Nine people were arrested in Ohio, Indiana, and Michigan this weekend for conspiracy and attempting to use weapons of mass destruction. They allegedly had a plan which involved killing police officers and then targeting people at the resulting funeral. The FBI decided to make the arrests after getting indications that a "reconnaisance" for the operation was going to be carried out.
These pious folk are members of a Christian militia called Hutaree. Their website is pretty creepy, but it's fairly typical of the kind of thinking you see on the rightist fringe these days, a mix of misreadings of the Bible, racist vitriol, and outright lunacy. On the home page it says "Preparing For The End Time Battles To Keep The Testimony Of Jesus Christ Alive."
This all leaves me wondering; what would Jesus do? He would apparently buy himself an AR15 and some camo gear and make plans to kill innocent people so as to bring about the End Times.
Is it just me, or is the whole killing people for God/Allah/Yahweh thing starting to wear a little thin? I'm no atheist, and I'm all for people having a rich spiritual life, but how many more innocents are going to die because of religion, to be murdered in the name of God, before we finally grow up as a species and start practicing morality rather than talking about it?
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Religion is taking a well-deserved beating recently. Covering for pedophiles, the religious warriors you mentioned above.
Sadly, this crap has been going on for centuries. Even the plague couldn't kill religion. If it had, the plague might have earned a better name for itself as: The Plague Enlightenment.
Truly, we as a species need to grow-up. We're nothing but knuckle-dragging neanderthals with nuclear clubs with which to beat ourselves with.
It is my humble belief that religion has retarded humanity's emotional and intellectual growth.
It seems to be as self-evident as Glenn Beck's instability. But i fear his popularity is linked with religion's popularity.
I'll leave you to ponder what the link is.
In fact I believe Jesus spoke of this in Matthew 24:12,13 "Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
If that group is not the perfect illustration of love growing cold I don't know what is.
Libmomrn, I couldn't agree more. Some of the best people I know are Christians, but there's a large demographic in this country who go around spreading hate in the name of Jesus. It wears on me.
Doc; Taliban or Hutaree; same/same as far as I'm concerned.
Kim, this was actually a draft which I posted accidentally. What the heck though; it's out there now:P
Jay, that's exactly it. Our morality has long since been left in the dust by our technology, and the gap continues to widen. We need to get over the Bronze Age Sky Daddy once and for all, or at least stop murdering in his name.
Next Please, that's a perfect metaphor; "love grown cold." It would be great if some of these people would actually acquaint themselves with the teachings of Christ before they decided to murder for him.
B1, agreed. It's good these people were rolled up before they hurt anyone. I'm just waiting to hear the right spin this as some kind of Maoist assault on our freedoms by mean old Obama.
Delia, their time would definitely be better spent reading the Gospels than Revelations.
And Henry; it definitely ain't.
Lyrics to "Dumb All Over" by Frank Zappa:
Whoever we are, wherever we're from, we shoulda noticed by now our behaviour is dumb
And if our chances expect to improve it's gonna take a lot more than tryin' to remove the other race or the other whatever from the face of the planet altogether
They call it "The Earth" which is a dumb kinda name but they named it right 'cause we behave the same
We are dumb all over
Dumb all over, yes we are, dumb all over, near and far, dumb all over, black 'n white, people, we is not wrapped tight
And nerds on the left, nerds on the right
Religious fanatics on the air every night, sayin' the bible tells the story and makes the details sound real gory about what to do if the geeks over there don't believe in the book we got over here
You can't run a race without no feet
And pretty soon there won't be no street for dummies to jog on or doggies to dog on
Religious fanatics can make it be all gone
I mean it won't blow up and disappear, it'll just look ugly for a thousand years
You can't run a country by a book of religion
Not by a heap or a lump or a smidgeon of foolish rules of ancient date, designed to make you all feel great while you fold, spindle and mutilate those unbelievers from a neighbouring state
To arms, to arms
Hooray! That's great, two legs ain't bad
Unless there's a crate they ship the parts to mama in
For souvenirs: two ears (Get down)
Not his, not hers but what the hey
The good book says, "It's gotta be that way"
But their book says, "Revenge the crusades"
With whips 'n chains and hand grenades
Two arms, two arms
Have another and another
Our Cod says, "There ain't no other"
Our Cod says, "It's all ok"
Our god says "This is the way"
It says in the book, "Burn and destroy"
And repent and redeem and revenge and deploy and rumble thee forth to the land of the unbelieving scum on the other side
'Cause they don't go for what's in the book and that makes 'em bad
So verily we must choppeth them up and stompeth them down
Or rent a nice French bomb to poof them out of existence while leaving their real estate just where we need it to use again for temples in which to praise our god, 'cause he can really take care of business
And when his humble TV servant with humble white hair and humble glasses and a nice brown suit and maybe a blonde wife who takes phone calls, tells us our god says it's ok to do this stuff, then we gotta do it
'Cause if we don't do it we ain't "Gwine up to hebbin"
Depending on which book you're using at the time
Can't use theirs, it don't work, it's all lies, gotta use mine
Ain't that right?
