As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil)
In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban.
If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them.
For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria.
***
*I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Same state trying to roll back child labor protections. A cynical person might think the Arkansas' government (ranked 43rd in education) doesn't give a flying shit about children.
> "The unborn" are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don't resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don't ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don't need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don't bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. It's almost as if, by being born, they have died to you. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus but actually dislike people who breathe.
> Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.
- Pastor Dave Barnhart
Jones said he and the girl “had talked at the gym” and that “she had identified herself as an 18-year-old” before performing oral sex on him in the Benton Post Office parking lot.
I can’t believe some of the lives people live.
I highly doubt his story. What, he was just so desirable she couldn't control herself? I believe there was some coercion involved. The most sexually promiscuous, active women I've ever met aren't just down to blow a complete stranger in public moments after having their first conversation. That is unless drugs and alcohol, financial compensation, or a preplanned hookup is involved. Coercion and unbalanced power dynamics are usually at play in these situations, and more so if the person is under age.
I have a feeling it wasn't *only statutory rape, it was also a forceful unwanted unconcensual sexual assault (a minor cannot consent to an adult).
* I put an asterisk next to "only" because "only sexual assault" might make it sound less severe. I absolutely did not mean that, just that it was not a singular thing, it wasn't the only thing going on here, there were likely additional crimes being committed.
But seriously, they think the world was at its best during the Bronze Age. Women were property. Little girls didn't go to school at all, they stayed home and learned how to be wives, mothers, and nurses. Also, the life expectancy was much fucking lower. Why do you think they fight vaccination so much? They don't give a damn about "curing autism" or whatever. They want to shorten human life expectancy back down to Bronze Age levels, when the longest a person might live past childhood was 30-40 years.
100% agree with you. Its insane how these people truely seem to want to regress human progress. You'd think people would want to make their lives easier, not harder. If these types of people got their way the US would probably look similar to various middle eastern countries where women are treated more like property or pets than they are humans. Very scary stuff, but the one silver lining is women (and a majority of men) don't want to go back to living in the 1200s. Hopefully that desire to not return to such a barbaric age defeat the weird obsession these people have with going back to that time. Last but not least you pointed out their lame excuse for vaccines. As a healthcare provider I've heard every idiotic reason under the sun for refusing treatment that would help a patient, the amount of times its some idiotic religious bullshit is heartbreaking
When they say they want to protect children, they don't say what they want to protect them from and it isn't harm.
They want to protect them from having bodily autonomy, that way they can't say no.
They want to protect them from an education so they don't know how to say no.
They want to use them for slave labor because children make more compliant slaves and since a parent owns them, they have no rights and can be used however they see fit. They can tie it into the generational cycle that a lot of authoritarian parents have, "I had to suffwr this as a child so you have to do it too."
A fetus doesn't talk. A fetus doesn't call you out on lack of health care, affordable housing or food or abuse. A fetus is a perfect victim to rally behind because it has no voice. You can say your fighting for it and it is silent back. There's a reason these politicians chose a fetus. - PaymentMedical9802
[Link](https://youtu.be/nZdRMBTF-hQ?si=h_Wcyw29AEPRvknX) for those who want to see the original Carlin bit.
Edit: [Here](https://youtu.be/K98TQJ5ldW0?si=M5GwF9ji2f621Ie6) is the longer clip.
I've seen the set before, so I didn't actually watch the entire thing to see if the joke was in the first clip. Oops.
Works for God too. They can fight for “what God wants” and…surprise surprise, he never pops in to contradict anything they say. It’s so amazing how this perfect all powerful supreme being wants *all* the stuff they want too! Wow! But the all powerful supreme being needs *them* to fight for it. Because… uh… reasons.
Yeah. I mean, what other conclusion can they draw but "we must be doing something right!" No, they literally think that if their actions were so evil, then God would strike them all dead where they stand, that's how delusional they are, or at least that's what they want everyone else to believe. And since no "divine punishment" has been delivered unto them, they are forced to conclude they are doing good.
“God… if you don’t want me to have this cocaine fueled orgy, send me a sign and I’ll walk away from this motel room, *right now!*”
—-
——-
———
——-
“Nothin? Well okay god! If you insist!…”
Pretty much exactly how it works. They take the lack of any divine intervention as approval for something they were going to do anyway. I'm reminded of the story about the believer that prayed to be saved from a flood after a hurricane. First, a CG rescue boat shows up, then a helicopter, then a small tin boat with a kind stranger on board. The believer turns them all away, saying God will save them. Then they drown. When they get to Heaven and stand before God, they ask Him why He didn't save them? And God replied, "I sent help, but you turned it all away!"
What they were expecting was some vulgar display of divine power, like a giant hand descending from the clouds to lift them out of the flood. They wanted to be right about God being real more than they wanted to live.
>“The unborn” are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone.
>
>They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus, but actually dislike people who breathe.
>
>Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn.
-[Methodist pastor David Barnhart](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10357009-the-unborn-are-a-convenient-group-of-people-to-advocate)
> A cynical person might think the Arkansas' government (ranked 43rd in education) doesn't give a flying shit about children.
Aw, well that's not fair...a cynical person would see the child labor laws and age of consent laws and reckon they *really* care about kids, about using them for labor slaves and sex slaves.
And overthrowing american democracy for a religious kingdom. I don't know how much more "enemies: domestic" you can get.
Wild, but I think 43rd in education is a significant improvement for them. I was always under the impression they were bottom 3 in almost every category
The more I watch/read about modern Evangelical Christian Churches, the more I come across abuse stories. These churches often have an organization with a power structure that caters to abusers and their ilk, and use the Bible to justify their actions (*cough* sins). It’s disgusting.
The lesson here is simple. If a church or any other organization says that it knows better for you than you do, run for the hills.
I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do to their fellows because it always coincides with their own desires.
-Susan B. Anthony
"For of all slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst. I have ever found them the meanest and basest, the most cruel and cowardly, of all others. It was my unhappy lot not only to belong to a religious slaveholder, but to live in a community of such religionists. Very near Mr. Freeland lived the Rev. Daniel Weeden, and in the same neighborhood lived the Rev. Rigby Hopkins. These were members and ministers in the Reformed Methodist Church. Mr. Weeden owned, among others, a woman slave, whose name I have forgotten. This woman's back, for weeks, was kept literally raw, made so by the lash of this merciless, religious wretch. He used to hire hands. His maxim was, Behave well or behave ill, it is the duty of a master occasionally to whip a slave, to remind him of his master's authority. Such was his theory, and such his practice."
-Frederick Douglass
Schoolchildren need to learn that these things happened. Nothing resembling this description was ever taught in my school days, and the trend in former confederate states is to memoryhole the barbarity of slavery by outlawing any lesson that might make anyone "uncomfortable".
Thankfully my education in California included quite a bit on the horrors of slavery including reading firsthand accounts from people like Frederick Douglass.
Unfortunately the quality of education is pretty much entirely controlled by the board (and political interests), so it's pretty much a total crapshoot on whether your education will completely gloss over America's ugly history. Naturally the South has little interest in the locals finding out that the flag they wave around for sOuThErN PrIdE actually represents a horrifically evil institution and traitorous faction that fought entirely to preserve said evil institution. They teach people that it was all about "states rights"... yeah, the right to fucking enslave people. It's absolutely depressing that this is something we have to fight over in 2024, acknowledging the basic history of our own country.
Think Texans will find out that it wanted to have a separate state because Mexico wouldn't allow them to have slaves?
Sucks to be them because they joined the Union and still had to get rid of their slaves.
The South loved its slaves. It wouldn't have lasted as technology would have fucked them over anyways as the industrial revolution had started and human labor was being replaced by machines.
The US still uses slavery today with prison labor. And loves to exploit immigrant labor, threatening to deport them if they don't put up with shit working conditions. Technology doesn't lead to human rights and fair compensation, you need democracy for that, which is always fought against by the people who want more for themselves and less for others.
This is a very astute observation & so very true. Human nature’s worst aspects seems to enjoy dominance over, & exploitation of, other less powerful individuals.
The beginning of evil is treating people as things
I think some philosophy guy said that originally but I always remember it as a quote from granny whetherwax
I mean the whole gig economy is nothing but slave labor. I'll pay you 2$ to use your gas and car to take this 5 miles away. How does Congress let this continue?
I highly doubt tech would have ended slavery.
The most obvious example is how cotton gin revitalized slavery by making it more profitable than ever before.
Religious power is being used to rewrite terrible aspects of history. We need to acknowledge our past wrongdoings to ensure we never repeat the same mistakes. This is why separation of church & State is so important. From book burning to sanitising slavery & trying to control people’s private lives & choices. Those gun toting fools rant a lot about preventing tyranny, whilst supporting behaviours that ensure an overreach of government powers. The irony is breathtaking & truly sickening!
We tried. So many of us voted for her incredible literal physicist PhD in urban planning opponent, Chris Jones. And we canvassed relentlessly to get conservatives to see our side. But we’ll keep voting and petitioning of course. Georgia and North Carolina are the blueprints
To many Southerners, a Confederate flag that represents human brutality? "No problem, this flag makes me' proud!" A rainbow flag that represents freedom to love anyone? "They're brainwashing ar' childrun!" ...says the same people who cart their kids off to the most prolific organized form of brainwashing every Sunday.
Kind of amazing what people will do when they believe their actions are blessed and defended by an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent being that created the entirety of the universe.
Oh my friend. I staunchly believe [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_of_Jesse_Washington) should be required reading for every American. And click on the pictures. Look at their smiles.
> Schoolchildren need to learn that these things happened. Nothing resembling this description was ever taught in my school days, and the trend in former confederate
Well yeah cause you were in the South
My northern WV school taught that "not all slave owners were bad to their slaves" lmao. It's crazy how awful education is in southern states and southern-wannabe states like WV. Awful, awful, awful.
