Tag: Pat Robertson

Pat Robertson Damaging the Evangelical Movement? No, Really?

According to this Associated Press story, some Christian evangelicals have reached the conclusion that Pat Robertson’s regular outbursts may actually be damaging their movement. No, really?

You mean that saying federal judges are more dangerous than Al Qaeda might turn people off? Saying that Ariel Sharon’s death was God’s punishment might be a bit off-the-wall? Or that the U.S. deserved the 9/11 attacks might alienate people?

The Associated Press quotes Brin Britt of the Religious Studies Program at Virginia Tech who offers a functional explanation for why Robertson says nutty things like that,

On the other hand, Brian Britt, director of the Religious Studies Program at Virginia Tech, said Robertson’s remarks aren’t just “off-the-wall, crazy uncle stuff” but part of a strategy that earns him headlines.

When people attack Robertson, he wins sympathy for appearing to be an underdog, Britt said.

“It reinforces an image of Christianity as a persecuted religion, a religion that is being hounded by the secularists out of the public square, rather than a dominant and hegemonic force,” Britt said.

But Robertson’s statements probably do both. On the one hand, even at his nuttiest Robertson never appears anything but extremely sincere. On the other hand, such extreme remarks do create the sympathetic feelings from hardcore followers which then reinforce Robertson’s willingness to say such things in the future (whereas, if his followers were reacting negatively then he might think before sharing his more extreme views) as well as radicalizes the base making them more likely to accept such pronouncements.

This is a common dynamic that you see, for example, with extremist animal rights organizations. Groups like PETA genuinely believe the more extreme statements, but the reason they continue to make extreme statements over time is because of the positive feedback they receive from their followers. At the same time, this also gradually pushes the range of statements that followers are willing to accept.

Source:

Pat Robertson Accused of Damaging Movement. Sonja Barisic, Associated Press, February 18, 2006.

New Orleans Mayor: Katrina Was God’s Punishment

New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin apparently decided to join the ranks of nutcases like Pat Robertson in proclaiming that natural disaster, such as Hurricaine Katrina, is God’s punishment. Nagin said today,

Surely God is mad at America. He sent us hurricane after hurricane after hurricane, and it’s destroyed and put stress on this country. . . . Surely he doesn’t approve of us being in Iraq under false pretenses. But surely he is upset at black America also. We’re not taking care of ourselves.

Or perhaps God was angry at Nagin’s own racist remarks at a townhall meeting on the rebuilding of New Orleans,

I can see in your eyes, you want to know, ‘How do I take advantage of this incredible opportunity? How do I make sure New Orleans is not overrun with Mexican workers?’

On the other hand, perhaps Nagin has a point. Maybe we can divine God’s intent from smaller weather incidents as well. For example, I’m beginning to suspect some snow we had here recently was do to God’s displeasure at the University of Southern California’s loss in the Rose Bowl.

Or maybe it just mean’s He’s unhappy with racist, religious nutcases, even when they’re Democrats.

Update: For some reason there are people who think the important thing about Nagin is that he used to be a Republican (ah, those nutty Republicans, right?) The problem is that this appears to be false. The Washington Post incorrectly reported this as fact and had to retract the claim on this story,

Correction to This Article
An Oct. 26 article that featured an interview with New Orleans Mayor C. Ray Nagin incorrectly stated that he had switched his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat. He has never been a Republican.

Source:

New Orleans Mayor Says God Mad at U.S. Brett Martel, Associated Press, January 16, 2006.

Immigrants find opportunity in ruined New Orleans. Reuters, December 23, 2005.

Pat Robertson: Federal Judges More Dangerous Than Al Qaeda

Well, Pat Robertson takes the right wing attacks on federal judges to its logical conclusion by claiming that federal judges are more dangerous to the United States than Al Qaeda, telling ABC’s George Stephanapolous,

Over 100 years, I think the gradual erosion of the consensus that’s held our country together is probably more serious than a few bearded terrorists who fly into buildings.

Robertson apparently believes that out-of-control federal judges are more of a threat than Nazi Germany, Imperial Japan, and the U.S. Civil War.

Wait a week, and Pat will be arguing that the death of Terri Schiavo was worse than the Holocaust and the Black Death.

Source:

Robertson: Judges worse than Al Qaeda. Derek Rose, New York Daily News, May 2, 2005.

Free Speech Should Feel Good!

The Washington Post has a story about problems faced by high school students who oppose the U.S. war in Afghanistan.

On the one hand, the Post highlights some of the heavy handed tactics of high school administrators who rarely put free speech ahead of maintaining an orderly school. But that’s a problem with speech at schools in general, not something specific to this particular war.

What bugs me, though, is the subtext that runs through the Post articles and other articles I’ve read recently that there is no such thing as free speech unless everyone feels perfectly comfortable in saying anything at all. For example, one student says,

It hurts that people hate you because of your view. It’s scary. They are Americans, and they believe in free speech, unless you disagree.

Another student tells the Washington Post,

I feel like one of very few people who wanted to talk about what America had done in the past and how that might have influenced the attacks. After I did that, I got accused of being anti-American and being a traitor. It’s like no one can say that America is anything other than perfect.

Sorry, you can say and think whatever you want, but the possibility of being hated or called a “traitor” (or worse) sort of comes with the territory. It’s interesting that the main lesson these kids seem to take from this is that they should have the right to say whatever they want, but that other people should not have the right to criticize them.

In fact, such severe criticism is extremely important for a free society. Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson can rant on all they want, but they have no right to expect the rest of us to go out of our way to make them feel comfortable when they do so. John Ashcroft can testify before Congress that his critics are helping the terrorists, but he shouldn’t expect folks to roll over and play dead just to salvage his ego.

There’s a good line in the film Casualties of War in which Sean Penn’s platoon leader character realizes that Michael J. Fox’s character is thinking about murdering Penn over the rape of a Vietnamese girl. Penn goes off on Fox screaming that every soldier in Vietnam has a gun and anyone can kill anyone at anytime — and that’s the way it should be.

And here in the United States, everyone has the right to air an opinion against anyone pretty much anytime — and that’s the way it should be.

The Home Grown Religious Fanatics

Today I was laughing out loud at the media coverage of the 9/11 attack after CNN reported that Iranian hard liners were blaming the attack on Israel and chanting “Death to Israel.”

But comments by Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson on the terrorist attack are even more distressing to my mind than even the Palestinians and Lebanese celebrating the attacks.

Appearing on the 700 Club, Falwell said of the attack, “God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve.”

To which Robertson replied, “Jerry, that’s my feeling. I think we’ve just seen the antechamber to terror. We haven’t even begun to see what they can do to the major population.”

Then Falwell really goes off the deep end (which is saying a lot given his previous statements over the years),

The abortionists have got to bear some burden for this because God will not be mocked. And when we destroy 40 million little innocent babies, we make God mad. I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make that an alternative lifestyle, the ACLU, People for the American Way — all of them who have tried to secularize America — I point the finger in their face and say, ‘You helped this happen.’

Sickening. Fortunately, Falwell/Robertson no more represent most Christian Americans than Osama Bin Laden represents mosts Muslims.