Religion
Related: About this forumReligious Stereotyping Is Bullying
Posted: 06/03/2015 5:36 pm EDT
Warren J. Blumenfeld
College of Education, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Imagine this: You read on a Facebook page that people opposing your religion have planned a large-scale protest rally at the major Christian church in your home town on your Sabbath day of prayer. The organizers instruct their supporters to bring posters denouncing Christianity and pictures of Jesus on the cross wearing a Hitler-style mustache with captions reading: "He Deserved To Die," and "He Was a False Messiah," because, as stated on Facebook, "...it's what needs to take place in order to expose the true colors of Christianity."
At the protest rally, organizers will be selling and wearing T-shirts announcing: "F--- Christianity." "Everyone is encouraged to bring American Flags and any message that you would like to send to Christians," continued the message on Facebook. Though organizers have promoted the demonstration as a First Amendment "Freedom of Speech" rally, they urge supporters to carry weapons to express their Second Amendment rights as well.
Organizers say they are calling the rally because they "have had enough" of Christianity and people like Timothy McVey, Fred Phelps and his flock, Pat Robertson, and members of the Ku Klux Klan, who, rally planners claim, are not extreme outliers as media reports indicate. They are, rather, expressing the true sentiments in their book, The Christian Testaments (a.k.a. "The New Testament" . Organizers stated that they don't want Christianity to spread any further in the United States of America. Argued the protest organizer on his Facebook page, "I am far from politically correct....I'm outspoken, and I've just had it!"
How are you feeling emotionally reading this? What are your reactions about the way rally organizers represented your religion if you are Christian? If this were your house of worship, how safe would you feel attending Sabbath services with your family, including young children with a group of protesters waving American flags in your face as they pack guns in clear view?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/warren-j-blumenfeld/religious-stereotyping-is_b_7486776.html
It's also the height of stupidity.
Cartoonist
(7,323 posts)Why would I do that? What an idiotic exercise. Try to keep things real, rug.
jmowreader
(50,565 posts)Change all the "Christian" stuff to "Muslim."
AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)OK
People will probably have a higher degree of at lest being in some danger of getting killed. This notion comes from experience.
Christianity.... not so much.
Now change it all to "Hindu".
Now "Shinto"
Now change it to a rally against atheists.
What's your point?
It's still fantasy..... a stupid one.
jmowreader
(50,565 posts)What do you think the "draw a picture of Muhammad and put it up in front of a mosque" contests are all about?
AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)Attention?
The Crusades?
Crap?
rug
(82,333 posts)In the meantime, I wonder where all the cartoons come from, especially Green Lantern.
AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)A better solution is for the faithful to actually have the faith they claim to have and not even care about it.
rug
(82,333 posts)By "it", I presume you mean religious bullying.
Yorktown
(2,884 posts)Yes, the bikers protest in front of a mosque was callous and gratuitous provocation.
But this article goes much further.
A Christian wouldn't like to hear of Jesus "He Was a False Messiah,", so one can't say muhamad was not a prophet?
Sod that. Let's say both.
Or let's say the truth: Yeshua was a rather nice jewish guru, muhamad was a rather violent warlord.
rug
(82,333 posts)Yorktown
(2,884 posts)1- it does not follow from the fact Christians would not like to hear Yeshua/Jesus said not to be a messiah that it should not be said.
2- it does not follow from the fact Muslims would not like to hear muhamad to be called a violent warlord that it should not be said.
3- it does not follow from the fact Christians would not like to hear Yeshua/Jesus said not to be a messiah that muhamad should not be called a violent warlord
There are probably other non sequiturs in your article, but we already have three here.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)A prize of such worth that to compare it with anything else is ludicrous.
Matthew 5:10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.
AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)A fantasy is of little real worth.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)And to a Christian Heaven is the ultimate reward.
AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)FALSE reward.
All religions hold bunk up as more important than actual things that matter.
Fumesucker
(45,851 posts)edhopper
(33,625 posts)anti-Muslim Christians are assholes?
rug
(82,333 posts)Although they'll find common ground with him.
That asshole. I didn't pay too much attention to the details.
Thought it was needlessly confrontational.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Using an example of this to pretend all religious stereotyping is bullying is more than kinda stupid.
rug
(82,333 posts)Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)rug
(82,333 posts)Of course this description of religious stereotyping and bullying applies to him - and the other armed goons there with him. That's the whole point of the article.
Do you think it doesn't?
