October 7th, 2003, 3:59 am

Disclaimer time: This rant involves me being even more harsh and less coherent than usual, and the subject matter is a touchy issue. If what I say bugs you, you can't say I didn't warn you. I am not trying to be PC or even organized here. I'm venting because I am stressed and this pissed me right the hell off. The following is a rant in the truest sense.

We now bring you this tasty rage-filled Isa Moment of Indignation.

Ahem. ::gears up and beats on every single stupid, pseudo-fundamentalist, media-hog, internet asshat, intolerant, batshit loony faux-Christian nutball she can find:: ::and because they're so freaking LOUD, as opposed to the normal people, can find a whole lot of them::

SHUT THE FUCKING HELL UP, YOU MORONS, AND STOP MAKING MY FRIENDS LOOK LIKE PSYCHOS!

GRAH!

Okay, I should note here that I'm NOT Christian, inasmuch as I'm not anything at the moment. I grew up in a very secular family- mom came from a background of Catholicism and dad from Protestantism, but beyond major holidays we weren't big into the church. I've been exposed to quite a few organized religions in various ways, but I'm not affiliated with any. I'm undecided as of yet. However, I have or have had friends who are Wiccan, Christian, Jewish, LDS, atheist, Catholic, agnostic, Christian Scientist, Moist, Hindu, Muslim, Bhuddist, this-that-a-bag-of-potato-chips-and-some-barbeque-sauce. I also have friends who are gay, bi, happily het, celibate, free with sex, you name it. I have not once yet posted on either this journal or my blog about religious issues, and rarely about politics. I am vocally in support of equal rights for everyone, no matter what their choices. And I am not one to rag on my friends- if I say something here, you can bet your ass I would and probably have said it to their face. Are we now all crystal clear that I'm not affiliated with any particular faith, and am reasonably objective?

My poor, poor Christian friends... talk about embarrassing. Can anyone out there think of ANY particular faith that's getting more bad press right now than your run-of-the-mill Christianity (or fundamentalism)? Yeah, this is in a large part a reaction to Ivy Blossom's Livejournal post from yesterday, but I have been bothered by this for a while.

Think about it. When the two towers went down, there was an IMMEDIATE flood of people jumping over themselves to disclaim that it was "not a Muslim thing! These people were wackos!" (I am NOT going to start discussing the intricacies of any religion. I don't know any of them well enough to do that, and I am not touching that subject with a ten-foot boathook in a public forum.) Nobody wanted to make it seem like the people who happen to be Muslim were all plane-hijacking murderers. All about the PC, right? Or the sniper in Maryland- he was erroneously profiled as a Christian. That information was released despite only the most tenuous proof supporting it, and what did he turn out to be? Muslim. It was simply assumed he was Christian, because, well, that's where the serial-killers come from, don'tcha know.

Well then, someone please explain the article referenced above for me? Because for the life of me, I can't see a single redeeming factor in the behavior of ANYONE involved there, at least according to the information presented. That councilwoman- who, to be fair, may have been misquoted, since it was a paraphrase in the article- actually compared the Ten Commandments to hate speech? Now, I know that the Commandments are a very, very Christian thing- but since when the fuck does advice like "don't cheat on your partner" and "don't kill people" constitute hate speech? Okay, I kind of see her point- she's saying that to allow one religious view to be posted means that any and all religious views should be allowed to be posted, even if they're offensive. But "don't steal things, mmmkay?" is a FAR FUCKING CRY from "this murdered kid is going straight to hell! Woo hoo!" If that woman made it to the city council, one would normally assume she'd have learned to avoid making gigantic verbal gaffes like that! Is the city of Laramie incapable of passing any kind of ordinance (is that the correct term?) that will prevent hate speech from being posted on public land and still keep the doors open for religious monuments? Surely it's not THAT hard, not when the issue is as important as this.

Oh, and Phelps. I'm not going to call him "Reverend," because that implies a degree of respect I personally feel he's a world away from having earned. Phelps is, quite bluntly put, a sadistic monster for this. What sort of cruel, self-righteous, intolerant FUCKWIT wants to engrave a plaque lionizing the brutal murder of a kid? A kid who did NOTHING wrong in the eyes of the law! Oh, but I hear him yelping that it was against GOD'S law. Really? Then let GOD SORT IT OUT, you insensitive bastard! It is not up to you to decide who God does and does not approve of, not by the most generous stretch of the imagination. You can express your opinions all you want to your congregation, fine. I can't stop you, though I can certainly revile you in the privacy of MY home and meeting places. Protesting outside of this brutally slaughtered child's funeral is so far over the line I'm having trouble finding words to express my disgust with you and your cluster-fuck of a "ministry." Trust me, from what I can tell, his is NOT Christian behavior. In fact, most of the Christians I know would be (and are) upset to be even remotely connected with that sort of repugnant conduct. To paraphrase, "going to church doesn't make you a Christian any more than going to a garage makes you a mechanic." To mock, criticize, and JUDGE someone else's grief is beyond insensitive, rocketing straight past horrible and right smack into inhuman.

