Fundamentalists, ignorance, and fire are not a good combination

July 21, 2006

Operation Rescue, the radical anti-abortion group, has changed its name to Operation Save America. As reader G.F. reminds me, the group has not, however, changed its unhinged ways.

Activists from Operation Save America, formerly known as Operation Rescue, have been in Jackson since Saturday for eight days of protests against the state’s only abortion clinic, the Jackson Women’s Health Organization in the Fondren neighborhood.

During a demonstration at the Capitol on Tuesday, anti-abortion activists tore up pages from the Quran, the Muslim holy book, along with a gay pride flag and copies of six U.S. Supreme Court rulings related to religion in public schools, sodomy and abortion.

The group intended to burn the items at the Capitol but couldn’t because it didn’t have a permit, said Operation Save America volunteer Pat McEwen, a retired college professor from Palm Bay, Fla.

Instead, the activists burned the Quran and other items Tuesday evening in the parking lot outside Making Jesus Real Church in Pearl…. McEwen said the Quran was burned because it condones violence.

These folks are obviously a little too far gone to reason with, but if they’re worried about religious texts that condone violence, I have to wonder if they’ve ever even heard of the Old Testament. Besides, as a rule, isn’t Islam is anti-abortion?

Never mind. Looking for logic among the crazy is a lost cause.

It is clear that these people, as disturbed as they are, understand the nature of symbolic speech. The first amendment gives them the right to burn these items. It also gives others the right to burn a American flag. Does anyone think they would go on record in support of the right to burn American flags?

  • “Operation Save America?”

    I kind of liked America the way it was seven years ago. But then, pre-teen daughters are so much easier to deal with 😉

    There is nothing like living through your daughter’s teenage years and Boy George II to turn your hair grey.

    And the Army recruiting sergeant calling….

  • They are all Manicheans. Everything they are against is from Satan, hence its all part of the same evil conspiracy: gays, infidels, abortion, porn etc.

    The old testament condones violence, the new testament is pretty clearly against violence even in self defence.

  • OK, this statement is patently false:

    “the new testament is pretty clearly against violence even in self defence”

    Jesus attacking the “moneychangers” wasn’t violent?

    Promises of eternal torture for anyone who doesn’t believe, that’s “clearly against violence”?

    Bullshit.

    I would add that during all the centuries that Christians ruled the western world, violence and slavery were the norm. Once the Enlightenment broke the grip Christianity had upon the state, we got to have HUMAN RIGHTS. To pretend that the new testament is somehow a template for good is to ignore the things that went on during that huge time period.

  • The next time these Operation Save AmeriKa ( capitolized emphasis on the “k” is intentional, by the way) want to burn something, maybe they can just take a lo-oooooooog look in a mirror—and then smite themselves. I’ll even supply the firewood for the bonfire. I’ll bring the matches. Heck—I’ll bring marshmallows, graham crackers, and chocolate bars. We’ll do s’mores….

  • I wish I’d have saved the link, but there was another story on the Clarion Ledger site yesterday which mentioned that these folks also had a fetus in a jar that they carry around to these protests – they wanted to bury it in a park here in Jackson, but were stopped. They said they plan on giving the jar a proper burial in Alabama some time soon.

    On the plus side here, the Making Jesus Real Church kicked these people out after learning about the Quran burning. I guess that’s something.

  • Save us from the out of control myth believers.

    The folks who want a nonsensical easy solution to difficult problems seem to gravitate to the simplistic solutions offered by the various current day mythologies, i.e., religions.

    Without thinking things through for themselves, the weak minded myth believers relinquish their commonsense and wallow in their mythological rantings and pleadings with pathetic disregard for the advances mankind has made to explain the unknown that so terrifies the myth believers.

  • That certainly is an interesting way to respect what they believe to be a baby– carry it around in a jar of fermeldahyde! just like a fetal pig! use it to gross people out!

    Does that mean they would think it is OK to carry around rotting corpses?

    Oh, wait, Fred Phelps has been on tour for over a decade, so I guess they have no problem with that either.

  • Two years ago, Operation Save America picketed morning services at my church, primarily due to my church’s willingness to affirm same-sex relationships. This was the first and only time in my life that I had to cross a picket line to get to church.

  • … In my opinion, such individuals are not driven my religion or philosophical ideals.

    Rather, they are driven by a sense of individual and/or collective superiority & divine purpose to do what ever they can to gain preeminent authoritative control over all they see.

    Most of the world sees God as the embodiment of such authority. It is not surprising that fundamentalists often attempt to cloke their true motives behind the divine philosphy which is most convenient for them.

    Critiquing such individuals on their claimed philsophical/religious ideals, will only bring critiques of interance upon yourselves … and sympathetic support upon them for their struggle in persuing their feigned ideals.

    Instead, critique them on their improper motives, and on their destructive acts.

    We have plenty of ammunition.

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