Impolite Conversation

Here.  But he left out my favorite.

Regular readers of this blog (hi to all four of you) probably already know about this - PZ Myers has found himself in a bit of an internet uproar over a communion wafer.

A condensed timeline:

• A student at the University of Central Florida takes a consecrated communion wafer home with him.  Much outrage ensues, including accusing said student of a “hate crime” and “kidnapping”, and e-mailed death threats.
• PZ writes about it, and includes a call for people to send him wafers to desecrate.
• Bill Donohue (of Catholic League fame) gets wind of it, and acts typically by issuing a press release calling for people to write to the University of Minnesota president to demand that PZ gets fired.
• PZ responds and fights back.
• Meanwhile, he’s getting his own batch of hate mail, some with death threats.
• The Catholic League issues another press release calling for extra security for Catholics at the upcoming Republican Convention in Minneapolis, despite the fact that Morris is 150 miles away from Minneapolis and PZ has not threatened anyone.

Whew. What drama.

I’m somewhat undecided about PZ’s pledge to desecrate a cracker.  On one hand, I think it’s a fairly juvenile stunt.  On the other hand, actions like his can open up a dialog (if somewhat heated) about important issues.  Some of the most important insights I’ve had in my life have come from getting offended and then examining why I was offended.

But what I did find interesting was the thread that ran among the comments from those supporting the Catholic outrage.  Most of them either implicitly or explicitly included the idea that an individual has a right to have their beliefs respected.  Um, no.  Your right to hold a belief should be respected, but the belief itself has no right to be respected.  The idea of respecting beliefs sounds like a good one at first blush, but it’s totally unworkable.  There are some sincerely held but genuinely silly beliefs out there.  Anyone who has spent any time on the internet can come up with at least 5 examples off the top of their head.  By the rationale of the “respect beliefs” argument, we must respect the belief that aliens built the Great Pyramids.  Or that the moon landing was a hoax.  Or that the US government was behind 9/11.  There are people out there that believe these things just as deeply as Catholics believe that a priest can, with appropriate hand gestures and incantations, turn a wafer into the Body of Christ.  See how respecting all beliefs just won’t work?

But the “respect beliefs” commenters don’t really believe that all beliefs should be respected.  A great number of them are calling for PZ to desecrate a Koran instead.  So apparently they have no problems with disrespecting the beliefs of Muslims.  I guess “respect beliefs” really means “respect the beliefs with which I agree”.

Mmmm…I love the smell of hypocrisy.

One of the most common insults that I see hurled at scientists is that we are arrogant.  We “think” we “know” everything because we have ed-yoo-kay-shun.

True, I have met some arrogant scientists, but they can’t hold a candle to Ray Comfort.  You may remember Ray from his unintentionally hilarious video claiming that bananas were proof of the existence of God.  In his latest blog post, he compares himself favorably to Albert Einstein.  Seriously.  He claims that he has made a discovery that will “trump” the Theory of Relativity.  He has even included an animated image that shows his face morphing into Einstein’s.

Looks like we know who the truly arrogant one is.

HT: PZ

Yet another example of “Help! Help! I’m being oppressed because the government doesn’t grant my religion special privileges over other religions!”:

North Carolina Congressman Robin Hayes says some officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs are engaging in anti-Christian discrimination.

Last year officials with the Department of Veterans Affairs ordered the VA Hospital in Fayetteville to remove all Christian religious symbols from its chapel – crosses, Bibles, and stained glass windows. According to the VA, the chapel must remain “neutral” in order to make worshippers of all faiths “comfortable.” Chaplain Archie Barringer retired from his position as service chief at the hospital in protest.

Congressman Hayes takes issue with the hospital’s actions. “This is the very basic and crux and core of our religious faith and of who we are in this country. And it has certainly offended me, as I know it has a number of other people, to see these articles of faith removed that our veterans have fought, bled, and died in order to preserve,” Hayes explains.

So the VA, in order to make a publicly-financed space inclusive of all faiths represented in our military, decide to remove symbols that are specific to a particular religion.  That’s not anti-Christian discrimination.  Anti-Christian discrimination would be to put a sign on the chapel door saying “No Christians Allowed”.   What they’ve done is remove the pro-Christian discrimination, in compliance with the Establishment Clause.  You’re still free to worship there as you please.

And our veterans “have fought, bled, and died in order to preserve” Christian religious symbols?  I’m sure that would come as news to  the many non-Christian soldiers out there (and, yes, they exist).  Let’s see what the Oath of Enlistment has to say:

I, (name), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. (So help me God.)

Hmmm.  I do see a mention of “God” in the optional part at the end, but it doesn’t say which God.  It mentions defending and maintaining allegiance to the Constitution and obeying the President and superior officers.  I don’t see any reference to crosses, Bibles, or stained-glass windows. It seems that Mr. Hayes was wrong.  Color me shocked.

And for those Christians out there who don’t understand why the VA wisely decided to remove the crosses and Bibles, ask yourself how comfortable you would feel praying in a chapel (paid with your tax dollars) that contains exclusively Muslim (or Jewish, or Hindu, or Buddhist, etc.) iconography.

