~ I picked my 12 finalists from among 46 'official entries' of newly designed 'blasphemous' graphics ~ and YOU voted and selected the winner!
Approximately 95 terrific new images were created during the run of this lighthearted contest by many different members of our myspace atheist and agnostic community; for now, these can be found on the original blog. I am planning to copy them to a dedicated Heathen Idol Album in my pics over the next week, so look for it ~ one-stop shopping for new anti-religion graphic art ~
Let's rock n' roll: Here, once more, are the finalists ~ presented as a letterman-style countdown to the graphic YOU voted your favorite:
And in a virtual tie for 2nd place:
and
Presenting the winning HEATHEN IDOL graphic:
~ CONGRATULATIONS, BETTY ~
~ bragging rights and a copy of Christopher Hitchens' 'god is not great' are yours ~
* * * * * * * * * * *
On saturday night, august 16/17, 2008, we lost one of the most iconoclastic members of our atheist and agnostic community. A very close friend of his, Cheryl, told us that he had very much wanted to submit his artwork in this contest; and I am honored that he did. I enlarged it and added a border. Here, again, is Tim Rambo's 'ME'
We have a wonderful winning graphic to announce in the final installment of my Heathen Idol Contest blog, and a talented person to honor with our kudos and the prize of Christopher Hitchens' book.
However, I have decided to put off the festivities a day or two in the wake of the announcement this morning that one of the most present of presences in our Atheist and Agnostic Community here on Myspace died during the night; I am assuming from complications stemming from his hepatitis C infection.
Tim Rambo
There are people here in our virtual community who knew Tim much better than I did and will probably have much more eloquent things to say. There are people here in our community who, hell, liked Tim more than I did much of the time. I don't mince words: Tim was sharp as a tack, opinionated, irascible, ornery, and, to those who don't know it, often abusive to some of his female friends.
But he was a Warrior of Freethinking, Free Speech, Political Activism, Human Rights, and Positively Rational Atheism, and he died in pain and I will miss him.
Here is Tim's moving digital art submission in my contest, and his description of what it meant to him.
TIM RAMBO, August 8, 2008: This may be too small to see the human figure - Me - in the center, but it was an expression of how I felt and feel brought up and living in a believing world. If I'm not on topic just delete it.
FREEFLO: i most certainly see the 'me' in the center of this believing world in this fascinating digital image... ...thank you for visiting and taking the time to add to our growing 'catalogue' of fresh, new images, especially as i know you haven't been feeling well...
TIM RAMBO: It's me in a fetal position if that helps you see it.. Thank you for your comments Freeflo.
It’s Time To Vote For Your Favorite ’Heathen Idol’!
Current mood: drained
Category: Religion and Philosophy
CONSUMMATUM EST (JOHN 19:30)
Well, the preliminaries are over: the entries have been entered, the bantering has become silent, the non-heathens who popped in were stealth pwned in the last ½ hour before deadline, your hostess hasn't slept in a week, and the fat lady has sung.
That means only one thing!
~ IT'S TIME TO VOTE FOR YOUR FAVORITE HEATHEN IDOL! ~
STATISTICS ~ A huge success for a small player like me, I closed the original blog, though you are all encouraged (shit, you're ordered :) to visit, view, and grab as many of those terrific new satirical anti-religion graphics as you can. We ended up with 408 comments, 150 kudos, a first page that turned into a free-for-all, 46 'official' entries, approximately 95 new graphics in all, a handful of nice graphics that didn't qualify because they weren't original, an a cappella music video performance of a jesus-praisesong by a christian who must have lost his way and landed on our galapagos islands, and a whole slew of oversized oldie-but-goodie 'paintings' by another unsolicited misplaced christian. Thank You All For Rockin' On The Myspace Religion & Philosophy Top Ten Blogs For An Entire Week
~ VOTING STARTS NOW ~ and ends 11:59 p.m. EDT, August 16, with the Winner Announced on August 17.
~ Everyone and Anyone can come on in and vote ~ one time only, but with 5 votes at your disposal. Put all 5 votes on one favorite, or spread the wealth with 1 vote for each of 5 images, or 3 for one and 2 for another; whatever you want to do with them. Just post a comment with your selection/s and tell me how you want the 5 votes distributed. I've changed my mind ~ fuck it, vote for yourself if you want to: it's only 5 votes and you deserve it!
