Religious double standards in schools

[Hawkeye]

Just because Larry King reports something doesn't make it a fact. I like Larry King but we also got to remember he puts his political bias in his reporting as well.

Quote:

On April 29, 2002, The New York Times ran an article entitled "At Fox News, the Colonel Who Wasn't" by Jim Rutenberg,[30] revealing that Joseph A. Cafasso, whom Fox had employed for four months as a Military and Counterterrorism Editor, had bogus military credentials.

Seriously, people lie all the time on their resumes. It's not that big of a deal. Seriously- you could go through every major TV station scrutinize there resume and I'll bet that you would find at least 3 who lied on the resume.

And you know even if he had those credentials- if he wasn't right for the job of reporting they wouldn't have hired him. They aren't going to put some novice whose never been in front of a camera before reporting the news. It's just highly doubtful.

It's a cut throat business-Journalism. People will do what it takes to get up there.

And moveon.org--- that almost had me in stitches- I'll be honest. Moveon.org has been credited with an arm for the extream left which made it very interesting to watch the past 2004 Presidential election because they were smearing Bush and toting John Kerry and coming up with all this political crap and then came along the Swift Boat Veterines who literally ripped moveon.org 6 ways from sunday by reporting all of their inaccuracies about John Kerry and when you did your own investigating...Swift Boat Veterines- were right. Moveon.org literally just puts anything up without doing their homework.

But I will agree on one thing: Ann Coultier is very crazy.

 

[*Stargazer*]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hawkeye But I will agree on one thing: Ann Coultier is very crazy.

Ann Coulter isn't just crazy. Ann Coulter is the devil.

 

[Beauty Mark]

I always try to figure out whether Anne Coulter actually believes what she's saying or she just says it for attention.

I also find it strange that she went to some decidedly liberal places to complete her education.

 

[*Stargazer*]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Beauty Mark I always try to figure out whether Anne Coulter actually believes what she's saying or she just says it for attention.

I like to look at her, and people like her on the opposite side, as performers. I think they all realize that there is a market out there for nutjobs on either end of the spectrum and they play to it. I'm sure she believes some of the BS she spews, but I really think she is more of an entertainer than anything else.

 

[Raerae]

Quote:

Originally Posted by makeupnewbie As for those offensive cartoon comics, i hate to admit, but yes...it is religious INSENSITIVE to publish those cartoons. If a similar pic was published of jesus christ, i am pretty damned sure that christians would also protest.

Gotta Love the News...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070330/... 2C2x5zXtiBIF

Catholics angry over naked chocolate Jesus in NY

 

[Hawkeye]

Boycotting does appear to me to be a peaceful resolution though.
If they start rioting then maybe I will reconsider.

 

[*Stargazer*]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae Gotta Love the News... http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070330/... 2C2x5zXtiBIF Catholics angry over naked chocolate Jesus in NY

Ahh, but is anyone calling for the artist or the hotel manager to be murdered?

And I saw that sculpture. It was scary.

 

[Raerae]

I posted that really as an example of how Jesus gets used and abused in Western Culture on a regular basis. And how regardless of if it upsets people, (typically upsets someone), that Christians dont typically lend themselves to violence as a means to get their message across.

 

[*Stargazer*]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae I posted that really as an example of how Jesus gets used and abused in Western Culture on a regular basis. And how regardless of if it upsets people, (typically upsets someone), that Christians dont typically lend themselves to violence as a means to get their message across.

Oh yeah, I got your meaning. I was just reaffirming it as well.

 

[Hawkeye]

Ditto

 

[macslut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae I posted that really as an example of how Jesus gets used and abused in Western Culture on a regular basis. And how regardless of if it upsets people, (typically upsets someone), that Christians dont typically lend themselves to violence as a means to get their message across.

Our religion teachs not to resort to violence unless you absolutely have to....think Jesus throwing the money changers out of the temple. I will resort to violence if someone else is in danger and there is no other choice. If I am in danger, you had better believe I am going to defend myself.

As for the disparaging of Christianity. Some of it isn't worth getting upset about. Madonna on some cross in concert. Come on. When did anyone start taking Madonna seriously. Granted some of it is a little bit more serious, like freedoms being taken away. But you have to pick and choose your battles.

 

[macslut]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MissChievous Here are some facts on Fox News, to those crediting it as a reliable source. This information is from Wikipedia. News programs should not have a blatant political agenda, and while - yes - many news outlets do have a bias, Fox's is quite blatant. I have seen many exerpts of Fox newsshows and they are, most of the time, blatant brainwashing tactics. It's good to have a lot of different sources, but when a whole news channel is so closely connected to a political party, that can hardly make for fair and neutral reporting. I actually enjoy watching Fox news for entertainment value, it's crazy some of the stuff they come up with. Especially with regular appearances by that crazy bitch Ann Coulter, who they just seem to love.

