I’m conflicted about the burkini issue, because it raises some questions for me. My first impulse is to say, of course, women should be allowed to wear burkinis. I believe in freedom of religion, even though I’m an atheist, and the idea that women appearing fully covered is offensive strikes me as patently absurd. Do we then ban men wearing wetsuits? (No, because they carry no weighted meaning.) And this also seems another instance of men once again making rules that target women , which I detest on feminist grounds. But then I thought more about this. Burkinis and burqas are themselves a gender-imposed restriction that has no male equivalent. I would say, at risk of offending my Muslim readers, that they are just as much an instance of men trying to control the actions of women as the bans that restricted them. So, while I wish to support religious freedom and I would not support bans of burkinis, I can’t say that I’m a fan of the garment. I’ve had Muslim friends who wore the hijab explain their reasoning. It makes sense in their worldview. I just don’t share it. I think that patriarchal religions like Islam, Judaism, and Christianity can in their fundamentalist forms be especially damaging to women. The burkini debate highlights for me why I am an atheist and resolutely secular
Category: religion
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Faith and Office
So. I get an email from Hillary telling me how she has picked Tim Kaine to be her VP. As a Virginian I’m happy, though I had hoped she’d pick Elizabeth Warren. But something has been irking me. She made a point of telling me how he and his had joined a church and built a home centered around faith. And this annoys me why? Because I do not think his faith has anything to do with his ability to govern, unless I’m missing something and churches ARE now teaching classes. (Given the current political atmosphere, I fully expect that some Evangelical churches probably are doing that very thing.) I long for the day when a political candidate does not feel obliged to take a faith-based litmus test in order to run for public office in the US, as if being a good Christian automatically confers greater executive, legislative, or judicial skills. I say “good Christian” because, despite there being Jewish and even a few Muslim elected officials, we all know that Christianity is the religion that rules the land. Witness the RNC. And let agnostics and atheists beware! For a individual to come out publicly as a nonbeliever is the kiss of death. No-one currently serving in the Senate or House of Representatives admits to being atheist or even agnostic. Rep. Pete Stark (D-Calif.), the only openly avowed atheist, left office in 2013; Rep. Barney Frank (D-Mass.) only came out as atheist after he had left office. No-one atheist has ever been elected to the Supreme Court. There are still states where it is AGAINST THE LAW for an atheist to hold public office.
One of the many things I liked about Bernie was that I DIDN’T hear him talk about his faith. I never heard him say anything about how he belonged to this or that synagogue, how much god meant to him, etc. etc. Of course, he IS Jewish, and we tend to talk and think about religion differently than Christians. And, to give Hillary her due, she doesn’t beat you over the head with a religious schtick (pun intended), either. I think she mentions it about as much as she has to. She might have her personal beliefs, but I’m pretty confident that the government she runs will not be faith-based and that the wall of separation between church and state will be respected. And that, I’m afraid, is about as much as we can ask for, given the current furor and frenzy that seems to sweeping the land.
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Pence
Pence does not offer any consoling alternative to Trump. He is even is in some ways more unsettling, since he has well thought-out reasons for why he believes what he does. He’s a devout Evangelical Christian and a staunch Tea Party conservative who has been known to describe himself as “a Christian, a conservative, and a Republican, in that order.” As governor of Indiana, he was responsible for a 2012 anti-gay “religious freedom” bill (later amended) and one of the strictest abortion laws in the nation. He has also attacked Planned Parenthood. His stance on immigration is definitely NIMBY. While he did decry Trump’s tweet on Muslims entering the country, he proposed as a congressman in 2006 that undocumented aliens be encouraged to self-deport and re-apply as guest-workers. As governor, he has opposed taking in immigrants. He’s liked by Paul Ryan and has ties to the Koch bros. Pence:Trump’s “man in the gray suit”.
Lest you be tempted to mistake my words for admiration, let me make myself clear: Pence is fervently ANTI-everything I hold dear: anti-gay; anti-abortion; anti-feminist; anti-open immigration; anti-Liberal…..the only redeeming thing I’ve found is that he does have a healthy respect for the freedom of the press, unlike his running mate, Trump. Otherwise, he’s the kind of hardcore True Believer that I definitely don’t want as potential POTUS, anymore than I wanted Ted Cruz. I don’t want anyone who is going to govern by faith, rather than reason. We’ve tried that before (with George W) and ended up with the mess we’re in today.