I'll tally 'em up with my hi-tech pen and paper ~ you can track it yourself and call me on any errors as you wish :)
~ They Still Aren't the Judges ~
~ THOUGHTS ON JUDGING ~
Cliché time: There was so much great stuff there, you can be assured choosing was a bitch. No doubt, my choices will delight some people, be 'whatever' to others, and maybe piss off still others. I put my big girl panties on, though; so I'll survive. FSM knows, art and humor are very subjective. Some of my selections were created by good friends, others by friends I barely know, and others by total strangers who may have requested an add during the contest.
Most importantly, I'd like to remind you I had a lot of constraints on 'which' of the 95 or so graphics I could even consider. If someone submitted only one graphic, cool. Others submitted a few at the same time and had to designate which they wanted to be considered 'official'. Still others submitted an 'official' entry, then went on riffing with many more images ~ getting stronger as they went on ~ and these later images had to be left on the table. You'll notice I left out the creators' avatars ~ to minimize a personality contest and focus on the merits of the image. It's easy enough to reference the original blog if you wish.
~ It Ain't Easy Being The Decider ~
~ AT STAKE ~
Bragging rights as 'Heathen Idol' ~ LOL ~ and a brand new copy of Christopher Hitchens' 'god is not great'.
I'll leave you with 2 images i created during this week which I would have submitted were it someone else's blog :) Grab 'em if you like:)
~ THE 'HEATHEN IDOL' FINALISTS ~
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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3.
4.
5.
6.
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8.
9.
10.
11.
12.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
i'll probably repeat this message once again sunday ~ my time ~ after the winner is announced, but i'd like to take this space and a moment to thank all my friends, readers, visitors, and lurkers for making this wacked idea of mine so much fun. and, especially, i want to thank my closer friends for putting up with my distractions these past two weeks with this project ~ which led to terrible manners in following up with correspondence and in supporting your valuable blogs! be assured that as soon as the winner is announced and properly 'regaled' (LOL) i'll be 'myself' again...
Enter The First Annual ’Heathen Idol’ Competition! Damn Good Prize Awarded!
Current mood: amused
Category: Religion and Philosophy
it's the summer doldrums in the northern hemisphere, the dead of winter in the southern; and for you guys living in beautiful semi-tropical climates ~ well, there are probably mosquitoes.
this means only one thing ~ it's time to loosen up and have some fun, INFIDEL STYLE! take a short break from your scholarly, ponderous, scientifically integrous blogging and your attempts at rationally trying to convince the religious of the error of their ways and join me in gently debunking their delusions ~ pie-in-the-face-style!
~ Welcome to the First Annual Heathen Idol Competition ~
this contest won't include singing, thank the FSM
but rather is an exercise in graphic hi-jinks.
i'm asking you all to create an original graphic expressing your cleverest opinions on any of the following topics: god, organized religion, fundamentalist christianity, creationism, anti-science bias in the government and schools, the faux science of intelligent design, jesus, heaven and hell, miracles, all that good stuff ~ in either LOL-Style or Motivational Poster Style.
here are some of mine as examples. of course, they are not part of this competition :-)
~ ~ The Rules ~ ~
* please stay on topic as delineated above. * only one entry per contestant, not one entry per profile :) * please use a single image of your choice and a simple lol or motivational sign generator. this allows for a level playing field ~ the less cyber-skilled having the same opportunity to win as one who could create digital pyrotechnics. * the wit and content is the point here. * please make it a fresh creation; not one of your oldies but goodies. * please keep your graphic fairly close in size to what i have above. i get grouchy when my page is skewed with too much horizontal scrolling :) * i pity the fool who steals someone else's creation; such as off the internet. we heathens have more morals than that. * please submit your entries here as a comment on this blog by sunday night, 11:59 pm eastern daylight time, august 10, 2008 ~ use a world clock to convert that to your own time zone! * WHEW, such drama!
~ ~ The Judging ~ ~
These are NOT the Judges:
~ ~ I am the Judge, LOL ~ ~
i'll choose my favorite 25% of the submissions, up to a maximum of 12, and present them to you for immediate voting in a follow-up blog!
if there are only 8 graphics entered, i'll choose 2. if there are 16 entries, i'll pick my 4 favorites. 28 entries would yield 7 'finalists' ~ up to 12 choices if there are 48 or more submitted. be still, my heart, to get 48 or more :-)
~ Then YOU Vote For Your Favorite ~
* just like the other Idol competition, You will come back on and vote for your favorite! * i'll promptly post my 'finalists' in a separate blog. * also, as in that competition ~ you each have more than one vote! * you will have 5 votes each! throw all five to your favorite or split 4 and 1, or 3 and 2, as you choose. * please don't vote for your own entry, as i won't count it, LOL, but lobbying friends for support is cool. * voting will cease on saturday night, 11:59 pm, eastern daylight time, august 16, 2008. (consult those world clocks again;) * i'll update, and announce the winner on sunday, august 17!.
