Politics to Match the Mullet
Twice in two days makes me think I should write about it...esp because I think I might have offended some people yesterday by standing up for the Christians.
I agree that Bible-thumpers are super-duper annoying, and I hate it as much as the next person when they try to get me to join their praise groups and sing songs about Jesus. Nevertheless I want to stand up for their right to be annoying because I think people are down on Christians too much these days. HDG explained to me that it's because they're historically overrepresented, so they have more of an obligation to make room for other people's voices. That's probably true. But I think it's important to consider that not every praise of Jesus is meant to be a pissing contest, and while they're often trying to convert you or convince you that Christianity is numero uno, a lot of the times it's completely innocuous, just a habit or a way of life that makes them feel good about who they are; and when that's the case I think people should be a little more charitable.
Take for instance yesterday's Superbowl victory speech. The coach made some comment about how proud he was that both teams were headed by black coaches, for the first time, and Christian coaches. You can imagine the umbrage people took that last part. Looking back on it I can see how it came off sounding like, "a Christian won the Superbowl, so this proves that God loves us best," but at the time I didn't hear that, and given the context, I don't think that was the spirit in which it was delivered. I think it was just another one of those things people say when they shout out to their communities, which to me is a good thing. Like saying that you're proud to be black. If there's one thing Momma Bikini taught me, it's that you should never apologize for where you're from, whether it's the Bikini family or my ethnic peoples or my home town or Cali or America or earth. Sure, it's often the case that inclusion in a group leads to the exclusion of another group, but competition is inherently a positive influence (howevermuch it can be perverted), and I do think that feeling that sense of identity is important to people. What's more pathetic are those people who feel that they have to be ashamed somehow of being American, or whatever, because America has achieved that peculiar position of being successful but imperfect. One should always claim one's communities, even if it's a community of assholes.
Anyways, the other thing that makes me stand up for the Bible-thumpers is that I have to admire people who have genuine conviction, however stupid it might be. This is not to say that all Bible-thumpers are genuine, because a lot of them surely do it for some kind of ego trip; but in a world so discouraging that a little part of you dies inside every day, I have to tip my hats to those who still find something to believe in.
I agree that Bible-thumpers are super-duper annoying, and I hate it as much as the next person when they try to get me to join their praise groups and sing songs about Jesus. Nevertheless I want to stand up for their right to be annoying because I think people are down on Christians too much these days. HDG explained to me that it's because they're historically overrepresented, so they have more of an obligation to make room for other people's voices. That's probably true. But I think it's important to consider that not every praise of Jesus is meant to be a pissing contest, and while they're often trying to convert you or convince you that Christianity is numero uno, a lot of the times it's completely innocuous, just a habit or a way of life that makes them feel good about who they are; and when that's the case I think people should be a little more charitable.
Take for instance yesterday's Superbowl victory speech. The coach made some comment about how proud he was that both teams were headed by black coaches, for the first time, and Christian coaches. You can imagine the umbrage people took that last part. Looking back on it I can see how it came off sounding like, "a Christian won the Superbowl, so this proves that God loves us best," but at the time I didn't hear that, and given the context, I don't think that was the spirit in which it was delivered. I think it was just another one of those things people say when they shout out to their communities, which to me is a good thing. Like saying that you're proud to be black. If there's one thing Momma Bikini taught me, it's that you should never apologize for where you're from, whether it's the Bikini family or my ethnic peoples or my home town or Cali or America or earth. Sure, it's often the case that inclusion in a group leads to the exclusion of another group, but competition is inherently a positive influence (howevermuch it can be perverted), and I do think that feeling that sense of identity is important to people. What's more pathetic are those people who feel that they have to be ashamed somehow of being American, or whatever, because America has achieved that peculiar position of being successful but imperfect. One should always claim one's communities, even if it's a community of assholes.
Anyways, the other thing that makes me stand up for the Bible-thumpers is that I have to admire people who have genuine conviction, however stupid it might be. This is not to say that all Bible-thumpers are genuine, because a lot of them surely do it for some kind of ego trip; but in a world so discouraging that a little part of you dies inside every day, I have to tip my hats to those who still find something to believe in.
posted by Rex at 6:33 PM
5 Comments:
I hear that!
The thing that is worrisome to me is when thumping becomes zealotry, and a possible ideological foundation for intolerance. Sometimes, it is the context and not the speaker that effects this transition. Although not all intolerance emerges from the esoteric foundations of religion, I would argue that a good quantity of it does. (Part of what framed the critique towards the coach at the Super Bowl party was an "I heard that..." suggestion that he was speaking out against Gayness at some other venue). Nonetheless, the Super Bowl is such a unique (and supposedly Iconic American) venue, that a coach's speech in that context adds more to the national image of America, than his locker-room talk down, or a random speech in the Diag. In a country of eroding civil rights and a systematic misalignment of "other" religions with terrorism, invoking his Christianness (not the same as thanking God) at such an event can be too suggestive that somehow victory and Christianity go hand and hand.
"The paths to Heaven and Hell are both lined with the ghosts of those who claimed to fight for God".
I'm just sayn.
I've known a lot of Bible-thumpers in my day, and I've even become friends with a fraction of them, and I've observed this much, that they would consider it intolerant if we didn't let them say "praise Jesus" when they wanted to praise Jesus.
I think that zealotry is a part of human nature, and that religion once or primordially was a part of human nature, so it's natural that zealotry and religion often go hand in hand. But that's not to say that there aren't a lot of zealots out there who aren't religious; and yet people feel a lot more bad about trying to shut those people up.
I think what your endorsing is a kind of religious affirmative action (as HDG suggested) - but it's application here would depend on how you feel about the Superbowl. If you think that the Superbowl is one of those "with great power comes great responsibility" places, then it might be fair to insist on affirmative action. Me personally, I would laugh if a football coach thought I gave a rat's ass about his personal ideologies, so that must be why his comment struck me as rather harmless.
Then again, my particular indifference is what made me unaware of stuff like previous homophobic remarks, so maybe I'm not the most reliable witness.
I guess that for marginalized communities, the lord giveth and the lord taketh.
In my view, the fact that both coaches were Black is a pro-positive statement about the racial realities of the NLF.
On the other hand, the fact that the winning coach brings with him some Christianity to the stage, and on stage claims that him being a good Christian explains some of his success is sort of tragic -- only because it might give credence to his other (anti-gay) christian proclamations since its clear that God must be on his side.
And, my issues are with this specific instance of "bible thumping", not "bible thumping" in general. Bcuz, I think these two long responses show that I am a zealot of a particular kind as well. It is just that my bible was written by Frans Boas (father of American Anthropology)
What I'm wondering is this: what was Rex, an avowed sports-hater, doing watching the Super Bowl??
I know, I'm ashamed. There was very good food involved, which is what seduced me.
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