Yesterday I wrote about the Illinois Republican (my bad, should have checked google) who has been going around saying that God is using autism and tornadoes to punish the US for supporting gay rights. It's actually far worse than that as one of my respondents pointed out. Macular degeneration and dementia are also included, and I wouldn't be surprised if she eventually got around to cancer and diabetes. (AIDS has already been covered.)
This is seriously frightening stuff and the fact that people vote for people who say things like that is also seriously frightening. After going to a talk entitled "The Challenges of Racism and the Acculturation of American Muslims" by Dawud Walid, the Director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations-Michigan, I do not feel we can be complacent about such things. Mr. Walid pointed out that American Muslims are not the first ethnic/religious group to be scapegoated; back in the 19th century it was common to see signs saying "No Irish Need Apply". For those of us who know our anti-Catholic history, what Mr. Walid was saying sounded all too familiar. Even as late as 1960 when John F. Kennedy was elected as the first and so far only Catholic President, one of the first things people wanted to know was would he be taking marching orders from Rome? So what we are dealing with is sadly nothing new.
Mr. Walid pointed out that there are several well-funded organizations that have a vested interest in stirring up hatred against Muslims. I believe him because I know my history, particularly that of the Know-Nothings and Ku Klux Klan, both rabidly anti-Catholic organizations. They, however, did not have the tools these groups have. Mr. Walid refrained from pointing out the religious alignment of these organizations but I have a pretty good idea of what kind of people are behind them, and it's not atheists or agnostics or even Jews (Mr. Walid had some pretty respectful things to say about Jews despite the fact that he is not a fan of Zionism or Israel). I think we need look no further than our candidate from Illinois for an example. And yes, Fox News is right in there stirring the pot.
Right now it is gays that are making the news, but make no mistake, I firmly believe the American people are being set up to scapegoat anyone who is not a white conservative Christian or does not support the values of such. I believe that we may be headed for a new Dark Age.
V. S. Naipaul, in "The Masque of Africa", devotes several pages to describing what belief in witchcraft is doing to people in Uganda. He says, "To live in a world ruled by witchcraft, a world liable to irrational dissolution in its details, is to be on edge, to be on a constant lookout. Add to this the eternal anxiety about politics, the fear of a land being lost; add the great population of Uganda, the constant feeling of a crowd too great for the land available, the roads, the jobs available." When I hear things like "Autism is God's punishment for supporting gay rights," I wonder just how different are we from those "superstitious" Africans? If we, who are on the spectrum, are visible signs of God's disfavor, what is in store for us at the hands of ignorant people whose fears are being exploited for personal gain?
There was once a king who was bothered by the fact that a certain religious leader would not bow to his will. One night, in front of his knights, he said, "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" Four knights jumped up, rode to the cathedral and butchered the man in front of the altar. When the king heard of this he said, "I did not order that!" But he had, by his careless words. There are a lot of careless words being spoken in the United States today. Will "but I did not intend that!" be the excuse?
This is seriously frightening stuff and the fact that people vote for people who say things like that is also seriously frightening. After going to a talk entitled "The Challenges of Racism and the Acculturation of American Muslims" by Dawud Walid, the Director of the Council of American-Islamic Relations-Michigan, I do not feel we can be complacent about such things. Mr. Walid pointed out that American Muslims are not the first ethnic/religious group to be scapegoated; back in the 19th century it was common to see signs saying "No Irish Need Apply". For those of us who know our anti-Catholic history, what Mr. Walid was saying sounded all too familiar. Even as late as 1960 when John F. Kennedy was elected as the first and so far only Catholic President, one of the first things people wanted to know was would he be taking marching orders from Rome? So what we are dealing with is sadly nothing new.
Mr. Walid pointed out that there are several well-funded organizations that have a vested interest in stirring up hatred against Muslims. I believe him because I know my history, particularly that of the Know-Nothings and Ku Klux Klan, both rabidly anti-Catholic organizations. They, however, did not have the tools these groups have. Mr. Walid refrained from pointing out the religious alignment of these organizations but I have a pretty good idea of what kind of people are behind them, and it's not atheists or agnostics or even Jews (Mr. Walid had some pretty respectful things to say about Jews despite the fact that he is not a fan of Zionism or Israel). I think we need look no further than our candidate from Illinois for an example. And yes, Fox News is right in there stirring the pot.
Right now it is gays that are making the news, but make no mistake, I firmly believe the American people are being set up to scapegoat anyone who is not a white conservative Christian or does not support the values of such. I believe that we may be headed for a new Dark Age.
V. S. Naipaul, in "The Masque of Africa", devotes several pages to describing what belief in witchcraft is doing to people in Uganda. He says, "To live in a world ruled by witchcraft, a world liable to irrational dissolution in its details, is to be on edge, to be on a constant lookout. Add to this the eternal anxiety about politics, the fear of a land being lost; add the great population of Uganda, the constant feeling of a crowd too great for the land available, the roads, the jobs available." When I hear things like "Autism is God's punishment for supporting gay rights," I wonder just how different are we from those "superstitious" Africans? If we, who are on the spectrum, are visible signs of God's disfavor, what is in store for us at the hands of ignorant people whose fears are being exploited for personal gain?
There was once a king who was bothered by the fact that a certain religious leader would not bow to his will. One night, in front of his knights, he said, "Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?" Four knights jumped up, rode to the cathedral and butchered the man in front of the altar. When the king heard of this he said, "I did not order that!" But he had, by his careless words. There are a lot of careless words being spoken in the United States today. Will "but I did not intend that!" be the excuse?
