tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182808628157101919.post1340686266967658917..comments2023-08-15T12:05:03.752-04:00Comments on a sane basic particle.: A Struggle to Love My Hateful Neighbors.Anneliese. (An-uh-lee-suh.)http://www.blogger.com/profile/17729766342832854041noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182808628157101919.post-75107975405478465002010-06-20T06:53:04.144-04:002010-06-20T06:53:04.144-04:00I think we're somehow managing to each agree w...I think we're somehow managing to each agree with the other more than we realize. Apologies if I've misunderstood, and also if my "you've let yourself get sucked in" talk has been too accusatory. I'm very used to people who feel very strongly about this (as you and I do) not quite getting the idea that reacting strongly can sometimes be precisely the wrong thing to do. Believe me, in situations that call for megaphones, I'm all for the megaphones, though I can't say I know which way to point them at the moment...Asanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182808628157101919.post-71900121340313920442010-06-20T04:54:44.246-04:002010-06-20T04:54:44.246-04:00Right. That's essentially what I just said, bu...Right. That's essentially what I just said, but I'll say it again, for fun:<br /><br />I agree that directing my anger toward the Westboro Baptist Church was misguided—not because they are forgivable by any stretch of the imagination, but because by getting angry, I gave into their game. I did what they wanted me to do, just by reacting—like Guy Pearce in <i>Memento</i>, when Carrie Ann Fisher cajoles him into hitting her just so she can later use the bruises against him. I get it: I got sucked in. (Though, honestly, it's hard not to. They are very good at what they do—that is, being detestable.)<br /><br />However, I do believe—as I tried to point out by mentioning the Religious Right in the post itself, <i>The 700 Club</i> in the above comment—that in all other cases, those "more palatable" instances, <i>we have to come out with torches & pitchforks & megaphones & shit.</i> <br /><br />The Time Has Come, the Walrus said—& so do I. Seriously. How can it be that this Utter Hypocrisy isn't decried from every semi-political platform? Every microphone? Every window? I'm ready to tattoo <a href="http://www.soulforce.org/article/homosexuality-bible-gay-christian" rel="nofollow">this article</a> onto the insides of the eyelids of every faux-Christian homophobe from here to Walla Walla, Washington. Just give me a pen.Anneliese. (An-uh-lee-suh.)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17729766342832854041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182808628157101919.post-60920235274683064592010-06-17T14:50:04.222-04:002010-06-17T14:50:04.222-04:00I'm with you on the need for more stronger opp...I'm with you on the need for more stronger opposition, but WBC is a particularly bad target for that opposition. Not only do they want people to fight back, they have (as far as I can tell) very little support outside a small, extremely radical base. There are plenty of conservatives, somewhat extreme in their own ways, who look at WBC and reject them as too outrageous. Everyone thinks they're crazy. Their hate speech can be incredibly painful to listen to, I know, but I honestly think the only way they can do anything meaningfully harmful is if we pay more attention to them. It's the people who say this sort of thing in a more palatable, accepted way that are dangerous, no?Asanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182808628157101919.post-64497025934467592422010-06-17T11:44:26.549-04:002010-06-17T11:44:26.549-04:00I totally understand your point—as it is, of cours...I totally understand your point—as it is, of course, mine. This post (which was born, truly, of a Struggle to Continue to Love my Hateful Neighbor) represents a blip in my otherwise unbroken approach of Just Ignore the Crazies Until They Go Away, Knowing All the While That You're Right. There comes a time, though, when everyone cracks—& last night (&, still, this morning—& for how long, I don't know) <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMBZDwf9dok&feature=related" rel="nofollow">I'm mad as hell, & I'm not going to take it anymore</a>. I have this rotten feeling in my gut that won't let me stand by, even from my tiniest of platforms, & let this hate speech go unopposed—because that's what it is. Can you imagine the numbers of people who would be up in arms if they put any other slur on those signs?<br /><br />So maybe the Westboro Baptist Church isn't really the best target—because, you're right, they are self-professed "media whores" & provocateurs—but this rhetoric, in (very) slightly less provocative terms, is being doled out daily in megachurches & on <i>The 700 Club</i>, & it actually makes me want to scream. So, I did the next best thing: I Blogged, as many a pissed-off liberal has done before me, to precious little effect. <br /><br />& I do still encourage loud opposition—maybe not picket for picket at WBC's detestable rallies as I hyperbolically suggested, but in a figurative sense, absolutely. In general—in politics, in religion (though the two have become nigh-inseparable when it comes to far too many spheres)—I feel like liberals, hippies, peace-lovers, all us softies need to engage in the debate in a way that punches back. It's not enough anymore to take the high road as a general approach. <br /><br />With WBC, I agree (in the cool, clear light of day): hitting back is exactly what they want. But I'm seriously considering starting some kind of letter-writing campaign, today, to get "Fair & Balanced" taken off of Fox News. Something, anything—because I'm mad as hell, & I'm not going to take it anymore.Anneliese. (An-uh-lee-suh.)https://www.blogger.com/profile/17729766342832854041noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2182808628157101919.post-53321148750515590462010-06-17T11:06:31.655-04:002010-06-17T11:06:31.655-04:00Firstly, that West Wing scene is so, so fantastic....Firstly, that West Wing scene is so, so fantastic. That show has such excellent bits of dialogue.<br /><br />On a more serious note: I'm not sure that turning the other cheek might not honestly be the best way to oppose WBC. Their whole game is to behave utterly ridiculously in order to garner attention. They make a lot of their money from successfully suing people who protest just that little bit too much after WBC's gone and gotten a license to do their bit. Might encouraging loud opposition not be a bit counter-productive? Also, I think that in making themselves such utterly ridiculous attention whores, they lose almost all chance of <i>anyone</i> else taking them seriously. Terrifying and vile as they are, I'm not sure I see them as a particularly effective threat, at least in terms of public opinion.<br />Back on a less serious note again: have you seen <a href="http://meganphelpsroper.tumblr.com/" rel="nofollow">this</a>? It's the tumblr account of one of Fred Phelps' own granddaughters (an older one, presumably, as Wikipedia tells me that she's the third child out of many of a daughter of Fred born in '57). She's been posting parodies of popular songs with the lyrics adapted to suit WBC's message. So far she's got Ever Burn (Lady Gaga's Telephone), Whorish Face (Poker Face), Shame (Bowie's Fame), and The Seal of Silence (The Sound of Silence).Asanoreply@blogger.com