I agree that “fundy” is (mildly) diaparaging, just as “bleeding heart liberal” is disparaging. I just don’t think it’s hate speech. It disparages a (freely chosen) belief system, it’s not an irrational attack on an arbitrary part of a person’s physicality, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. which has nothing to do with the value of that person or the value of his/her’s contributions to the board.
I agree that “fundy” is (mildly) diaparaging, just as “bleeding heart liberal” is disparaging. I just don’t think it’s hate speech. It disparages a (freely chosen) belief system, it’s not an irrational attack on an arbitrary part of a person’s physicality, ethnicity, sexuality, etc. which has nothing to do with the value of that person or the value of his/her’s contributions to the board.
Do you really want to make blasphemy a banable offence? Does the fact that the original “Christ on a stick” comment was made by (IIRC) Guinastasia, who self-identifies as a Christian, in any way mitigate the perceived insult? What if Polycarp has said it instead? How about gobear? Should gobear receive harsher treatment than Polycarp would for making exactly the same hypothetical statement?
I would also offer the opinion that the vast majority of people would not be offended by the phrase “Christ on a stick,” regardless of their religious inclinations. Gaudere tolerated the phrase because it is simply not considered offensive by conventional American standards. The phrase “Martin Luther King, Jr. in a noose” is offensive by those same standards. You may see a double standard there, but it is not one created by the moderators or administrators of this board.
One last question:
If D66 gets its’ way and makes the Prime Ministership an elective post, would there be a crisis if the elected PM and the majority in the Second Chamber were of different parties?
Always say what’s on your mind at a sight like this… why not? Worried you’ll get banned? Oh no! I’m banned from Straight Dope! Who cares? Get a life! If you’ve got nothing to say that does not start a little drama then you’re not contributing! Getting banned is all part of taking a stand… right or wrong does not matter… only what’s sociably and politically correct will stick anyway… boring!
Diogenes
Of all the people on this board, you are one of the few who can grasp what I’m about to say. I cannot speak for anyone else, but I did not choose my “belief system”. It chose me. It is not that I believe in Christ, it is that I am in Christ. My belief is not an intellectual exercise; it is what I am. I can no more believe something else than a gay man can lust after women. Although I had deliberately followed a path of reason and inquiry toward Him, I did not know Him until I gave up everything, jumped off the cliff, and died. What was old became new. What was flesh became spirit. Now, all the pronouns reference the same entity. He, I — there is only one. If Christ is on a stick, then so am I. If Jesus is mocked, then I am mocked together with Him. We cannot be separated. There are not two, but only one. Do you understand?
Lib, lighten up a bit, man. Let it go.
When Jesus Christ said, “No man cometh unto the Father but by me”, did he mean himself literally or did he mean his way of approaching the world – the principles of love and forgiveness?
Didn’t he teach that hanging onto the things of this world was a barrier to the next? Weren’t he and his words a part of this world? Wasn’t that why he was here?
Ain’t there a beautiful paradox inherent in these things? To be fully one with Christ, doesn’t a person have to be able let go of him? (I don’t know… I’m just a stubborn old agnostic, but this view makes a certain sense to me)
Let go, let some laughter of wonder spring from yourself when you read or hear things like “Christ on a Stick”, or “fundy” – laugh because after 2000 years the mention of Christ or almost anything connected to him is still powerful enough to elicit mockery – a pretty damn flattering state of affairs for his teachings, I’d say.
Heh, you DO know your stuff. 
If the prime ministership becomes an elected position, chances still are the PM will be the leader of one of the major parties. It is possible that the PM might not be the leader of the biggest party, but it’s almost unthinkable that the elected PM’s party would not be in the coalition, which, assuming, would lead to enough “control”, as the coalition has a majority in parliament per definition.
Speaking strictly one a one party basis, the PM is always of a different party than the majority in the Second Chamber (parliament): unless his party gets more than 75 out of the 150 seats, that is. The key is in the coalition, and how strong it is. Indeed, governments DO fall when the coalition breaks, and one of the coalition partners decides to side with opposition parties on certain key issues. But that risk is already inherent to the system: a chosen PM won’t change that.
You’ve provoked me to think.
Your points are excellent. If I am He, and He is love, and love is the facilitation of goodness, and goodness is the aesthetic most valued by Him, then when I obstruct goodness, I obstruct Him. In the end, it all boils down to whether I myself can take a joke.
