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Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

That’s my take and I am available for criticism at this time.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

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This really is a full service blog.

Every reporter and pundit should have to declare if they ever vacationed with a billionaire.

We’re watching the self-immolation of the leading world power on a level unprecedented in human history.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

The republican speaker is a slippery little devil.

Hey hey, RFK, how many kids did you kill today?

Someone should tell Republicans that violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, or possibly the first.

Boeing: repeatedly making the case for high speed rail.

You passed on an opportunity to be offended? What are you even doing here?

“What are Republicans afraid of?” Everything.

There are no moderate republicans – only extremists and cowards.

The willow is too close to the house.

Let there be snark.

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Republicans want to make it harder to vote and easier for them to cheat.

Yeah, with this crowd one never knows.

Nothing says ‘pro-life’ like letting children go hungry.

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They love authoritarianism, but only when they get to be the authoritarians.

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You are here: Home / Civil Rights / LGBTQ Rights / Gay Rights are Human Rights / These Colors Don’t Run

These Colors Don’t Run

by John Cole|  March 29, 20134:55 pm| 84 Comments

This post is in: Gay Rights are Human Rights, Assholes, General Stupidity

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Had to go to the airport to pick up a friend, and listened to a little of the Pittsburgh am talk, and this is apparently the issue driving local wingnuts insane:

A rainbow flag flying outside the City-County Building, Downtown, led Mary Ann Burkhart to take a stand.

Burkhart of Bethel Park took issue with a decision by Pittsburgh Mayor Luke Ravenstahl’s administration to hoist the flag representing the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community on Wednesday, when the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments for a second day on gay marriage.

“This is outrageous,” Burkhart said on Thursday. “What’s the message here? You can’t not speak up.”

Ravenstahl’s office received a few calls about the flag, a symbol of gay pride, that it said flew “in recognition” of the high court’s consideration of the federal law defining marriage as between one man and one woman.

Marissa Doyle, a Ravenstahl spokeswoman, said she was not sure if all the callers complained. She said workers took down the flag, which flew below the American flag and the city flag, after rallies on Wednesday in support of gay marriage.

Still, it left Burkhart seeing red.

“Lesbians, gays and transsexuals are honored … under a flag that many people have died for?” she said. “I’m crying for my country.”

Who will think of the fee-fees of our bigots? And the best part is she is not even from Pittsburgh, but Bethel Park.

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Reader Interactions

84Comments

  1. 1.

    Rathskeller

    March 29, 2013 at 4:59 pm

    This makes me wonder if people under the age of 30 or even 40 are listening to the right-wing radio stations.

  2. 2.

    Maude

    March 29, 2013 at 5:05 pm

    How many gay etc. people died for this country? Obviously Burkhart hasn’t.

  3. 3.

    burnspbesq

    March 29, 2013 at 5:05 pm

    Those Neanderthals’ fee-fees are their problem. I have a slightly different concern.

    What the majority opinion in Windsor looks like is as important as how the case comes out (yes, I am assuming that there are five or more votes to strike down Section 3 of DOMA).

    In my nightmare, the vote to overturn Section 3 is unanimous, and the majority opinion is written by Scalia based on the libertarian law profs’ amicus brief. That would fundamentally change the understanding of how our Federal system works. The four liberal Justices’ opinion saying that there’s no rational basis for discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation becomes a meaningless concurrence.

    I really, really don’t want to live in Randy Barnett’s America.

    I wonder if the wing nut Justices are smart enough to realize that if they can overcome their visceral disgust at gheysecksytime, they can hit a six-run home run for their perverse view of what our social compact means.

  4. 4.

    Belafon (formerly anonevent)

    March 29, 2013 at 5:05 pm

    Well, at least this flag doesn’t represent a group of people that committed treason.

    @Rathskeller: Don’t worry, some are. Especially the closer you get to 40. The listeners won’t completely go away until the radio stations do.

  5. 5.

    gbear

    March 29, 2013 at 5:09 pm

    “Lesbians, gays and transsexuals are honored … under a flag that many people have died for?” she said. “I’m crying for my country.”

    Irony. She is blind to it.

    That is the kindest response I can give to her comment…

  6. 6.