~ I'm Awarding A Damn Good Prize ~
very disorganized, i find myself with 2 copies of Christopher Hitchens' "God Is Not Great".
i probably ordered one from amazon, put it aside; and a month or so later ~ a victim of a senior moment ~ ordered another from barnes & noble.
and You, dear Heathen Idol Winner, get the copy not dog-eared and covered with coffee stains! a hardcover "God Is Not Great", virginal as Mother Mary, awaits you!
if you already own this classic work, think of all the folks to whom you might want to 're-gift' it :)
It’s World Humanist Day! And My Blog Is Up In The Nick Of Time :-)
Current mood: rushed
Category: Religion and Philosophy
**Celebrate World Humanist Day by Supporting the Blogswarm Conceived by** ** Richie MacCool**
Here is Richie's moving slideshow created before he came up with the concept of using it in tribute to World Humanist Day
HUMANISM
Humanism is a non-theistic way of thinking and living that draws its knowledge from science, its inspiration from art, and its motivation from compassion. It is based on the belief that each person is unique and valuable, and that we must all rely on each other to improve the world and the condition of humankind. Humanism asserts that we must each take responsibility for ourselves and for the communities in which we live, not relying on beliefs in supernatural forces or gods to intervene in our behalf. Humanism emphasizes reason, scientific inquiry, individual freedom, human values and the need for tolerance and cooperation.
What does humanism offer the individual?
*personal autonomy *liberation from religious guilt, fear and subservience *appreciation for human diversity *a worldview based on the latest science *ethics based on reason and compassion *freedom to question established beliefs and explore new ideas *a framework for judging the merit of ideas and claims *a culture of creativity, innovation, tolerance, and cooperation *resources to develop your personal potential *courage to create meaning in life
America's Humanist Heroes
love that song acompanying the visuals!
some others participating in the celebration of the day:
♥ INNOCENT ♥
Current mood: contemplative
Category: Life
this isn't exactly a blog. i posted a bulletin yesterday, and realized i was much too fond of it to have it lost in the blur of the massive bulletin ether. so i gently brought it here where it would be a little more permanent. comment if you wish - that would be great - but all i really ask is that if you find yourself here, please enjoy and take into your hearts and minds the music video; and perhaps leave some kudos so i know you stopped by.
Congratulations, California! Now Watch Your Back...
Current mood: impatient
Category: News and Politics
Congratulations, California!
Now Watch Your Back...
What is the problem, people? What is it about basic human rights that makes the religious and the homophobic fall over themselves to interfere in the private lives of others? I think they're perverse and brainwashed and confuse sexual orientation with sexual activity. Frankly, I believe they are scared shit of their own sexual feelings and fantasies. Secure people don't worry about what others are doing.
could it be SATAN calling to them?
California Ruling on Same-Sex Marriage Fuels a Battle, Rather Than Ending It
New York Times by Jesse McKinley published May 18, 2008
SAN FRANCISCO — Just hours after the California Supreme Court ruled on Thursday that same-sex couples have a constitutional right to marry, Mathew D. Staver was already raising money to overturn the decision.
Mr. Staver, the founder and chairman of Liberty Counsel, a Florida group that defends traditional marriage, flew to Dallas on Thursday night for a late dinner meeting with a fund-raiser. The topic was how to finance a campaign for the California Marriage Protection Act, a November ballot initiative that would amend the state Constitution and effectively undo the court's decision.
"I flew to Dallas to discuss this specific issue," said Mr. Staver, who had several trips on similar business planned in the coming week. "And we talked until the early morning hours."
Such late-night strategy sessions will probably become common as those on both sides of the same-sex marriage issue start what they anticipate to be a protracted and expensive battle.
Dante and Virgil in Hell, by William-Adolphe Bouguereau(1850)
"It's going to be the largest, most expensive and most hard fought L.G.B.T. ballot measure in the history of the country," said Geoff Kors, executive director of Equality California, which works on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgendered people. Both sides say they expect to spend $10 million to $20 million on the campaign, which will officially begin when the secretary of state puts the amendment on the ballot, pending spot inspections of more than a million signatures turned in by groups opposing same-sex marriage.