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Pokemon No
There just some places where one shouldn’t play Pokémon, namely Arlington, the U. S. Holocaust Museum, and the Auschwitz Memorial in Poland, all designated as Pokestops in the wildly popular game. Players have been asked to refrain from playing at each site and both the Holocaust Museum and the Auschwitz Memorial have requested that Niantic remove them from them from the game as Pokestops on the grounds that using sites dedicated to victims of the Holocaust for gaming purposes is highly disrespectful. Being Jewish, being human, I agree. Apparently the players weren’t content to play the game, which was bad enough, as it trivialized a place which was a death camp (in the case of Auschwitz). They also had to take selfies while doing so and act in other inappropriate ways that were even more disruptive and disrespectful. So far Niantic hasn’t commented on their requests. I understand that churches are also usual Pokestops. ( I happen to live on street with 3 major churches and had a friend enthuse about each.) As an atheist, I don’t hold religion sacred. But many do. Should their churches start getting invaded by Pokémon players, they will be upset. I’m not a player and don’t know the mechanics of the game. Surely there is a way to play unobtrusively? I’m suggesting to Pokémon players that you be aware of your environment and pay heed, indeed, be courteous, analogous to keeping quiet in a library. This will go a long way towards improving the somewhat tarnished image of gamers.
Addendum: On Pokestops and churches: Raising Christian paranoia to a new level, Trunews host Rick Wiles has been speculating both that Satan is targeting churches with “virtual, digital, cyber-demons” and that Islamic jihadists might somehow acquire an app that shows them where Christians are located. Snort! I wonder if he thinks emojis are demonic, too? And do jihadists really NEED an app for that?
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Trump’s Message: Being a Bigot is Acceptable
Like many other Jews and others, I was disgusted by Trump’s blatantly anti-Semitic tweet directed somewhat mystifyingly at Clinton. But Trump’s attitude afterwards about the resulting furor that the tweet caused is even more disturbing. He has staunchly DEFENDED the offensive tweet, despite the damning knowledge coming to light that the imagery was lifted from a racist source. Rather than acknowledging that this was playing to the old canard about Jews and money, Trump continued to insist it was a sheriff’s badge and would not back down. Racists and anti-Semites, including David Duke of the KKK, praised the tweet and then embellished it. Still Trump saw no evil. Despite his oft-repeated statement that he will be the best friend that Israel ever had, it is clear that Jews are included along with Muslims in his hit list. So his message to Americans is this: it is okay to be a bigot, as long as you’re discriminating against a Muslim, Jew, or Mexican. Fuck anyone who’s not white and Christian.
Addendum: I had a friend tell me that she hates for people to look at Trump and think he is the poster boy for Christianity. Here was my reply:
While Trump might not be the poster boy for Christians, there is no denying that he favors Christianity. His campaign has established an Evangelical Advisory Board, which includes right-wing figures ranging from Michele Bachman to Focus On The Family’s James Dobson. He has not made any such committee for other religious groups, including Jews and the much maligned Muslims. He claims to be A Christian and assiduously courts the conservative Evangelicals, even to the point of being “born-again”. So, while I don’t want to tar all Christians with the same brush, (I know some fine people who are Christian), Trump is doing his utmost to tell people who AREN’T Christian (and white) that they are not welcome or wanted and that this is acceptable behavior. It would be nice to hear Christians pointing out that this is not Christian behavior! Some have and do. But a sizeable minority seem to agree that racism is justified, when directed at suitable others, i.e. heathens, be they Jews, Muslims, atheists, or other non-believers. (Or even the wrong color Christians or Christians from the wrong country.)
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Trump’s Message: Being a Bigot is Acceptable
Like many other Jews and others, I was disgusted by Trump’s blatantly anti-Semitic tweet directed somewhat mystifyingly at Clinton. But Trump’s attitude afterwards about the resulting furor that the tweet caused is even more disturbing. He has staunchly DEFENDED the offensive tweet, despite the damning knowledge coming to light that the imagery was lifted from a racist source. Rather than acknowledging that this was playing to the old canard about Jews and money, Trump continued to insist it was a sheriff’s badge and would not back down. Racists and anti-Semites, including David Duke of the KKK, praised the tweet and then embellished it. Still Trump saw no evil. Despite his oft-repeated statement that he will be the best friend that Israel ever had, it is clear that Jews are included along with Muslims in his hit list. So his message to Americans is this: it is okay to be a bigot, as long as you’re discriminating against a Muslim, Jew, or Mexican. Fuck anyone who’s not white and Christian.
