My favourite quote from this intelligent, insightful article: "In medicine and elsewhere, [people] fail to distinguish between even the slightest justifiable criticism of religious dogma [read islamic dogma] and heinous acts of violence. This is an untenable situation, including for atheists like me who, while abhorring bigotry, believe no faith deserves special quarter - particularly not one with much to answer for in the bigotry department itself.
Quillette has just put out an article about an American (Jewish) academic who is about to be tipped out of her tenure as a law professor because of her allegedly noxious views ('Amy Wax and Academic Freedom' by Steven Grant).
The article tries to nuance the 'sometimes difficult' balance between the principle of freedom of speech and refusing to tolerate noxious, socially damaging, defamatory and inflammatory demagogic rhetoric.
Personally, I do not think it is that difficult per se, but it certainly is when the social consensus which forms the basis for legitimacy and consent starts to disintegrate, which is what is happening. Toleration of any sort becomes much harder, less clear....and inevitably a matter of great controversy.
I commented on the article in the following terms.
'There is a lot of paranoia going round at the moment that became really noticeable with the election of a President-Who-Cannot-Be-Named. His election was the most shocking thing that has happened in American society since the beginning of the Cold War.
The postmodernist trained Humanist Ascendancy from the coast panicked and froze in nauseated silence as it saw its grip on American social and political administration being taken from it by backwater hayseed peasant scum from the deindustrialized back blocks of the long-forgotten hinterlands.
After a few months, when you could hear a pin drop, they struck at the roots of the rebellious Jacks and Janices by gutting their civilizational and reproductive narratives in a series of ideological cavalry charges that were absolutely devastating. The Coastal City Knights of Progressia Inc, their ideological bishops and clerics ordinary in the universities and their graduate acolytes within the institutions of the system of social reproduction and administration, are still cleaning up pockets of resistance.
The thoroughly unwashed and smelly Amy Wax is unfinished business. Off with her head, and anyone else's that has the temerity to question their ideological betters.....
It is just a bit of latterday class warfare really. Wax is a class traitor and heretic who is in league with dark forces.... Bring me my sword!
I feel a war coming on.'
From my studies of twentieth century history, it should never surprise me that in such a turbulent period that ours is turning into, Jews would once again attract unpleasant attention. But that is a very complex issue that is never going to go away for more reasons than I can enumerate here. I wish it were otherwise.
I have had a fairly lengthy go at trying to work out why Jews almost invariably start to attract the wrong sort of attention, when things go wrong. It is an imperfect effort, but an honest one conducted through long reflection. The article in Quillette did not refer to her Jewishness, but I'd bet it hasn't 'helped'.
'Shylock and His Bastard Children' may throw some light on the subject of why Jews in America are starting to feel a cold wind at their backs, and perhaps why what is going on with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government right now is not exactly an encouraging sign of the times either.
As a life long atheist I have always believed that religion is the root of all evil and no one will ever be able to persuade me otherwise but let me expand on that by saying it seems to me that all religions want to do away with all other religions as quite obviously theirs is the one true religion and by any means including as history has taught us by killing them.
I have yet to meet an atheist that wants to kill off religious people.
I do nor normally respond to others comments in fact i stay away from platforms like facebook which like a lot of other venues spews hateful trashy comments by what appears to me is mostly angry and nutty people. However for those that did comment perhaps you should read my message again, I did not state that atheists never kill anyone that would be ridiculous and just to be clear i have arrested atheists during my career for all manner of crimes including Homicide.
With regards to Stalin he killed millions of his own people for all kinds of reasons and from quite a range of backgrounds. Hitler as everyone should be aware killed mostly Jews, Gypsies, Russians, disabled and mentally ill. Pol Pot killed off the rich and educated as well as anyone standing in his way.
In any event the world record for nearly all mass murders comes down to religion so sorry if that offends you but sometimes the truth hurts.
"Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion -- several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight." MARK TWAIN
My favourite quote from this intelligent, insightful article: "In medicine and elsewhere, [people] fail to distinguish between even the slightest justifiable criticism of religious dogma [read islamic dogma] and heinous acts of violence. This is an untenable situation, including for atheists like me who, while abhorring bigotry, believe no faith deserves special quarter - particularly not one with much to answer for in the bigotry department itself.
Quillette has just put out an article about an American (Jewish) academic who is about to be tipped out of her tenure as a law professor because of her allegedly noxious views ('Amy Wax and Academic Freedom' by Steven Grant).
The article tries to nuance the 'sometimes difficult' balance between the principle of freedom of speech and refusing to tolerate noxious, socially damaging, defamatory and inflammatory demagogic rhetoric.
Personally, I do not think it is that difficult per se, but it certainly is when the social consensus which forms the basis for legitimacy and consent starts to disintegrate, which is what is happening. Toleration of any sort becomes much harder, less clear....and inevitably a matter of great controversy.
I commented on the article in the following terms.
'There is a lot of paranoia going round at the moment that became really noticeable with the election of a President-Who-Cannot-Be-Named. His election was the most shocking thing that has happened in American society since the beginning of the Cold War.
The postmodernist trained Humanist Ascendancy from the coast panicked and froze in nauseated silence as it saw its grip on American social and political administration being taken from it by backwater hayseed peasant scum from the deindustrialized back blocks of the long-forgotten hinterlands.
After a few months, when you could hear a pin drop, they struck at the roots of the rebellious Jacks and Janices by gutting their civilizational and reproductive narratives in a series of ideological cavalry charges that were absolutely devastating. The Coastal City Knights of Progressia Inc, their ideological bishops and clerics ordinary in the universities and their graduate acolytes within the institutions of the system of social reproduction and administration, are still cleaning up pockets of resistance.
The thoroughly unwashed and smelly Amy Wax is unfinished business. Off with her head, and anyone else's that has the temerity to question their ideological betters.....
It is just a bit of latterday class warfare really. Wax is a class traitor and heretic who is in league with dark forces.... Bring me my sword!
I feel a war coming on.'
From my studies of twentieth century history, it should never surprise me that in such a turbulent period that ours is turning into, Jews would once again attract unpleasant attention. But that is a very complex issue that is never going to go away for more reasons than I can enumerate here. I wish it were otherwise.
I have had a fairly lengthy go at trying to work out why Jews almost invariably start to attract the wrong sort of attention, when things go wrong. It is an imperfect effort, but an honest one conducted through long reflection. The article in Quillette did not refer to her Jewishness, but I'd bet it hasn't 'helped'.
'Shylock and His Bastard Children' may throw some light on the subject of why Jews in America are starting to feel a cold wind at their backs, and perhaps why what is going on with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu and his government right now is not exactly an encouraging sign of the times either.
https://www.writing.com/main/view_item/item_id/1608845-Shylock-and-His-Bastard-Children
As a life long atheist I have always believed that religion is the root of all evil and no one will ever be able to persuade me otherwise but let me expand on that by saying it seems to me that all religions want to do away with all other religions as quite obviously theirs is the one true religion and by any means including as history has taught us by killing them.
I have yet to meet an atheist that wants to kill off religious people.
I do nor normally respond to others comments in fact i stay away from platforms like facebook which like a lot of other venues spews hateful trashy comments by what appears to me is mostly angry and nutty people. However for those that did comment perhaps you should read my message again, I did not state that atheists never kill anyone that would be ridiculous and just to be clear i have arrested atheists during my career for all manner of crimes including Homicide.
With regards to Stalin he killed millions of his own people for all kinds of reasons and from quite a range of backgrounds. Hitler as everyone should be aware killed mostly Jews, Gypsies, Russians, disabled and mentally ill. Pol Pot killed off the rich and educated as well as anyone standing in his way.
In any event the world record for nearly all mass murders comes down to religion so sorry if that offends you but sometimes the truth hurts.
Wokeness is toxic.
"Man is a Religious Animal. He is the only Religious Animal. He is the only animal that has the True Religion -- several of them. He is the only animal that loves his neighbor as himself and cuts his throat if his theology isn't straight." MARK TWAIN