This was sent to me by [redacted], who seems to think I need more to be disturbed by. This is in reaction to the famed "genderless child", Storm.
Back to make one last comment .....
As I have previously stated, I am in complete disagreement with the decisions that you have and are making regarding your children. I had to come back to make something very clear. I am a long time Junction resident and I can honestly say that I am thankful that my Son is not the same age as any of your children. Simply because I would not want my Son to be playing with a boy who is wearing a dress. I have chosen to rear my Son in a normal way. I don't think society needs to be exposed to you and your absurd ideologies, or your experiments. Just saying ........
First of all, have you considered going back to school. One does not have decisions, one makes decisions. One has beliefs, which might be what you're going for there.
Secondly, unless your son is the Messiah, you do not capitalize "son".
Thirdly, they're raising the child to be genderless, so why did you go straight to "boy in a dress"? That's . . . odd of you.
Thirdly, what do you suppose would happen if your SON played with a boy in a dress? I mean, I'm trying, but I can't quite . . . hmmm . . . .
1. SON plays with boy in dress
2. ?????
3. SON grows up to be a liberal gay atheoislamo terrorist.
I mean, I've spent some time with men who enjoy wearing women's clothing (women wearing men's clothing? totally normal! you may be doing it right now!) and I swear to you, nothing happened. Nothing at all. I did not become gay, I did not feel an urge to blow up any skyscrapers, I did not come down with a terrible dis- wait a minute. That was right before the porphyria kicked in.
Holy fuck, male transvestites cause porphyria! Lock up the children!
Wait, what's that? Oh, right, genetics. My bad. Transvestites do not actually have the power to change my DNA. They are not, in fact, radioactive.
Well, then, I just have nothing. Other than the fact that once you spend a little time around a person different from you, you realize that people are people and it becomes harder and harder to hate based on small differences. And you wouldn't want that for your SON.
Anyway, enjoy this video. It is the story of an elephant and a dog who are best friends. Then think very, very hard about why humans can't get along with other groups of humans, but an elephant and a dog can be the best of friends.
That's me: big, hairy and poorly dressed. Oh, and rampaging.
I hate this kind of casual smack at atheists. I really do. It just makes me tired. And it so common.
Don’t be afraid to be pious.
We lose nothing in being devout and we gain ineffable benefits.
Do not be afraid to bend yourself down before God especially and also to the angels and saints our intercessors and patrons and be simply pious. Man was made to be pious. This is the essence of religion, without which we are empty shells: to give due reverence to God. The sin of our first parents came from trying to be the opposite of pious: self-sufficient self-gods. That was defiance of due piety. But people can drift into the same emptiness of life by neglect of piety and devotion, neglect of fostering the habits of devotion.
Consider the benefits of devotion for a moment, and then consider the downside of being – not impious, in the sense of being wicked – but slothful and haphazard and lukewarm.
[emphasis mine]
I am an atheist and I am not an empty shell. I am not empty at all.
I am an atheist and I am not slothful, haphazard or lukewarm.
I am an atheist and I am human, too.
I am an atheist and I am not less than you, John Zuhlsdorf.
I am an atheist and I have feelings and they can be hurt.
I am an atheist and if you prick me, I will bleed.
I am an atheist and you hate me.
I am an atheist and you've never met me.
I am an atheist and I'm done apologizing.
I am an atheist and I'm done asking.
I am an atheist and I will make you listen.
I am an atheist and I've come here to demand your respect.
I am an atheist and I'm not leaving until I've got it.
Love the sinner, hate the sin. How many times have you heard that one? It's always being delivered by some hateful asshat after they've been called on the essential hypocrisy of claiming to follow a person who said that the greatest of these is love and then spewing vile hatred at people different from them.
Now, I could explore the idea that one can separate a person from their actions, which is problematic at best. (Pro tip: if zie tells you zie loves you and continually treats you badly, it doesn't matter whether or not zie loves you, you're still being treated badly.) I could also ask how one could feel hatred for a person's actions without any of that hatred rubbing off on to how you feel about the person themselves.
