Quote:
Originally Posted by Tyrone Slothrop
But pointing to "culture" as an explanation isn't an explanation -- it's a placeholder. I agree with your response to Wonk, but just correlating that priests are Catholic and that they abused children isn't really an explanation either, it's a black box with "Catholic" on the label.
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I'm using this as a jumping-off point, due to the phrase "response to Wonk."
I think I made the mistake of greatly oversimplifying things and others have made the mistake of thinking I am overly simple.
It isn't the case that there were a few bad men who happened to be Catholic, but it is true that the actions of those priests were not an inherent by-product of them being Catholic, and consequently, we should all feel justified in saying "Oh, he's catholic, so he must be a pedophile."
People do evil things. Often, they use religion as a screen to justify their evil behavior. Examples include the Crusades, the Spanish Inquisition, and the enslavement of Africans by Christian traders. In the same vein, it is equally wrong to point to Islam, even in the Middle East, and say "Oh, they're Muslim, so they must be all about killing anyone who isn't."
It isn't the culture, the religion, or anything else as simple as that. People in the Middle East are feeling alienated, helpless, and they see no way out. Some evil motherfuckers say to them, "You have lost your way; return to Allah and fight the infidels and you will be rewarded with power and wealth." Those people are preying on the weak and disaffected for the sake of increasing their own power and influence.
Someone pointed to Tim McVeigh earlier, and used him as an example of how we Americans, we Christian Americans, are different and somehow better. Bullshit. McVeigh was supported and revered by the militia movement here, which was born out of the White Power movement. The fact that they are outliers here is not a testament to our moral superiority. It is merely a result of the fact that the American millennial movements are still in their infancy, and largely limited to the poor, the criminal, and the rural populations. Give them time. They are growing in numbers and gaining adherents every day.
Evil always hides behind God. It always looks for scapegoats. It always points the finger of blame at some Other. I am disturbed that the façade seems to be sticking too well here. Islamic State is no more about Islam than the Aryan Brotherhood is about the holiness of White purity. It's about a bunch of thugs and crazies who have found a rallying cry, and the few really evil power-hungry people at the top of the pyramid who feed into their fear and give them a way to feel less alienated.
That's why crazies in the US, Canada, and the UK gravitate toward radical Islam as a means of giving meaning to the voices in their heads. And it's why there will always be apologists for the evil and the crazy who point to God as their inspiration.
Religion, not patriotism, is the last refuge of scoundrels. We all know this. And yet, there is still a reluctance to look for the men behind the curtain. That is what I found so disheartening. We all know better than to buy the lie, whether we call it culture, or religion, or anything else. And yet...