The amendment would insert 14 words into the California Constitution — "Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid and recognized in California" — a phrase tested with focus groups months before the court's decision.
Advocates for same-sex marriage have also been planning for this fight well before Thursday, forming campaign committees as early as 2003, when an initial effort to change the Constitution began, but failed.
"We didn't even have to ask what the next step is," said Kate Kendell, the executive director of the National Center for Lesbian Rights. "We are in full campaign mode. We need money. We need volunteers. We need to begin mobilizing to protect this incredible decision."
The latest effort to ban same-sex marriage began in earnest in January, when petitioners fanned out across the state with the help of a variety of national groups, including Concerned Women for America and the Family Research Council, both based in Washington. All told, a coalition of groups called Protect Marriage had spent some $1.8 million on the campaign through the end of March, according to state election documents, though much phone and foot work was done by volunteers from churches and other groups.
Brian Brown, executive director of the National Organization for Marriage, California, said the driving forces behind the amendment were from within the state. "A lot of pastors have been calling us," Mr. Brown said. "It's not like we have to create a new network out of the thin air."
Tony Perkins, the president of the Family Research Council, which views homosexuality as "harmful to the persons who engage in it and to society at large," said his group and the volunteers would be active in the fall.
As will voters, he hopes. "Californians are conditioned for propositions," Mr. Perkins said. "When the bell rings, they vote."
Thursday's ruling, which becomes effective after 30 days, would make California the second state to allow same-sex marriages, after Massachusetts.
Constitutional amendments like the one proposed here are preferred by some opponents to same-sex marriage because they are less likely to be overturned by the courts, said David Masci, a senior research fellow at the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. And they have been remarkably popular. Voters have approved a ban in 27 of the 28 states that have taken up the issue, Mr. Masci said. Arizona defeated an initiative in 2006.
"There is a concern especially among conservatives that so-called activist judges will see a constitutional right to same-sex marriage," Mr. Masci said. "Constitutional amendments are seen as a way of stopping that from happening."
Groups opposed to same-sex marriage say they see several advantages in California, including the somewhat low bar, a simple majority, for changing the Constitution. They also say banning same-sex marriage is an issue that will play well with the state's large Hispanic population, which tends to hold somewhat more conservative social views.
The state's electorate seems divided. A 2007 poll by the Public Policy Institute of California found 49 percent of residents opposed to same-sex marriage, and 45 percent in favor.
Gavin Newsom, the mayor of San Francisco, who added to the national debate about same-sex marriage in 2004 when he ordered the county clerk to issue marriage licenses to gay couples, said it would be important to the fall campaign to perform marriages as soon as possible.
Mr. Staver, of Liberty Counsel, said he would ask for a stay of the court's ruling until voters could decide, but Mr. Newsom is not interested in waiting.
"As we move forward and literally tens of thousands of couples are married, the question to the voters changes," Mr. Newsom said. "It's no longer denying something to people that they never had. It's taking something away that they've already enjoyed. And that's a much more difficult thing to do."
Some couples are planning to combine their weddings with efforts to make sure their legal unions are not short-lived. Cary Davidson, a lawyer who lives in Los Angeles and is a member of the Equality California board, said he and his partner, Andrew Ogilvie, planned to marry before the November election.
But he said they would ask guests to contribute to the campaign to defeat the ballot measure instead of buying gifts.
"The only thing that matters to us at the moment is to make sure that the rights that we just gained are maintained," said Mr. Davidson, 53, who has been with Mr. Ogilvie for 18 years. "And that's the best way to do it."
yesterday, a fundamentalist christian work colleague was marvelling how jesus and the power of prayer was keeping her friend, with stage 4 cancer, alive longer than expected.
i remarked that my mom, now deceased, had also fought metastatic cancer with dignity, living 9 years beyond all prediction, and remained, like her family, an atheist until the end.
the colleague retorted, "well, people were obviously praying to jesus for her".
my lizard brain wanted to punch her lights out; my rational brain offers her this:
i subscribe to sam harris' online newsletter, as no doubt many of us do. Yesterday in my inbox, i found this excellent article which speaks the unspeakable - as sam harris is always wont to do:) it's not only the obstacle course of racism, but the stultifying effects of conservative christianity on american politics, that mr. obama has to so delicately negotiate. as my grandmother used to say, what else is new?