I could do those things, but it would be a lot easier to simply show you how love the sinner, hate the sin actually works in the really real world.
The below all relates to the commercial above. If you can't watch the commercial, it's from the NBA. It shows basketball players trash talking each other until one of them uses "gay" as a pejorative, at which point various NBA stars unequivocally state that using "gay" as an insult is unacceptable and hurtful. It's quite well done.
Of course the evangelical Christians, who are, at this point, an organization solely devoted to oppressing gays and women, cannot handle this at all.
Watching the NBA semis and I cant believe I'm watching a commercial about not using the word "gay" because it's offensive to gays.
Wow
I can't believe how stupid you are. It is stated in the commercial, out loud, in words, small words, that it is using "gay" as an insult that is unacceptable. Using "gay" as a descriptive is still acceptable. You idiot.
The word "gay" actually originally meant "to be happy". Not sure how the word "gay" began to be used to describe homosexuals. But either way, forget the commercial's message. The gays and lesbians have to be told flat out that their behavior is sin, regardless of what the world says.
Actually, the word "gay" originally meant really, really (hetero)sexually active. So, word origin fail. As to the idea that gays need to be told that their behavior is a sin, (a) I'm sure they all know how you feel about it by now, and (b) I'm sure you'll be fine with me stopping by your house once a day to point out all of your sins, and, oh yeah, (c) not a sin. Get over yourself.
You can hardly watch any shows anymore where there is blatant display of gay talk and behavior. Is not like before where one guy just played to be gay for the funny part of it (the feminist acting that looked awkward funny in a guy) but now is about relationships, kissing, and beyond. And I am talking about just regular channels, not cable.
I have started watching shows where I thought they were really good but had to stop because I saw the direction they were going with.
Sigh....
It was totally okay to have gay people in public as long as they were the punchline of a joke, but gay people as real people doing what real people do? outrageous!
No gays? well we can go back to the word we used as kids - bundle of sticks.
Homosexuals are trying to whitewash our language so as to make their conduct "normal".
It will not work. Yes we can live peaceably with homosexuals. They are sinners just like us - in need of love and redemption.
But sin is still sin. And men will label it what they will. Even if they do not acknowledge the One who defines it.
I'm fairly certain one cannot live peacefully with someone who throws a temper tantrum when they can't call you names. I get the impression this entire group has a list of acceptable insults, starting with "n***er" and ending in "slut", and they cry every time they have to cross out a word.
If someone's named "Gay" can you still call her by her name?
Well, "John" is also a slang term for a prostitute's client and a toilet, can you still call someone named John, John? Clever: ur doin it rong.
Why is it wrong for NBA players to use gay slurs (and get heavily fined for doing so) because they are so worried about offending homosexuals, but its ok to blaspheme God regularly? I cringe every time I hear God's name used in vain. And I have heard players say it and seen them mouth it. I as a Christian am offended. Will the NBA make the players stop?
How backwards is that? When people are more worried about offending gays than God we are in deep trouble folks.
Maybe because the people using "Jesus Christ" as an expletive- assuming this is even true- are Christians themselves expressing frustration, not heterosexuals enforcing second class citizenship on homosexuals? Just a thought.
So if we are not supposed to refer to 'gays' as gays or homosexuals, what?? Surely they aren't advocating going back to the 'q " word, are they? I really hate using the word 'gay' for them because when I grew up 'gay' was a good, 'happy' word. My sister's middle name is Gay, and I had a friend whose first name was Gay. Anyway, just commenting.
You know what word would solve your problem? None. Just refer to people by their names, like you would anyone else. Solves the whole problem.
Okay, I have the solution - let's call them what G-d calls them . . . ABOMINATION
Yeah, that same god called dashing infant's heads against rocks a good thing.
You know, I realized why I'm having trouble writing my book. The main character is supposed to stop the Apocalypse and save mankind. Quite frankly, the more of this sort of thing I read, the more I think, "Let it all burn." Then I read this, from Charles Barkley, and I feel better.
