The Church ♥ Occupy

When I heard yesterday afternoon about the Church's u-turn on the Occupy protests I couldn't help but think that it is pretty much perfect. It is effectively one bunch of increasingly irrelevant fantasists backing another bunch of increasingly irrelevant fantasists. And I can't help but think that real life is happening while these cretins engage in their useless and incoherent posturing.

Christian extremist lackwits call for Koran burning

Oh, good golly gosh this sounds like a such a dumb fucking idea:

A small US church says it will defy international condemnation and go ahead with plans to burn copies of the Koran on the 9/11 anniversary.

And the justification for it?

But organiser, Pastor Terry Jones said: "We must send a clear message to the radical element of Islam."

Well, Pastor Terry Jones is clearly a fucktard of the very highest calibre if he thinks that this will be a clear message getting to radical Islam. After all, his country has invaded two nations and destroyed hundreds of thousands of lives trying to send a message to radical Islam. And if radical Islam is getting the message, it is only making them more angry. Which is what Jones's little piece of idiocy will do, if it goes ahead. Make angry radicals even more angry. Woo-hoo! That's great work there, Terry, you empty-headed lackwit.

Of course, burning books is never a great sign, but as we know, radical Islam is not above having the odd burning of stuff itself. So why shouldn't these Christians get in on the act? Well, partly because their religion is big on turning the other cheek rather than burning books, but also because this is a reactionary and stupid thing to do. The only comfort arising from this situation is that more mainstream Christians in the US and elsewhere are making their voices heard and are shouting this idea down. Which is what they need to do. Because the extremes of religion - whatever that religion might be - are very dangerous. And they discredit the whole of that religion; it becomes tainted by association with the bigots. Just as Jones reckons he is sending a message to radical Islam so Christian churches in the US need to send a message to their radical, or extremist elements - and they need to tell Jones and his odious ilk to go fuck themselves. Or more Christian words that have the same meaning.

Creationism is not scientific fact, people.

I despair sometimes, I really do. Particularly when the creationists are getting vocal:

A growing number of science students on British campuses and in sixth form colleges are challenging the theory of evolution and arguing that Darwin was wrong. Some are being failed in university exams because they quote sayings from the Bible or Qur'an as scientific fact and at one sixth form college in London most biology students are now thought to be creationists.

Good. I'm glad. I'm really pleased. I'm really pleased that they are being fucking failed. They deserve to fail if they try to pass off religious works as scientific fact. It is a bit like quoting Animal Farm in a history essay. It isn't real.

Of course, it isn't just religious nutters getting failed in exams that's the problem. No, what is more worrying is the creationists who get through:

One member of staff at Guys said that he found it deeply worrying that Darwin was being dismissed by people who would soon be practising as doctors.

See, I don't care what a doctor thinks as long as he can treat me. Yet I have to question whether someone who dismisses the teachings of Darwinism in favour of the teachings of a religious text is really capable of being an effective doctor. If I have a tumour that needs removing, then I want the doctor's first response to be surgery. Rather than prayer.

And it is the complete inability of some to see the stupidity of what they say that really gets to me:

A 21-year-old medical student and member of the Islamic Society, who did not want to be named, said that the Qur'an was clear that man had been created and had not evolved as Darwin suggests. "There is no scientific evidence for it [Darwin's Origin of Species]. It's only a theory. Man is the wonder of God's creation."

So, you are willing to dismiss Darwin yet assert that "Man is the wonder of God's creation" as if it is a fact. I can accept that Darwin's theory is, well, a theory, but surely to fuck you can see that God creating the world is a theory with a lot less evidence behind it that Darwinism. I mean, this is just plain ridiculous.

I have no issue with people holding whatever views they wish to hold. You want to believe in God, feel free. But your belief is not a scientific fact. If it was, then it would undermine the faith so essential to Christian teaching. I mean, I belief that the people who watch The X Factor and enjoy it are a little less human that those that don't, but the fact that I have this belief doesn't make it fact. And as a result it can never be used as factual evidence. Just as the fiction theory of creationism cannot be used factual evidence either.

Gingerism

Some woman is bellyaching because Tesco stocked a card saying that Santa does love ginger kids, despite the colour of their hair:

"I thought maybe it was just me because I am a mother of kids with red hair, but a lot of my friends and other people I know, we are absolutely disgusted"

Look, I'm going to try to be nice here. Nice and tolerant. I'm going to try to use my skills of empathy (limited though they are) and not tell this woman to shut her cakehole and get a grip. No, I'm going to say that maybe people could take this as an insult, particularly if their kids are ginger. No parent likes someone else dissing their kids; that is pretty much a given.

"Society comes down hard on how people look and there are so many children these days who are bullied because of how they look."

Again, very true. People are bullied because of how they look. Of course, that bullying seems to be a constant of human interaction - it occurs whether or not Tesco sells a fucking card with a shite joke on it, but again, I'm trying to give Whiney McWhine this lady the benefit of the doubt here because maybe the card could encourage bullying.

I tell you what, being empathetic to the pathetic really does elevate the blood pressure somewhat. But my empathy dissolves at this point:

"If the card had been about an overweight child then the shop would have been shut down, and so would the people who made the card."

Oh, for fuck's sake, stop talking total bollocks. That is just absolute nonsense. If the joke had been about an overweight child, nothing would have happened. Unless some highly strung busy body with a child nick-named "Chunks" because of its ample girth happened upon it, at which point we would see the same tedious farago of said busy-body enjoying fifteen minutes of completely underserved fame, followed by a disinterested apology from Tesco. The sort of things that would close as store down are poisoning people with their products or a massive fire. Dissing the gingers or the fatties because of a joke on a Christmas card is the sort of thing that Tesco don't give a fuck about, in the grand scheme of things. You know what? They've probably already forgotten about it.

Your kids' red hair doesn't make them special; nor does it make them a particular target for bullies. Even if they had a completely different colour in their hair, their peers would find something to mock them about. Because here's the truth, fact fans; teasing and bullying is going to happen; it is just a question of what is going to be the reason given for that teasing/bullying. It could be hair colour, it could be weight. It could be having a mother who drags her kids into the national news based on a cheap joke in a Christmas card. It is an unpleasant part of life, but something that has to be dealt with. Using the simple method of "getting over it."

I'll leave you with the thoughts of the ever great Daily Mash:

But Davinia Phillips, a mother of three gingers from York, has complained to Tesco insisting the card contravenes her right to have everything exactly the way she wants it all the time and to never be annoyed by anything.

Quite.