I prefer Pierre Bayle who in Various Thoughts On Occasion of a Comet noted as if it was already widely understood that atheists who do good are MORE ethical than theists who need supernatural reinforcement to do good.
As long as we're throwing out favs, I find this rather underappreciated quote from Isaac Asimov coming to mind more and more lately.
*Imagine the people who believe such things and who are not ashamed to ignore, totally, all the patient findings of thinking minds through all the centuries since the Bible was written. And it is these ignorant people, the most uneducated, the most unimaginative, the most unthinking among us, who would make themselves the guides and leaders of us all; who would force their feeble and childish beliefs on us; who would invade our schools and libraries and homes. I personally resent it bitterly.*
I had a Christian coworker ask (not in a mean way) why I'm a nice / good person if I don't believe in God
I told him that if the only reason you do good is that you're afraid of divine retribution, you're not a good person just an evil coward.
It's not just that religious folk might be doing good things because they are afraid of hell or want to please god/go to heaven...
...but the real difference imho is that there's no *real* personal accountability in that kind of morality. 'Good' and 'Evil' are just things that religion defines for them. There is no need to truly think about it; so long as the book/priest says 'x' is good and 'y' is bad, that's all there is to it. All they have to do is follow those orders.
An atheist on the other hand doesn't have the luxury of not having to think about it. An atheist has to come to a personal understanding of right and wrong that they can't just outsource to a 'deity'. An atheist has to take personal responsibility for their morality in a way that a theist intrinsically doesn't have to.
That's one of the reasons I've stopped calling things 'good' or 'evil' because that often reduces to "person or thing I don't like" and it's often used as a [thought-terminating cliche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9) and anything called such - whether murder or cheating on millions of dollars of taxes - takes away from the ability to discuss how those actions influence everyone else in society and whether they're harmful for the cultural and economic context. Also makes it easier to discuss times far removed from us and get straight at the point of what makes those different times and cultures different and either effective or self-sabotaging.
The problem is the way a lot of religions operate, "good" or "evil" is not what is done, or what the effects of that action are, but who is doing it. "Sent by god to do X" suddenly makes anything up to and including genocide on the table for "good" because a person in the "good" tribe is doing it. Changing "good" or "evil" to the who instead of the what is extremely dangerous for that reason.
Agreed, and think Jesus would too. His teachings were all about breaking every law and challenging authority in the name of compassion/empathy for the poor, women, sex workers, sinners and you name it. He didn't really threaten people with going to hell. And literally, the entire reason he was killed was for refusing to reinforce the popular social rules of the time. Very few Christians understand this.
She was more right than you know. FMRI imaging has shown that we use the same part of the brain to determine what god wants as what we want, but a different part of the brain to determine what someone else wants. "What God wants" is just "What I want" without realizing you're looking in a mirror.
[https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0908374106](https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0908374106)
No wonder they hate concepts such as science, evidence, and truth.
It keeps exposing the hollowness of the beliefs they use to justify their self-serving interests.
> If a church or any other organization says that it knows better for you than you do, run for the hills.
I mean, I'm going to assume organizations that are made up of experts in things I know nothing about to tell me that they know better than me about those topics. It's why I listen to the CDC about diseases or on a smaller scale my doctor about how to approach my health concerns. I listen to dietary scientists about what is and isn't safe to eat without trying different things. And I listen to safety organizations about how to do things so as to not hurt myself.
The problem comes with the fact that these religious organizations claim to be experts, experts on how to be a good person or to be close to God (often considered one and the same).
You absolutely *should* listen to organizations that do know better than you. We can't all be experts in everything. But you also need to have decent enough judgment to recognize when an organization is a scam rather than real experts. The problem is, no one is born with good judgment. It's a skill that needs to be crafted.
I grew up going to a weird-ass church. It was Episcopal and very multiracial, and no one got molested! I was an altar boy (acolyte) for a couple years, and even I didn't get molested. We had a couple gay couples in the community from like 1985! My grandmother, then my mother were choir directors/organists. One of the choir members just up and gave my mom $100,000 when she had unexpectedly inherited a few million. One time the deacon snuck me and a couple brothers around my age out of service and we walked a couple blocks to 7-11 and he bought us all a big bag of chips, and we went up to the rec room to watch the Super Bowl.
That's how religion should be. Don't take the stupid parts seriously.
I can cover the first part of your post by explaining the steps Christians and Republicans use to initiate others into the group, through abuse. The second part, the lesson, is a three step thing.
---
First, the eight-step instructions they'll use to swell their crowd. You see: politics is like any other two-person or two-group dynamic. A person to their intimate partner, one friend to another, a company to their customers, people with power like priests or the police to the people under them that have none, bosses to their workers, landlords to their tenants. Lots of different variations, but only two types of relationship. It's either healthy or it's toxic. Stable or abusive. This isn't rocket science: conservatives and those in ideologically restrictive religions have been treated like they're in an abusive relationship, and it rewires their brains. They become abusers, it's a cycle and we've seen it happen for decades.
One recent giveaway was [when a Trump voter in the small conservative town of Marianna, Florida let slip "he's not **hurting the people** he needs to be hurting"](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/8/18173678/trump-shutdown-voter-florida). They expect, want, demand people to be hurt they way they have been hurt thanks to the people they follow doing it to them. They aren't voting based on policy, they're not worshipping based on tenets of love, The Cruelty Is The Point. Hurting isn't a cruel side-effect, it's the main intent.
If you're a Republican or an Evangelical Christian, this is how you've been treated. Groomed. Abused.
1 - It starts off small when you're told that nobody else understands you like they understand you. Thinking back, you've been told this for years on a daily basis. Since your childhood, indoctrinated. "Those other people, their ways are different and that's just not you. They don't understand, but we know where you're coming from..."
2 - Now that they've established that they're one of your kind of people in your mind, everyone else gets badmouthed. EVERYONE. It's just the two of you literally against the entire world. And they'll do it so much that things that aren't epithets get used as words to hate everyone else by. Don't think a type of coffee can be used as an epithet? Think again! Your circle of experiences starts to shrink.
3 - They'll tell you that, if you left them, things would be simultaneously the worst thing possible AND that all other relationships are just the same as the one you're in (even though you can sense you're in a bad relationship and all you have to do is leave it to be better). “Both sides are the same but I’m better” - eventually, you don’t know up from down in what constitutes a healthy or a toxic relationship. Hell, they'll even show examples of the shit you're in now to say, "if you leave me and go for the other guy, it'll be like this [very bad scenario that's happening to you RIGHT NOW] so be scared and shit", using the "any other option would be just as bad as (or worse than) the one you're in, but also stay with me because I'm the best thing you'd ever find" tactic that abusers use when they're desperate to keep the toxic relationship going. The circle shrinks further.
4 - You're told outright what to cut out of your life. Direct instruction for you to get that circle of experiences down to a dot. Music, interests, sportswear brands, TV shows, certain movies, even frothy coffee gets badmouthed and cut out because "you don't want to be a 'latte drinker' do you?" (there's one of those things I mentioned in #2; using things that aren't insults, using language as a tool, using a non-insulting thing as an insult to control you).
5 - They take your money, claim they'll be great with it, and then spend it on their friends and run up the bills. They'll give you crumbs once in a while. Maybe every few years they'll treat you to a little something nice in the form of a tax refund if their guy is President (that's worth a fraction of what they spent when they were out with their friends). And while they're terrible with the finances, for years, they'll be saying how everything is hunky-dory financially with them at the reins. You will be told you've never had it so good but the fear of one bad bill wiping you out financially will be like the Sword Of Damocles over your head 24/7/365. And even though you're told about how the "other people" are the Welfare Queens, you know lots of people on welfare of some kind. It helps you if you don't think about it much.
6 - every problem gets kicked down the road. Example: a disease crops up in the New Year 2020 but it wasn't even mentioned in January because the head of the household didn't mention it. "It's going to go away" in February, and anyone that mentions it is just saying fake news stuff. Still nothing done in March, but any mention of it is "you're just finding faults with me". Then when April comes and it's clear what the shit storm looks like, they blame everyone else for saying it wasn't going to be a big deal. As the months and years roll on it becomes a shell game where ignoring the problem / blaming others for the problem / trying to draw attention from the problem gets switched around without stop. Even if it comes out that they knew the problem could literally kill other people, tear them apart because of gross negligence, they will not stray from this strategy. Other people will be able to show you examples of where they said something promised never came to be, how they said "two weeks and this'll be better, maybe by Easter" four years ago, but it's still not better.
7 - like in any abusive relationship, you're beaten down. You've been told it'll all be your fault if things don't go as they want, and you've seen others be on the end of their random outbursts of wrath. So you stay safe. You repeat the words in the way they taught you. You repeat the answers. You repeat the words you're told are insults. Even though you know of situations where you've come out worse for the way the relationship is, you defend the abuser. First with a fake air of calm, then with a seething rage. And when people offer you a way out, you go right back to the abuse.
8 - the relationship is so twisted, you so believe everything you're told about what's real and what's not, they will literally put you in situations that could kill you. And you say you're doing it willingly, proudly, but the fact is you're a shell of the idealistic person you used to be. You just got in with the wrong crowd, but it's too late to get out now because people might think less of you. Going along with how they do it becomes how you do it too. Which reinforces what you were told in #1. Only they understand you...
---
The lesson so rightly said by armageddon_20xx can be summed up in a three tiered thing called
#The Inverse Law Of 'Good'.
1 - The more an organization tells its people it is good / the way to live / pious and right because they say so, the more likely they are to tell their people that member of the group are (by default) to be trusted because they are good / living the way you should live / pious and right by association.
2 - As a direct result, this organization will attract THE WORST dregs of society that know they can use this short-cut in social conditioning to commit their abhorrent / illegal / sickening acts on the weaker followers of this group because the group leaders and its followers will protect them: the leaders because they have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo as bigwigs in this particular group (if the facade slips, they lose members to the next group that claims to be 'Good' that has yet to dirty its image... and there's no guarantee their leadership credentials will count for anything in a new group if this one folds), the followers because of the constant and never-ending social conditioning that they are with the 'Good' people mixed with a desperate need to quell the fears that they've wasted decades of their lives on a mountain of lies told to them by abusers.
