"A God with whom I am not familiar", Tim Wise

[Benbow]

I am putting this here because Xtian fundamentalists tend to the same cruelties the world over (and I speak as a liberal Anglican), and it will sink out of sight on the UK forum less quickly than on the American fora. Found on the Interdictor blog comments section.

http://www.onlinejournal.com/Commentary/090505Wise/090505wise.html

September 5, 2005—This is an open letter to the man sitting behind me at La Paz the other day, in Nashville, at lunchtime, with the Brooks Brothers shirt:

You don't know me. But I know you.

I watched you as you held hands with your tablemates at the restaurant where we both ate this afternoon. I listened as you prayed, and thanked God for the food you were about to eat, and for your own safety, several hundred miles away from the unfolding catastrophe in New Orleans.

You blessed your chimichanga in the name of Jesus Christ, and then proceeded to spend the better part of your meal—and mine, since I was too near your table to avoid hearing every word—morally scolding the people of that devastated city, heaping scorn on them for not heeding the warnings to leave before disaster struck. Then you attacked them—all of them, without distinction it seemed—for the behavior of a relative handful: those who have looted items like guns, or big screen TVs.

<snip>

I watched you wipe salsa from the corners of your mouth, as you nodded agreement to the statement of one of your friends, sitting to your right, her hair neatly coiffed, her makeup flawless, her jewelry sparkling. When you asked, rhetorically, why it was that people were so much more decent amid the tragedy of 9–11, as compared to the aftermath of Katrina, she had offered her response, but only after apologizing for what she admitted was going to sound harsh.

"Well," Buffy explained. "It's probably because in New Orleans, it seems to be mostly poor people, and you know, they just don't have the same regard."

She then added that police should shoot the looters, and should have done so from the beginning, so as to send a message to the rest that theft would not be tolerated. You, who had just thanked Jesus for your chips and guacamole, said you agreed. They should be shot. Praise the Lord.

Sorry for posting six paragraph - the whole thing is quite long but compelling reading.

Tim Wise is the author of two new books: White Like Me: Reflections on Race from a Privileged Son (Soft Skull Press, 2005), and Affirmative Action: Racial Preference in Black and White (Routledge: 2005). He lived in New Orleans from 1986–1996. He can be reached at: [e-mail]

[IdaBriggs]

1. Wow. Kicked. Nominated. nt

[IdaBriggs]

2. Wow. Kicked. Nominated. nt

[hlthe2b]

3. ditto... and nominated.....eom

[Kindigger]

4. That about sums it up

:thumbsup:

:puke: on the Biffs of the world.

[jhain]

5. i posted this yesterday- thanks for the repeat

things are getting lost FAST these days!

A good thing really.

[militaryWife]

6. amazing

and it almost perfectly describes my experience in church this past Sunday. I am still in shock and having a real crisis of faith because of that exact attitude the author describes so well. How can I go to church with people who are so twisted........and Jesus wept again.



:cry:

[1democracy]

7. You must examine the definition of theft and looting...

Halliburton comes to mind, as does those rich folks who receive tax cuts while the poor get hungrier, subsidies to corporations. Other definitions of theft would be our trust in our government to protect us, not lie to us (weapons of mass destruction), etc. I believe it is the theft of our trust that hurts the most, for a society can not long stand without it (witness the ongoing increase in incivility).

[wildeyed]

8. I read the other day that there are 3000 passages in the bible

exhorting christians to help the needy.

I liked this passage:

Your God—the one to whom you prayed today, and likely do before every meal, because this gesture proves what a good Christian you are—is one with whom I am not familiar.

Because I have observed that many times since I moved to the south. People who worship very publicly to show everyone how much more christian they are than you, but only follow the bible passages that reinforce their own beliefs and stereotypes.

I read Tim Wise's book, White Like Me. It is an interesting read, very worthwhile.

[knitter4democracy]

9. Best one I've seen yet.

It is so perfectly written. Thank you for finding this for us, as I've now e-mailed it to some friends who need to read it.

Thanks.

[Rabrrrrrr]

10. Excellent!

I feel the same way.

I cringe when I see a "Shrub/Cheney" sticker and a Jesus fish on the same car. I always say to myself, "It's one or the other, asshole. You can't be both."

[beetbox]

11. kick n/t