That's what they say
Every night, everyday
Hey, we can't really be dumb if we're just following god's orders
Well let's get serious, god knows what he's doin'
He wrote this book here and the book says, "He made us all to be just like him"
So, if we're dumb, then god is dumb and maybe even a little ugly on the side
Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side
Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side
Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side
Dumb all over, a little ugly on the side
this video is like gi joe meets meets silence of the lambs. what a bunch of douchebags.
The far right, which seems to me inextricably woven together with the religious right, gets scarier and scarier. Extremism in any form, under any name, varnished by any veneer, is dangerous. I hope implosion will be the result.
Pretty sure Jesus would not be a teabagger or any of the other right wing variations.
I'm all for running and crawling through the woods, for fun, sometimes... usually in pursuit of edible mushrooms, but this crap is inexcusable. I hope they all get life sentences, if found guilty in a court of American Law. I wish there was some way that Beck and Limbaugh (etcetera) could be arrested for incitement.
I guess I would be the kind of person they would hunt down.
I'm pretty sure Jesus wouldn't know or care how to use a gun.
I said "Those aren't men."
Now you have done a brilliant job of exposing the Christian militants.
Those aren't Christians and they aren't men.
Shiral; that kind of chaps my shorts too. It just fits in the general pattern of "Killing is wrong. Unless WE do it."
Robin, agreed. I'm not a big "joiner" either. And then you have the loner sorts, like the guy who was arrested for threatening Eric Cantor. He apparently described himself as "the son of the god of Enoch. Yikes.
And Z; the amazing thing is that these people basically expose themselves. You'd think they'd know a thing or two about the value of keeping off the radar of law enforcement. Of course, that would conflict with their desire to be martyrs, with their love of feeling persecuted. They want a big flaming apocalypse, with bombs and race war and blood on the streets; they want it so bad they're apparently willing to kill to speed up the whole process.
Scary shit indeed! Their site look pretty lame and how odd that it's not working right now.
-R-
All these wanna be military hate groups piss me off. They're an insult to people that have actually served with dignity and honor. How about we round up all the haters and ship them off to the north african desert and let them hack it out against each other.
And Studman, cut Ohio a little slack. They've also got Cleveland:P
Will the hatred and killing in the name of God, ever stop? These groups aren't Christians by any means of the words. Just like the other group (what his name?) who target all the military funerals. I hope they all get arrested and they get the maximum charges possible.
Nicely written post Nana.
{[R]}
Scanner, that's the question I have too; how many of these plots are being formed completely under the radar? I predict we'll see some killings by the end of the year by people like this. The mad season is on us.
And I agree Sheila. Here are some more lyrics from Frank Zappa:
"Heavenly Bank Account"
And if these words you do not heed
Your pocket book just kinda might recede
When some man comes along and claims a godly need
He will clean you out right through your tweed
That's right, remember there is a big difference between
kneeling down and bending over...
He's got twenty million dollars
In his Heavenly Bank Account.. .
All from those chumps who was
Born again
Oh yeah, oh yeah
He's got seven limousines
And a private plane...