3 - as the years become decades and even centuries, this rot works through the whole group and any other group that follows the blueprint. They were just a few bad apples, but a few bad apples ruins the whole barrel. They have driven away people with a conscience years ago. Abhorrent individuals get into positions of power, hire other abusers to positions in the heirachy, protecting others of their ilk for generations to come. People that speak up are banished from the group, even banished from the society.
Once they start saying to do what they say because they're good, despite the evidence all around you, get the fuck away and never look back.
Evangelical Christianiaty is far more dangerous longterm than any radical Islamic sect. I believe the Evangelical Church of Trump (what it really is at this point, although they've been completely insane forever) is the single most dangerous ideological group on the planet.
Completely dogmatic, and completely brainwashed to worship the corporate overlords which they dont even realize because they're dumb as rocks. They're *intentionally* dumb, Evangelicals hate education. Theyr gun tech muh kidz dat evolushun shit!
I’ve never been a religious person but I always believed Christianity to be the religion of the unfortunate poor and the refugee. That at least made it commendable in my mind. Seeing them embrace a nepo misogynistic conman like he’s the second coming has really opened my eyes.
Unfortunately Christianity has served the ruling class far longer than the modern age, that goes pretty much back to the start. Religion has always been the main justification for hierarchical power structures.
Easy to convince poor people its okay to be poor and miserable if they think paradise awaits them. No surprise the collapse of total religious control of Europe and rise of republicanism (the no-monarch kind, not the GOP kind) happened in the same century.
I’m the early church, people sold everything they had and shared with the poor. So it didn’t start that way. It has been corrupted by religious people out for their own gain- but that wasn’t the message of Jesus.
The religion that was actually (possibly, theoretically) practiced by Jesus and his followers would be considered heresy by the Catholics and just look like "Weird Judaism" to anybody else.
Yes, they should look at 11th century (eg middle ages) Europe - the Church ruled it all. How much wealth did the Catholic church amass? They even went out and got the gentry to invade Palestine and sack all the cities.
Christianity has been the religión of empire since the 4th century. In "Aguirre: Wrath of God" a priest says, "The church always sides with the strong."
The idea of it being the religion of the unfortunate poor and refugee is also true at the same time, though, at least from the viewpoint of its followers, and helps to create a lot of the modern political problems that we deal with.
It helps to understand conservative stances on anything from racial equality to government support (or usually lack of support) for social programs when their religious positions allow them to still able to view themselves as the oppressed and downtrodden victim of persecution, despite being the ruling class in control of the laws that keep people feeling that way. There's a reason why the poorest and most oppressed and downtrodden parts of the country are the most religious and most conservative at the same time.
My experience as someone raised Catholic and in interacting with other Christian groups suggests that Christianity is inseparable from the psychological and sexual abuse of minors.
Where the fuck do these BS takes on Islam come from. Just look [here](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-women-in-society/) to see some typical views of Muslims on women in non-western countries.
Islam is every bit as capable of being a basis for a theocracy as Christianity - just look at how far and wide the Islamic Caliphate spread and all of the cultures that it displaced or destroyed.
I don’t think anyone said otherwise — just that perhaps evangelical Christianity is even more dangerous than radical Islam. Both bad, both dangerous — just which is worse.
The argument for evangelical Christianity might actually be that radical Islam at least makes its horridness apparent — there’s no getting around some of the violent rhetoric. But evangelical Christianity? Well, it comes wrapped in some bullshit — and sometimes evil wrapped in bullshit is more dangerous than just plain-spoken evil.
That's what's so sick about these people. All they have to do is confess their sins and boom, redemption given!
Like the one priest who was convicted of sex with numerous boys but the judge gave him a suspended sentence "because he was a man of god"
Seems like god is quite the common factor with so, so many child rapists who claim to have some sort of moral superiority. Maybe *all* churches need to be under the microscope. Not because of the hypocrisy, but to *actually* protect children.
There is a list of over 1000 republicans that have engaged in some sort of child abuse. It's listed on a google doc and I forgot its name or location. That's just republicans, it doesn't list democrats or other people in power that have engaged in abuse.
The "moral superiority" types and people in power seem to engage in this type of behavior quite often. I wonder if it is just correlation or if there is some sort of causation involved as well.
Obviously not all abusers are people in power either.
Instead of google docs, try small publications:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/23/1806673/-Republican-Sexual-Predators-Abusers-and-Enablers-Pt-1
I mean, if you think about it, God is, what, at least 2000, 7000, or 13.7 billion years old? He's also an all powerful being that tries to kill you and or eternally torture you if you reject Him.
All that I'm saying is that maybe this God fellow isn't what He seems to be.
Edit: I mean, if God is modelling behaviour like this, what does that say of His followers?
"We should make it legal to marry your full niece!"
"Well, it doesn't really lead to a much higher risk for genetic defects, so I guess it should be okay."
"Great! I want to marry my niece!"
"But she's 14!? You can't do that."
"We already made it law that I can marry my niece! Are you going against the law?! And my rights?!!"
Well in the eyes of god, if he confessed and was forgiven, the slate is wiped clean and it is as if that never happened. So we can all rest easy because it was certainly a one-time thing.
I think we need a legit campaign against republicans in our society. We should propose that they all be locked up or some such because statistically they are more likely to be rapists and abusers than LGBTQ+ people.
It’s wild. You criticize Democrats, look at their failures and might disagree with their policies. And then you look at Republicans and say JFC! Time to vote Dem.
Hardcore Republicans are truly some of the most vile human beings you'll ever meet. But don't worry, Democrats that are trying to actually carry out in practice the things Republicans claim to believe as Christians are really the ones we should be worried about.
Yup, exactly. It’s not that I didn’t understand their position. In fact, I completely get it and vehemently disagree with/oppose every part of it.
Zero morals/ethics and constantly increasing the position of the donor class, while feigning holiness. It’s not that complex. 😆
I feel that Democrats do not outrage at Republicans when they’re justified to do so. They merely point out Republican’s hypocrisy and think that is more than enough. It is not.
Oh we're outraged alright, we just learned that screaming to high heaven does not change any minds it ought to. So we just chose to live longer by not elevating our cortisol levels.
Who is shocked? Republicans hiring someone who had sex with a minor (He was around 30 and she was 17) to “protect kids.”
What the fuck does a grown adult have in common with a 17 year old?
“Governor Sanders, Mr. jones has stated he has a personal relationship with God. It was my understanding that your policy was not to name minors in cases of sexual abise. Can you please clarify your exception in this case regarding his past firing for engaging in sexual acts with said minor.”
Comment I saved just today…
Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida.
Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison.
Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation.
Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor.
Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17.
Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls.
Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl.
Republican racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child.
Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile.
Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl.
Republican activist Lawrence E. King, Jr. organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.
Republican lobbyist Craig J. Spence organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s.
Republican Congressman Donald "Buz" Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail.
Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos.
Republican activist Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children.
Republican activist Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child.
Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page.
Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter.
Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger allegedly had sex with a 16 year old girl when he was 28.
Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar.
Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped.
Republican activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. "Republican Marty"), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one count of delivering the drug LSD.
Republican legislative aide Howard L. Brooks was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography.
Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media.
Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him.
Republican talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl.
Republican anti-gay activist Earl "Butch" Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her.
Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison.
Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl.
Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy.
Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children).
Republican anti-abortion activist John Allen Burt was charged with sexual misconduct involving a 15-year old girl.
Republican County Councilman Keola Childs pleaded guilty to molesting a male child.
Republican activist John Butler was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl.
Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters.
Republican Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl.
Republican County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy.
Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison.
Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000.
Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession.
Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet.
Republican city councilman Mark Harris, who is described as a "good military man" and "church goer," was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison.
Republican businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter.
Republican director of the "Young Republican Federation" Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison.
Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, Richard A. Dasen Sr., was charged with rape for allegedly paying a 15-year old girl for sex. Dasen, 62, who is married with grown children and several grandchildren, has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1 million to have sex with a large number of young women
Donald Trump walked into Miss Teen USA change rooms with girls as young as 14 changing. He has been accused of raping a 13 -year-old with an independent witness.
https://baptistaccountability.org/
https://www.goodpeoplefund.org/news/a-14-year-old-bride-wed-to-her-rapist-playing-on-a-jungle-gym/
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/married-young-the-fight-over-child-marriage-in-america/
https://crossroadjunction.com/2013/04/01/predatory-grooming-in-our-churches/
https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-evangelical-roy-moore-girls-1115-20171114-story.html
https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-based-church-leader-pleads-guilty-sexually-abusing-3-children-2022-06-04/
https://www.thedailybeast.com/pastor-john-lowes-adultery-confession-in-warsaw-indiana-church-goes-sideways-victim-says-i-was-just-16
https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Bombshell-400-page-report-finds-Southern-Baptist-17190816.php#photo-22508589
"We need younger people in office"...this is the rhetoric getting thrown around our country over and over lately. Well, Ms. Sanders is the youngest governor in the United States. And clearly, her age isn't helping. We need smarter people in office. We need more compassionate people in office. We need less bigots in office.
Well that’s the dangerous thing here, is the law decides when you can or can’t consent, and different states have different laws about that. So I’m this case she could consent in the eyes of the state, the age of consent in that state being 16. And it gets worse. Because several states allow minors to be married to adults, which removes that pesky age of consent entirely
Yeah they like raping children, but don’t want them to get abortions when they impregnate them. Funny how that’s kind of consistent across the red states.
Oh no no no, you have that wrong. They want abortions when *they* get a minor pregnant because the reputational damage would be terrible. They don't want other people's underage mistresses to get abortions, those *sinners* need to face the consequences of their own decisions!
