I was trying to get a grip on the mentality that produced the Sarah Palin smear job (I carry no water for Palin and think she was a poor choice for veep, but…)
..and I came across this gem, “Blame America (and Jesus), for Jaycee Dugard kidnapping,” from the September edition of Vanity Fair. It implies that belief in the divinity of Jesus is somehow linked up with some kind of kinky sexuality. I kid you not…
[ Just try substituting a few other religious figures for that.
How about “Blame India (and Krishna) for sex-trafficking in Mumbai slums”? How do you think that sounds?
Or “Blame Saudi Arabia (and Muhammed) for terrorism? (Sorry, we already have that going around)
Ok. Here’s a anothr one. What about “Blame Israel (and Moses) for torture in military prisons.”
Has a ring to it….
[Note to religious fundamentalists – the above is satire meant to deride Vanity Fair’s bigotry – no offense is meant to Jesus, Mohammed, Moses, Krishna, Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, or Judaism. Offense is meant to Vanity Fair, however, mainly for terminal idiocy and obvious bigotry].
Here’s the piece:
“It’s an American Gothic thing—or, by any other name, a white trash thing. On the fringe of communities across the country there is a mutant culture: trashy, marginal, uneducated, unhealthy, and nutty. People cluck about it, and are fairly careful to avoid it, but are, too, remarkably laissez-faire towards it. This is partly because white trash means…white. And partly because, in America, a white man’s home is his castle (no matter how much debris is in the yard), and you just don’t ask too many questions (and because so many homes in America look like the homes of sex offenders).
And partly because of Jesus.
If Phillip Garrido ranted about there being no God, if he passed out atheist tracts, instead of bizarre-o Jesus-saves stuff, he would likely have been carted off years ago. But Jesus saves you not just from your sins but from public opprobrium. It may not make you any less weird in people’s eyes, but it makes you part of a protected class of weirdos. Jesus is an acceptable refuge for the sex offender. God knows, Jesus may even incite the sex offender.
No matter. If you believe hotly enough in Jesus, you’re a good American—at least for all the other weird Christians with piles of crap in their backyards, which is a considerable demographic.”
More here, by Michael Wolff.
What’s his point? If Garrido had been arrested years ago, wouldn’t that have been a good thing? Or would Wolff like an atheist to be able to get away with rape and kidnapping for so long, too?
I gather that Wolff wants people to be more suspicious of their neighbors (after all, his title tells us to “blame,” and not even to blame Garrido). As if distrust isn’t widespread enough.
I don’t care much that he thinks this way. I care that articles increasingly rely on theoretical generalities, often solely (as in this case), to make ridiculous inferences, and I worry that these fallacies might become acceptable.
Hi –
I think his argument is that the fact that people profess Christianity wraps them in a respectability they wouldn’t have otherwise..
But, of course, that’s true not just of professing Christianity.
If you professed mathematics or biology at the local college, people would be more trustful of you than normal..
Or if you were had a badge (which is why serial killers frequently use badges and uniforms when they’re on the prowl).
But I think the content of what he’s saying is important. He makes these logical leaps because it’s quite clear his antipathy to Christianity is so great that it makes him unreasonable.
The whole discussion about Palin is permeated with this kind of irrational anger and hatred.
As I said, I thought McCain blundered in picking her. But, she doesn’t warrant this kind of bottomless rage.
It should be reserved for the banksters – but guess who gets his own puff piece in the very same issue with Levi?
Hank Paulson
I’ve never understood the non-Christian obsession with Jesus. He was a historical figure. There’s little doubt about that. The question for many is whether or not He was God. He thought He was. That means either
a. He was God, or
b. He was delusional
Based on what I’ve read, I don’t think Jesus was delusional so that means I believe (a) above. That seems to be a rational conclusion based on what I have read and understand. How surprised I am to find that what it really means is that I’m a white trash pervert who lives in a poorly constructed house (nay, trailer) with a trash-strewn lawn, at least according to Michael Wolff.
Is this what passes for deep thought on the left these days? Seriously?