"First of all, every player has played with gay guys," Barkley said. "It bothers me when I hear these reporters and jocks get on TV and say: ‘Oh, no guy can come out in a team sport. These guys would go crazy.’ First of all, quit telling me what I think. I’d rather have a gay guy who can play than a straight guy who can’t play.”
“Any professional athlete who gets on TV or radio and says he never played with a gay guy is a stone-freakin’ idiot,” he said. “I would even say the same thing in college. Every college player, every pro player in any sport has probably played with a gay person."
Just spit in the nice soldier's face, why doncha, Kevin? Then pee on their graves when you're done with that!
The above is part of an email I was forwarded.
First of all, there are very acceptable reasons not to stand for the Pledge in American schools. Little Kevin there is clearly depicted as a douchebag tween, not standing because he's comfortable with his feet up and fuck America, anyway. Is there any teacher anywhere who would allow a student to sit with his feet up like that? No. I've only come across one exception to reciting the Pledge: religion. Certain religious groups, such as the Jehovah's Witnesses, do not allow standing for the National Anthem or reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. That's the level your refusal has to rise to: deeply held religious beliefs. "I don't feel like it" is not an acceptable reason.
Secondly, yes, okay, that soldier joined the Armed Forces to protect American freedoms.* Including the freedom to not stand and recite the Pledge of Allegiance. So why is it insulting to use the freedom said soldier so valiantly defended? That's the Mobius strip of logic. Really, this cartoon should have a second panel in which the soldier calls the teacher to task for (a) not understanding constitutionally guaranteed freedoms, and (b) using his disability as a shaming device on Kevin.
Anyway, here's the rest of the email, in all it's bold 36 pt sans serif font** glory:
Only 31 words -- Think about it!
I . . . what? I checked the email again. That's what comes directly after the cartoon. I have no idea.
Isn't life strange? I never met one Veteran who enlisted to fight for Socialism!
How many veterans (not capitalized) have you met, anyway? Also, "veteran" refers to any former soldier anywhere, so there are many veterans in countries other than the US who did enlist to fight for socialism. (Yes, there are countries other than ours.)
86% will send this on.
86% of what? I . . . did the intertubes eat half of this email? Were there originally sentences, now tragically missing, that enable one to understand this?
I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG, OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL!
Oh, those 31 words. (I pasted it into Word for a word count.)
If Muslims can pray on Madison Avenue, why are Christians banned from praying in public and from erecting religious displays on their holy days?
They're not. Christians pray in public all the damn time, and I swear my neighborhood can be seen from space for two months of the year. What are you talking about?
What happened to our National Day of Prayer? Muslims are allowed to block off Madison Ave., in N.Y.C., and pray in the middle of the street! And, it's a monthly ritual!
I literally have no idea what this person is talking about . . . oh, once a year (so easy to confuse once with twelve times) during the Muslim Day Parade activities. Mind you, I get to New York City every so often and every time I have been there, I have seen a parade. One time, I saw Sean Connery in full Scottish regalia! He was 20' away from me- wearing a kilt! And a shirt covered in lace! And a velvet coat! I swear, he looked right at me.
My point is, parades and such are normal occurrences in NYC, why shouldn't Muslims get one, too? This is America, if you can fill out a permit, you can have a parade. You know, liberty and justice for all? It's part of the 31 words.
Tell me, again, whose country is this? Ours or the Muslims?
That's not an either/or question, and I will again refer you to those 31 words you claim to love so much. Liberty and justice for all. FOR ALL. All includes you and Muslims, atheists and Christians, pagans and Jews, heterosexuals, homosexuals, everyone in between- ALL! What is so hard about ALL?!
I was asked to send this on if I agree, or delete if I don't.
It is said that 86% of Americans believe in God.
Yes, of course, Muslims would be counted in the 86% who believe in god. Also. Too.
Therefore, I have a very hard time understanding why there is such a problem in having 'In God! We Trust' on our money and having 'God' in the Pledge of Allegiance.
Um . . . well, if 86% believe in God, 14% do not. ALL, motherfuckers! Never mind that those are additions from the Cold War era when we were all freaked out about the Russians and their nukes. (Remember that? Good times.)