Sam Harris
What Barack Obama Could Not (and Should Not) Say
The Huffington Post Posted March 21, 2008 | 12:59 PM (EST)
Well, among other inexpediencies, this might have put his faith in Jesus in question. After all, Reverend Wright was the man who brought him to the "foot of the cross." Might the Senator from Illinois be unsure whether the Creator of the universe brought forth his only Son from the womb of a Galilean virgin, taught him the carpenter's trade, and then had him crucified for our benefit? Few suspicions could be more damaging in American politics today.
The stultifying effect of religion is everywhere to be seen in the 2008 Presidential campaign. The faith of the candidates has been a constant concern in the Republican contest, of course--where John McCain, lacking the expected aura of born-again bamboozlement, has been struggling to entice some proper religious maniacs to his cause. He now finds himself in the compassionate embrace of Pastor John Hagee, a man who claims to know that a global war will soon precipitate the Rapture and the Second Coming of Jesus Christ (problem solved). Prior to McCain's ascendancy, we saw Governor Mitt Romney driven from the field by a Creationist yokel and his sectarian hordes. And this, despite the fact that the governor had been wearing consecrated Mormon underpants all the while, whose powers of protection are as yet unrecognized by Evangelicals.
Like every candidate, Obama must appeal to millions of voters who believe that without religion, most of us would spend our days raping and killing our neighbors and stealing their pornography. Examples of well-behaved and comparatively atheistic societies like Sweden, Finland, Norway, and Denmark--which surpass us in terrestrial virtues like education, health, public generosity, per capita aid to the developing world, and low rates of violent crime and infant mortality--are of no interest to our electorate whatsoever. It is, of course, good to know that people like Reverend Wright occasionally do help the poor, feed the hungry, and care for the sick. But wouldn't it be better to do these things for reasons that are not manifestly delusional? Can we care for one another without believing that Jesus Christ rose from the dead and is now listening to our thoughts?
Yes we can.
Edward Abbey
Happily, Obama did a fine job of distancing himself from Reverend Wright's divisive views on racism in America, along with his fatuous "chickens come home to roost" assessment of our war against Islamic terrorism. But he did not (and should not) acknowledge that the worst parts of Reverend Wright's sermons, as with most sermons, are his appeals to the empty hopes and baseless fears of his parishioners--people who could surely find better ways of advancing their interests in this world, if only they could banish the fiction of a world to come.
Obama did not say that religion's effect on our society, and on the black community especially, has been destructive--and where it has seemed constructive it has generally taken the place of better things. Religion unites, motivates, and consoles beleaguered people not with knowledge, but with superstition and false promises. Surely there is a better way to bring people together in the 21st century. The truth is, despite the toothsomeness of his campaign slogan, we are not yet the people we have been waiting for. And if we don't start talking sense to our children, they won't be the ones we are waiting for either.
Obama was surely wise not to mention that Christianity was, without question, the great enabler of slavery in this country. The Confederate soldiers who eagerly laid down their lives at three times the rate of Union men, for the pleasure of keeping blacks in bondage and using them as farm equipment, did so with the conscious understanding that they were doing the Lord's work. After Reconstruction, religion united Southern whites in their racist hatred and the black community in its squalor--inuring men and women on both sides to injustice far more efficiently than it inspired them to overcome it.
The problem of religious fatalism, ignorance, and false hope, while plain to see in most religious contexts, is now especially obvious in the black community. The popularity of "prosperity gospel" is perhaps the most galling example: where unctuous crooks like T.D. Jakes and Creflo Dollar persuade undereducated and underprivileged men and women to pray for wealth, while tithing what little wealth they have to their corrupt and swollen ministries. Men like Jakes and Dollar, whatever occasional good they may do, are unconscionable predators and curators of human ignorance. Is it too soon to say this in American politics? Yes it is.
Despite all that he does not and cannot say, Obama's candidacy is genuinely thrilling: his heart is clearly in the right place; he is an order of magnitude more intelligent than the current occupant of the Oval Office; and he still stands a decent chance of becoming the next President of the United States. His election in November really would be a triumph of hope.
But Obama's candidacy is also depressing, for it demonstrates that even a person of the greatest candor and eloquence must still claim to believe the unbelievable in order to have a political career in this country. We may be ready for the audacity of hope. Will we ever be ready for the audacity of reason?