What you say rings true, and if applied universally, would obliterate the so-called “hate speech” problem. That, according to Kant, is the hallmark of a respectable moral imperative — that it, when universally applied — achieves its moral goal. The moral imperative that Jesus gives us is “be perfect”.
I don’t know whether I can deal with the issue emotionally, but I know that I can spiritually. And since the former is fleeting and the latter is eternal, I suppose I know where I should store my treasure.
Thanks, Fatwater.
(Sorry about not “lightening up”. But I am a Melancholy. It’s just my way.)
Excellent point Lib. And if I am he as you are he as you are me and we are all together, then I’d be um, the eggman. 
Okay. I’ll be the walrus! 
Goo-goo-ga-joob! It had to be said!
It occurs to me that what we’re doing in such cases is defending something precous to us – and what we’re told is to, first, love God with our whole being, and second, love our neighbor as ourselves. Is showing hostility to a neighbor for denigrating God showing of love for Him, and more particularly, witnessing to His goodness (something else we’re told to do)? Opinions will, I think, differ. But that’s what the argument reduces itself to, IMHO.
In Spider Robinson’s novel Lady Slings the Booze, the lead character is a hard-bitten detective hired to solve a mysterious crime at a whorehouse. The handyman there, never named, is a long-haired, sandal-clad fellow bearing a strong resemblance to a certain Galilean carpenter-turned-rabbi. And whenever one of the vulgarians in the story delivers a line like “Jesus Christ on a bicycle!” or “Christ on a pogo stick!”, he shows up in the next chapter doing precisely that. The final appearance is when someone says, “Oh, for Christ’s sake!” and he walks by and hands them a bottle of rice wine.
I rather see the real-life Christ not being offended by people taking His name in vain, but rather emphathizing and being amused by the remarkss, and offering that sort of gentle , non-confrontational corrective – “playing along with the gag.” That’s His style, IMHO.
I just don’t understand why people (especially on here) can get offended so easily. It’s a discussion forum. If someone’s being ignorant to the point that they defy reason, walk away.
It’s one thing if your boss calls you a faggot (and you happen to be gay) and completely another if a stranger on a discussion board does. They both exhibit ignorance but only one presents real world issues that cannot be avoided.
If you’re called a faggot here that person really only diminishes his own credibility with zero return for his efforts. The boss, on the other hand holds better cards.
Libertarian, I ‘m sure you have me written off as a “jackass” (and I may be one) but I believe I was wrong about you. You seem very thoughtful.
All I can say is that when I use the term “fundies,” it is not my intention to ridicule Christ or Christianity but to disparage what I see as a distortion of Christianity and a mockery of the teachings of Jesus. I’m not disparaging them because they believe in God or believe that Christ is God but because they believe that Christ is a narrow minded zealot, or a pedant or a homophobe or anything hateful or unloving.
You use the phrase “hand-stabbers” to refer to atheists you perceive as hostile to religion yet I know you make a distinction between those people and others who simply have no personal belief but are respectful of those who do.
For me. “fundy” describes an attitude not a faith. In fact I often think the attitude betrays a lack of faith.
Lib:
And you already know He can. Platypus, anyone?
As I’ve read through this thread, I’ve wondered a few things. I’m not one to mock (most) religions, even though I don’t believe. What I have said in the past about some groups though, would definitely be mocking. The COS, some fundamentalist groups who are extreme…
I just wonder if some of you who dislike the term fundies, or when someone makes reference to the “magical sky pixie” have ever said anything negative about Scientologists. Maybe you’ve wondered how crazy the people following David Koresh must be.
My point is that if you’ve said negative or mocking things about these people or groups because of the religion they practice, how can you get upset when someone then does the same to you.
I’m not saying that any of you have. I don’t recall ever seeing it.
I just though it was something to think about.
You’re welcome.
whatami, I’ve seen people on this very board who have taken great offense at disparaging remarks about their own faiths but have not hesitated to claim that other faiths are cults, or satanic, or evil.
That emphatically does not include Libertarian, by the way. But it does include a few evangelical Christians as well as some non-Christians.
Blech. Really, how difficult can it be to adhere to the “don’t dish it out if you can’t take it” rule?
I’ve learned a lot today. Thanks, Diogenes.
Rooves
I’m glad you and I have made peace. God go with you.
Andros
Thanks.