    Mnemosyne

    March 29, 2013 at 5:10 pm

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent):

    Well, at least this flag doesn’t represent a group of people that committed treason.

    That was my first thought, too.

  7. 7.

    raven

    March 29, 2013 at 5:11 pm

    @Maude: I had gay comrade’s in arms in every duty station I was in during my three year tour.

  8. 8.

    Ben Franklin

    March 29, 2013 at 5:11 pm

    Imagine if a rebel flag flew over some southern capital.

  9. 9.

    ranchandsyrup

    March 29, 2013 at 5:11 pm

    I loved this quote from TNC that I wrote a post about it:

    I think what we have here is a working definition of an asshole — a person who demands that all social interaction happen on their terms.

    http://ranchandsyrup.com/2013/03/27/first-to-fall-over-when-the-atmosphere-is-less-than-perfect-your-sensibilities-are-shaken-by-the-slightest-defect/

    These stains upon humanity can’t stand it if their beliefs aren’t reflected by everyone and everything 100% of the time.

    ETA: sorry for blawgwhoring

  10. 10.

    Ben Franklin

    March 29, 2013 at 5:13 pm

    @burnspbesq:

    I’ve heard Thomas just might separate himself from his fraternal twin.

  11. 11.

    scav

    March 29, 2013 at 5:13 pm

    @Belafon (formerly anonevent):

    Well, at least this flag doesn’t represent a group of people that committed treason.

    That’s certainly the heritage usually honored that snapped to my mind.

  12. 12.

    SatanicPanic

    March 29, 2013 at 5:14 pm

    “Lesbians, gays and transsexuals are honored … under a flag that many people have died for?” she said. “I’m crying for my country.”

    Maybe not enough people have died for that flag. Maybe it needs one more person to do it. In a fire.

  13. 13.

    NorthLeft12

    March 29, 2013 at 5:16 pm

    Perhaps the Mayor should have asked if the bigots have a flag that they rally under that he could put on the flag pole?

  14. 14.

    johnny aquitard

    March 29, 2013 at 5:21 pm

    That flag works like the Batsignal on bigots.

    No matter what sewer they’re lurking in or damp rock they’re hiding under, they’ll respond.

  15. 15.

    Maude

    March 29, 2013 at 5:22 pm

    @raven:
    Thank you.

  16. 16.

    gbear

    March 29, 2013 at 5:24 pm

    Actually, my first response to that picture was ‘What is that ugly flag in the middle?’ Not a good looking flag.

  17. 17.

    raven

    March 29, 2013 at 5:24 pm

    @Maude: Just da facts mam.

  18. 18.

    Mustang Bobby

    March 29, 2013 at 5:25 pm

    “This is outrageous,” Burkhart said on Thursday. “What’s the message here? You can’t not speak up.”

    This is me not not speaking up: Yes, madam, you certainly are outrageous, and the message here is that you need to find a garden rake and use it for your next colonoscopy.

  19. 19.

    burnspbesq

    March 29, 2013 at 5:25 pm

    @Ben Franklin:

    I’ll believe it when I see it.

  20. 20.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    March 29, 2013 at 5:25 pm

    After we turn Mary Ann Burkhart gay, we’ll prolly all chuckle over this.

  21. 21.

    Joel

    March 29, 2013 at 5:27 pm

    Ravenstahl? Sounds a lot like Riefenstahl, which makes sense when you think about it. Who else but the Nazis would force God-fearing Americans to not discriminate against gay people.

    Also, is that a variant of the pride flag? I thought it only had six stripes. Maybe they’re flying the Cuzco flag by accident?

  22. 22.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    March 29, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    Lesbians, gays and transsexuals are among those who have died for that flag. Anyone who says different doesn’t even know anyone who has been in combat.

  23. 23.

    raven

    March 29, 2013 at 5:28 pm

    @Joel: Raven who?

  24. 24.

    Chris

    March 29, 2013 at 5:29 pm

    Who will think of the fee-fees of our bigots?

    My Confederate/fundiegelical cousin’s Facebook wall has been alive with complaints ever since this case happened – and at least 50% of it has been dedicated to whining about the terrible unfairness that people like him are becoming as marginalized as white supremacists (man, I wish they were as marginalized as he’s claiming).

