the ugly side of religion. it makes no difference and has absolutely no negative effect on your lifestyle. all you're really doing is mocking something you don't understand which sorta makes you a bully. you're picking on people for doing something that you view as, "different," or, "weird." let it go.

at its worst, lent is commendable. it's people giving up stuff for a specific amount of time. a lot of that is life improving. some people give up things like smoking, eating unhealthy, drugs, sex with hookers, etc... stuff that's gonna be good for them in the long run. this kind of behavior shouldn't be mocked, it should be encouraged. so what if it's inspired by a god you don't believe in? let's empty out your closet of silly beliefs. i'm sure you got one hidden in there somewhere.

i don't believe in god. but i don't think that gives me any reason to mock people who do. the only religious people i find that deserve mocking are the assholes. and even then, i'm only mocking them because they're assholes, not because they're religious. mocking good people who are just doing their thing is stupid and a waste of effort and all the facebook likes in the world won't change the fact that you're being a tool.

and if it's the ashes on the forehead that bother you, i categorize you with anyone else who wants to judge others by the way they look. you're the same form of cretin who mocks tattoos, piercings, hairstyles, clothing choices, and whatever other image choices people can make. it's shallow. get over it. or don't and just choke on your shallowness. i'd trade in all the shallow dumdums for good people who walk around with ashes on their forehead.