Cultural norms are that religion must be respected while other beliefs, cultural and political, receive no such deference.
Respect for Religion
Ted Rall
Ted Rall is a syndicated political cartoonist for Andrews McMeel Syndication, WhoWhatWhy.org and Counterpoint. He is a frequent contributor to The Wall Street Journal, a graphic novelist and author of many books of art and prose, and an occasional war correspondent. He is, recently, the author of the graphic novel "The Stringer."
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Respect !… 😉
Henri
This is a standard tactic now in other groups. For instance (Ted might have had some experience with this), if one criticizes the One, His defenders will webswarm you. Apparently any criticism, unless it is sanitized and hat-in-handed to the point of irrelevance, will generate an “outraged” response.
One example: Obama needs to grow some balls. That was a common refrain, made in complaint of how ineffectual and nonreactive He had been to Republican stonewalling and to numerous issues He was not handling in anything even remotely like a progressive/liberal/Democratic manner. Keep in mind, this is the most hostile administration in history to the press and whistleblowers (use the Google). Chelsea Manning, Edward Snowden, James Risen’s gonna-die-in-jail anonymous source, you name it, this administration is quite hostile to anything like a free society where government nonsense is called out into the open.
His defenders, however, give us all a history lesson about lynchings in the Deep South and how those lynchings were sometimes accompanied by castrations. Thus, telling Him to grow a pair is racist.
See how the entire point of the debate, the real issue, has been sidestepped?
Same thing with religion. Why? Because it’s a cakewalk if both sides are forced to stay on topic. And the religions know one thing very well: You don’t win by playing fair anywhere near as often as you win by pulling every dirty trick you can.
After He departs, I would love to read a point by point analysis of His administration’s actions. I still can’t figure out anything He did that really mattered. No Wall Street prosecutions, Gitmo’s still open, the country’s on how many warfronts now (I’ve lost track and the media sure ain’t tallying it up for us), Chelsea Manning et al. rot in prison or in hiding for having the nerve to point fingers, healthcare is still in the hands of profitmakers, the “recovery” is a joke, the NSA is snooping through all of our underwear drawers, etc., etc. …
I’ll respect your religion, politics, and any other BS you like if you respect my misanthropy.
That means I get to hate you personally without reference to all the stuff you like and think you are.
Deal?
Done !… 😉
Henri
Ever notice how religionists have no problem denigrating atheists? I have a lot of respect for their right to freedom of religion, none whatsoever for the way they choose to exercise it.