    No matter how much I know it, it always impresses me to see just how much of their ideology can be distilled down to “I am not getting the proper respect, admiration and positive reinforcement that is my due as a straight white Christian man.”

    And I swear to God, their skin gets thinner every year.

  25. 25.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    March 29, 2013 at 5:30 pm

    This POS is a glaring reminder of why it was so important for us to reduce the levels of lead in our environment. I like to think that as her kind die off (in her case, propably by forgetting to breath at some public event she’s at where she finds herself trapped sitting next to an actual gay person), rational thought and critical thinking will no longer be held up as treaaonous activities.

  26. 26.

    MattF

    March 29, 2013 at 5:30 pm

    The problem is not just her wounded feelings, it’s her living in a world that doesn’t actually exist. And if there’s enough people living in a fantasy world, it’s a problem for all of us. The answer is that we have to work at it. And objections from the inhabitants of the fantasy world demonstrate that we’re doing the right thing.

  27. 27.

    LanceThruster

    March 29, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    As I learned in the book “I’m OK, You’re an A-hole,” when the state doesn’t sanction my bigotry it makes me feel sad because it’s as if it’s not a good thing for me to be a bigot.

    Boo-effin-hoo!

  28. 28.

    JPL

    March 29, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    You know who else would have flown the flag….

  29. 29.

    scav

    March 29, 2013 at 5:31 pm

    “Her” country is a small and twisted one, not worth crying over. Their flags are run up tall flat-head screws as embematic of how they treat anyone other than their clones. How dare those she chooses to ignore the existence of pipe up.

  30. 30.

    Mustang Bobby

    March 29, 2013 at 5:33 pm

    To quote my friend Melissa McEwan, “Losing the capacity to oppress is not oppression.”

  31. 31.

    Higgs Boson's Mate

    March 29, 2013 at 5:35 pm

    @Chris:

    And I swear to God, their skin gets thinner every year.

    Onward Christian whiners,
    Whining off to war,
    With their sodden hankies,
    Going on before…

  32. 32.

    geg6

    March 29, 2013 at 5:37 pm

    Well, there are many would-be MOUs in Bethel Park, along with their bitter sexless harpy stay-at-home wives who think they are the people we all aspire to be. A very white WASPy upper middle class suburb who shouldn’t have to be subjected to the Other on her way from Macy’s to meet her husband at the Pens game. Those people are icky, you see. I hate Bethel Park. It’s where you are most likely to feel that you’re in Stepford.

  33. 33.

    MikeJ

    March 29, 2013 at 5:38 pm

    @gbear:

    Actually, my first response to that picture was ‘What is that ugly flag in the middle?’ Not a good looking flag.

    I don’t really understand why cities need flags to begin with. I can’t imagine that anybody would ever march into battle under the flag of Seattle.

  34. 34.

    Mnemosyne

    March 29, 2013 at 5:40 pm

    @MikeJ:

    That’s because you have a lame flag. You need a cool city flag, like Chicago’s.

  35. 35.

    The Other Chuck

    March 29, 2013 at 5:40 pm

    @Joel: It sure is close, but that pink stripe on the top isn’t on the Cuzco flag. Wrong shade of blue below the green stripe too.

  36. 36.

    Linnaeus

    March 29, 2013 at 5:45 pm

    @MikeJ:

    Teal is our city color.

  37. 37.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    March 29, 2013 at 5:48 pm

    @Mustang Bobby: That’s golden. I will be sharing that quote with great frequency and extreme prejudice (just not *that* kind of prejudice).

  38. 38.

    Chris

    March 29, 2013 at 5:51 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    That IS a cool flag. (Never been to Chicago).

  39. 39.

    Baud

    March 29, 2013 at 5:51 pm

    “What’s the message here?”

    America is more tolerant that it used to be. Love it or leave it.

  40. 40.

    Baud

    March 29, 2013 at 5:52 pm

    @Mnemosyne:

    Cool. I think it’s great that they have one star for each quarter-century the Cubs haven’t won the series.

  41. 41.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    March 29, 2013 at 5:53 pm

    @MikeJ: Holy crap, I didn’t know we had a flag. That’s actually kinda cool.

    And I’m sorry, but I don’t see what about Chicago’s stars and bars make it cooler than any other city flag.