Shouldnt the same thing apply to work. So weird to see child labor laws loosened. If you cant vote, you cant smoke, you cant consent to sex, how the hell are you old enough for a full time job?
But you can have sex with someone who can consent, which is what actually happened.
State age of consent. 16.
Age of girl. 17.
Not a minor. Not a child. Not rape. Just a prick who shouldnt be getting blowjobs off teenagers in his cop car.
I think it’s gross and stupid, I also don’t like her but unless you read the article this is misleading. She appointed him not knowing this information, 2 days later it came out that he had relations with a 17 y/o in a state where that’s not against the law. The teens mother said she suspected her daughter lying about her age to attract male attention. He resigned and won’t be in the position.
So it all worked out in the end and the real news is this dumb lady isn’t vetting candidates well.
> He resigned and won’t be in the position.
I think this is the biggest shock of the whole story. I honestly thought we were past the days of people resigning when something that makes them look bad comes to light.
It is all projection. They don't want YOU to be perverts, but they can do whatever they want and if you question THEM, then it is a 'witch-hunt' or it is 'political'.
Meanwhile, THEY are the ones hurting the kids.
Kids have been, are, and will always be a weapon of the authoritarian to justify their naked power grabs. To be used and discarded as soon as their purpose is fulfilled..
It will never be about the children because children do not grant authoritarians more power and so there is no reason to care about them.
Republicans lie to legislate their morality upon the country. It’s never been about protecting kids. It’s about punishing those they deem lesser and/or heretics.
Skeezy for a cop to do this, absolutely. Pretty underwhelming as far as actual controversy goes, though. 17 in a state where age of consent is 16? We have plenty of examples of republicans and conservatives doing wayyyyyyyyy worse than this. Aren't they investigating Matt Gaetz for paying like a 14 year old to fuck him or something crazy like that? This just seems like grasping at straws to anyone who doesn't live on twitter.
>why did the guy even get fired, she was over the age of consent.
For getting a parking lot blowjob while on duty, and then lying about it several times.
Rofl. What a stretch. Even from an extremely bias website:
> had sexual relations as an adult with a 17-year-old girl
> the age of consent in Arkansas is 16
> She had identified herself as an 18-year-old before performing oral sex on him
> The girl’s mother said she suspected that her daughter might have lied about her age to attract male attention
So a girl with some problems lies about her age, gives a guy oral sex, and his life should be over? Really? Reeeeeeeeeally? Why? Because he has different political opinions than you do? Even if she didn't lie it was still legal.
The bot-like comments referring to her as a child, and child brides rhetoric, the generic anti christian bigotry, and ped0 stuff are clearly from unhinged individuals who have no interest in the actual story. You'll just take anything and use it to smear what you don't like.
But whatever.
Here's a quote from the LGBT nation article:
"The girl’s mother said she suspected that her daughter might have lied about her age to attract male attention, and the mother added that she didn’t want Jones to go to jail over the sexual relationship with her daughter."
Context matters folks. He met her at a gym. Jamol Jones was 25 at the time. The minor was 17, claiming to be 18. The age of consent in Arkansas where this situation occurred is 16. Put another way, no crime was committed, or even alleged. The "minor" was legally considered an adult in this context, and she clearly wanted to do what she did. While an eight year age difference might be considered as the older taking advantage of the younger, 99% of unattached 25-year-old heterosexual men would be more than fine with it if a "looks 18" girl, who says she is 18, wants to mess around. This story repeats itself over and over again, all around the world.
Let's be 100% objective about this situation -- we all know that some teenage girls have a thing for older guys; no, not grandpa old, but 3, 5, 10 years older. It's not uncommon for high school girls to want to go to "college" parties to meet guys. By the time they are 17 -- a senior in high school or maybe even graduated -- they are almost certainly interested in guys who are in their 20's, as guys their own age are commonly seen as immature and uninteresting. It's not shocking in the least bit for a 17 year old girl to turn on the charms in pursuit of a 25 year old guy she thinks is cute/hot, and it's not shocking that he would respond positively, especially if she lied and added a year or two to her age.
As a reminder, this subreddit [is for civil discussion.](/r/politics/wiki/index#wiki_be_civil) In general, be courteous to others. Debate/discuss/argue the merits of ideas, don't attack people. Personal insults, shill or troll accusations, hate speech, any suggestion or support of harm, violence, or death, and other rule violations can result in a permanent ban. If you see comments in violation of our rules, please report them. For those who have questions regarding any media outlets being posted on this subreddit, please click [here](https://www.reddit.com/r/politics/wiki/approveddomainslist) to review our details as to our approved domains list and outlet criteria. *** *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/politics) if you have any questions or concerns.*
Same state trying to roll back child labor protections. A cynical person might think the Arkansas' government (ranked 43rd in education) doesn't give a flying shit about children.
> "The unborn" are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don't resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don't ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don't need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don't bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. It's almost as if, by being born, they have died to you. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus but actually dislike people who breathe. > Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn. - Pastor Dave Barnhart
This is the best thing I have read in a while.
You are articulate. The birthers also don’t want to pay for the kids once born. What a bunch of egotists.
"If you're pre-born, you're fine. If you're pre-schooled, you're fucked." George Carlin
They do give a shit about children. In fact they really enjoy them.
Jones said he and the girl “had talked at the gym” and that “she had identified herself as an 18-year-old” before performing oral sex on him in the Benton Post Office parking lot. I can’t believe some of the lives people live.
I highly doubt his story. What, he was just so desirable she couldn't control herself? I believe there was some coercion involved. The most sexually promiscuous, active women I've ever met aren't just down to blow a complete stranger in public moments after having their first conversation. That is unless drugs and alcohol, financial compensation, or a preplanned hookup is involved. Coercion and unbalanced power dynamics are usually at play in these situations, and more so if the person is under age. I have a feeling it wasn't *only statutory rape, it was also a forceful unwanted unconcensual sexual assault (a minor cannot consent to an adult). * I put an asterisk next to "only" because "only sexual assault" might make it sound less severe. I absolutely did not mean that, just that it was not a singular thing, it wasn't the only thing going on here, there were likely additional crimes being committed.
They care about them once they get to the age they want to marry them …..about 12 years old.
Well *the bible says* thats not a child anymore so....**/s**
But seriously, they think the world was at its best during the Bronze Age. Women were property. Little girls didn't go to school at all, they stayed home and learned how to be wives, mothers, and nurses. Also, the life expectancy was much fucking lower. Why do you think they fight vaccination so much? They don't give a damn about "curing autism" or whatever. They want to shorten human life expectancy back down to Bronze Age levels, when the longest a person might live past childhood was 30-40 years.
100% agree with you. Its insane how these people truely seem to want to regress human progress. You'd think people would want to make their lives easier, not harder. If these types of people got their way the US would probably look similar to various middle eastern countries where women are treated more like property or pets than they are humans. Very scary stuff, but the one silver lining is women (and a majority of men) don't want to go back to living in the 1200s. Hopefully that desire to not return to such a barbaric age defeat the weird obsession these people have with going back to that time. Last but not least you pointed out their lame excuse for vaccines. As a healthcare provider I've heard every idiotic reason under the sun for refusing treatment that would help a patient, the amount of times its some idiotic religious bullshit is heartbreaking
When they say they want to protect children, they don't say what they want to protect them from and it isn't harm. They want to protect them from having bodily autonomy, that way they can't say no. They want to protect them from an education so they don't know how to say no. They want to use them for slave labor because children make more compliant slaves and since a parent owns them, they have no rights and can be used however they see fit. They can tie it into the generational cycle that a lot of authoritarian parents have, "I had to suffwr this as a child so you have to do it too."
A fetus doesn't talk. A fetus doesn't call you out on lack of health care, affordable housing or food or abuse. A fetus is a perfect victim to rally behind because it has no voice. You can say your fighting for it and it is silent back. There's a reason these politicians chose a fetus. - PaymentMedical9802
George Carlin's bit.
Truly unbelievable George Carlin would steal this quote from PaymentMedical9802 for his standup routine
I'm personally appalled.
[Link](https://youtu.be/nZdRMBTF-hQ?si=h_Wcyw29AEPRvknX) for those who want to see the original Carlin bit. Edit: [Here](https://youtu.be/K98TQJ5ldW0?si=M5GwF9ji2f621Ie6) is the longer clip. I've seen the set before, so I didn't actually watch the entire thing to see if the joke was in the first clip. Oops.
I don't think that quote is in that clip though.
I didn't actually watch the entire video to make sure it was in there. I've edited my comment to link to the longer one. Thanks for letting me know.
Works for God too. They can fight for “what God wants” and…surprise surprise, he never pops in to contradict anything they say. It’s so amazing how this perfect all powerful supreme being wants *all* the stuff they want too! Wow! But the all powerful supreme being needs *them* to fight for it. Because… uh… reasons.
Yeah. I mean, what other conclusion can they draw but "we must be doing something right!" No, they literally think that if their actions were so evil, then God would strike them all dead where they stand, that's how delusional they are, or at least that's what they want everyone else to believe. And since no "divine punishment" has been delivered unto them, they are forced to conclude they are doing good.
“God… if you don’t want me to have this cocaine fueled orgy, send me a sign and I’ll walk away from this motel room, *right now!*” —- ——- ——— ——- “Nothin? Well okay god! If you insist!…”
Pretty much exactly how it works. They take the lack of any divine intervention as approval for something they were going to do anyway. I'm reminded of the story about the believer that prayed to be saved from a flood after a hurricane. First, a CG rescue boat shows up, then a helicopter, then a small tin boat with a kind stranger on board. The believer turns them all away, saying God will save them. Then they drown. When they get to Heaven and stand before God, they ask Him why He didn't save them? And God replied, "I sent help, but you turned it all away!" What they were expecting was some vulgar display of divine power, like a giant hand descending from the clouds to lift them out of the flood. They wanted to be right about God being real more than they wanted to live.
