Just so you know that people like this actually exist, consider this previous posting of mine, which pointed out the massive disparity between what the U.S. is blowing on Iraq, and what it was willing to invest in Katrina recovery.
Then consider the attitude of our old friend "Jinx McHue" (aka "Jason"), who comments:
Hmm... Money going to something worthwhile vs. money going to a bunch of freeloaders who should've been able to find jobs and their own housing since Katrina. Yeah. Hard decision there.
And, no, Jason is not a troll. He really thinks this way. It almost makes you grateful for Pete Rempel, doesn't it?
14 comments:
It appears that a lot of people are interpreting the teachings of Jesus to reflect their own opinions and beliefs, rather than following his teachings. How else can this be explained?
As a long time reader, I seldom comment, but I'm seeing more and more of this sentiment expressed and am concerned at the lack of humanity and humility. Perhaps the person doesn't realize the naked hostility portrayed by his comments, but if these do reflect his core beliefs (rather than an intent to cause controversy), then his brand of religion is not one with which I am familiar, nor to I wish to be.
The majority of people who were displaced in New Orleans were decent people, most of whom adhered to a religion of one sort or another. The hurricane didn't concentrate on New Orleans either, but hit across the Gulf coast impacting many states. Hurricanes do not discriminate by either race, creed or economic status, so there were many, many middle class folks who lost everything they had worked for over a lifetime, with no possibility of insurance coverage of their losses.
Your reader's response was astonishingly callous. Jesusland indeed.
What's more interesting is that the hateful, condescending, religious dimwits who so thoroughly enjoy insulting the less fortunate are the same ones who have no problem praying to their god for success in their lives.
Maybe they should stop "freeloading" and work for it themselves. But I guess it's easier to just ask for it.
Jason's sentiments don't surprise me. No doubt he is a spoiled white middle class Christian northerner who clearly has no idea what poverty is. Or, maybe only to the extent of having to eat a few meals of ramen noodles 'cause the payment on the Excursion might be tight this month.
Frankly, I'm waiting for him to write a post about why dont all those homeless Katrina people just join the military? it's not like they have anything else to do.
Actually, Stella, I used to be quite destitute. In the 90s, I lived in a crappy house that was falling apart, drove a crappy 84 Ford Escort that was falling apart, bouncing from part-time job to part-time job because nobody was hiring full-time. I worked and studied hard to pull myself out of that, though. I didn't rely on the government to support me 24/7 for months or years. By national standards, I suppose my wife and I are considered low-income, but where I live, we're really middle-income.
I'm all for helping the poor and victims of disasters, but not to the point where the assistance becomes a way of life for them. You help them to get on their feet, then you move on to other poor or other victims. It's the only sensible thing to do. You simply cannot keep helping the same people year after year while expecting to help other people who come along.
And it's interesting how whenever conservatives take a hard stance against the nanny state, liberals rant about their religion.
"[P]eople are interpreting the teachings of Jesus to reflect their own opinions and beliefs, rather than following his teachings."
I'd be surprised if you people actually knew the first thing about Jesus' teachings.
Right, Iraqi citizens deserve all those hundreds of billions of American tax dollars being spent on rebuilding Iraq, but American citizens do not deserve anywhere near the same amount of American tax dollars spent on them in the worst natural disaster in a hundred years in America.
Got to love those priorities there, placing the interests of the foreigners before that of the citizenry and that the foreigners deserve/need those American tax dollars spent on them more than those American citizens that had their lives destroyed by Katrina. Yep, that is the American way especially conservative Americans, always wanting to spend more on foreigners than on American citizens, why one could win the Presidency with such a philosophy right?
(sorry, my snark isn't as good as CC's or Tbogg's))
touche, jason. I still think youre thinking is way off on this one. Most of these affected people who haven't been able to 'get a job' and 'move somewhere else' have probably endured systematic, crushing poverty that, sorry, you have no clue as to what it's like.
Nor do I, for that matter, but I have a pretty good idea... and its not like these people can just up and say, "hmmm I think I'll go to college today!" when they've just lost everything.