I watch Fox and I just don't see it. Also, docudramas like Outfoxed and most of Micheal Moore's work, I am extremely suspect of because they go in trying to prove their point. That is open to warping of some facts. I really want to make a documentary on some subject where the process is examined. In other words, I would not go in with preconcieved notions and instead of trying to prove my point, I would explore the subject (documenting that) and then come to a conclusion.

Pundits by their nature express more of their opinions that journalists. That is why they are not journalists in my opinion. I still see more heated debates on Fox than anywhere else and I watch them all with the exception of CNBC. I don't know why I don't watch, I just don't.

I read the Wikipedia stuff (I don't like Wiki and will never let students use it as a source), and most of the controversies and bias seem to deal with so and so saying something so and so didn't like. Global warming seems to be the real stand out. (I also read the CNN ones and felt the same thing). Just because you don't like it doesn't make it a bias.

 

[Hawkeye]

I think what many people are getting very confused with about fox is that they are really confusing opinion vs. actual news. Ann Coultier, Bill O'Reilly, Sean Hannity etc is in fact opinion. But then-there are also a ton of opinion shows on other networks. So a lot of the time people really do confuse it for hard news when in fact...it's not.

 

[macslut]

Good point Hawkeye

 

[Raerae]

This is so great....

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UI5Mqn4Fr5w

I must say, that conservative guy came off sounding like a real loser. I totally agree with the artist who said he was, "acting like a 5 year old." How do these people get into positions of power to represent a larger moral opinion is beyond me.

 

[Raerae]

More Jesus...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070402/...Pg97932FCs0NUE

I love America.

 

[Beauty Mark]

Even though I don't agree with the idea that Obama is or could be the savior of this country, I like how he's trying to symbolically express; I don't think the artist is trying to literally equate Obama to Jesus. I can see, however, it can be offensive.

 

[faifai]

"The hotel and the gallery were overrun Thursday with angry phone calls and e-mails about the exhibit. Semler said the calls included death threats over the work of artist Cosimo Cavallaro, who was described as disappointed by the decision to cancel the display." - from this news article.

Death threats from "Christians" who said it was "one of the worst assaults on Christian sensibilities ever." A chocolate Jesus.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Raerae I posted that really as an example of how Jesus gets used and abused in Western Culture on a regular basis. And how regardless of if it upsets people, (typically upsets someone), that Christians dont typically lend themselves to violence as a means to get their message across.

That's why blanket statements like that are so off base. Jesus gets used and abused in Western culture and guess what, people regularly make such threats. It doesn't always take a chocolate Jesus, or Harry Potter, or evolution to get them up in arms.

It is a sweeping generalization to say that "Christians don't typically lend themselves to violence as a means to get their message across." Sure, maybe the "true" Christians do, whatever constitutes a "true" Christian. But guess what? You could replace "Christians" with "Muslims, Hindus, Jews, Zorastrians, Buddhists, the Quakers, etc." and have a perfectly accurate statement as well. Most major religions do not advocate violence, and look at it as a last resort.

What we are talking about here, though, are members of the fundamentalist right. The people who led the Spanish Inquisition? Or the Salem Witch trials? Or the Crusades? Or the decades of fighting in India over Hindu and Muslim territory? Not exactly what you'd call "moderates." Whether it's Orthodox Hindus, Jews, Roman Catholics, Muslims, or whatever, what they all have in common is that they believe their way is the only RIGHT way, and they'll use whatever half-quoted scriptural crap they want/have made up to prove that they are "correct" about their views, regardless of what the religion ACTUALLY says about all this. None of those religions say "go out and kill people and God will love you for it." None.

Those who advocate violence against others in the name of major religions are just hiding under half-quoted religious texts and using the ignorance of their followers to create their own agenda. They are NOT following the tenets of Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, or whatever else religion it is that they claim to be such devout members of. Reading an intermediate-level "All About [insert religion here]" book would tell you that, so I'm kind of surprised at the ignorance that's been expressed in this thread, especially in regards to Islam and how it advocates violence.

Nowhere in Islam does it say that you can treat women like utter shit like they are doing in some of the poorer Muslim countries like Afghanistan and parts of Africa and the Middle East. Female genital mutilation? Not a Muslim thing. Forcing people to get married? Nowhere to be found. Nowhere does it say that you can blow yourself up and go to Heaven (in fact, all suicides are condemned to Hell like in Christianity, because you are taking a life). Nowhere does it say that you may strike first to hurt others, only that you are allowed to defend yourself (the whole misinterpretation of what "jihad" means should be a whole different thread, it is SUCH a huge aspect of why the "West" is so misinformed).