Addendum: I had a friend tell me that she hates for people to look at Trump and think he is the poster boy for Christianity. Here was my reply:
While Trump might not be the poster boy for Christians, there is no denying that he favors Christianity. His campaign has established an Evangelical Advisory Board, which includes right-wing figures ranging from Michele Bachman to Focus On The Family’s James Dobson. He has not made any such committee for other religious groups, including Jews and the much maligned Muslims. He claims to be A Christian and assiduously courts the conservative Evangelicals, even to the point of being “born-again”. So, while I don’t want to tar all Christians with the same brush, (I know some fine people who are Christian), Trump is doing his utmost to tell people who AREN’T Christian (and white) that they are not welcome or wanted and that this is acceptable behavior. It would be nice to hear Christians pointing out that this is not Christian behavior! Some have and do. But a sizeable minority seem to agree that racism is justified, when directed at suitable others, i.e. heathens, be they Jews, Muslims, atheists, or other non-believers. (Or even the wrong color Christians or Christians from the wrong country.) -
Raison D’etre
I have become steadily more militant about politics, religion, gender, and the general idea of making people THINK and wanted a wider forum for my voice than the one I had. My blog was previously located at shoe.org, but I had acquaintances and friends who kept wanting to read what I wrote and one must be a member there to do so, so I’ve moved to a public venue. The desire to make people examine their beliefs is not a new one: when I was a young grad student teaching Philosophy I had “Question Authority” posted on my office door. Then later when I taught Jewish Ed classes, I encouraged my students always to explore and ponder, rather accept what was handed to them. (Btw, I do have religious cred: I’ve a good Jewish education, of course, being Jewish. I’ve studied Torah and can read Hebrew. Re Christianity: I’ve studied the NT in Greek and the Vulgate in Latin; I know the history of the development of the major branches; I’m even conversant with both Protestant and Catholic theology. Re Islam: I’ve only read the Quran in translation, though I’m currently studying Arabic. I’ve read about the Sunni/Shia divide, Sufism, and Wahabism. Re Buddhism: I’ve read many of the books by the Dalai Lama (current); I’ve studied Tibetan Buddhism (several varieties) and Chinese Buddhism. All of these were, alas, only in English. Re Paganism: I’ve read about Wicca and been part of a women’s circle.) So you see, I DO know the enemy. My heroes are Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower, Barbara Ehrenreich, Rachel Maddow, Jeff Sharlet, and the “Four Horsemen” (Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens, and Hawkins), to name a few. I read the New York Times, the Washington Post, the BBC News, Mother Jones, and books too numerous to list. When I’m not breathing fire, I’m a feral librarian.
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Raison D’etre
I have become steadily more militant about politics, religion, gender, and the general idea of making people THINK and wanted a wider forum for my voice than the one I had. My blog was previously located at shoe.org, but I had acquaintances and friends who kept wanting to read what I wrote and one must be a member there to do so, so I’ve moved to a public venue. The desire to make people examine their beliefs is not a new one: when I was a young grad student teaching Philosophy I had “Question Authority” posted on my office door. Then later when I taught Jewish Ed classes, I encouraged my students always to explore and ponder, rather accept what was handed to them. (Btw, I do have religious cred: I’ve a good Jewish education, of course, being Jewish. I’ve studied Torah and can read Hebrew. Re Christianity: I’ve studied the NT in Greek and the Vulgate in Latin; I know the history of the development of the major branches; I’m even conversant with both Protestant and Catholic theology. Re Islam: I’ve only read the Quran in translation, though I’m currently studying Arabic. I’ve read about the Sunni/Shia divide, Sufism, and Wahabism. Re Buddhism: I’ve read many of the books by the Dalai Lama (current); I’ve studied Tibetan Buddhism (several varieties) and Chinese Buddhism. All of these were, alas, only in English. Re Paganism: I’ve read about Wicca and been part of a women’s circle.) So you see, I DO know the enemy. My heroes are Molly Ivins, Jim Hightower, Barbara Ehrenreich, Rachel Maddow, Jeff Sharlet, and the “Four Horsemen” (Dawkins, Dennett, Hitchens, and Hawkins), to name a few. I read the New York Times, the Washington Post, the BBC News, Mother Jones, and books too numerous to list. When I’m not breathing fire, I’m a feral librarian.