(Yes, I do also apply that statement to the people who were dancing in the streets after the towers were bombed. I find that people are pretty much equal-opportunity animals as a general rule.)

I seriously doubt that article would have gotten nearly as much press or attention if an intolerant Jewish asshole had been threatening to put up that monument. The intelligent, level-headed Christians seem to get no notice at all, and the complete fruit-loops appear to be trying to set the bar on appalling behavior. And then I hear people making blanket statements about "oh, here come the fundies," or I see a TV program that has the EEEEEVIL Jesus-worshippers doing nasty things to innocent minorities/sexual orientations/other religions.

Bitch, PLEASE. People have been attacking each other in the name of religion for centuries. Look at that cursed little strip of land containing Israel/Palestine/countless little warring factions. Look at history- trust me, the Christians haven't been the only aggressors. In fact, it's often a fringe movement that somehow got into power when they are (the Inquisition springs to mind). One of my Christian friends has said to me repeatedly that hey, she may not APPROVE of a particular sexual orientation but that disapproval is HER business, and has no bearing on me or anyone else. I can be considerate of her sensibilities, but that's just common courtesy. She's not about to try and stop me from reading yaoific just because it doesn't float HER boat. Yes, there are nutty, horrible, intolerant Christians out there. There are also nutty, intolerant Jews, Wiccans, insert belief system here! And yes, there are even gay folks out there who are just as pricktastic. So don't you DARE give me some sort of high and mighty bullshit about how you're so much more modern or enlightened. That is a one-way ticket to me jamming my foot right straight up your ass. You want to be enlightened, tolerant, and reasonably humanitarian? ACT LIKE IT, and don't go about putting down the current popular scapegoat. Try and rub two brain cells together before you make insulting general statements about a large group of people.

Let me say this as loudly as possible- IT IS THE INDIVIDUALS WHO ARE THE LUNATICS. The religion in many cases (not all) has only a superficial bearing on why they do the things they do, just as the video games and rock music have only a passing influence on the violent kids. If someone tries to attack their schoolmates, it doesn't matter if they say God told them to or Marilyn Manson. They were fucked up WAY before that, and whatever excuse they're giving is just that- an excuse. Buying that is about as stupid to me as believing that I'm brainless because my hair is paler than yours. "Hey now, Hitler was all about the Christianity," I hear people say. Oh, because he followed it's tenets so VERY rigorously, what with the killing and the adultery and the various atrocities. And actually, he WASN’T Christian- if anything, he used Hinduism as his religious veneer of choice, though admittedly in a completely inaccurate way. I’m not really sure WHERE the idea that he was Christian came from, besides that he was anti-semetic. A person who is going to go out and harm others will latch on to any justification they can get if they're called to task on it. The thing being used as an excuse is a victim of that person's problems as well, in a way.

And oh good GRIEF, does Christianity get picked on a lot. And it's funny, because when people say it's "for the glory of Allah!" it's because they're just not right in the head or because they're POLITICAL, but if it's "because our lord Christ said so!" it's simply because they're Christian. Yeah. Because every single person involved in the faith is as crazy as the next one, and we shouldn't go near ANY of them. Mmmmhmm. Because they've never done any GOOD for people, no. Not at all. And yeah, the cultist people ARE kinda out there. That's because they're CULTISTS. It is generally a given that they are as such not the sort you'd want to have baby-sit your kids.

For all our talk of not labeling and being open-minded and accepting, we sure are fucking hypocritical about one of the world's oldest and largest belief systems. "Everybody is right, all the time, and there are hugs- Ooooo, except for those BIBLE people. They're all hidebound and wrong-thinking. Don't touch them, you might get their cooties." You know, now that I think about it, the ones who are really getting screwed over with PR are those of us who aren't assigned to a particular group. All I am is a people. And man, you would not BELIEVE some of the crazies we turn up sometimes...

EDIT: I have now read the article about Phelps' family and ministry practices. There is much, much more that I have to say about that, but not in this rant. However, I very much urge you to read it. I am entirely horrified, if not really that shocked.

It's things like these that make me honestly want to stop trying to like people.

-Isa.

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