  42. 42.

    cmorenc

    March 29, 2013 at 5:56 pm

    A more “fair and balanced” way for Pittsburgh’s mayor to have done the flag thing would have been to add a Confederate flag underneath the Rainbow flag. Then, both sides to the controversy would have been both fairly represented and equally offended.

  43. 43.

    kwAwk

    March 29, 2013 at 5:59 pm

    So…

    …exactly how many people have died for the city flag of Pittsburgh?

  44. 44.

    Just Some Fuckhead

    March 29, 2013 at 6:08 pm

    @cmorenc: Or..

  45. 45.

    Walker

    March 29, 2013 at 6:11 pm

    @Rathskeller:

    People under 30 do not listen to radio stations, period.

  46. 46.

    Citizen_X

    March 29, 2013 at 6:13 pm

    Boy, you anti-city-flag people will change your tune when all the nation-states dissolve (‘cuz they’re lame, I guess) and we are all living in independent city-states a la ancient Greece or Renaissance Italy.

    (Wasn’t that supposed to happen by now? Isn’t that what all the “futurists” were telling us in the ’90s?)

  47. 47.

    James E. Powell

    March 29, 2013 at 6:20 pm

    @Baud:

    America is more tolerant that it used to be.

    That’s exactly what frightens and angers people like Mary Ann Burkhart. And there are quite a few of them. Can we do anything to reduce her fears?

  48. 48.

    Darkrose

    March 29, 2013 at 6:21 pm

    @burnspbesq: I don’t think that’s likely. I honestly don’t think Scalia can get past his “EW BUTTSEX!!!” and general dickwaddery to do anything that might in some universe benefit a gay person.

  49. 49.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    March 29, 2013 at 6:26 pm

    @Walker: Hell, I’m almost fifty and I never listen to the radio. Haven’t listened to the radio since the ’90s, with the exception of the lib shows on KTLK before the damn owneres switched it to sports talk. (And this was after several years of the owners refusing to upgrade their signal, as listening to KTLK in the car meant getting your ears filled with static and buzz if you drove near a hill or a large object like, say, a crow.)

  50. 50.

    scav

    March 29, 2013 at 6:29 pm

    You better look out for Chicago then, we’ve got that municipal Y in a circle (circle being interpreted very loosely, all over any number of things. Lightposts, buildings, cars . . . They might have pushed that mutant star, but with the previously built environment still hanging about . . . Not a clue if anyone actually wonders what’s up with it though, let alone feel the sudden urge to salute the 3
    River branches or anything drastic.

  51. 51.

    Roger Moore

    March 29, 2013 at 6:30 pm

    @Chris:

    My Confederate/fundiegelical cousin’s Facebook wall has been alive with complaints ever since this case happened – and at least 50% of it has been dedicated to whining about the terrible unfairness that people like him are becoming as marginalized as open white supremacists (man, I wish they were as marginalized as he’s claiming).

    Fixt.

  52. 52.

    Elizabelle

    March 29, 2013 at 6:33 pm

    How perfect that Burkhart is so close to Butthurt.

    Waaaaah.

    I have no doubt the woman is seeing red either.

  53. 53.

    JoyfulA

    March 29, 2013 at 6:36 pm

    @gbear: City flag? Steelers’ flag? It isn’t the Pennsylvania state flag, which is blue and gold with horses.

  54. 54.

    Yutsano

    March 29, 2013 at 6:38 pm

    @Mnemosyne: Does YOUR flag have a comet on it? I don’t think so!

    (Hell I never knew we had one. I don’t think I’ve ever seen it flying anywhere.

  55. 55.

    Ted & Hellen

    March 29, 2013 at 6:40 pm

    I’d be willing to bet that dear little Mary’s husband is fucking around on her.

  56. 56.

    Onihanzo

    March 29, 2013 at 6:41 pm

    I CANNOT stop fucking laughing at this crisis in action.

    http://www.redstate.com/2013/03/29/you-will-be-made-to-care/

    “That is why so many Christians are fighting. Because we see in Europe and Canada what will happen here. Christianity is a religion of the city square. Christ compels us to ‘go forth and teach.’ It is the Great Commission. We cannot go forth and teach when the left bars us from the town square.”

    Religious hypochondriacs, the whole stupid lot of them.

