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Category Archives: Shame on You

Christian or a Disciple of Christ?

14 Sunday Apr 2013

Posted by cindy0803 in Religion, Shame on You

≈ 12 Comments

Tags

Christians, Clash, commie, communism, communist, conservative, conservatives, disciple, Giles, liberal, liberals

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This blog post has, until now, been of the type that I put on my Wall of Shame.  However, I thought the content deserved to be highlighted.

Mr. Giles, the “pastor” of Clash (wonder why he chose that name) Church in Aventura, Florida is at it again.

This was a picture of a political button he posted on his Clash Daily Facebook page (which currently has over 28,000 likes):

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Mr. Giles is a man who calls himself one of God’s shepherds and yet he is posting something that uses the word hate, and the purpose of his post is to apparently antagonize/insult half the country.

In my journey to get to a truth (my truth, a realistic truth, a truth anchored in intellectualism rather than hate) I would like to first look at definitions of communism from several sources:

First, a definition from Websters:

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note:  click on the pictures; it makes them easier to read.

Next is a definition from Encyclopedia Britannica:

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Now the definition from Oxford/English Dictionary:

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I would be remiss if I did not provide a “conservative” definition of communism, and so, here is one from Conservapedia:

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Note the nice sickle and hammer logo and the use of words like left-wing materialistic and violently atheistic to introduce the definition; words none of the more scholarly definitions use.

But lest I be accused of ignoring the “progressive” definition of communism, here is a link to an entire “thesis” on what communism is as well as capitalism and socialism.  I suppose you can at least applaud the conservatives for their economy of words.  In any event, the following is a very interesting read:

http://progressiveliving.org/economics/capitalism_socialism_communism.htm

If you are wondering, I do, in fact, have my own theories about our form of capitalism, but that is not really what this blog is about (though I will touch this topic).  No, this blog is, once again, about Christians being hateful and ignorant.  Let’s address the ignorant part first, because I just provided definitions of communism, and besides, the ignorant part ties in with the hatefulness later.

All of the definitions of communism refer to natural resources and industry being controlled by the government or the “collective”.  Very few liberals or progressives I know advocate that form of government.  In fact, most progressives I know (and I include myself in this category) would like to see a government that more closely adheres to what should be described as Christian principles; i.e., taking care of the widows and orphans (the poor), protecting our natural resources (being good stewards of the Earth God created), being fair (rewarding hard work and perseverance), and loving our neighbor as ourselves (no political buttons aimed at attacking those who believe differently).  This does not mean a system that tries to ensure that each and every individual has exactly the same house, car, food and clothes (although a good system would be one where everyone HAS these things), but it also is not a system that concentrates wealth and power in a few elite on the backs of the overwhelming majority.

I’m sorry, but even in the watered-down intellectual and ethical society we live in now, many (if not most) people work way harder than what they reap in benefits.  My dad used to come home with the skin peeling off his feet from walking around in the chemicals at the automotive factory in which he worked.  He purchased a $12,000 house which he lived in.  We never took a Disney vacation, but he managed to send me to university (though I still had to have student loans).

This was the same man who watched his own father gunned down when he was four-years-old because his dad would not gin cotton with the wealthiest cotton-ginner in the Helena, Arkansas area.  Instead, my dad’s dad was trying to get the other cotton growers to co-op and gin their cotton together so they would not be economically taken advantage of by the guy with all the wealth and power.  This, my friends, is an example of the worst kind of capitalism; one that fears people trying to better themselves.  In fact, one that fears this enough to kill his neighbor to protect his fat piece of the pie.

My dad had seven siblings, and when his dad died, there were newborn twins. My dad had to quit school in 3rd grade to help take care of his family.  My dad worked hard.  He always left the house an hour and a half before he had to be to work.  When he died, he had about $60,000 in the bank.  Now, I realize that to most people that is a lot of money, but my dad was frugal (we often used the word “cheap” – sorry, Dad).  He worked his fingers (and feet) to the bone from the time he was in 3rd grade and he only had $60,000 to his name when he died and he did that by denying himself pretty much any frills while he lived.  That amount included proceeds from selling his house.  Is that really the type of economic and political system we want in this country?  The type of system that rewards really hard work with a relative pittance and peeling feet?

