Thursday, November 3, 2011

I'm Offended

Your offense offends me.  I’ve gone along all my life remaining unoffended by the religious practices of others, even when I called myself an atheist.  The tassels of a prayer shawl peeking out from a business suit, prayers facing Mecca, the iconography of Buddhists, the careful vegetarianism of Jains, the consumption of peyote have never offended me.  But you see a cross, and your world has ended.  You hear the words “Jesus Christ”, and it is catastrophic for you.  Like a water-splashed Wicked Witch of the West you melt, screaming.  Rather than do what millions of us have done as we’ve shared this land with people who have different beliefs, you feel compelled to be offended.  And not just that, you feel compelled to behave in ways that you have protested as evil when Christians behaved that way – you seek to have Christian religious expression suppressed and removed from view.   You have given Saudi Arabia a run for its money as far as religious intolerance. 

Since the reasoning behind this offensive behavior is avoidance of offending, stop offending me by being offended.  And go do some reading on the human rights record of officially atheistic governments in the 20th century - the death toll is pretty offensive.  Or would that take time away from your being personally offended?



8 comments:

  1. I agree in total. I myself am not a religious man but I am often offended and left scratching my head at the demands of the non believer groups. Surely if they had two brain cells to rub together they would understand that you don't have to believe in a supreme being to understand the goodness that... say... christianity has given us and that it is the basis our nation was founded on. After all, as our founders clearly said it's not our government or our constitution or our bill of rights that gives us freedom, the right to exist or pursue our dreams... it's god.

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  2. Forgive your enemies...but only if they belong to YOUR church
    Q

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  3. @quizikle - not exactly the actual commandment...

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  4. PH: But one often followed...
    (I did mean "YOUR" in the rhetorical sense)
    Q

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  5. Bravo.

    I have started responding to intolerance with my own brand of intolerance, which is to get right back in their face with a ferocity they simply did not expect.

    My wife tells me I need to find a deserted cave on some mountain top to live in.

    She's right.

    --AOA

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  6. An Ordinary American - That's the temptation. Preceded by "Oh, give me a BREAK!" or "Oh go put your big girl panties on and deal with it."

    It should not be necessary for a federal court to make sure that the word "God" can be used at a funeral at a military cemetary. Among other things.

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