All for use of his
Special Friends
Oh yeah, oh yeah
He's got thousand-dollar suits
And a Wembley Tie...
Girls love to stroke it
While he's on the phone
Oh yeah, oh yeah
At the House of Representatives
He's a groovy guy. . .
When he Gives Thanks He is not alone. . .
He is dealin'
He is really dealin' IRS can't determine
Where The Hook is
It is easy with the Bible
To pretend that
You're in Show Biz
They won't get him
They will never get him
For the naughty stuff
That he did
It is best in cases like this
To pretend that
You are stupid
He's got Presidential Help
All along the way
He says the grace
While the lawyers chew
Oh yeah
They sure do
And the Governors agree to say: "He's a lovely man!"
He makes it easier for
Them to screw
All of you...
Yes, that's true!
'Cause he helps put
The Fear of God
In the Common Man
Snatchin' up money
Everywhere he can
Oh yeah Oh yeah
He's got twenty million dollars
In his Heavenly Bank Account
You ain't got nothin', people
You ain't got nothin', people
You ain't got nothin', people
Thank the man.. .oh yeah
Thanks, Bud, for the QED.
It shames me to have to admit he is from the US period, and lets throw this other group in there too.
I will never understand the ignorance of these kinds of people who pass judgment, and hatred towards others, in the name of God, or even the name of anything.
Obviously they haven't read the Bible at all, or totally misinterpreted it for their own gain, and sickness.
What is such shame is that these, and other groups like this, talk about the terrorism attacks that were played out on American soil, and other countries, but yet they are doing the same damn thing.
Killing innocent people because they think, and believe they have a right. Sick son of bitches need to all be arrested, and set down for a long time, if not the death penalty.
I've got nothing against god, it's his fan club I can't stand.
Religious morality tends to be flexible, depending upon the mindset of the person interpreting it; and this goes for most of the ones I have come across. I am by no means an expert, and I'm sure there are plenty of good, decent, god fearing folk out there; but religion does seem to attract the fringe nutters, the ones who have an innate ability to take something, and twist it so completely out of context that it bares no resemblance to the original intention, and instead furthers whichever sociopathic tendencies said fundamentalist happens to be fond of.
I'm no subscriber to any religion, but the one thing that they all seem to have in common is that they want their adherents to be decent people, to be good. Just because I do not subscribe to any religious dogma, does not mean that I do not have my own morality. After all, we are one race, the human race, and my faith centers around the fact that whilst we are all flawed, we are, in the majority fundamentally good. We try to do the right things, not because god tells us, but because, deep down, we know what is right and what is not.
These folk? they have twisted dogma to coincide with their own prejudices; they are blinded by hate, and cannot see past their fears. They have cut themselves off from the rest of humanity; surrounding themselves with similar disillusioned souls, feeding of each others hate and insecurity.
Perhaps they are to be pitied; for they have lost that which they profess to fight for; their humanity.
And thanks for the comment Danlo. "We try to do the right things, not because god tells us, but because, deep down, we know what is right and what is not." Yes! I do believe that morality, along with the capacity for great evil, is an innate human characteristic. I'm not talking about cultural or religious forms of morality, nor do I think you are, but basic decency to people around you. As I've said in comments here, I have no problem with faith as such, but rather with people who presume to tell me that THEIR faith is the only way, and with those who'd use that as an excuse to do evil.
And William; as anybody who watches Fox knows, only Muslims can be terrorists:P
this post (well-written as it is, says the femme, sucking up) is purely scary shit, jeff. and about a hundred people have already said why in the comments, notably susanmihalic and lorianne.
and, of course, frank zappa, who you quote just to get more people to rate you because you know that everyone who is anyone just lurves his stuff. ;-D
i don't want to get onto a gun rant here, but anyone this crazy shouldn't be allowed to own one, not even a pellet gun, not for any reason, ever.