Also, why the fuck is this aimed at Muslims? This should be aimed at atheists. Muslims believe in god. In fact, Muslims believe in the Abrahamic god of Christianity and Judaism.
I believe it's time we stand up for what we believe!
If you agree, pass this on; if not, delete.
Thank you
Or, you know, option no. 3, post it on your blog and mock me ruthlessly. Hee!
*I'm not saying the USAF have been used to defend freedom lately, but I'll not impugn individual soldiers' honor.
**I despise sans serif fonts. The Empire will have three fonts, all of them replete with serifs. In fact, the official font of Empire notices and mailings will be designed with 30% more serifs than Times New Roman.
First of all, I can't see what's wrong with this picture. I'm fairly certain that legally, you can get married in a clown costume if you want to. I'm not sure what that has to do with equality. I also think a man can legally get married while wearing a dress or sporting a mohawk. I'm fairly certain a woman can get married while dressed like an extra in a Wagner production, too. As for the dog, I've seen pictures of weddings in which dogs performed the role of best man and ringbearer, so yeah . . . I dunno.
As for Simple Dollar: Who Do You Love, I would like to start with WHOM! WHOM do you love. "Who" is a subject, "whom" is an object. In the sentence "Whom do you love?", the subject is "you", you are the person doing the loving, therefore it is "whom", not "who". Grammar, people!
You see, when a reader asks me if marriage is about love, then why can't they marry the person they love? The answer is simple, marriage is about who is most deserving of that love -- who you are most responsible to -- then who you most conveniently love, or who you figure might give you the kind of romance you want most expediently. When you focus on your responsibilities, the love grows between you naturally. And as the love grows, so does your ability to recognize your responsibilities. It all ties back to the man and the woman.
That is an entire paragraph of wharrgarbl followed by "because- look over there!" That is not a valid argument. That last sentence has nothing to do with the preceding four. On Lawn may as well as have written four oddly constructed sentences on the proper way to prepare hummus* and then tacked on "it all ties back to the man and the woman". It would have made exactly as much sense.
If On Lawn is going to wharrgarbl his way through some bigotry, he could at least do me the great favor of doing it grammatically. Honestly.
*A blender, a lot chick peas, some garlic and some olive oil. Anything else you'd like to add is up to you.
Day after day after day I read blog posts and articles written by people who define their religion by their bigotries. "I'm not a homophobe, I'm a Christian." "I'm not a misogynist, I'm a Christian." "I'm not hateful, I'm godly."
For one thing, thank you. Thank you for making your entire religion so revolting I don't have any doubts. It's easier on me that way. The Slacktivist gives me doubts occasionally, so filled is he with generosity and love for his fellow man. He makes me think*. You do not.
You make me grateful for my atheism. Good job.
Good job to Chuck Colson, who can be counted on to make me feel good about my lack of ability to believe.
For the past year, we’ve talked a lot about the threat to religious freedom in America.
You've talked. I've been over here nattering on about equal rights for all the women and gays and atheists.
We’ve talked about Christian adoption agencies closing rather than being forced to place children with same-sex couples.
No, those are adoption agencies who decided it would be better to leave children in group homes and foster care than give them to couples who would love and raise them simply because of a burning hatred for those couples. Get it right. Gays didn't make anyone shut down adoption agencies, adoption agencies chose to hurt, or at least stop helping, children instead of giving up their hatreds. Don't mistake hatred for nobility.
We’ve talked about health care professionals having to choose between their consciences and participating in immoral medical practices.
No, those are doctors and nurses and pharmacists who have decided they know better than women- always women, never men- what those women should do with their own bodies. They know whether or not a woman can afford or wants to be pregnant, they know exactly what every woman should do with her body far better than she does. Don't mistake arrogance for professionalism.
We’ve talked about the Administration playing fast and loose with the notion of religious freedom-choosing instead to talk about freedom of “worship.”
It took me a second, but he's referring to Obama using the phrase "freedom of worship" instead of "freedom of religion", ignoring the fact that Reagan, Bush the Elder, Eisenhower and Lincoln all used the phrase "freedom of worship" and nobody clutched any pearls. Don't mistake sophistry for meaning.