So, I hope you can understand why I get a little testy when I hear “communist” equated to “liberal” even if it isn’t coming from the Facebook page of a pastor.  In my opinion, this is just another example of the anti-intellectualism I observe every day on the part of certain Christian fundamentalists.  The “leaders” of this movement rely on the fact that their followers never fact-check anything, are guided by anger and hate rather than love, and are serial slanderers who mindlessly pass along hateful rhetoric and memes and who listen to Fox News, Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck 24/7.  These are the folks who bash media outlets like NPR but have NEVER listened to them.  They are the ones who will read an Onion article (a satirical news magazine in the vein of Mad Magazine) and then tell their church friends not to let their children read Harry Potter books because J.K. Rowling is a devil-worshipper.  These are the people who will post a picture of a hateful political button and then peek out from behind the curtain to watch as the hate-fest ensues.

And so, this brings us to the hatefulness I mentioned.  Look at some of the responses to this “pastor’s” picture (these are actual screen shots. I have blacked-out the names because I don’t want some bigot suing me for calling them out on their bigotry):

Image“Commie pinko fags…Archie Bunker LOL….i can hate if i want to…”?

And this:

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“….rigger bastard….”?  I don’t think the poster was inferring that Mr. Obama is a fatherless boatsman, do you?

You might be wondering if there was any moderation going on by Mr. Giles to try and stem this type of hate-filled speech. Alas, I didn’t see any.

I really want to know what is going on with Christians and the Church.  I am at my wits end.  I truly am.  I would very much like to find a new way to identify myself as a follower of Christ rather than calling myself a “Christian”.  How do I call myself a Christian and yet not be identified with Mr. Giles and his ilk?  How about I drop “Christian”, which is not a word used in the Bible and which now means something totally different than someone who is a Christ-follower, and just refer to myself as a disciple of Christ , or a DOC.  I’m open for other suggestions.

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Political Bullying, the Women Who Allow It, and the Message It Sends to Our Kids

06 Wednesday Mar 2013

Posted by cindy0803 in Politics, Shame on You, Thoughts on Women

≈ Leave a comment

Tags

bully, bullying, First Lady, Kids Choice Awards, meme, Michelle Obama

I’m going to keep this short and sweet.  This came across my Facebook feed today.

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This is bullying.  If you can’t see that, I suggest you break out the Windex and spring clean all the reflecting surfaces in your house.

This is racist.  If you can’t see that, I suggest you look up the definition of Hoochie Mama.

This is disrespectful to the position of the First Lady as Hostess of the White House, her position as an all-around ambassador of worthy causes, her position as the mother of two young girls who can be hurt to see their mother ridiculed for what she wears or how she cuts her hair, her position as the wife of the President of the United States (other countries are watching us behave like middle-schoolers, people), and ultimately, it is disrespectful on the most basic of levels – to her position as a member of the human race.

If you pass this meme along, in my book you are acting like a bully and a racist.  It is one thing to have these thoughts pass through your mind and another to pass them along to others.  We teach our children that if they don’t have anything nice to say about someone’s appearance, then SAY NOTHING.

Is it any wonder that we have a bullying crisis in our schools when the adults are acting this way?  More importantly, as women, it is our job to teach girls, young ladies, other women and the men who delight in seeing us beat up on each other about the way we “look” that this IS UNACCEPTABLE! 

Yes, I know that the people who “connect” with this meme are going to try and divert attention away from the bullying and toward the whole economics of the First Lady taking her daughters to the Kids’ Choice Awards.  To them I say, “we aren’t all as stupid as the creator of this meme.”  Reasonable people do not expect that ANY president or his wife, regardless of political affiliation, is going to imprison his or her children in the White House for four or eight years because it necessarily costs money (secret service, Air Force One, etc.) for them to venture out.  And the taxpayer does not pay for the First Lady’s wardrobe; that is a red herring.

