# Tsunami victims deserved it, you say? **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 29, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145 "2004-12-29T20:35:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/1 "2004-12-29T20:35:57Z")
Similar complaint to the one in [this thread](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=293904). This morning I was having a cup of coffee with an acquaintance and the conversation took the following turn: She: Isn’t it terrible, the disaster in Asia. Me: I know… She: We’re lucky here (the Dominican Republic), you know. We’ve had hurricanes and all that, but the Lord has spared us of this sort of suffering. Me: I don’t know about that, even if the death toll (for hurricanes Georges and Jeanne) wasn’t that high, this country has had its share of tragedy. She: There are a lot of believers here, you know. A lot of churches. Me. :dubious:, and cringing because I could tell what was coming next: She: Yes, those people over there, in those countries, they’re not believers, there are a lot of atheists… At this stage, while I didn’t lose it completely, I launched into a rant about people being the same anywhere, no matter what they believed in. Not forgetting to mention that some of the victims would have been fellow Christians. Also reminding her that her sentiment was about as far from the teachings of the bloke with the long hair and the beard as one can get. (The lady in question is a member of an evangelical Christian church). So, let the pitting commence: Well done, religious leaders. No matter how you coat the stuff you say with the smokescreen of tolerance and multi-faith bullshit, this is the message that filters through to most of your followers: we’re right, everyone else is wrong, and it follows that they deserve such so-called retribution. Well done, lady. Of course you back-tracked and agreed with me wholeheartedly when it was clear I did not share your revolting outlook. Did you really think I was going to say ‘Mmm, yes, they weren’t believers, so they got what was coming to them?’ I only hope you will give this some thought, although I fear you have never questioned anything much in your life, so why start now at the age of 50? On reflection, once I’d calmed down: The really depressing thing is that this is not an unusual view of the world. I’ve come across it before - not just here where education leaves a lot to be desired - in the aftermath of plane crashes for example. The deity, I’ve been told, works in mysterious ways and arranged for a random bunch of sinners to be on that particular flight so he could zap 'em. Yeah right. That must provide major comfort to the bereaved. Now, I realise that some believers are thinking, compassionate people, whose minds do not work this way. However, most people on this earth are impressionable, uninformed and clearly don’t go through much of a thought process when it comes to these things. These beliefs are the result. ---
**Author:** ![jjimm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba8739/32.png) [@jjimm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jjimm)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/2 "2004-12-29T20:44:06Z")
I thought this thread was going to be about Fred Phelps. > [@Martha](#): > > there are a lot of atheists… Hardly any, I’d imagine, unless she means Hindus, Buddhists, and Muslims, as well as the Christians. Anyway, I commend you for your self-control. ---
**Author:** ![GaWd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/f08c70/32.png) [@GaWd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GaWd)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/3 "2004-12-29T20:45:09Z")
Her religious leaders told her that there are a lot of “atheists” in Southeast Asia? Give me a fucking break. They’re not just Atheists, they’re Hindus and Buddhists and :eep: Muslims! Christ, you’d think they were cursed people since they don’t subscribe to Judeo-Christian beliefs. Sam ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/4 "2004-12-29T20:50:18Z")
‘Atheist’ in her vocabulary could mean a member of another religion. I think I interrupted her before she could mention idol-worshippers, infidels or whatever label these people use for non-Christians. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/5 "2004-12-29T20:51:21Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > Christ, you’d think they were cursed people since they don’t subscribe to Judeo-Christian beliefs. > > Sam That’s sort of the point, is it not? ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/6 "2004-12-29T20:55:32Z")
> [@Martha](#): > > She: Yes, those people over there, in those countries, they’re not believers, there are a lot of atheists… Next time a busload of nuns goes over the side of a cliff, wave the paper in her face and do a Nelson Muntz “_HA_-ha!” ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/7 "2004-12-29T20:58:01Z")
Probably better make that a busload of Evangelical missionaries (in her own denomination, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/8 "2004-12-29T21:01:16Z")
> [@Eve](#): > > Next time a busload of nuns goes over the side of a cliff, wave the paper in her face and do a Nelson Muntz “_HA_-ha!” I have! Well, maybe not quite, but I’ve made that point. There is always some absurd rationalisation. God works in mysterious ways. My arse. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/9 "2004-12-29T21:12:14Z")
> [@GaWd](#): > > Christ, you’d think they were cursed people since they don’t subscribe to Judeo-Christian beliefs. > > > [@gobear](#): > > > > That’s sort of the point, is it not? Well, sure! That’s why we send missionaries to countries like that! Oh, and to Brooklyn, too. wait a minute… ---
**Author:** ![alimarx](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e274bd/32.png) [@alimarx](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alimarx)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/10 "2004-12-29T21:15:52Z")
I was waiting for Jerry Fatwell or that other fat fundie bastard Fat Robertson to say something about this tsunami, similar to what they said about 9/11. Heh, I guess they did learn something; or saw a drop in donations. ---
