I was hoping that someone else would Pit this. Alas, I have to do it.
Today’s bully to be pitted is not Mitt Romney (he is yesterday). Today, the bullies that got bumped from the top spot yesterday are the bunch of assholes that have distinguished themselves throughout history as being arguably the biggest bullies in history.
Who?
The Catholic Church and their bishops. Is wasn’t enough to bully the nuns. Now, to regain the top spot they are bullying the Girl Scouts. (Notice how they like to pick on women.) Read this:
Connections to Doctors Without Borders, The Sierra Club and Oxfam? That’s a bad thing? These are organizations (especially DWB and Oxfam) that actually work to advance the human condition and alleviate suffering. Much more than the Catholic bishops.
Christian principals? Not the Catholic Bishops. Hope they are happy on the playground beating up Girl Scouts. Tough guys, hey?
Eh, this actually doesn’t move the needle much on my outrage meter. The Catholic Church has no official ties to or control over the GSUSA organization; they just have some parishes that sponsor Scout troops.
If the bishops think that GSUSA policies and activities are not in line with Catholic doctrine, they’re within their rights to investigate the policies more closely, which AFAICT is all they’re proposing to do. If they find the Scouts’ links to other organizations to be in conflict with their own ideas about ethical teaching for youth, they are free to withdraw parish sponsorship of Scout troops. Fine. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out, Your Excellency.
I’m personally not at all impressed by the US Conference of Catholic Bishops’ regressive stance on birth control and cooperation with organizations that promote birth control, but it’s their choice. I’ll save my outrage on this matter until such time as I learn that the Church is actually bullying or harassing the Girl Scouts in some way, not just considering withdrawing their approval and support at the troop sponsorship level.
Sure. Who’d believe that any organization, if it feels enough heat, might consider backing away from a worthy group it’s supported, like for example the Susan Komen Foundation.
Undoubtedly the Girl Scouts feel no compunction to keep the Roman Catholic Church happy. :dubious:
The Catholic Church is as a rule unconcerned about suffering, or actively approves of it. I’ve seen priests and bishops in the past speak out against anything that reduces suffering as being immoral. Suffering leads to despair, despair leads to faith, faith is the only good in the world, therefore anything that reduces suffering or despair is immoral is their “reasoning”. The same kind of reasoning that led to Mother Teresa and friends letting the sick die without help while preaching at them.
No shit. My girls are in that little gang of delinquents and I dread getting THE CALL.
You know the one…
“Mr. zoid, Hi this is Marcy. We need some extra help at this years Jamboree - I have spots open for chaperone, craft coordinator, and Girl-time counselor. I’m just gonna go ahead and put you down for chaperone M’kay Hon! Your goaan need to be at the capmground by 6:00 AM this saturday to help set up! Thanks again, and dont be late!”
:eek:
They provide birth control. The Catholic Church thinks birth control is bad because it lets people have sex for fun without worrying about things like getting pregnant. Since the Catholic Church thinks, basically, it’s immoral to have sex just for fun, it doesn’t like birth control, so it speaks out against groups that provide it; groups like Doctors without Borders and Oxfam. It’s not the “advancing the human condition” that the Catholic bishops object to. It’s making it easier to fuck without consequences.
This is going to work out well. But I guess with homosexuality now being openly accepted, the celibate men in dresses have to take a stand. Much to investigate. Yes indeed.
So, if you don’t approve of something you’re now a bully? The RCC has medieval beliefs about sex. If they decide to not approve or sponsor a group that is a bit more modern that that, it’s stupid. But it has nothing to do with bullying.
But kudos for the OP for hitting the trifecta of knee-jerk reactions for many people on this board: the RCC, Romney and bullying.
Is that really “bullying”, though? Believe me, I’m not in the least inclined to defend or support the Church’s anti-contraception position. But considering that that is their position, are they really ethically obligated to support an organization that doesn’t promote their position?
Your SGK Foundation example is a case in point. I consider it deplorable that the Foundation caved in to pressure from anti-abortion groups to withdraw grant funding from Planned Parenthood. I just don’t see why that pressure should be called “bullying”.
I sometimes join in efforts to pressure organizations to cut ties with other organizations whose actions I disapprove of, and I don’t think that makes me a bully either.
Especially when the title and OP of this thread make it clear that “bullying” is being used to reference Romney’s teenage exploit of ganging up with several friends to physically assault a younger boy. This ain’t that.
Now, if somebody wants to Pit the Church for having a stupid and oppressive position on birth control in the first place, that’s another matter.
The title of the thread explicitly states it is not about that. It is about a newsworthy item and has to do with the current newsworthy issue of bullying that goes beyond Romney. Romney was the flavor of yesterday and that was clearly stated. A week or so ago the RCC was coming down hard on the nuns for their sense of social responsibility. What does that have to do with Romney?
I’ll tell you something. The Vatican is losing control over their subjects. American and European Catholics, in the vast majority, are not listening at all to the proclamations on birth control. The African bishops pay no attention regarding the distribution to condoms to prevent AIDS. The whole celibacy thing for priests is falling apart. The whole issue will probably come to a head in South America. The South American bishops and priests will force the Vatican to either change their position, break with them or just ignore them as the African bishops have done in regard to condoms. Oh, and by the way, many if not most of the African bishops and priests are not celibate.
The RCC is standing there watching their authority and influence fall apart. They are becoming an institution of scorn and mockery. The emperor has no clothes while he’s chasing the young altar boys down the aisle. Too bad that the American bishops are so stupid and misguided that they are letting their influence go down with the clueless authorities in the Vatican.
Does the Catholic Church have NO one that ever asks: “Should we stop and think before we do things that make everyone hate us?” Going after condoms, victims of abuse, and now Girl Scouts?
Those bishops better start selling some really tasty cookies… jes’ sayin’.
Yes, I know that this thread isn’t about Romney. My point is that I think your deliberately using the word “bully” to apply to both Romney and friends getting rough with a schoolmate and the US Conference of Catholic Bishops investigating GSUSA policies is somewhat misleadingly hyperbolic.
Okay. But this doesn’t really have anything to do with whether the bishops’ scrutiny of GSUSA policies counts as “bullying”.
Seems to be where we’re now headed with this thread, and it’s fine by me, so carry on.
The Girl Scouts thing is bad but going after the nuns was unfathomable. Being critical of them for being socially responsible instead of dogmatic? WTF is that all about?
Kimstu doesn’t get it but the RCC authorities are just like the creep on the playground that wants to bully someone that he perceives as weaker. That’s why someone has to come by and kick the shit out of him.