  57. 57.

    BerkeleyMom

    March 29, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    We had the rainbow flag proudly flying at City Hall in Berkeley too. Nobody’s outraged as they know we are radical Muslim Socialists out here.

  58. 58.

    gbear

    March 29, 2013 at 6:45 pm

    @James E. Powell: How about we just point and laugh until she gets the message?

    It doesn’t look like St. Paul has a flag, but I do like our city logo. The dome is for either the state capitol or the cathedral, both major landmarks from downtown St. Paul.

  59. 59.

    Villago Delenda Est

    March 29, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    @James E. Powell:

    Can we do anything to reduce her fears?

    One tumbrel ride will eliminate her fears. Problem solved!

  60. 60.

    Yutsano

    March 29, 2013 at 6:47 pm

    @gbear: Do you have a flag?

  61. 61.

    Roger Moore

    March 29, 2013 at 6:49 pm

    @James E. Powell:

    Can we do anything to reduce her fears?

    No. SATSQ.

  62. 62.

    Villago Delenda Est

    March 29, 2013 at 6:49 pm

    @JoyfulA:

    I think it’s the PA state flag, which is every bit as boring as Oregon’s.

    There are a handful of good state flags, most are just pathetic. Texas, Ohio, and Maryland have the best ones, IMHO.

  63. 63.

    Yutsano

    March 29, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est: Maryland’s flag is just cool.

  64. 64.

    jefft452

    March 29, 2013 at 6:51 pm

    @Higgs Boson’s Mate: “Onward Christian whiners,
    Whining off to war,
    With their sodden hankies,
    Going on before… ”

    oooooo, I am so going to steal that

  65. 65.

    Baud

    March 29, 2013 at 6:52 pm

    @James E. Powell:
    @Roger Moore:

    People like that draw strength from their fears. They don’t give that up unless there is something else in their life to replace it.

  66. 66.

    agorabum

    March 29, 2013 at 6:58 pm

    Christ, what an asshole.

  67. 67.

    ranchandsyrup

    March 29, 2013 at 7:00 pm

    San Diaaaago City Flag http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Flag_of_San_Diego,_California.svg

  68. 68.

    Roger Moore

    March 29, 2013 at 7:01 pm

    @Villago Delenda Est:

    Texas, Ohio, and Maryland have the best ones, IMHO.

    New Mexico, hands down.

  69. 69.

    gbear

    March 29, 2013 at 7:01 pm

    @Yutsano: I hope Minneapolis doesn’t see that. They have a flag.

  70. 70.

    MikeBoyScout

    March 29, 2013 at 7:02 pm

    I’ve only two things to say.

    1) I know Amy. Grew up with her.

    2) I’ll go to the wall for Amy.

  71. 71.

    Baud

    March 29, 2013 at 7:02 pm

    Balloon Juice needs its own flag.

  72. 72.

    Roger Moore

    March 29, 2013 at 7:03 pm

    @Baud:

    Balloon Juice needs its own flag.

    We can define it in the friendship agreement.

  73. 73.

    ranchandsyrup

    March 29, 2013 at 7:05 pm

    @Roger Moore: Second this. Best motto as well.

    Ohio is interesting due to the shape.

    I liked this piece on the state flags: http://thehairpin.com/2011/07/sometimes-state-flags

  74. 74.

    Yutsano

    March 29, 2013 at 7:05 pm

    @Roger Moore: Does this mean we have to pay our resident legal staff?

  75. 75.

    Baud

    March 29, 2013 at 7:07 pm

    @Yutsano:

    We can pay them in Balloon Bucks.

  76. 76.

    Sad_Dem

    March 29, 2013 at 7:11 pm

    @Ted & Hellen: I’d be willing to bet that dear little Mary’s husband is fucking around on her.

    With guys he finds on Craigslist? Who are into some kinky things? She wouldn’t be the only one.

  77. 77.

    Studly Pantload, the emotionally unavailable unicorn

    March 29, 2013 at 7:14 pm

    I’m not religious, so I don’t believe it’ll happen, but I’d so love to actually see Jesus come back and get all Joe Pesci on these cretins’ asses (because as the episode with the money changers tells us, JC didn’t suffer assholes gladly).