But these threats to our first freedom pale in comparison to the threat posed by a single court case now before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.
It's the gays again, isn't it?
The case is Perry v. Schwarzenegger, in which federal Judge Vaughn Walker overturned California’s Proposition 8 restricting marriage to one man and one woman. Judge Walker not only overturned the will of the people of California, he put all religious believers on notice: Their faith means nothing in the eyes of the law.
Actually, it’s even worse than that. The judge found as fact that “Religious beliefs that gay and lesbian relationships are sinful or inferior to heterosexual relationships harm gays and lesbians.”
If this judge’s decision is upheld by the Ninth Circuit and eventually the Supreme Court, the religious beliefs of hundreds of millions of Americans will be seen as harmful in the eyes of the law.
Yes, because the most important thing about Christianity is it's homophobia, just as Jesus said . . . wait, he didn't say that? He said the most important thing is loving your neighbor as yourself? Huh.
Why is it that I know that and Mr. Colson doesn't?
Judge Walker also concluded that, quote, “Many of the purported interests identified by proponents are nothing more than a fear or unarticulated dislike of same-sex couples.” End quote. So, according to Judge Walker, if you believe marriage should be reserved for one man and one woman, you are a homophobe and a bigot.
Well, yes, actually. I guess this is hurtful to you, but yes, that's exactly what it is. There's really nothing else I can say about that. The sky is blue, water is wet, you are a bigot.
Such legal reasoning not only charts the course for destroying religious liberty, it paves the way for societal chaos. Arguing against so-called same-sex "marriage" is not "gay bashing." It is an argument for preserving traditional marriage. I've spent 35 years ministering in prisons and have seen the tragic results of broken homes. I know the disaster that awaits if so-called same-sex "marriage" is allowed to further devalue marriage and weaken the traditional American family.
What do broken homes have to do with same sex marriage? Nothing, really, but Chuck has seen people in prison- prison!- and you should be afraid!
Fortunately, Chuck doesn't really have any answers, just a video and the Manhattan Declaration. I think we'll be okay on the Chuck front.
*I think Fred would be as good a person had he never heard of Jesus, but he does make belief attractive.
So, the TSA has some new procedures, procedures we Americans shouted and screamed for. After all, brown people were somehow managing to get on planes. Clearly something needed to be done.
Well, it's done, and the same people who kicked and screamed for heightened airport security are more than a little put out that heightened airport security applies to them, too.
Another passenger, David, told WND he traveled to attend a sister's funeral in Los Angeles and found the security procedures at LAX "like a racist homosexual grope fest."
"This screener made me turn all my pockets inside out, patted me down four times, being particularly attentive to my crotch and butt. I asked him if he just wanted me to strip down naked and he said go ahead. My wife then approached a nearby sheriff, who brought these violations of my privacy, and person, to a halt," said the passenger, who described himself as a "middle class white guy." [emphasis mine]
What, exactly, is he upset about, do you think? That he was "groped", or that he, a middle class white got groped? Groping is for brown people, not good white people. White people are never terrorists. White people never fly planes into IRS buildings . . . no, wait . . . white people never blow up federal buildings . . . no, wait . . . white people never concoct elaborate plans to kill law enforcement official en masse . . . no, wait . . .
Poor David, he lost his privilege for a moment. He got to spend 5 minutes in the life of a brown person, and he really didn't like it.
Boo-fucking-hoo, David. You get to live in the world you helped create. Deal with it.
The most famous of all terrorist fashion statements, at least in the US, is the hoodie, as made famous by Ted Kaczynski, who was also attempting to popularize unkempt hair and beards, apparently. Unless you want people to think you are a terrorist, you should probably get rid of that hoodie and cut that hair.
Timothy McVeigh, American terrorist, preferred a more groomed look, and white T-shirts. If you don't want people to think you are a terrorist, grow a beard and don't wear white T-shirts. Maybe you shouldn't be a man anymore, as well. Just to be sure.