**Author:** ![Malodorous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e47774/32.png) [@Malodorous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Malodorous)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/11 "2004-12-29T21:29:23Z")
Wasn’t the hardest hit part of Thailand a resort used mainly by westerners. Course they might have been athiest westerners, or maybe Gods aim was a little off and he meant to hit the nearby muslium shanty town further down the beach. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/12 "2004-12-29T21:33:53Z")
Poor God. The rationalizations and justifications and blame that get laid at his feet. I wonder…all the children that died, what’s the justification for them? Aren’t children innocent in the eyes of God? But, of course, they’re just heathens. :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/13 "2004-12-29T21:35:36Z")
Why are you assuming that some “religious leader” told her that they had it coming? People draw their own conclusions. ---
**Author:** ![gobear](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8dc957/32.png) [@gobear](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gobear)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/14 "2004-12-29T21:40:14Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Why are you assuming that some “religious leader” told her that they had it coming? People draw their own conclusions. Cut the comedy. Fundie pastors thrive on telling their flocks that people whoi don’t knuckle under to their deity deserve to be punished. Look at the immense popularity of the Left Behind books, in which the final volume’s climax has Jesus return and melt the flesh of non-believers. The woman in the OP was just repeating what she’s been taught by her hatemongering blood cult. ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/15 "2004-12-29T21:42:27Z")
It’s glurge like that in the OP that makes me glad to be an atheist. I’d die of embarrassment if something that inane came out of my mouth. ---
**Author:** ![ivylass](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/9de053/32.png) [@ivylass](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ivylass)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/16 "2004-12-29T21:43:23Z")
I think, once again, we need to discriminate between true Christians such as **Polycarp** and the fundies, such as Chick and Phelps, who are about as far from Christianity as one can get. ---
**Author:** ![Martha\_Medea](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/43a26b/32.png) [@Martha\_Medea](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Martha_Medea)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/17 "2004-12-29T21:45:33Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > Why are you assuming that some “religious leader” told her that they had it coming? People draw their own conclusions. I doubt that the pastor or whoever she listens to said explicitly that the tsunami victims deserved to die, although you never know with some of the wackier ones. They \*\*do \*\* preach, however, that ‘atheists’ and ‘idol-worshippers’ (read = non-Christians, especially non-members of their church) are wrong, and that their brand of religion is the only truth, and the one and only route to salvation. If you swallow that, it is not such a leap of logic to reach that particular conclusion about those who do not share your beliefs. This nonsense is not exclusive to her sect: I’ve heard similar from members of other religions, Christians and non-Christian. ---
**Author:** ![Abbie\_Carmichael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/49beb7/32.png) [@Abbie\_Carmichael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Abbie_Carmichael)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 10:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/18 "2004-12-29T22:06:35Z")
Ok so what we’re saying is that believing the words of Jesus, who said that he was the ONLY way to God, goes hand in hand with wishing death and destruction on anyone who doesn’t believe it. And that Christians believe every word their pastor says, especially if they’re fundamentalists. You guys are funny. And **gobear** , there aren’t enough :rolleyes: regarding your post. Instead of responding, I shall look at you crosseyed. ---
**Author:** ![anu-la1979](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/47e85d/32.png) [@anu-la1979](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/anu-la1979)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/19 "2004-12-29T22:15:50Z")
Yes, but given how many of the victims are Hindus, Buddhists & Muslims (the majority of whom, obviously, do not subscribe to that worldview) that means that they’re going to hell now aren’t they? The fiery, burning pits of hell? All of them and the Dalai Lama too, once HE dies. ---
**Author:** ![Metacom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ecae2f/32.png) [@Metacom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Metacom)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145/20 "2004-12-29T22:20:16Z")
> [@Martha](#): > > Well done, religious leaders. No matter how you coat the stuff you say with the smokescreen of tolerance and multi-faith bullshit, this is the message that filters through to most of your followers: we’re right, everyone else is wrong, and it follows that they deserve such so-called retribution. :rolleyes: The religious leaders who actively participate in multi-faith organizations and who preach tolerance typically ain’t the ones leading fire & brimstone evangelical churches. You make some pretty big generalizations, given the enormous spectrum of religious belief… [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/tsunami-victims-deserved-it-you-say/282145.md?page=2)