Recent events are proof positive that it doesn’t matter what the First Lady wears or does, it will grate on small minded people’s nerves.  From the Oscars, to the Kids’ Choice Awards, to the critics’ comments on her $35 dress from Target, the First Lady is the bulls-eye for political bullies.  I suggest those of you participating in this behavior “get over yourselves” and realize that you are sending out a message that it is O.K. to bully people you don’t like or don’t agree with; a message that kids are quick to emulate.

By the way, here is a more flattering picture of the First Lady in the same outfit.

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And this is my final word to those of you who pass this hatefulness around.

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All You’re Ever Gonna Be Is Mean

30 Wednesday Jan 2013

Posted by cindy0803 in Shame on You

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Doug Giles, Karen Finney, Kingsley Brown, Lindsey Graham, Rush Limbaugh

nobullying
This part of the blog will be updated regularly with all the mean things politicians and their pundits say.

Added February 3, 2013

“Girls become women by getting older, boys become men by accomplishing things.” – Kingsley Brown, Law Professor at Wayne State University.

First, I’m sad this man lives in Michigan. Second, this kind of debunks the assertion that all professors are liberals with “liberal” agendas. The fact that a man can say this in 2013 is about the furthest thing removed from liberal that I can think of (I’m sure someone will say something even more ridiculous and prove me wrong, though.)

I know that there will be apologists who will try and put a “positive” spin on this statement, but let me just say this: I am completely offended by the fact that this man’s words suggest that women cannot accomplish “things.” Even in Mr. Brown’s utopian universe – a universe where women are only suited for or have only the puny physical and mental acuity to achieve more traditional female roles – I would think that cooking, cleaning, and raising children could still be classified as “accomplishments.” This topic deserves more in depth analysis, but for now, Mr. Brown is on my Mean List. As a matter of fact, he has made me rethink my original idea to post my Mean List entries by date and instead post by offensiveness. Mr. Brown is now at the top of the list.

Added February 5, 2013

Another really classless meme posted on Chicks on the Right website. And another example of how mean people are becoming. You can dislike President Obama without being completely disrespectful.

obamaflycotr

Yes, that’s a fly in the middle of the president’s forehead.

Added January 30, 2013

“You know how to stop abortion? Require that each one occur with a gun.” – Rush Limbaugh

And he wonders why some of us worry about certain people owning guns. Anyone who is at all responsible would not say this, even in jest, over the air waves.

Added January 31, 2013

“Those crazy crackers on the right — if they start with their very hateful language — that is going to kill them in the same way that they learned, at their little retreat, let’s not talking about rape.” – Karen Finney, Democratic political strategist

She didn’t invent the term; it’s already in the urban dictionary (sigh.) But any serious political commentator shouldn’t be using this term as part of a serious news program. She’s tried to say “it’s not a racial slur in the south where I’m from”…..Hmmmmmm……but let’s hope Democrats think twice before taking her advice on political “strategy.”

“…and I bet there are people on our side that can’t believe Obama won because everybody they know voted against him.” – Senator Lindsey Graham testifying about gun control legislation

So, why did Senator Graham make it onto the naughty list? Well, unfortunately, typing a quote cannot impart the tone, but tone aside, I do believe that good manners dictate that “Senator” Graham refer to the president of the United States by his title; President Obama. As a matter of fact, I think we all should check it at the door and stop referring to people by their last names. This isn’t Hogwarts.

REALLY NAUGHTY

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The above picture or link (don’t know how it will appear upon update) was posted by Pastor Doug Giles, creator of ClashDaily and pastor of Clash Church in Miami. I would have been happier to remain ignorant of the fact that this man and this church exists. Here’s my question, “Who remembers when Jesus was the example we were supposed to follow?”

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