Andrew Joseph Stack III, frequently referred to as a "tax protestor", flew a plane into a government building. Clearly terrorism. He favored plaid button downs. Remove any plaid button downs from your wardrobe immediately if you don't want to freak people out on planes.
Hutaree, famous for a multipart plot to kill police officers by the dozens, made it just threatening to be a woman as a man, by including a woman in their group. They preferred to wear colored T-shirts and camouflage.
So, just to review, if you don't want people to mistake you for a terrorist, shave your beard and cut your hair, don't be clean shaven, don't be a man, don't be a woman, don't wear hoodies, don't wear plaid button downs, don't wear white or colored T-shirts and don't wear camouflage.
[another h/t to [redacted] who probably needs a good dose of prozac by now]
Remember our friends with the hate filled hearts? Well, now that antigay bullying is in the news again, tragically because of the suicide of a gay teen, they've decided that guns don't kill people*, gays kill themselves. And their hate filled hearts have nothing to do with it.
names have been changed to protect the innocent, and the hateful. (actually, i have no idea what the rule is with FB postings and privacy, so i'm covering my own ass.)
There is no good news in this story. None. It's sad, and it's endemic of the nightmares today's LGBT youth continue to face every. single. day. [another redacted],
[i have approached nazi levels of hate] Yes, it is terrible....for so many young to misunderstand their lives and be so confused as to embrace a life that leads them to these ends is horrible...children like these need all of the help that we can get for them (and don't give malarky about bullying, these kids are depressed without ever being bullied)...they need real love, caring, and concern...as well as a lot of help with their misunderstandings on sex and what is natural.
2 hours ago
[i'm an evil little man who deserves mockery] "Brown, his family said, was "bullied to death" — picked on for his small size, his religion and because he did not wear designer clothes and shoes." ....I agree with the idiot - NOM's support of designer shoes must end !!!
about an hour ago
[i am a reasonable person] If the schools don't start addressing the bullying issue and take a stand against bullies and their co-defendent parents there will be more and more suicides among young people. I was picked on my whole 12 years of school for being fat, believe me I know the scars it leaves behind.
exactly, beth. i was picked on just because i was somewhat smaller than the bullies of the school. i got beaten up, teased, tormented ... you name it.
did i use it as an excuse to end my life? no. now ... that is not to belittle the loss of... the brown family. i don't know asher's mental state, and i guess none of us ever really will. i completely agree with the "co-defendant" idea. if the kids are being bullies at school, the parents shoulder some, if not a lot, of the responsibility, if it can be shown that they're not doing something to alter the bully's path.See More
45 minutes ago
Nothing touches these people, does it? They look at the suffering they help cause and see only another chance to hate. I would say we are doomed, but I look back at history and see times where blacks were regarded as animals, when the Final Solution wasn't viewed as such a bad thing and then I look around today and think, "there is hope, but I doubt I'll live to see it." Well, if not me, perhaps my niece. Perhaps her children.
So we have to keep trying. And never forget about Asher. Ever.
*I despise the argument that guns don't kill people, people kill people. Sure, guns don't leap out of their holsters and fire themselves, but guns make it very easy to kill. If every killer had to kill with their bare hands, there would be a lot less murder in this world. You'd really have to want it and be physically capable of it.
So, what's stopping them? I know we liberalCryptoFacistIslamatheists are this close to ruling the world, but no one's in control of your thoughts. You can pray all you want, whenever and where ever you please. So, apparently, 4 in 5 Americans don't really mean "pray" so much as they mean "make a big spectacle of praying so everybody notices".
Man, have I messed up. I’m a Christian, but I walked away from the Lord and got involved with a non-Christian girl. I think I love her. She is sweet and we get along, but she’s not a believer. We got involved in some stuff, sexually, that we shouldn’t have (and I was the one persuading her to do it). Before long, I became convicted about the sexual sin and about being unequally yoked with an unbeliever. I broke off our relationship.
I just heard from her though, and she is pregnant, with my baby. So here’s my question. Do I marry this girl, and become unequally yoked or do I not marry and have my child be born into a family in which his or her parents aren’t married to each other?