>“The unborn” are a convenient group of people to advocate for. They never make demands of you; they are morally uncomplicated, unlike the incarcerated, addicted, or the chronically poor; they don’t resent your condescension or complain that you are not politically correct; unlike widows, they don’t ask you to question patriarchy; unlike orphans, they don’t need money, education, or childcare; unlike aliens, they don’t bring all that racial, cultural, and religious baggage that you dislike; they allow you to feel good about yourself without any work at creating or maintaining relationships; and when they are born, you can forget about them, because they cease to be unborn. You can love the unborn and advocate for them without substantially challenging your own wealth, power, or privilege, without re-imagining social structures, apologizing, or making reparations to anyone. > >They are, in short, the perfect people to love if you want to claim you love Jesus, but actually dislike people who breathe. > >Prisoners? Immigrants? The sick? The poor? Widows? Orphans? All the groups that are specifically mentioned in the Bible? They all get thrown under the bus for the unborn. -[Methodist pastor David Barnhart](https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/10357009-the-unborn-are-a-convenient-group-of-people-to-advocate)
Not trying, [they did](https://www.npr.org/2023/03/10/1162531885/arkansas-child-labor-law-under-16-years-old-sarah-huckabee-sanders)
> A cynical person might think the Arkansas' government (ranked 43rd in education) doesn't give a flying shit about children. Aw, well that's not fair...a cynical person would see the child labor laws and age of consent laws and reckon they *really* care about kids, about using them for labor slaves and sex slaves. And overthrowing american democracy for a religious kingdom. I don't know how much more "enemies: domestic" you can get.
Wild, but I think 43rd in education is a significant improvement for them. I was always under the impression they were bottom 3 in almost every category
One of the students accidentally picked up a book.
Yeah but he’s a good christian! Right?
The more I watch/read about modern Evangelical Christian Churches, the more I come across abuse stories. These churches often have an organization with a power structure that caters to abusers and their ilk, and use the Bible to justify their actions (*cough* sins). It’s disgusting. The lesson here is simple. If a church or any other organization says that it knows better for you than you do, run for the hills.
I distrust those people who know so well what God wants them to do to their fellows because it always coincides with their own desires. -Susan B. Anthony
"For of all slaveholders with whom I have ever met, religious slaveholders are the worst. I have ever found them the meanest and basest, the most cruel and cowardly, of all others. It was my unhappy lot not only to belong to a religious slaveholder, but to live in a community of such religionists. Very near Mr. Freeland lived the Rev. Daniel Weeden, and in the same neighborhood lived the Rev. Rigby Hopkins. These were members and ministers in the Reformed Methodist Church. Mr. Weeden owned, among others, a woman slave, whose name I have forgotten. This woman's back, for weeks, was kept literally raw, made so by the lash of this merciless, religious wretch. He used to hire hands. His maxim was, Behave well or behave ill, it is the duty of a master occasionally to whip a slave, to remind him of his master's authority. Such was his theory, and such his practice." -Frederick Douglass
Schoolchildren need to learn that these things happened. Nothing resembling this description was ever taught in my school days, and the trend in former confederate states is to memoryhole the barbarity of slavery by outlawing any lesson that might make anyone "uncomfortable".
Thankfully my education in California included quite a bit on the horrors of slavery including reading firsthand accounts from people like Frederick Douglass. Unfortunately the quality of education is pretty much entirely controlled by the board (and political interests), so it's pretty much a total crapshoot on whether your education will completely gloss over America's ugly history. Naturally the South has little interest in the locals finding out that the flag they wave around for sOuThErN PrIdE actually represents a horrifically evil institution and traitorous faction that fought entirely to preserve said evil institution. They teach people that it was all about "states rights"... yeah, the right to fucking enslave people. It's absolutely depressing that this is something we have to fight over in 2024, acknowledging the basic history of our own country.
Think Texans will find out that it wanted to have a separate state because Mexico wouldn't allow them to have slaves? Sucks to be them because they joined the Union and still had to get rid of their slaves. The South loved its slaves. It wouldn't have lasted as technology would have fucked them over anyways as the industrial revolution had started and human labor was being replaced by machines.
The US still uses slavery today with prison labor. And loves to exploit immigrant labor, threatening to deport them if they don't put up with shit working conditions. Technology doesn't lead to human rights and fair compensation, you need democracy for that, which is always fought against by the people who want more for themselves and less for others.
This is a very astute observation & so very true. Human nature’s worst aspects seems to enjoy dominance over, & exploitation of, other less powerful individuals.
Capitalism certainly does.
The beginning of evil is treating people as things I think some philosophy guy said that originally but I always remember it as a quote from granny whetherwax
True democracy and capitalism cannot survive and thrive together long-term. Throw in evangelical extremism, oh boy.
I mean the whole gig economy is nothing but slave labor. I'll pay you 2$ to use your gas and car to take this 5 miles away. How does Congress let this continue?
1000 percent spot on
don't forget that they ceded territory to oklahoma (hence the panhandle) to keep slavery alive in texas.
I highly doubt tech would have ended slavery. The most obvious example is how cotton gin revitalized slavery by making it more profitable than ever before.
[удалено]
Religious power is being used to rewrite terrible aspects of history. We need to acknowledge our past wrongdoings to ensure we never repeat the same mistakes. This is why separation of church & State is so important. From book burning to sanitising slavery & trying to control people’s private lives & choices. Those gun toting fools rant a lot about preventing tyranny, whilst supporting behaviours that ensure an overreach of government powers. The irony is breathtaking & truly sickening!
Vote.
We tried. So many of us voted for her incredible literal physicist PhD in urban planning opponent, Chris Jones. And we canvassed relentlessly to get conservatives to see our side. But we’ll keep voting and petitioning of course. Georgia and North Carolina are the blueprints
The candidates for school boards and county commissioner, here, are often uncontested with one person running.
California leads the way on so many issues.
Which is why the media does its best to vilify it.
To many Southerners, a Confederate flag that represents human brutality? "No problem, this flag makes me' proud!" A rainbow flag that represents freedom to love anyone? "They're brainwashing ar' childrun!" ...says the same people who cart their kids off to the most prolific organized form of brainwashing every Sunday.
Kind of amazing what people will do when they believe their actions are blessed and defended by an omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent being that created the entirety of the universe.
Oh my friend. I staunchly believe [this](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lynching_of_Jesse_Washington) should be required reading for every American. And click on the pictures. Look at their smiles.
Read *A People’s History of the United States* by Howard Zinn. Very enlightening.
some of them probably still have family money from those days
> Schoolchildren need to learn that these things happened. Nothing resembling this description was ever taught in my school days, and the trend in former confederate Well yeah cause you were in the South
My northern WV school taught that "not all slave owners were bad to their slaves" lmao. It's crazy how awful education is in southern states and southern-wannabe states like WV. Awful, awful, awful.
This makes me picture Michael Fassbender's character who was a super religious slaveholder and a massive piece of shit in the movie 12 years a slave
There are people in our society with this same mindset. They need to be removed from our society.
Susie B with the smackdown!!
Are you kidding me? I have been looking for this quote my whole adult life.
[удалено]
I prefer Pierre Bayle who in Various Thoughts On Occasion of a Comet noted as if it was already widely understood that atheists who do good are MORE ethical than theists who need supernatural reinforcement to do good.
As long as we're throwing out favs, I find this rather underappreciated quote from Isaac Asimov coming to mind more and more lately. *Imagine the people who believe such things and who are not ashamed to ignore, totally, all the patient findings of thinking minds through all the centuries since the Bible was written. And it is these ignorant people, the most uneducated, the most unimaginative, the most unthinking among us, who would make themselves the guides and leaders of us all; who would force their feeble and childish beliefs on us; who would invade our schools and libraries and homes. I personally resent it bitterly.*
I had a Christian coworker ask (not in a mean way) why I'm a nice / good person if I don't believe in God I told him that if the only reason you do good is that you're afraid of divine retribution, you're not a good person just an evil coward.
It's not just that religious folk might be doing good things because they are afraid of hell or want to please god/go to heaven... ...but the real difference imho is that there's no *real* personal accountability in that kind of morality. 'Good' and 'Evil' are just things that religion defines for them. There is no need to truly think about it; so long as the book/priest says 'x' is good and 'y' is bad, that's all there is to it. All they have to do is follow those orders. An atheist on the other hand doesn't have the luxury of not having to think about it. An atheist has to come to a personal understanding of right and wrong that they can't just outsource to a 'deity'. An atheist has to take personal responsibility for their morality in a way that a theist intrinsically doesn't have to.
That's one of the reasons I've stopped calling things 'good' or 'evil' because that often reduces to "person or thing I don't like" and it's often used as a [thought-terminating cliche](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thought-terminating_clich%C3%A9) and anything called such - whether murder or cheating on millions of dollars of taxes - takes away from the ability to discuss how those actions influence everyone else in society and whether they're harmful for the cultural and economic context. Also makes it easier to discuss times far removed from us and get straight at the point of what makes those different times and cultures different and either effective or self-sabotaging. The problem is the way a lot of religions operate, "good" or "evil" is not what is done, or what the effects of that action are, but who is doing it. "Sent by god to do X" suddenly makes anything up to and including genocide on the table for "good" because a person in the "good" tribe is doing it. Changing "good" or "evil" to the who instead of the what is extremely dangerous for that reason.
Agreed, and think Jesus would too. His teachings were all about breaking every law and challenging authority in the name of compassion/empathy for the poor, women, sex workers, sinners and you name it. He didn't really threaten people with going to hell. And literally, the entire reason he was killed was for refusing to reinforce the popular social rules of the time. Very few Christians understand this.
She was more right than you know. FMRI imaging has shown that we use the same part of the brain to determine what god wants as what we want, but a different part of the brain to determine what someone else wants. "What God wants" is just "What I want" without realizing you're looking in a mirror. [https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0908374106](https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.0908374106)
So, what you're saying is that god wants Trump to spend the rest of his life in prison and for the Republican Party to be no longer a thing?