Warren Stupidity
(48,181 posts)with a straight face?
rug
(82,333 posts)AlbertCat
(17,505 posts)I'm sure most of us who know how you post had faces contorted with laughter and rolling eyes.
rug
(82,333 posts)And not with rolling eyes and laughter.
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)I spit my coffee when I read that.
Un-fucking-believable!
rug
(82,333 posts)cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)Now define enablers.
/iˈnāblər,e-/
noun
noun: enabler; plural noun: enablers
a person or thing that makes something possible.
Would you include as enablers, those that knew of the abuse and did nothing, and those that knew about the abuse and protected the abusers by moving them to different a parish?
Now identify them.
edhopper
(33,625 posts)just because prosecutors have a hands off policy doesn't mean it didn't happen.
We don't know all the people involved in the 2008 financial collapse because they didn't investigate.
Poorer deflection than usual.
rug
(82,333 posts)You obviously miss his intent. He's two posts away from saying anyone who doesn't leave the Catholic Church is an enabler. As he's said many times before.
Thought you were talking about bishops and cardinals.
Won't get into that debate right now.
Lordquinton
(7,886 posts)For starters.
cleanhippie
(19,705 posts)I'll tell you when to stop.
rug
(82,333 posts)That's one post. Your next one will be the money post.
Major Nikon
(36,827 posts)Seeing as how this was the only example referenced by the OP.
And no, the whole point of the article was "Religious Stereotyping Is Bullying" which was the title of the Huffpo which you repeated. Using the example of one extremely hateful dipshit sponsored by an organization of dipshits dedicated to hate doesn't mean every example of religious stereotyping is bullying. They were using an example of people who intentionally target religious people to further their agenda of religious hate. That's not the same thing as stereotyping religion itself.
rug
(82,333 posts)Goblinmonger
(22,340 posts)Looks like the "u" on the keyboard is fixed but now your "n" sticks.
rug
(82,333 posts)So much fn.
edhopper
(33,625 posts)the shooters at the Texas event came from this Mosque. Which doesn't give Ritzheimer a pass.
I wish I could find a non-biased (anti-Islam) source about the Mosque.
randys1
(16,286 posts)hrmjustin
(71,265 posts)edhopper
(33,625 posts)the same as comments about a religion.
If I say "Muslims are..." it could be considered stereotyping (depending on context)
But if I say Islam is... talking about the religion and it's tenets, it that stereotyping?
Are we to refrain from criticizing religion because of the threat of being called a bully or a bigot?
rug
(82,333 posts)Islam is not monolithic. Until the criticism is focused, it lends itself to a broad brush.
But I wanted to make the distinction.
Of course if i criticize the premiss of the religion, the divine authority of Mohammed or the divinity of Jesus or the veracity of Joseph Smith, it would apply to the religion as a whole, and still not be a "broad brush"
Yorktown
(2,884 posts)The Quran is the perfect word of god (fundamental tenet)
Therefore any "broad brush" should be narrowed to problematic passages of the Quran.
Examples:
- women are inferior to men (inheritance, witness in court)
- atheists and blasphemers beware:
As for the great exception among muslim nations, Turkey, here is a direct quote from Mustafa Kemal:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mustafa_Kemal_Atatürk's_personal_life#Religion_and_politics
Zamen
(116 posts)It's not something anyone has to imagine. I remember all the drama during the Proposition 8 thing in California.
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)say that stereotyping is the meat and potatoes of all religions , for example the concept of sinners. People who don't act in a prescribed are stereotyped as sinners. People who submit to scripture are stereotyped as "pious". The least continues.
The very act of dividing everything into good and bad creates stereotypes.
okasha
(11,573 posts)Now how are you going to get yourself down?
snagglepuss
(12,704 posts)the main functions of religion. Are you maintaining that religion does not divide the world up between good and bad, believers and unbelievers etc?
okasha
(11,573 posts)Which it undeniably does.
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)But feel free to actually back up your claim of "undeniably".
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)All sinners will burn in hell forever having their flesh burned off
rug
(82,333 posts)Although you left out his chuckling as he concocts typhoons.
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Satan created Republicans
Lordquinton
(7,886 posts)Nt
truebrit71
(20,805 posts)It's only those poor put-upon religions that get bullied....
Lordquinton
(7,886 posts)Atheists are all just angry. All the time. Angry baby eating atheists.
trotsky
(49,533 posts)Lordquinton
(7,886 posts)I'm pretty sure they don't.
skepticscott
(13,029 posts)Or "stereotyping".
Oh..right...you can't. Just words used to inflame and make certain folk seem like victims that they aren't.