Julie, FE; thank you :D
And Candace, it's people like Hutaree who make me think that the more sane people who have guns, the better. I find it strange to be even saying something like that; this country is getting hard to recognize. There have always been hate groups of course - look at the Klan, and numerous others - but it's getting harder and harder to tell the fringe from the mainstream these days. Just read some of the signs carried by the Teabaggers, or read some of the poison on their websites, and you can see that crazy hate talk is the new normal. We live in a country ruled by law, but if the militias and assorted other pseudofascist elements have their way, that will be a thing of the past.
And Yarn Over; thank you! They say that 46 is the new 45 and a half:P
This type of crazed religious fervor is where lunacy is born.
Remember when the secret sign for the faithful was a fish ?
Now it's a crucifix that looks like a sword.
All it needs is the little right angles, isn't.
Stop writing for awhile, fish and read. Maybe they'll go away, by the time you return to what you've got going for civilization there.
Thinking of you all with lots of love.
Thank you too Kyle, and congrats on your youthful husband!
Cindy; "Thank God for normal people." Amen to that. I do think that, despite the kinds of lunatics who are featured on news on a daily basis, the majority of people ARE normal. Normal meaning they just want a chance to live a decent life free from fear and want and the chance to raise their families the best they can. Thanks for the B-day wishes:)
Sparking; "This type of crazed religious fervor is where lunacy is born" Agreed, though I'm not sure that the fervor always precedes the lunacy. It's a chicken and egg thing I guess.
Rita, happy birthday to you too! And likewise on hoping your day has gone wonderfully.
Kim; thank you (again) my friend. Your consistent kindness, coupled with your willingness to stand up and speak your mind about some of the creepier elements here in Open, is rapidly making you one of my favorite people here. I've had a good day today, despite the birthday. I went to Cabela's and bought myself a new rod and reel for the coming fishing season, then went Downtown and was treated to a first rate meal at a great restaurant. I had tapas, and fried calamari with wasabi aioli, followed by a medium-rare steak frites which melted in my mouth. Right now I'm halfway through a nice bottle of Freixenet, and all is well with the world. It's been a long, gray, miserable winter, but SPRING IS FINALLY HERE!
And them cows stay out late!! Very late!! Mucho late!!!!
Now God, we all know what he'd do, he'd keep us alive, for a long time, fuck with us, a long time, till we were crying like this, "OH GOD, WHY FOR DO YOU FUCK WITH US!!??? BOOHOOHOO!!!" And God would respond as such, "BECAUSE I CAN!! I AM GOD!! BAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!"
God is a pissed off old man who loves to fuck with his children.
99 percent of the time, I don't even pay attention to the birthdates!!!! WAAAA!!!!
And why did it take you so long to get over here and read this post. The rumor here in Open is that you've been shacked up in Memphis with a trio of Thai transvestites. Is that true? Were they reasonably priced? More importantly, could they shoot ping pong balls out of their anuses? OSers deserve an answer!
Groups like these who shroud themselves in cherry picked bible passages are no different that most groups that do the same. If they really believed what the Bible says about the end times then they would realize nothing can stop it including a gun. Fact is they don't really believe the bible or a message of peace. Instead they use religion as a justification for their hate by distorting the real message the bible teaches.
Truth is the only form of government in the bible is either a king, a all powerful emperor or prophet. There are no elections or free speech in the bible. No founding fathers or self governing people.
So to try and marry the bible to democracy can't be done. The Bible says to respect all authorities placed over you including the Romans.
Even the founding fathers limited freedoms. Blacks, Indians, women, and non property owners could not participate in democracy. Over time these things were corrected, but it was not perfect. Truth is we are the freest people in the world. We have relatively open exchange of ideas, a stable governmental process and each 4 years the transfer of power is done in an orderly fashion. Granted these things could all change, but sitting around in war surplus pants are not going to protect our freedoms.
There are three ideologies. One is a strong states rights one is a stronger federal government and a small faction that wants one global government. I can see the merits in all three, but as with everything it is the tension between opposite points that reasonable people live.
"Fact is they don't really believe the bible or a message of peace. Instead they use religion as a justification for their hate by distorting the real message the bible teaches."
Exactly. I've got nothing against religion, but those who use their faith to justify hatred and killing leave me sick to my stomach.