And I left jesus out of my comment on purpose, I'm sure you just love dragging him back into your argument as if youre the last authority on him...
I'd be surprised if you people actually knew the first thing about Jesus' teachings.
In case you hadn't noticed, there's an amazing diversity of opinion as to just what those teachings mean these days, so I don't think it's terribly wise to assume that those who see the world through different eyes than your own don't "know the first thing about" something as horrendously subjective as that.
The difference between what you condescendingly call "liberals" and so-called "conservatives" is that liberals can (usually) recognize the notion that there are more than one way to read scripture, and that there is no way to prove the correctness of any interpretation. The so-called "conservatives" think they've got it right and everyone else is wrong.
Jason wrote:
I worked and studied hard to pull myself out of that, though
"Studied," Jason? You mean, at a school or college? Funded by public, taxpayer dollars? Wow, that's a pretty brave admission for someone who whines about others sucking off the government for support.
I wonder, if you took a really hard look at your life, how much you'd find that you depend on government assistance in all sorts of interesting ways.
P.S. Plan on sending those kids of yours to public school?
Jason wrote:
I'd be surprised if you people actually knew the first thing about Jesus' teachings.
You have a point, Jason. I have to admit, I'm absolutely clueless about where in the Bible Jesus admonishes pharmacists not to sell the "morning after" pill.
Perhaps you'd be good enough to point it out to us.
You have a point, Jason. I have to admit, I'm absolutely clueless about where in the Bible Jesus admonishes pharmacists not to sell the "morning after" pill.
Oh, gee... I don't know. Might have something to do with the commandment not to murder. Ya think?
Oh, right. You don't think it's murder because "it's not a human being." That's exactly what the Nazis said about Jews.
"Studied," Jason? You mean, at a school or college? Funded by public, taxpayer dollars? Wow, that's a pretty brave admission for someone who whines about others sucking off the government for support.
Big difference between going to school (and gosh, CC, I had to work and pay off loans during college - the government didn't do it for me) and making government assistance your primary source of living.
I wonder, if you took a really hard look at your life, how much you'd find that you depend on government assistance in all sorts of interesting ways.
If there is any, it's a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the money I earn through my own work. I don't live off the government. I don't expect the government to support me entirely for the rest of my life. I suspect that many of those "poor" people from NO fully expect the government to pay for everything for the rest of their lives.
P.S. Plan on sending those kids of yours to public school?
Again, big difference. And guess what? My tax dollars go towards public school. How much taxes are the freeloaders from NO paying from the money they are getting from the government? Oh, that's right. None.
Pathetic, CC, but then I didn't expect anything other than "half-vast" straw man arguments from you.
Oh, gee... I don't know. Might have something to do with the commandment not to murder. Ya think?
I might, if not for the fact that the same bunch who talk about how sacrosanct the 'life' of a few cells not yet implanted turn around happily and start talking about how great capital punishment is and how wonderful the American-led invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq were.
Neverminding, of course, that the Bible is full of god and god's chosen people killing the crap out of all kinds of people...
Jason,
"Again, big difference. And guess what? My tax dollars go towards public school. How much taxes are the freeloaders from NO paying from the money they are getting from the government? Oh, that's right. None."
1) Starting with the obvious - that prior to Katrina, the people of New Orleans were law abiding contributors to society - taxpayers even. (I don't think there's any law on the books that exempted N.O. from taxes)
2) New Orleans was damaged to an extent not seen before in urban North America. It will likely take a lot more than a mere 6 months or so to rebuild. Similarly, there will be people for whom it will take more than 6 months to recover. (and let's not forget about the several million dollars FEMA spent on trailers that were delivered but never made available...)
3) Referring back to the Teachings of Jesus (tm) that you are so fond of, I suggest reviewing a few bits of scripture:
On judging others:
Matthew 7:1
Luke 6:37
On charity:
1 Corinthians 13:13
Reflect upon these before you hold in disdain people who are less fortunate in life than yourself.
For a religion that teaches forgiveness, charity and understanding, it amazes me how many practitioners seem to want to sit in judgement over fortunes (or misfortunes) of others.
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