An amusing result of those $600 stimulus checks: it appears that they have led to an increase in online porn usage:

An unforeseen and surprising beneficiary of the Economic Stimulus Plan, a plan that George Bush contends will “boost our economy and encourage job creation,” has surfaced this week. An independent market-research firm, AIMRCo (Adult Internet Market Research Company), has discovered that many websites focused on adult or erotic material have experienced an upswing in sales in the recent weeks since checks have appeared in millions of Americans’ mailboxes across the country.

According to Kirk Mishkin, Head Research Consultant for AIMRCo, “Many of the sites we surveyed have reported 20-30% growth in membership rates since mid-May when the checks were first sent out, and typically the summer is a slow period for this market.”

And it apparently is no coincidence:

Jillian Fox, spokeswoman for LSGmodels.com, one of the sites reporting figures to AIMRCo, added, “In a June 15, 2008 survey to our members, thirty two percent of respondents referenced the recent stimulus package as part of their decision to either become a new member, or renew an existing membership.”

I wonder how Dubya and his religious-right supporters feel about this interesting development.  It does bring a new level of hilarity to the term economic “stimulus”. (Sorry, couldn’t resist.)

Yesterday, the History International channel was showing a “documentary” called “UFOs in the Bible”.  Apparently it’s a popular idea.  Basically any biblical reference to something in the sky or something supernatural is “proof” of aliens.

Wow.

Take one part “God did it”, one part “Aliens did it” and mix to get “Aliens did it, but the guys writing the Bible mistook them for God”.

Out of respect for his family (but not the man himself), I won’t speak ill of Jesse Helms right now.  I don’t really have to - his record speaks volumes.  But I won’t pretend that I am sad.  That would be dishonest.

As users of WordPress know, when you make a blog, it automatically sets up an “About” page for you.  So I put a throwaway line up there that very briefly describes my situation:

I’m a scientist stuck in the Bible Belt, with many opinions that don’t go over very well here.

A commenter, Duke Wankins (and I hope for his sake that’s a pseudonym), takes issue with my statement:

“I’m a scientist stuck in the Bible Belt…”

It’s interesting I think, how people are always “stuck” somwhere they don’t like. As if an invisible force makes them stay. I witnessed this a lot during my stay in the US Navy (at half a dozen duty stations; SC., TN., MISS. and CA.). Amazing as it was, there was always some one who would claim they were “stuck” at a particular base, and of course where they came from was a paradise. If you don’t like the “Bible Belt”, why don’t you leave? If your “opinions” don’t go over very well , why don’t you shut-up about it? Do you just feal [sic] some urge to let people know what you think? I also live in the Bible Belt, and I get a lot of flak for listening to classical mucic [sic], being a vegatarian [sic], and a non-smoker, hunter and drinker. BUT, I love it here and do so by my own free will. I am not stuck here and can leave anytime I wish. SO can you.

-Duke Wankins

Okay Duke, point made.  I am not stuck here in the literal sense of the word.  But the beauty of colloquial English is that certain words and phrases have shades of meaning that, while not adhering to the literal definition, allow one to convey certain information in a more economical way.  So when I use the word “stuck”, most people can figure out that what I’m really trying to say is “due to a number of factors, it is in my best interest to remain in my present situation, even if it is not optimal”.  That’s quite a mouthful, which is why it is often useful, especially in conversation, to just use the word “stuck” and be done with it.  I have a feeling that even you, Duke, knew what I was trying to convey by using the word “stuck”.

And “stuck” is not the only phrase we use as a shorthand.  Consider the phrase “have to”, as in “I have to go to work”, “I have to clean the house”, or “I have to do my homework”.  Strictly speaking, nobody has to do any of these things.  It’s just a way of saying “given the consequences, it is in my best interest to…”.  So would you shun the phrase “have to” as well, as people generally do not use the phrase literally?

As for my opinions, I generally keep them to myself in normal discourse, unless specifically asked about them.  So, in a sense, I usually do “shut-up” about them.  But this is my  blog, and I use it as an outlet to talk about things that are on my mind without fear of reprisal.  The only urge I feel is to get things off my chest, and this blog is an excellent venue to do so.  I’m not foisting my opinions on those around me - blog readers are not a captive audience.  They are free to click away if they’re not interested in what I have to say.

Have a happy Independence Day, and be sure to take some time to enjoy the fact that not only are you not truly “stuck”, you also live in a country with a wonderfully nuanced language.

I was wondering when someone would clue the DMV into it…

RALEIGH, N.C. — Thanks to some text message-savvy grandchildren, North Carolina drivers whose license plates have the potentially offensive “WTF” letter combination can replace the tags for free.

The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Tuesday the state Division of Motor Vehicles has notified nearly 10,000 holders of license plates with the letter combination. Officials learned last year the common acronym stands for a vulgar phrase in e-mail and cell phone text messages.

But this week, the DMV officials got another surprise when they learned the same letters appeared on the agency’s own Web site on a sample personalized plate.

“I can’t believe it,” DMV Commissioner Bill Gore said Monday when told about the online glitch. “Obviously, I didn’t know it was there.”

Officials are working to remove the sample plate.

The “WTF-5505″ used on the Web site’s sample plate was the first random letter combination available when DMV switched from blue- to red-lettered plates, officials said. DMV spokeswoman Marge Howell received a sample plate WTF-5506 to use as a prop for news stories about the switch.

A 60-year-old technology teacher from Fayetteville complained about the plate last July after her teenage grandchildren clued her in.

If I had one of those plates, I would keep it.