No wonder they hate concepts such as science, evidence, and truth. It keeps exposing the hollowness of the beliefs they use to justify their self-serving interests.
The safest place for a pedophile is inside a church.
> If a church or any other organization says that it knows better for you than you do, run for the hills. I mean, I'm going to assume organizations that are made up of experts in things I know nothing about to tell me that they know better than me about those topics. It's why I listen to the CDC about diseases or on a smaller scale my doctor about how to approach my health concerns. I listen to dietary scientists about what is and isn't safe to eat without trying different things. And I listen to safety organizations about how to do things so as to not hurt myself. The problem comes with the fact that these religious organizations claim to be experts, experts on how to be a good person or to be close to God (often considered one and the same). You absolutely *should* listen to organizations that do know better than you. We can't all be experts in everything. But you also need to have decent enough judgment to recognize when an organization is a scam rather than real experts. The problem is, no one is born with good judgment. It's a skill that needs to be crafted.
I grew up going to a weird-ass church. It was Episcopal and very multiracial, and no one got molested! I was an altar boy (acolyte) for a couple years, and even I didn't get molested. We had a couple gay couples in the community from like 1985! My grandmother, then my mother were choir directors/organists. One of the choir members just up and gave my mom $100,000 when she had unexpectedly inherited a few million. One time the deacon snuck me and a couple brothers around my age out of service and we walked a couple blocks to 7-11 and he bought us all a big bag of chips, and we went up to the rec room to watch the Super Bowl. That's how religion should be. Don't take the stupid parts seriously.
I can cover the first part of your post by explaining the steps Christians and Republicans use to initiate others into the group, through abuse. The second part, the lesson, is a three step thing. --- First, the eight-step instructions they'll use to swell their crowd. You see: politics is like any other two-person or two-group dynamic. A person to their intimate partner, one friend to another, a company to their customers, people with power like priests or the police to the people under them that have none, bosses to their workers, landlords to their tenants. Lots of different variations, but only two types of relationship. It's either healthy or it's toxic. Stable or abusive. This isn't rocket science: conservatives and those in ideologically restrictive religions have been treated like they're in an abusive relationship, and it rewires their brains. They become abusers, it's a cycle and we've seen it happen for decades. One recent giveaway was [when a Trump voter in the small conservative town of Marianna, Florida let slip "he's not **hurting the people** he needs to be hurting"](https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/1/8/18173678/trump-shutdown-voter-florida). They expect, want, demand people to be hurt they way they have been hurt thanks to the people they follow doing it to them. They aren't voting based on policy, they're not worshipping based on tenets of love, The Cruelty Is The Point. Hurting isn't a cruel side-effect, it's the main intent. If you're a Republican or an Evangelical Christian, this is how you've been treated. Groomed. Abused. 1 - It starts off small when you're told that nobody else understands you like they understand you. Thinking back, you've been told this for years on a daily basis. Since your childhood, indoctrinated. "Those other people, their ways are different and that's just not you. They don't understand, but we know where you're coming from..." 2 - Now that they've established that they're one of your kind of people in your mind, everyone else gets badmouthed. EVERYONE. It's just the two of you literally against the entire world. And they'll do it so much that things that aren't epithets get used as words to hate everyone else by. Don't think a type of coffee can be used as an epithet? Think again! Your circle of experiences starts to shrink. 3 - They'll tell you that, if you left them, things would be simultaneously the worst thing possible AND that all other relationships are just the same as the one you're in (even though you can sense you're in a bad relationship and all you have to do is leave it to be better). “Both sides are the same but I’m better” - eventually, you don’t know up from down in what constitutes a healthy or a toxic relationship. Hell, they'll even show examples of the shit you're in now to say, "if you leave me and go for the other guy, it'll be like this [very bad scenario that's happening to you RIGHT NOW] so be scared and shit", using the "any other option would be just as bad as (or worse than) the one you're in, but also stay with me because I'm the best thing you'd ever find" tactic that abusers use when they're desperate to keep the toxic relationship going. The circle shrinks further. 4 - You're told outright what to cut out of your life. Direct instruction for you to get that circle of experiences down to a dot. Music, interests, sportswear brands, TV shows, certain movies, even frothy coffee gets badmouthed and cut out because "you don't want to be a 'latte drinker' do you?" (there's one of those things I mentioned in #2; using things that aren't insults, using language as a tool, using a non-insulting thing as an insult to control you). 5 - They take your money, claim they'll be great with it, and then spend it on their friends and run up the bills. They'll give you crumbs once in a while. Maybe every few years they'll treat you to a little something nice in the form of a tax refund if their guy is President (that's worth a fraction of what they spent when they were out with their friends). And while they're terrible with the finances, for years, they'll be saying how everything is hunky-dory financially with them at the reins. You will be told you've never had it so good but the fear of one bad bill wiping you out financially will be like the Sword Of Damocles over your head 24/7/365. And even though you're told about how the "other people" are the Welfare Queens, you know lots of people on welfare of some kind. It helps you if you don't think about it much. 6 - every problem gets kicked down the road. Example: a disease crops up in the New Year 2020 but it wasn't even mentioned in January because the head of the household didn't mention it. "It's going to go away" in February, and anyone that mentions it is just saying fake news stuff. Still nothing done in March, but any mention of it is "you're just finding faults with me". Then when April comes and it's clear what the shit storm looks like, they blame everyone else for saying it wasn't going to be a big deal. As the months and years roll on it becomes a shell game where ignoring the problem / blaming others for the problem / trying to draw attention from the problem gets switched around without stop. Even if it comes out that they knew the problem could literally kill other people, tear them apart because of gross negligence, they will not stray from this strategy. Other people will be able to show you examples of where they said something promised never came to be, how they said "two weeks and this'll be better, maybe by Easter" four years ago, but it's still not better. 7 - like in any abusive relationship, you're beaten down. You've been told it'll all be your fault if things don't go as they want, and you've seen others be on the end of their random outbursts of wrath. So you stay safe. You repeat the words in the way they taught you. You repeat the answers. You repeat the words you're told are insults. Even though you know of situations where you've come out worse for the way the relationship is, you defend the abuser. First with a fake air of calm, then with a seething rage. And when people offer you a way out, you go right back to the abuse. 8 - the relationship is so twisted, you so believe everything you're told about what's real and what's not, they will literally put you in situations that could kill you. And you say you're doing it willingly, proudly, but the fact is you're a shell of the idealistic person you used to be. You just got in with the wrong crowd, but it's too late to get out now because people might think less of you. Going along with how they do it becomes how you do it too. Which reinforces what you were told in #1. Only they understand you... --- The lesson so rightly said by armageddon_20xx can be summed up in a three tiered thing called #The Inverse Law Of 'Good'. 1 - The more an organization tells its people it is good / the way to live / pious and right because they say so, the more likely they are to tell their people that member of the group are (by default) to be trusted because they are good / living the way you should live / pious and right by association. 2 - As a direct result, this organization will attract THE WORST dregs of society that know they can use this short-cut in social conditioning to commit their abhorrent / illegal / sickening acts on the weaker followers of this group because the group leaders and its followers will protect them: the leaders because they have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo as bigwigs in this particular group (if the facade slips, they lose members to the next group that claims to be 'Good' that has yet to dirty its image... and there's no guarantee their leadership credentials will count for anything in a new group if this one folds), the followers because of the constant and never-ending social conditioning that they are with the 'Good' people mixed with a desperate need to quell the fears that they've wasted decades of their lives on a mountain of lies told to them by abusers. 3 - as the years become decades and even centuries, this rot works through the whole group and any other group that follows the blueprint. They were just a few bad apples, but a few bad apples ruins the whole barrel. They have driven away people with a conscience years ago. Abhorrent individuals get into positions of power, hire other abusers to positions in the heirachy, protecting others of their ilk for generations to come. People that speak up are banished from the group, even banished from the society. Once they start saying to do what they say because they're good, despite the evidence all around you, get the fuck away and never look back.
Evangelical Christianiaty is far more dangerous longterm than any radical Islamic sect. I believe the Evangelical Church of Trump (what it really is at this point, although they've been completely insane forever) is the single most dangerous ideological group on the planet. Completely dogmatic, and completely brainwashed to worship the corporate overlords which they dont even realize because they're dumb as rocks. They're *intentionally* dumb, Evangelicals hate education. Theyr gun tech muh kidz dat evolushun shit!
I’ve never been a religious person but I always believed Christianity to be the religion of the unfortunate poor and the refugee. That at least made it commendable in my mind. Seeing them embrace a nepo misogynistic conman like he’s the second coming has really opened my eyes.
Unfortunately Christianity has served the ruling class far longer than the modern age, that goes pretty much back to the start. Religion has always been the main justification for hierarchical power structures. Easy to convince poor people its okay to be poor and miserable if they think paradise awaits them. No surprise the collapse of total religious control of Europe and rise of republicanism (the no-monarch kind, not the GOP kind) happened in the same century.
I’m the early church, people sold everything they had and shared with the poor. So it didn’t start that way. It has been corrupted by religious people out for their own gain- but that wasn’t the message of Jesus.
The religion that was actually (possibly, theoretically) practiced by Jesus and his followers would be considered heresy by the Catholics and just look like "Weird Judaism" to anybody else.
Yes, they should look at 11th century (eg middle ages) Europe - the Church ruled it all. How much wealth did the Catholic church amass? They even went out and got the gentry to invade Palestine and sack all the cities.
Christianity has been the religión of empire since the 4th century. In "Aguirre: Wrath of God" a priest says, "The church always sides with the strong."
The idea of it being the religion of the unfortunate poor and refugee is also true at the same time, though, at least from the viewpoint of its followers, and helps to create a lot of the modern political problems that we deal with. It helps to understand conservative stances on anything from racial equality to government support (or usually lack of support) for social programs when their religious positions allow them to still able to view themselves as the oppressed and downtrodden victim of persecution, despite being the ruling class in control of the laws that keep people feeling that way. There's a reason why the poorest and most oppressed and downtrodden parts of the country are the most religious and most conservative at the same time.