"We need to be clear that many of the wars and other atrocities which have been committed in the name of Islam were carried out by people who either were not really Muslims or who were genuine Muslims but were not following the teachings of Mohammed. Such conflicts are often motivated by political or economic concerns but are given religious overtones in order to convince the masses it was in their best eternal interest to get involved." This is another quote from the same site, in which I changed some of the key words to show you how similar it is to things that have happened in the past, when it was Christians whose good name was getting soiled by the extremists in their own faith. The religion may be different, but the issues are the same.

 

[faifai]

And this is just in response to one of Hawkeye's more...inflammatory posts. I split it from my other post because it was just getting too long (I have yet to respond to the first post because I was a bit speechless).

As a Muslim and as a woman, I've sat here and watched my religion's name be dragged through the mud by a bunch of nutjobs halfway around the world who have been brainwashed by corrupt leaders, rally together for all the wrong reasons, and place blame on others when they have only themselves and their ass-backwards culture to blame. These are the same people who beat their mothers and daughters to death for daring to get an education, yet are filled with murderous, righteous indignation at 6 month old South Park variety cartoons drawn by some random guy thousands of miles away.

The areas that are hotbeds for terrorism and fundamentalists also tend to be the same places that have an intensely patriarchal culture and treat women as worth less than the ground they walk on. These are the same places that are so poor that the people are literally starving to death because their government officials are taking their aid money and embezzling it, and the list of who you'll need to bribe just to get by changes on a daily basis.

These are places I have been, these are places where it is dangerous to go out alone for fear of being kidnapped and sold or raped, where I am told to stay silent because when my loud American mouth runs away with me, it can literally be my life on the line. Places where my religion has been warped and misinterpreted and used as a tool of oppression, when all it was ever meant to be was a means of freedom and guaranteed rights.

So, how are you supposed to change the social infrastructure of entire cultures, when you are an outsider and, therefore, someone whose protests will fall on deaf ears, regardless of how loud they are? The same issues against women are still taking place in countries all over the damn world, in Brazil, in India, in Jordan and the UAE, in China, in so many other places that I can't even list them here. The same religious extremism sprouts wherever the people are so desperate and so abandoned by their leaders that they'll listen to whoever seems to have an answer, even if it is some fuckhead with a homicidal agenda.

These are places where the entire way they live needs to change. Centuries of being one of the most advanced cultures in the world hasn't changed China, they still throw their infant daughters away in hopes of getting a boy. In predominantly Christian Russia, you have a rampant sex trade industry, and in India you have millions of people living with AIDS because religious influence (both Hinduism and Islam) partnered with their own culture makes talking about safe sex a taboo. It goes so much further than just religion, and I don't think the change would even start with that but rather with the cultural issues that are there despite differences in religions.

So, where do you start? From here in my nice upper middle class home in the desert, going to my 50/50 Democrats and Republicans university, I can't do that much. I can dispel the myths about my religion, I can tell others if they seek a personal experience, I can learn more about my own religion so that I may be better informed, I can tell people to go read a damn book when they're spouting bullshit about America or the Middle East or Islam or women. But when I was IN such a country where I had a chance to really speak out against the crazy shit they thought, I was deprived of it, out of fear for my safety.

From here I can do nothing. And when I'm there...I can still do nothing. I can hate their extremism all I want, I can do all that's possible to restore my own reputation with people as a non-terrorist moderate Muslim woman. But I can't stop them from blowing themselves up, they are so far out of our reach. How do you help those unwilling to help themselves? The corrupt ones in power in government are the same people also in power in the religion, they're in a fine position and aren't about to leave it.

The most I can do is try to reverse the terribly damaging effects that the fundamentalists' and terrorists' actions have had. All they've done is discredit the rest of the 1 billion, mostly moderate Muslims who live in this world. Before 9/11, I wasn't put on any government watch lists just because of my name. I wasn't feared or insulted based on my religion and I wasn't afraid of the people around me. I didn't have people questioning my family or investigating the mosque I visited every week. All that changed overnight, and I live with it as best I can.

So before you make such broad assumptions about over 1 billion people in the world, pick up a book, and remember that "we should not judge the teachings or the truth of a religion or philosophy by the conduct or behaviour of those who are not following those teachings."

 

[Hawkeye]

Then, you have indeed answered the question that was asked, have you not?
That was all I wanted.
Was to know WHY.
And you have answered it.
It is not inflammatory if you have a question and nobody can answer it and you state your case numerous times and still nobody answers.
At least, we now have an answer.
And just so you know- Islam isn't the only religion that gets torn apart by me. Go to my myspace page. Christianity gets torn to shreds as well.

Thank you for FINALLY answering the question posed.