Awhile back, I read comedian Steve Harvey’s rant about atheists and their lack of a moral barometer.
Then there was this rant by that Duck Dynasty dude:
“I’ll make a bet with you. Two guys break into an atheist’s home. He has a little atheist wife and two little atheist daughters. Two guys break into his home and tie him up in a chair and gag him. And then they take his two daughters in front of him and rape both of them and then shoot them and they take his wife and then decapitate her head off in front of him. And then they can look at him and say, ‘Isn’t it great that I don’t have to worry about being judged? Isn’t it great that there’s nothing wrong with this? There’s no right or wrong, now is it dude? Then you take a sharp knife and take his manhood and hold it in front of him and say, ‘Wouldn’t it be something if this [sic] was something wrong with this? But you’re the one who says there is no God, there’s no right, there’s no wrong, so we’re just having fun. We’re sick in the head, have a nice day.’
Let me ask then. Is fear of punishment the only reason he doesn’t do these things? Does he think belief in a deity is the only thing stopping everyone else? What kind of mind even comes up with this stuff? Most of us want to help others not harm them. I can’t speak for all, but my conscience is my moral barometer. It is not fear of punishment from a deity.
This kind of prejudice, however, is what concerns me about the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
So a young Indiana couple, Crystal and Kevin O’Connor, found themselves in the center of that controversy. They claim reporters tricked them into boasting that they supported the law and would not serve gay people in their pizza place. They later backpedaled, saying they never said such a thing. They said it was only the gay weddings they didn’t want to service with their pizza. Yeah, okay, whatever.
I would not have threatened these people. I wouldn’t have gone to Yelp and written a scathing review about their pizza. I wouldn’t have trolled them in any way. If I were in Indiana, I probably would skip their pizza, but that’s about it.
Hordes of angry people did react, though, with a vengeance. The O’Connors were “forced to close their doors.” Then supporters rallied to collect $300k for them. (It may be more by now.)
That is some incredible luck in a day where unpopular things go viral, and the backlash is instant and brutal. Go ask my author friends about internet trolls, O’Connor couple. It’s not pretty. Freedom of speech is a precious and beautiful thing, but there can be consequences because other people have freedom of speech, too, you see. They react.
Let’s talk about religious freedom, though—honor killings, public beheadings, terrorizing infidels. In Uganda, where homosexuality is illegal, you can get a seven-year prison term for anything “seen” as promoting homosexuality. They tried to pass legislation requiring their citizens to report homosexuals and their activity or face punishment themselves.
So where is the moral compass of these people who kill and terrorize in God’s name?
People may say, come on, those are extremists or now see all we’re doing is not serving people. We’re not burning or stoning people or putting them in jail. I think they have to realize that every step backward brings us closer to that. So why wouldn’t people be angry and resort to extreme measures to prevent this? Why would we accept going backward in any of the areas where we have made progress?
Another comment allegedly made by Crystal O’Connor is that you can believe anything you want. Well, yes, Crystal, but your beliefs don’t trump the law. That’s a great thing because rapists, serial killers, and child molesters may feel they have some justification for their behavior. (Oh right, the law…I think Duck Dynasty dude forgot about that, too.)
© Copyright April 2, 2015 by Kyrian Lyndon at kyrianlyndon.com. All rights reserved. No reproduction permitted without permission.
D.K. Sanz 
I don’t understand why some people think you have to believe in a god to know right from wrong, have morals or behave as a decent, kind person.
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I guess that’s the only way those people can do it.
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There are good people and bad people everywhere. It doesn’t matter whether God is in your life or not. I prefer to have God in my life. I believe there is more than this cruel, vile world. I believe that God is love and will embrace me once I leave my body. That being said, I respect other points of view. Whether you believe or not, that is your choice. I will love you whether we agree or not. I will care about you whether we agree or not. And I do care about you. I do love you. We are all brothers and sisters. The majority of people are wonderful. The majority of people would lend a hand when you need one. Don’t allow the biggest loudmouths discourage you. ❤
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❤
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I don’t believe in punishing people for believing or not believing either. If you can’t wrap your head around something, can’t make sense of it, that doesn’t make you a monster. If you believe strongly and it is ingrained in you, that is not a bad thing either unless you use that to harm and discriminate. I don’t have to be gay to understand how wrong that is. I’m human, that’s enough.
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I think I’ll go on a mini-rant of my own after reading some of those quotes (the invisible boarders made me laugh, though).
Not only is that Duck Dynasty rant staggering in its hostility, it’s also verging on illiterate, as well as indicative of bizarrely disordered thought processes. He begins by making a bet, yet never finishes that thought. What is the bet? After opening with it, he completely forgets about it! He also uses redundancies like “decapitate her head off” (decapitate or cut her head off, but not both). It also assumes the male as the default. Notice how he says these two guys (has to be guys, of course) “break into an atheist’s home.” An atheist could be either gender, but with a mind this locked into its way of thinking, you know there’s no chance this atheist will be female. And sure enough, he has a “little” wife. The condescension barely masking a near pathological level of hatred is incredible. How is it people with virulent beliefs like this don’t realize how much of themselves they’re revealing. This guy sounds like he’s actually fantasized about doing something like this (rape, child murder, torture, castration). What is it about atheism that he hates to this degree? This is astonishing.
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David, you have me laughing , even though, it’s actually sad. I think he hates anyone who won’t validate his fear-based perception. If it wasn’t fear-based, he wouldn’t need validation. (Yes, I noticed the ‘boarders’ but I couldn’t resist.) 🙂
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Ha, yes. A sense of humour is essential when dealing with this level of vitriol. (I also agreed with the sentiment in the cartoon.)
I’ve thought for a long time that fear is possibly the most destructive of human emotions. Not the fear itself, but what it makes people do and believe. Otherwise, the level of anger is inexplicable. How can a person’s nonbelief in a deity be a threat to anyone at all? Equally, how can a belief that people who love each other, no matter the gender, should be granted the same rights, endanger anyone? It’s so bizarre when you stop and think about how controversial this stuff is, when it really shouldn’t be.
Thanks for posting this! 🙂
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You are so funny. Every time I read that post, it makes me laugh. I do think you need a sense of humor to deal with that. I completely agree with you, too, about fear, and that it is bizarre how controversial these issues are still. You’re quite welcome. 😉
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I’m just happy you get my deadpan northern English humour, Kyrian! 🙂
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It strange isn’t it? Some people think that two adults who chose to be who they are more sinful than the man in authority, who by his actions, cause the death of a mass of people. Religious bigotry is a real headache.
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Yes, it is, Michael. Very sad..
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