I like this answer too.
Secular authoritarian societies are often built around a strong man. When that guy dies, the oppression often dies with him. The exception is Communism, which was build around an ideology, but even there when the predictions of Marx failed it failed also in Russia, and is looking more personal in China.
Religion on the other hand has this great excuse that while all the leaders may be corrupt, good old God is up there and no matter how many children the Pope fathers or secretaries the pastor diddles it makes no matter, since flesh is weak.
And if the predictions of the religion don’t come true, you need to wait longer/have faith/kill the infidel.
And by going into shock when one such person is shown that the norms they are trying to apply are not, in fact, how they thought they were. Where someone who “doesn’t believe in Authority” would ask “cite?”, a RWA doesn’t require any proof: all it requires is the speaker to be able to use the Voice of Authority through an explanation with an appropriate level of detail*. This also means that such a person can easily be swayed or converted by anyone who knows which psychological tools to use, and that the lack of a Guiding Figure in their lives produces extreme distress.
I had a boss who almost fainted when faced with not one but two subordinates explaining why and how was she wrong, alternating sentences as seamlessly as if we’d practiced for ages. We’d met barely ten days prior, but both of us knew the explanation and were quite used to delivering it.
I think it pretty likely most people who say they’re Christians are Christians. If that means an uncomfortable number of Christians are intolerant, well, that’s just how it is.
I think you could be right, but I believe these people consider themselves Christians, and have infiltrated many churches, and have been accepted by many churches - this isn’t a problem that is completely distinct from Christianity in its own container, it runs right through Christianity like an open sewer.
"The number of law enforcement officers killed in the line of duty dropped sharply in 2017, marking the second-lowest toll in more than 50 years.
As of Thursday, 128 officers have died in the line of duty this year, with 44 shot and killed. That’s down 10% from 2016, when 143 officers died, with 66 gunned down, according to data released by the National Law Enforcement Officers Memorial Fund, a nonprofit aimed at honoring officers and improving safety." Number of officers killed hits 2nd-lowest in more than 50 years Be sure to read the entire article (short).
We are seeing the fewest officer deaths from all causes. You can look up police deaths by year and it’s been dropping (not dramatically) for the past 50 years. http://www.nleomf.org/facts/officer-fatalities-data/year.html
Note that this includes all causes; shootings (majority is responding to domestic complaints), traffic, and other.
The headlines we are inundated with are a result of the oppressive 24-hour news cycle that demands constant input. Shootings, deaths, explosions, fires are all sexier than saving puppies or escorting us elderly across the street. It’s all sound bites, catchy phrases, and endless repeating talking points/labels.
This message boardis full of the attitude that cops don’t have a right to defend themselves, or a right to go home to their families, but criminals do. Black Lives Matter is a fucking joke, the “Only” at the start is silent.
“I certainly don’t want to go to wherever Mike Pence is going. Not only would it have Mike Pence, but every meal is probably Wonder Bread with [del]mayonnaise[/del] Miracle Whip.”
I don’t know for a fact that Pence is a Miracle Whip guy, but I’d give odds that he is. the guy just reeks of it.
The point of Black Lives Matter is that, all too often, black lives are being treated as if they don’t matter.
Last year, 129 law enforcement officers lost their lives on duty, the second-lowest annual total since 1959, when the U.S. population was just over half of what it is today, and presumably we needed way fewer cops as well.
IOW, it’s probably safer to be a law enforcement officer today than at any time since probably sometime in the 19th century.
This is what’s bogus about ‘blue lives matter,’ ‘all lives matter,’ and so forth. Nobody is claiming that white lives, generally speaking, are being treated as if they don’t matter. While you may claim that blue lives are being treated as if they don’t matter, the numbers say blue lives seem to matter more now than they have in quite a while. There’s not a problem with blue lives mattering.
What ‘Black Lives Matter’ is saying, is that we’ve got a problem with black lives mattering, that we’ve got a lot of work still to do to get to a point where they are treated as if they matter just as much as white lives do, just as much as blue lives do.
‘All lives matter’ and ‘blue lives matter’ is a big fat “la-la-la-la-la, I can’t hear you” to that.
ETA: Beaten to the stats by smithsb. Glad to know I’m not the only one looking up these numbers!
Yes, this. I also think the OP is making a very broad generalization. You could really take any large group, religious or otherwise, and say the same. There are jerks in every facet of life. I think the thing is, we often hear more about the jerks than we do the others.
Cute. The fact remains that, until someone with the authority to do so tells us who is/isn’t a Real Christian, anyone who claims to be one is one, and pleas to listen to “real Christians” instead are pretty much wasted.
I think this is correct. Take the relationship between Pope Francis and the more conservative Catholics. He is not very popular with conservative Catholics, and I think the ones who have the most trouble with him are the
“hater” types that you mention. It’s as if those particular people have a need to look down on outside groups, and if the leader of the current group they are a part of deviates from that but the “haters” are not in a position to do anything about changing the leadership, they just find a different group. This article, although a few years old, is an example of that.
According to some of the posts upthread on authoritarianism (which I think are on target), the desire for someone with the authority to tell us who is/isn’t a Real Christian is a big part of the problem.
Also there is the “doth protest too much” component to it – someone is an asshole in their attitude towards others, and knows it, but seeks solace and excuse in proclaiming very loudly how much they love Jesus and He loves them and how they are only standing up for righteousness.
You’re lucky then. Pretty much every Christian in my family does talk like that, and sometimes worse. All the while posting prayer requests and PTL glurge.
It was a reaction to BLM. When black people started speaking up about police brutality and discrimination in the justice system almost immediately BLM and ALM comments started popping up and BLM protesters were called racist for not considering all lives are worth saving. They were slammed for not thinking police lives mattered, because it’s totally equal right? Being born with dark skin and having to navigate through racist environments with local law enforcement who think it’s fine to profile people based on skin color because 'well black folks do commit a lot of crimes! Haven’t you seen the looting videos! Haven’t you seen them jumping on cars like monkeys!?!" is totally the same as choosing to work in a field you know will bring potential for harm.