I know I’ve really messed up. I’m just trying to figure what to do now, to keep from making it worse.
You're a jerk. You talked this "sweet" girl into sex, then decided it was sinful and she wasn't good enough for you and bailed. Now, you don't even feel bad about that at all, you're just trying to make yourself feel better about things. Here's what I want to know, and what nobody really addresses, is why the fuck would she want to marry you? You're a jerk. You got what you wanted and left, no doubt slut shaming her on the way out. And now you expect her to make a lifelong commitment to you as your spouse? I hope she laughs in your face.
A faithful BreakPoint listener alerted me to an article from the BBC, written by Christopher Landau. Landau reports that the valve company’s owner, Weng-Jen Wau, believes that the more Christian employees he has, the better his business will prosper.
“If you’re a Christian you’re more honest, with a better heart,” Wau says. And if they do something wrong, “they feel guilty-that’s the difference,” he notes.
An employee at Wau’s factory agreed. “If everybody became a Christian,” he said, “it would have a very big impact, and would really help the development of our factory.”
First of all, no. Secondly, I can prove it. 75% of Americans are Christians, and in case you haven't noticed, we're in the middle of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. And the country wasn't exactly crawling with nonChristians in 1929, either.
Given the Yay! quality of the article, I guess Christians want the US to start emulating China now. My how times they are a'changin'.
There's two types of White Supremacists in the US, the terrifying young men with shaved heads and red suspenders that you should run screaming from no matter what race you are, and then there are the dilettantes. Bored, white, middle aged, middle class, they like to study preCivil War and Civil War era history, maybe cosplay* a little, and write newsletters and blogs. Blogs about the action they will take. Oh, the action they will take!
hee-hee!
Take for example the Jacksonian Club (yes, that Jackson), which I found through a Christian blog, but that's another post for another day. Note how their proudly anonymous White Supremacist plans are exactly what prominent GOPpers were suggesting as serious policy in 2009.
Unlike the usual right-wing commentator, I am not here just to deliver you the news and my views. On the contrary, this blog is nothing less than a call to action. It is my intention to gather together as many good men as I can find with the immediate goal of forming Jacksonian Clubs in as many of our towns and cities as possible. Like the leftist Jacobin Clubs of old, the purpose of the Jacksonian Clubs will be to bring us together in a spirit of fraternity, to provide an alternative space for us to speak, think, plan and act.
And act we shall.
We shall fraternalize and plan and think and speak. About actions. We shall take them.
But what actions shall you take, Albert Jacksonian?
This guy over here may think that this can be remedied by a Second Continental Congress and a new Constitution, while this other guy might think the answer lies in new form of national socialism, while the guy in the corner may be for the formation of a smaller White entho-state in the current territory of the U.S.
Call a Continental Congress? Really? Oooh, secession. Wow, current White Supremacist rhetoric is so 2009 GOP.
These arguments and ideas are important, but we cannot begin to argue over the best way to achieve our objectives until we have at first organized on the first principle, the first necessary step: that the current Government has become our enemy, that it is actively seeking to overturn the basics of our civilization, that it has us slated for replacement as the majority population of this land and that none of this will be cured by ordinary politics.
Well, that's preObama rhetoric, circa 2008. It's like he's invented a Time Machine of Hatred!
You’d be surprised how many of us are out there.
Dude, "we surround you" has already been done.
You know, there was a time when all of the above would have shocked- Shocked!- me, now it's just "been there, heard that, don't you have something new for me?" How did we get to the point where white supremacists pandering to other white supremacists is not just old hat, but old major political party, all over the news, done to death boring?
*They call it "reenactments". I call it cosplay.
**Huh. That actually works for North America and India.
I have decided to slightly edit this essay to reflect Christian privilege in the US in the wake of ZOMG!!1!! CROSSES TOTALLY HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH CHRISTIANITY! outrage over the decision that 12 foot tall white crosses on the sides of the highways in Utah "would convey to a reasonable observer that the state of Utah is endorsing Christianity.” Duh.
The sheer level of HOWDAREYOU! in reaction to this incredibly obvious observation renewed, yet again, my disgust at Christian privilege, and my amazement that the average Christian in this country cannot see it.
