Kim writes about an incident that occurred on an outdoor Metro platform in Washington, D.C.:
Anyway, a seemingly normal guy walks up and points to my son and says, "Is that permanent, the wheelchair?"
I answered yes.
Then the stranger loudly continues, "Wow, that's too bad. You should take him to a healing service at church. You should pray God stops punishing America for all the abortions. If we don't stop allowing abortions it will just get worse. Pray God spares your son from the evil America is allowing."
Apparently this lunatic didn't find it ironic that his imagined god would kill my son and other children with cancer -- to punish adults for having abortions.
Pulling him aside, just out of earshot of the kids, I replied, "If you don't get away from me and my kids this instant, it won't be God you should fear punishment from."
Source: Religiarchy
It was fairly nice of Kim to answer this guy's questions at all — I understand that many parents in analogous situations get tired of personal, probing questions and would prefer that strangers mind their own business. I doubt, though, that the guy entirely realized just how rude and obnoxious he was behaving. If a person lives in a religious community that teaches such nonsense as matters of fact, and if the guy is never exposed to outsiders who sincerely believe differently, then we should hardly be surprised to find him saying such things to complete strangers.
This is arguably one of the consequences of conservative, evangelical Christians cutting themselves off from the broader American culture through narrowly tailored cultural, political, legal, and social institutions. By associating primarily or only with like-minded Christians who never create situations in which people's viewpoints are challenged, and by limiting their exposure to outsiders through mediated attacks against them as evil, satanic, secularists, the possibility of civil interactions is greatly reduced.
Such conservative evangelicals are having less and less in common with other Americans — not even the same language or manners in common. What many conservative evangelicals consider entirely reasonable will be perceived as obnoxious, arrogant, self-righteous, and annoying by others. How will the two groups ever be able to work together on any level if this situation continues to develop in this manner?
Some of them could use a reminder to be civil. OTOH some of them know what the commonly accepted rules of civility and decencey are, but don’t care. They believe the end justifies the means.
Austin, are you familiar with a pastor in Denver named Bob Enyart? He actually teaches his followers that being less than confrontational, or failure to be “in-your-face” is being delinquent in one’s Christian duties.
It seems ironic that within this guys worldview his god is really responsible for this kid being in a wheelchair. So it would seem somewhat pointless to go to a prayer service to have the condition reversed.
“If you don’t get away from me and my kids this instant, it won’t be God you should fear punishment from.”
Damn, that m’f-er got TOLD!
@ Kyle S: Actually Bob Enyart is known for having spanked one of his children so hard, he was charged with child abuse. He was on the infidel guy show and I called in an confronted him about it, and he tried to dodge the comment. He talked about what a dedicated and loving his son has allegedly become, but he failed to make any causal positive connection between his years of physical abuse and his son’s alleged disposition.
Egregiously, his abuse conviction didn’t keep him off TV. Cuz it was all in the name of God, so says he.
http://www.nospank.net/n-e81.htm
I’ve encountered such idiots, too, though never in the company of a child in a wheelchair. I always got the impression that their brains had a very selective filter, that mapped input from other humans into two messages: 1) I agree! and 2)Preach harder!. Talk about binary…
bullCRAP
Thanks for the shout-out Austin. Yeah, I really couldn’t believe that guy, and right in front of the kids too. You’re absolutely right about them not even speaking the same language as non-evangelicals. They want to be ‘in the world, but not of it’. Mission accomplished, this guy was definitely from another planet…a rude one.
@ Kyle S: Actually Bob Enyart is known for having spanked one of his children so hard, he was charged with child abuse. He was on the infidel guy show and I called in an confronted him about it, and he tried to dodge the comment. He talked about what a dedicated and loving his son has allegedly become, but he failed to make any causal positive connection between his years of physical abuse and his son’s alleged disposition.
Egregiously, his abuse conviction didn’t keep him off TV. Cuz it was all in the name of God, so says he.
http://www.nospank.net/n-e81.htm
I know Enyart personally. 10-15 years ago I participated in some of his events, like calling his talk show, and a couple of anti-abortion protests. At that time I would have hated someone like me the way I am now. He also hammers this idea that homosexuals should receive the death penalty. The only rights he’ll acknowledge for them is “the right to a fair and speedy trial. . .”
He’s probably right up there with Fred Phelps, except that he focuses on other issues than “God punishing the USA for supportin’ homosexials” (spelled that way on purpose).
In a circumstance such as this (pet peeve) outrage; with such rudeness by an obvious moron, I’d be ‘rudely’ retorting something like:
“Too bad YOU weren’t aborted, you totally ignorant, self righteous f**khead…and this approximately 4.5 billion year old world would have had one less total moron. And just think(?)…you could have been floating around “up there” with your absolutely imaginary Jeebus; perhaps getting a good, hard spanking for simply being such a hoplessly retarded, bratty little bastard! And by the way…look REAL closely at that bronze age book of mythology called the Bible…there’s absolutely nothing in it which substantiates your claim about abortion. You’d be much better off studying the Jewish tradition on that matter.
Here!…read this article from the Freedom From Religion Foundation!
You DO read…right?
Now…get the ‘Heil’ out of my life!”
(I’d have a handy printout, of course, in my…erm…backpack?)
Actually; here IS one of my favorite links for the article’s subject matter (I know!…it’s a repeat.):
“What Does The Bible Say About Abortion?”
http://ffrf.org/nontracts/abortion.php
Too bad the media doesn’t pay more attention to actual FACTS about all the endless religious BS.
Actually, my above little improvised lambaste is not even really harsh OR rude enough for that kind of terminal bonehead!
But that’s just my…erm…rudely humble opinion! Ya get my drift?
PS Richard Dawkins is scheduled to appear on Bill Maher’s “Real Time” (on HBO) tomorrow night (3/21/08).
A real rarity, indeed; especially since the start of all the mindbogglingly delusional, American election madness!
Right to Life thinks it has a license to lie and bully.
Wow He was a lucky fellow. A polite lady who only threatened.
Had been me the Bolo he received would have put his solar plexus into the cavity
most people use for a brain. I don’t normally become that aroused.
I’m sure my little 4′10″ Mother would have done the same to the area where, obviously, his brains are ensconced.
How about asking, “Who died and made you the voice of God?”
What a bastard! Another remind of what dangerous nutcases the American religious right are!