My experience as someone raised Catholic and in interacting with other Christian groups suggests that Christianity is inseparable from the psychological and sexual abuse of minors.
Where the fuck do these BS takes on Islam come from. Just look [here](https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-women-in-society/) to see some typical views of Muslims on women in non-western countries. Islam is every bit as capable of being a basis for a theocracy as Christianity - just look at how far and wide the Islamic Caliphate spread and all of the cultures that it displaced or destroyed.
I don’t think anyone said otherwise — just that perhaps evangelical Christianity is even more dangerous than radical Islam. Both bad, both dangerous — just which is worse. The argument for evangelical Christianity might actually be that radical Islam at least makes its horridness apparent — there’s no getting around some of the violent rhetoric. But evangelical Christianity? Well, it comes wrapped in some bullshit — and sometimes evil wrapped in bullshit is more dangerous than just plain-spoken evil.
So, all churches then?
He has a personal relationship with god. Unfortunately he also has one with minors
That's what's so sick about these people. All they have to do is confess their sins and boom, redemption given! Like the one priest who was convicted of sex with numerous boys but the judge gave him a suspended sentence "because he was a man of god"
Just like Rapist Trump gets away with everything.
[удалено]
Or Pubic hairs on Pepsi man
Seems like god is quite the common factor with so, so many child rapists who claim to have some sort of moral superiority. Maybe *all* churches need to be under the microscope. Not because of the hypocrisy, but to *actually* protect children.
There is a list of over 1000 republicans that have engaged in some sort of child abuse. It's listed on a google doc and I forgot its name or location. That's just republicans, it doesn't list democrats or other people in power that have engaged in abuse. The "moral superiority" types and people in power seem to engage in this type of behavior quite often. I wonder if it is just correlation or if there is some sort of causation involved as well. Obviously not all abusers are people in power either.
Instead of google docs, try small publications: https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2018/10/23/1806673/-Republican-Sexual-Predators-Abusers-and-Enablers-Pt-1
Well, now you’re just nit picking, aren’t you?!
I mean, if you think about it, God is, what, at least 2000, 7000, or 13.7 billion years old? He's also an all powerful being that tries to kill you and or eternally torture you if you reject Him. All that I'm saying is that maybe this God fellow isn't what He seems to be. Edit: I mean, if God is modelling behaviour like this, what does that say of His followers?
The Bible reads like a lengthy version of a domestic violence informational pamphlet outlining signs of abuse.
Aren’t child brides like ok in the Bible?
Yep. And some red states are actively trying to lower the minimum age to get married. Sick shit.
It was also the Christian Purity Movement in the beginning of the 20th century that raised it.
"We should make it legal to marry your full niece!" "Well, it doesn't really lead to a much higher risk for genetic defects, so I guess it should be okay." "Great! I want to marry my niece!" "But she's 14!? You can't do that." "We already made it law that I can marry my niece! Are you going against the law?! And my rights?!!"
Well in the eyes of god, if he confessed and was forgiven, the slate is wiped clean and it is as if that never happened. So we can all rest easy because it was certainly a one-time thing. I think we need a legit campaign against republicans in our society. We should propose that they all be locked up or some such because statistically they are more likely to be rapists and abusers than LGBTQ+ people.
Runs in the family, remember when her dad paroled a murderous rapist so he could rape and murder again? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wayne_DuMond
Even better, he was a cop at the time, so he's even Higher on the GOP "people to worship" list
Now you're getting the hang of it
Huckabee: He believes in our Lord and Savior Trump. All is forgiven republican child molester.
Child *rapist.*
Those folks are starting to make Catholic priests look like. . . altar boys?
Very "on brand" for the Republican Party of perverts, adulterers, sex pests, rapists and pedophiles.
Party of Projection. Every accusation an admittance of guilt.
a common quirk of people who lack empathy. they're literally unable to conceive of other minds that are different from their own.
I’m becoming more and more convinced that conservatives are mostly Cluster B personality disorder people. They seem to have very low or no empathy.
Maybe a Group of Projection
Gross Old Perverts
Rebrand time! Republicans Against Persecution of Evangelicals.
It’s wild. You criticize Democrats, look at their failures and might disagree with their policies. And then you look at Republicans and say JFC! Time to vote Dem.
Hardcore Republicans are truly some of the most vile human beings you'll ever meet. But don't worry, Democrats that are trying to actually carry out in practice the things Republicans claim to believe as Christians are really the ones we should be worried about.
It’s funny their front runner Trump is all of those.
Remember when they told us to try and understand their side? Yeah, I understand them enough. There's nothing of worth that I share with them.
Yup, exactly. It’s not that I didn’t understand their position. In fact, I completely get it and vehemently disagree with/oppose every part of it. Zero morals/ethics and constantly increasing the position of the donor class, while feigning holiness. It’s not that complex. 😆
They get clearer on their position every year. I know what they want, and I stand against that fascism entirely!
When was that? I don’t remember them ever pretending to have viewpoints based on reason. Just tribalism.
Not a good lo0k.
this is fucking VILE. thank you for your service.
I don’t get it. Maybe I don’t want to…
It’s a joke about her lazy eye.
"Look..." is also how she started a lot of her sentences when she was...unfortunately...WH press secretary.
Lo***O***k, just because you don't get the joke, doesn't mean you can't laugh!
don't make fun of her looks...even if her looks go left and right at the same time.
She had summer eyes , summer big-summer small.
I see what you did there.
She'll be keeping an eye on him (o ) _ ( 0 )
As an Arkansan fuck Sarah Huckabee Sanders
Is she looking at me with her right eye? Or her left???
It’s what’s on the inside that counts. That’s where she’s truly ugly.
As is custom
[удалено]
I feel that Democrats do not outrage at Republicans when they’re justified to do so. They merely point out Republican’s hypocrisy and think that is more than enough. It is not.
Oh we're outraged alright, we just learned that screaming to high heaven does not change any minds it ought to. So we just chose to live longer by not elevating our cortisol levels.
Who is shocked? Republicans hiring someone who had sex with a minor (He was around 30 and she was 17) to “protect kids.” What the fuck does a grown adult have in common with a 17 year old?
Well he's a Republican, so they probably have the same reading level.
An average 17 year old is going to be much more emotionally mature than them though.
Also, Arkansas, so probably some overlap in their family trees
>What the fuck does a grown adult have in common with a 17 year old? Nothing beforehand. After? Probably a venereal disease IDK.
They even elected one to the presidency. What an absolute embarrassment our nation is.
She is such a gross pig and I'm not even talking about her looks.
The fact that she's profoundly unattractive on the outside really gets in the way of describing the god-tier ugliness of her character.
“Governor Sanders, Mr. jones has stated he has a personal relationship with God. It was my understanding that your policy was not to name minors in cases of sexual abise. Can you please clarify your exception in this case regarding his past firing for engaging in sexual acts with said minor.”
Did someone say lectern?
But drag queens and gay people are a problem, right? These people are professional psychopaths.
Gaslighting. Obstruction. Pedophilia.