How Christian privilege benefits Christians (in ways they don't even think of):
I can, if I wish, arrange to be in the company of people of my religion most of the time. Very easily done for the Christian, as 75% of Americans are Christians. There is no place in the US where atheists can pull this one off.
I can avoid spending time with people whom I was trained to mistrust and who have learned to
mistrust my kind or me. Evil atheists, mooslins, hindus and the like.
I can be pretty sure that my neighbors in such a location will be neutral or pleasant to me. I would not even think of telling my neighbors I am an atheist. We have a neutral/pleasant relationship right now, I don't want to lose it.
I can turn on the television or open to the front page of the paper and see people of my religion widely
represented. that must be neat. I get House, who is perpetually being pwned by any idiot who walks through the door. House and . . . yeah, I got nothing.
When I am told about our national heritage or about "civilization," I am shown that people of my
religion made it what it is. And if they weren't actually Christian, everyone pretends they were. Lookin' at you, Jefferson.
I can be sure that my children will be given curricular materials that testify to the existence of their
religion. No matter how public the school, American children will be taught about Christians at every turn, because those people made America great! Atheists get Neitchse. And Stalin.
I can be pretty sure that my children's teachers and employers will tolerate them if they fit school and
workplace norms; my chief worries about them do not concern others' attitudes toward their religion. Can you imagine being a Muslim in this country, today, and sending your children off to school? I would be terrified.
I can swear, or dress in second hand clothes, or not answer letters, without having people attribute
these choices to the bad morals of my religion. As an atheist, I get to be the ambassador of all atheists everywhere I go- if I out myself. Every low cut blouse would be a testament to the sluttishness of atheists. Every "fuck" and "shit" would be evidence of our dirty mouths. "I met an atheist who . . . therefore all atheists . . ." comes up a lot in Christian blogs and message boards. Keep it in mind!
I can do well in a challenging situation without being called a credit to my religion. I can also do poorly without being an example of said religion. Why do atheists do [anything]? is also a common question from Christians, as if I were some entirely different species, and when they come across an example of an atheist doing something noteworthy/praiseworthy it blows their little minds.
I can remain oblivious of the language and customs of persons of religions who constitute the world's
majority without feeling in my culture any penalty for such oblivion. There are 1 BILLION muslims in the world and the average American Christian can't spell Q'ran correctly. (Especially odd considering that there at least 4 different acceptable spellings of that word.)
I can criticize our government and talk about how much I fear its policies and behavior without
being seen as a cultural outsider. Exactly. I am furthering the Atheist Agenda(tm), Christians are patriots!
I can be pretty sure that if I ask to talk to the "person in charge", I will be facing a person of my religion.
I can easily buy posters, post-cards, picture books, greeting cards, dolls, toys and children's
magazines featuring my religion. And, I don't have to buy them online so as not to out myself to everyone in the store.
I can worry about religious discrimination without being seen as self-interested or self-seeking.
I can think over many options, social, political, imaginative or professional, without asking whether
a person of my religion would be accepted or allowed to do what I want to do. I can never be President of this country. In fact, politics are out altogether. I can vote, but forget actually engaging the system that rules me in any other, substantive way.
I can arrange my activities so that I will never have to experience feelings of rejection owing to my
religion. I can lie and lie and lie about who I really am. It's fun.
I can easily find academic courses and institutions which give attention only to people of my race. If you're Christian, you can find entire colleges, book stores, music stores, etc. devoted to you.
I can expect figurative language and imagery in all of the arts to testify to experiences of my religion. Any time somebody sneezes, I am immediately reminded exactly whose culture rules my brain.
I will feel welcomed and "normal" in the usual walks of public life, institutional and social. I don't belong and I am finding it harder and harder to ignore that fact. I can hide, I can't imagine what this feels like for people who can't.
Yes, the poor persecuted Christian. Weep for all the privilege you have. It must be hard.
But either way, forget the commercial's message. The gays and lesbians have to be told flat out that their behavior is sin, regardless of what the world says.