    “Mother fucker, when did I say to hate on your fellow because he’s darker than you, or dates boys, or votes for the political party that has the better record of providing for the poor, sick, and elderly? Where did you fucking see that, you fucking prick? Open your goddamn motherfucking red letter New Testament and show me just where the fuck I said that, fucking chapter and fucking verse! Do it now, you miserable fuck! Show me where the fuck I said that, or me and my gun here are gonna make you fucking dance!”

  78. 78.

    handsmile

    March 29, 2013 at 7:38 pm

    All this talk, prideful and scornful, of city and state flags prompted me to consult Wikipedia Commons on the subject. When you have a minute or two or three, do check out this gallery for its astonishing variety of graphic creativity:

    http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/City_flags

    Each time I thought I had a favorite, I would scroll down to find another. But these would certainly be among them:

    Cape Town, South Africa
    Amman, Jordan
    Jihlava, Czech Republic (includes a hedgehog!)
    Chelyabinsk, Russia
    Siauliai, Lithuania
    Podgorica, Montenegro
    Mulhouse, France
    Cocoeicao do Castelo, Brazil
    Quissama, Brazil

    Among US cities, Des Moines wins the prize, with Ocean City, MD, Tampa, FL and Roswell, NM very honorable mentions.

  79. 79.

    shortstop

    March 29, 2013 at 7:49 pm

    @Yutsano: Oh, dear dog, no. That would just encourage the more incompetent among them, and their free advice is worth just what we pay for it now.

  80. 80.

    Chris

    March 29, 2013 at 8:23 pm

    @Onihanzo:

    We cannot go forth and teach when the left bars us from the town square.”

    I’d like to say that this is silly because no one’s talking about banning them from the town square; fuck, the Westboro Baptist Church, the only homophobic group out there that’s equally loathed by both sides of the spectrum, still exercises its constitutional rights on a regular basis and is in no danger of seeing it removed.

    But… that’s what really terrifies them. Not the idea that they’ll be banned from the town square – if they were, they could become martyrs, have their own civil rights movement, etc. No, what really terrifies them is that the town square will remain open to them but that they’ll simply become crazy people shouting into the wind as the rest of society ignores them and goes about its business.

    That’s what all their persecution fantasies (about this and every other issues) stem from; the fictional world in which they’re being oppressed and targeted by a massive liberal conspiracy is just so much more interesting and ego-soothing than the dreary reality in which they’re being ignored and forgotten.

  81. 81.

    Yutsano

    March 29, 2013 at 8:31 pm

    @shortstop: We could just pay them in Ameros.

  82. 82.

    Roger Moore

    March 29, 2013 at 9:04 pm

    @Chris:

    That’s what all their persecution fantasies (about this and every other issues) stem from; the fictional world in which they’re being oppressed and targeted by a massive liberal conspiracy is just so much more interesting and ego-soothing than the dreary reality in which they’re being ignored and forgotten.

    There’s more to it than that. They’re thinking of the Sermon on the Mount, e.g. Matthew 5:10-12 (KJV):

    10 Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

    11 Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake.

    12 Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.

    They desperately want to be persecuted because it makes them feel holy, so they play up the tiniest dissent from their religious beliefs as persecution. I think that actually drives them to take crazier and crazier positions just so they can guarantee that somebody will disagree and they can feel properly persecuted.

  83. 83.

    FlipYrWhig

    March 29, 2013 at 11:05 pm

    @Roger Moore:

    They desperately want to be persecuted because it makes them feel holy, so they play up the tiniest dissent from their religious beliefs as persecution. I think that actually drives them to take crazier and crazier positions just so they can guarantee that somebody will disagree and they can feel properly persecuted.

    There are a surprisingly large number of people who get off on that. And it’s not just religious belief. Some people just feel more alive when they’re feeling persecuted.

  84. 84.

    Ruckus

    March 29, 2013 at 11:40 pm

    @FlipYrWhig:
    It’s attention. They don’t care why they get it, they just need it because their ideals are to all be the same bland oneness, no deviation from the norm, whatever the fuck that is. Any one who doesn’t fit into their little box proves to them not that not everyone fits into their little box, but that anyone who doesn’t is wrong and has to be stopped. They have no imagination, no empathy, no understanding that there are people who not only aren’t like them but actually like not being like them.

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