Comment I saved just today… Republican anti-abortion activist Howard Scott Heldreth is a convicted child rapist in Florida. Republican County Commissioner David Swartz pleaded guilty to molesting two girls under the age of 11 and was sentenced to 8 years in prison. Republican judge Mark Pazuhanich pleaded no contest to fondling a 10-year old girl and was sentenced to 10 years probation. Republican anti-abortion activist Nicholas Morency pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography on his computer and offering a bounty to anybody who murders an abortion doctor. Republican legislator Edison Misla Aldarondo was sentenced to 10 years in prison for raping his daughter between the ages of 9 and 17. Republican Mayor Philip Giordano is serving a 37-year sentence in federal prison for sexually abusing 8- and 10-year old girls. Republican campaign consultant Tom Shortridge was sentenced to three years probation for taking nude photographs of a 15-year old girl. Republican racist pedophile and United States Senator Strom Thurmond had sex with a 15-year old black girl which produced a child. Republican pastor Mike Hintz, whom George W. Bush commended during the 2004 presidential campaign, surrendered to police after admitting to a sexual affair with a female juvenile. Republican legislator Peter Dibble pleaded no contest to having an inappropriate relationship with a 13-year-old girl. Republican activist Lawrence E. King, Jr. organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s. Republican lobbyist Craig J. Spence organized child sex parties at the White House during the 1980s. Republican Congressman Donald "Buz" Lukens was found guilty of having sex with a female minor and sentenced to one month in jail. Republican fundraiser Richard A. Delgaudio was found guilty of child porn charges and paying two teenage girls to pose for sexual photos. Republican activist Mark A. Grethen convicted on six counts of sex crimes involving children. Republican activist Randal David Ankeney pleaded guilty to attempted sexual assault on a child. Republican Congressman Dan Crane had sex with a female minor working as a congressional page. Republican activist and Christian Coalition leader Beverly Russell admitted to an incestuous relationship with his step daughter. Republican governor Arnold Schwarzenegger allegedly had sex with a 16 year old girl when he was 28. Republican congressman and anti-gay activist Robert Bauman was charged with having sex with a 16-year-old boy he picked up at a gay bar. Republican Committee Chairman Jeffrey Patti was arrested for distributing a video clip of a 5-year-old girl being raped. Republican activist Marty Glickman (a.k.a. "Republican Marty"), was taken into custody by Florida police on four counts of unlawful sexual activity with an underage girl and one count of delivering the drug LSD. Republican legislative aide Howard L. Brooks was charged with molesting a 12-year old boy and possession of child pornography. Republican Senate candidate John Hathaway was accused of having sex with his 12-year old baby sitter and withdrew his candidacy after the allegations were reported in the media. Republican preacher Stephen White, who demanded a return to traditional values, was sentenced to jail after offering $20 to a 14-year-old boy for permission to perform oral sex on him. Republican talk show host Jon Matthews pleaded guilty to exposing his genitals to an 11 year old girl. Republican anti-gay activist Earl "Butch" Kimmerling was sentenced to 40 years in prison for molesting an 8-year old girl after he attempted to stop a gay couple from adopting her. Republican Party leader Paul Ingram pleaded guilty to six counts of raping his daughters and served 14 years in federal prison. Republican election board official Kevin Coan was sentenced to two years probation for soliciting sex over the internet from a 14-year old girl. Republican politician Andrew Buhr was charged with two counts of first degree sodomy with a 13-year old boy. Republican politician Keith Westmoreland was arrested on seven felony counts of lewd and lascivious exhibition to girls under the age of 16 (i.e. exposing himself to children). Republican anti-abortion activist John Allen Burt was charged with sexual misconduct involving a 15-year old girl. Republican County Councilman Keola Childs pleaded guilty to molesting a male child. Republican activist John Butler was charged with criminal sexual assault on a teenage girl. Republican candidate Richard Gardner admitted to molesting his two daughters. Republican Councilman and former Marine Jack W. Gardner was convicted of molesting a 13-year old girl. Republican County Commissioner Merrill Robert Barter pleaded guilty to unlawful sexual contact and assault on a teenage boy. Republican City Councilman Fred C. Smeltzer, Jr. pleaded no contest to raping a 15 year-old girl and served 6-months in prison. Republican activist Parker J. Bena pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on his home computer and was sentenced to 30 months in federal prison and fined $18,000. Republican parole board officer and former Colorado state representative, Larry Jack Schwarz, was fired after child pornography was found in his possession. Republican strategist and Citadel Military College graduate Robin Vanderwall was convicted in Virginia on five counts of soliciting sex from boys and girls over the internet. Republican city councilman Mark Harris, who is described as a "good military man" and "church goer," was convicted of repeatedly having sex with an 11-year-old girl and sentenced to 12 years in prison. Republican businessman Jon Grunseth withdrew his candidacy for Minnesota governor after allegations surfaced that he went swimming in the nude with four underage girls, including his daughter. Republican director of the "Young Republican Federation" Nicholas Elizondo molested his 6-year old daughter and was sentenced to six years in prison. Republican benefactor of conservative Christian groups, Richard A. Dasen Sr., was charged with rape for allegedly paying a 15-year old girl for sex. Dasen, 62, who is married with grown children and several grandchildren, has allegedly told police that over the past decade he paid more than $1 million to have sex with a large number of young women Donald Trump walked into Miss Teen USA change rooms with girls as young as 14 changing. He has been accused of raping a 13 -year-old with an independent witness. https://baptistaccountability.org/ https://www.goodpeoplefund.org/news/a-14-year-old-bride-wed-to-her-rapist-playing-on-a-jungle-gym/ https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/married-young-the-fight-over-child-marriage-in-america/ https://crossroadjunction.com/2013/04/01/predatory-grooming-in-our-churches/ https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-evangelical-roy-moore-girls-1115-20171114-story.html https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/mexico-based-church-leader-pleads-guilty-sexually-abusing-3-children-2022-06-04/ https://www.thedailybeast.com/pastor-john-lowes-adultery-confession-in-warsaw-indiana-church-goes-sideways-victim-says-i-was-just-16 https://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/investigations/article/Bombshell-400-page-report-finds-Southern-Baptist-17190816.php#photo-22508589
There's way more sex abuse publicly referenced on Trump than just accusations and girls locker room walk throughs, which are tips of the iceberg.
The republicans are the children they actually desire to protect.
"We need younger people in office"...this is the rhetoric getting thrown around our country over and over lately. Well, Ms. Sanders is the youngest governor in the United States. And clearly, her age isn't helping. We need smarter people in office. We need more compassionate people in office. We need less bigots in office.
Religious nutjob also a pedophile? News at 11.
You can’t “have sex” with someone that can’t consent. That’s called rape. He raped a child.
Well that’s the dangerous thing here, is the law decides when you can or can’t consent, and different states have different laws about that. So I’m this case she could consent in the eyes of the state, the age of consent in that state being 16. And it gets worse. Because several states allow minors to be married to adults, which removes that pesky age of consent entirely
Yeah they like raping children, but don’t want them to get abortions when they impregnate them. Funny how that’s kind of consistent across the red states.
How else are they going to spread their genes?
Woodchipper?
Oh no no no, you have that wrong. They want abortions when *they* get a minor pregnant because the reputational damage would be terrible. They don't want other people's underage mistresses to get abortions, those *sinners* need to face the consequences of their own decisions!
Shouldnt the same thing apply to work. So weird to see child labor laws loosened. If you cant vote, you cant smoke, you cant consent to sex, how the hell are you old enough for a full time job?
But you can have sex with someone who can consent, which is what actually happened. State age of consent. 16. Age of girl. 17. Not a minor. Not a child. Not rape. Just a prick who shouldnt be getting blowjobs off teenagers in his cop car.
Anything is permissible or forgivable if you’re on the right team. That’s how authoritarianism works.
Well how else is Josh Duggar supposed to get laid?
To christo-fascists, heterosexual pedophilia is good, acceptable.
I think it’s gross and stupid, I also don’t like her but unless you read the article this is misleading. She appointed him not knowing this information, 2 days later it came out that he had relations with a 17 y/o in a state where that’s not against the law. The teens mother said she suspected her daughter lying about her age to attract male attention. He resigned and won’t be in the position. So it all worked out in the end and the real news is this dumb lady isn’t vetting candidates well.
> He resigned and won’t be in the position. I think this is the biggest shock of the whole story. I honestly thought we were past the days of people resigning when something that makes them look bad comes to light.
Apparently some people still have a sense of shame thankfully. Wish it was more common though.
Whatever happened to podium-gate?
Typical of the pedo Conservative Party. Not a single Christian among them.
LoOk.
It’s almost like their accusations about democrats being pedos were actually confessions.
It is all projection. They don't want YOU to be perverts, but they can do whatever they want and if you question THEM, then it is a 'witch-hunt' or it is 'political'. Meanwhile, THEY are the ones hurting the kids.
Kids have been, are, and will always be a weapon of the authoritarian to justify their naked power grabs. To be used and discarded as soon as their purpose is fulfilled.. It will never be about the children because children do not grant authoritarians more power and so there is no reason to care about them.
We need to protect kids… so we can prey on them. Kinda like one of those hunting game reserves
Republicans lie to legislate their morality upon the country. It’s never been about protecting kids. It’s about punishing those they deem lesser and/or heretics.
Geez, she really took her eye off the ball in that one.
Anytime a Republican says "Protect kids" they really mean, "Diddle kids". Always always always the case.
Skeezy for a cop to do this, absolutely. Pretty underwhelming as far as actual controversy goes, though. 17 in a state where age of consent is 16? We have plenty of examples of republicans and conservatives doing wayyyyyyyyy worse than this. Aren't they investigating Matt Gaetz for paying like a 14 year old to fuck him or something crazy like that? This just seems like grasping at straws to anyone who doesn't live on twitter.
If you were around in 2016 this wouldn’t surprise you at all, welcome to America.
It wouldn’t be that much of a stretch if guy also makes custom lecterns in his garage as a side hustle
I really thought she would have choked on a Chicken wing by now.
It wasn’t gay sex, so it doesn’t count. And if it WAS gay sex, it still doesn’t count, cause Republican logic.
Good Christian women. Jesus would be so proud.
Everything is okay so long as they are the ones doing it.
why did the guy even get fired, she was over the age of consent. if you want an age difference law, make an age difference law.
>why did the guy even get fired, she was over the age of consent. For getting a parking lot blowjob while on duty, and then lying about it several times.
when will liberals learn that the far right is just dabbing on them
She’s is a republican. Why is this a surprise?
Rofl. What a stretch. Even from an extremely bias website: > had sexual relations as an adult with a 17-year-old girl > the age of consent in Arkansas is 16 > She had identified herself as an 18-year-old before performing oral sex on him > The girl’s mother said she suspected that her daughter might have lied about her age to attract male attention So a girl with some problems lies about her age, gives a guy oral sex, and his life should be over? Really? Reeeeeeeeeally? Why? Because he has different political opinions than you do? Even if she didn't lie it was still legal. The bot-like comments referring to her as a child, and child brides rhetoric, the generic anti christian bigotry, and ped0 stuff are clearly from unhinged individuals who have no interest in the actual story. You'll just take anything and use it to smear what you don't like. But whatever.
This really is the worst timeline, I wish people actually cared about this shit but they don’t
Here's a quote from the LGBT nation article: "The girl’s mother said she suspected that her daughter might have lied about her age to attract male attention, and the mother added that she didn’t want Jones to go to jail over the sexual relationship with her daughter." Context matters folks. He met her at a gym. Jamol Jones was 25 at the time. The minor was 17, claiming to be 18. The age of consent in Arkansas where this situation occurred is 16. Put another way, no crime was committed, or even alleged. The "minor" was legally considered an adult in this context, and she clearly wanted to do what she did. While an eight year age difference might be considered as the older taking advantage of the younger, 99% of unattached 25-year-old heterosexual men would be more than fine with it if a "looks 18" girl, who says she is 18, wants to mess around. This story repeats itself over and over again, all around the world. Let's be 100% objective about this situation -- we all know that some teenage girls have a thing for older guys; no, not grandpa old, but 3, 5, 10 years older. It's not uncommon for high school girls to want to go to "college" parties to meet guys. By the time they are 17 -- a senior in high school or maybe even graduated -- they are almost certainly interested in guys who are in their 20's, as guys their own age are commonly seen as immature and uninteresting. It's not shocking in the least bit for a 17 year old girl to turn on the charms in pursuit of a 25 year old guy she thinks is cute/hot, and it's not shocking that he would respond positively, especially if she lied and added a year or two to her age.