Will you realize that the country that you grew up in no longer exists then?That's some serious hysterics, folks.
Or will you simply crawl behind the wall of denial?
If we're going to go down this road, these are questions we need to ask before we embark on the journey. We ask them now, or wait until someone, somewhere answers them for us. You really do need to answer these questions for yourself.
If we face an enemy, we will be facing our own.
Our own brothers and sisters, our own neighbors and co-workers, the guy who sells you your tires or the woman who teaches your kids. That's not new, it's happened before, back when we lost touch with the better angels of our nature.
Of course there's always South Florida's dependably militant Gun Free Zone who yesterday tweeted that he was at war with the Americans who want commonsense action to address this country's gun violence...
But as unhinged as these folks are, there's always guys like this one to make them look almost rational in comparison. NSFW, by the way...
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11 comments:
I love your blog, and hold many of the same ideas on politics as you, but I see you do this again and again. Do not assume that all Catholics, or even members of the clergy, espouse the same conservative ideas the curia and high-profile bishops hold to. The fact is that Catholic-Americans have traditionally been one of the largest belle-weather voting blocks in the country. As a group we are pretty evenly divided and serve as a microcosm of the nation's political climate. I find it funny how secularists such as yourself rail against the religious as intolerant and close-minded while exhibiting many of the same characteristics you're pointing fingers at. Furthermore, I don't know why you seem to link gun owners with Catholic practices like communion when the states with the higher percentage of gun owners also have some of the smallest Catholic populations and tend to be more Evangelical Christian than anything else. But that's what guys like you do, hate on religious people because they hate on other religious people...that make perfect sense.
Thanks for the comment, Anon, because whether I agree with you or not, it makes me think about my positions.
I don't believe that I "hate on religious people" here at SFDB. I am certainly critical of Christian hypocrisies, of which there are many, and point them out when I have the chance. Maybe that's your definition of "hate," I don't know. But I don't have any problem at all with organized religion and I'm not sure where you're picking up that I do.
The fact of the matter is that homosexuals have been denied communion by the Catholic Church, which is traditionally conservative in it's political stance. I think it's also safe to say that gun extremists are, for the most part, conservative in ideology. Therefore, the link. I don't think it's an indictment of Catholicism, the sacrament of communion or anything else.
Sorry you see it that way.
I would also suggest that read back over your comment and think about whether you have any animosity toward secularists who, according to you, are like me.
Do I know you anon? Because you apparently know me.
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Anon-That is how Rick's moveon.org Alinsky-ite handlers operate. Identify the most extreme in the opposing group, and use them as a proxy for the entire opposing group.
"Anon-That is how Rick's moveon.org Alinsky-ite handlers operate. Identify the most extreme in the opposing group, and use them as a proxy for the entire opposing group."
Self-awareness and irony are the undiscovered countries.
See now, JM, that's the kind of comment I usually delete because it has nothing to do with the post and it's maliciously put up to illicit a response from me. That's trolling.
But I'm in a pretty good mood today and I enjoy your comments where you side with and defend the loons so I'm going to let it ride.
That's the only one you get today.
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The extremists are the most dangerous and often the loudest. Identifying them can bring them out so we see them.
A few posts ago was an issue with safety locks and gun drops. To me, that was one of the most intelligent discussions about the gun safety issue.
Gun safety should be the terminolgy, not gun control - I think the discussions would go further (a borrowed idea, not mine)
Anon 1st Comment - right on, brotha. I've made the same comment a few times on this blog but you did it in a far more articulate manner. Hit the nail right on the head.
Thank you.
relieved the facial hair tells our unhinged subject is not in law enforcement
Speaking about generalizations and the above comment, what's with the weird facial hair and gun nuts? Gun Free Zone also resembles a deranged Don Quixote. If they are so worried abou the stormtroopers, wouldn't they try to blend in a little?
I take credit for Anon Comment #1, but I am not the same guy who posted that second comment under Anon. Rick, I appreciate that you value the comments section of your blog as a space for introspection. And perhaps I do "know you" but not you so much as people who may share your opinion and feelings on "Christian hypocrisy" as you called it (and I would tend to agree that it runs rampant among Catholics, Protestants, and Evangelicals). But, I did not mean "hate" in the traditional sense of the word, so much as in the way kids today use it to mean singling out or bullying. Whether you like to admit it or not, the fact that you brought a religious institution that I would bet a majority of readership hold spiritual if not at least cultural ties to, into an article on a totally unrelated topic. Of all the metaphors you could have chosen, you chose to take a stab at the Catholic Church. This happens quite often in fact, and I'm sure that is what SteveBM was referring to in his comment. The pattern of behavior is there, I'm not judging, but I've been reading your stuff since your SOTP days and believe you to be a pretty open minded guy. In the words of the great philosopher of the twentieth century, "can't we all just get along?" Live and let live, and stop taking so many jabs at the Christians. Is the Catholic Church perfect? No. No human institution is. Are its stances on gender issues and sexuality dated and contrary to the overarching message of Christianity? Sure. But there are plenty of Catholics who realize that those rules have proved fluid throughout the history of the church (priests were once allowed to get married and some still are in the Catholic Church, women once played a larger role) and are hopeful that the Church will soon start moving in a more openminded position. Again, I'm a big fan, and on board with a lot of your politics, and I think you'll find plenty of other Catholics (and clergy) who are too.
For the record, I decided to go with that after a couple others examples that I was considering didn't seem to have the horsepower I desired.
Appreciate your comment, John, and your presentation and will give it some thought.
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