Sam Harris is the author "The End of Faith" and "Letter to a Christian Nation." He can be reached at www.samharris.org
Read more HuffPost coverage and reaction to Obama's speech
Currently
listening
:
Back to Black
By
Amy Winehouse
Release date: 13 March, 2007
**this is my contribution to a blog movement against hate generated both on the internet and in the wider world. while the original writers chose to use one execrable, pitiful, bile-filled individual as the representative of all that is wrong in this arena (and by copying and pasting much of the original blog - i am guilty in quoting his filth liberally), i have edited out easily half the text that focuses only on this one person. i have also added a horror from today's news to expand the discussion. had i written the blog myself, it would have been much, much different, but i stand with the willingness to face up to the hate.**
**freeflo**
a cumulative effort started by catalyst and fellow bloggers to speak out against HATE. We believe strongly in Amendment I, and feel people of this nation have a right to voice their views. This is one of the freedoms and beauties of the internet. However, there have been some issues brought to our attention lately. Issues of HATE ideology. We have banded together in an effort to speak out against such blantant acts of negativity. We are not attempting to suppress another's right to utilize the freedom of speech - Though, we are exercising our own right to do so!
Unfortunately, being a part of the human family subjects us to certain ends of our cumulative spectrum. There are some areas of humanity that serve as a social disease - perpetuating a surely corrosive effect on society.
************************** Disabled pregnant woman used as target practice
ALTON, Illinois (AP) -- Banished to the basement, the 29-year-old mother with a childlike mind and another baby on the way had little more than a thin rug and a mattress to call her own on the chilly concrete floor. adults and a 12-year-old child were charged with Dorothy Dixon's murder. Dorothy Dixon ate what she could forage from the refrigerator upstairs, where housemates used her for target practice with BBs, burned her with a glue gun and doused her with scalding liquid that peeled away her skin. They torched what few clothes she had, so she walked around naked. They often pummeled her with an aluminum bat or metal handle. Dixon -- six months pregnant -- died after weeks of abuse. Police have charged two adults, three teenagers and a 12-year-old boy with murder in the case that has repulsed many in this Mississippi River town.
this is heartbreaking," police Lt. David Hayes said. "It was almost as though they were making fun of the abuse they were administering. This woman was living in a prison." Investigators put much of the blame on Michelle Riley, 35, who they said befriended Dixon but pocketed monthly Social Security checks she got because of her developmental delays. Dixon saw little, if any, of the money, Hayes said. For months she weathered the torment to keep a roof over her head and that of her year-old son, who weighed just 15 pounds when taken into state custody after his mom's death. "I've never seen an almost conspiratorial effort by a group of people to continuously torture someone until she finally died, then not really show any remorse," Hayes said. "It was just a slow, torturous, tragic way to die. I highly doubt Dorothy Dixon even knew she was dying." Riley, 43 yr-old Judy Woods and three teenagers, including Riley's 15-year-old daughter, LeShelle McBride, are charged with first-degree murder, aggravated and heinous battery, intentional homicide of an unborn child, and unlawful restraint. Riley's 12-year-old son is charged as a juvenile.
Hayes said things apparently came to a head Jan. 30, when investigators believe that Woods, during a dispute, beat Dixon on the head with an object Hayes wouldn't identify. The next day Woods found her dead. Hayes watched the autopsy and found her injuries disturbing. X-rays revealed roughly 30 BBs lodged in her. Deep-tissue burns covered about one-third of her body -- her face, her chest, her arms and feet -- and left her severely dehydrated. Her face and body showed signs of prolonged abuse. Many of her wounds were infected.None of the injuries, Hayes said, proved singly fatal to Dixon. Her system already was taxed by her unborn baby."The autopsy sort of indicates her immune system just shut down," he said. "It was not capable of fending off any more."In the rental home's basement, Atkins said, he found spots of blood in a shower and tiny smears on the concrete floor, washer and dryer."It's disgraceful the way this girl died, as kind and as sweet as this girl was," he said. "She didn't deserve to die the way she did. It's just terrible, senseless. It's just a total shame."
*****************************
There are physical acts of disrespect for another's individuality whether it is directed at an animal
or the physical violence against another human being. Yet, there is a gray area that is deserving of note in our eyes - where verbal acts are psychologically abusive and border a type of mental violence. There are no police that will save you from this, and Rupert Murdock's corporate myspace could give a fuck. We feel there is a distinctive difference between condemning a person for their behavior(s) and condemning people for who they are. Our actions define us....but more importantly - they affect this world. The ideology of hate cannot be justified.
There is also is HUGE difference between anger and hate...
anger can serve as a motivator, a catalyst, an energizer...for example, this blog was born and molded from our collective anger...
But hate....hate is corrosive, hate kills, and hate destroys...
This is our voice against HATE and mental abuse. Those of us participating in this blog effort are reaching out to those of you who are like us - and wish to see tolerance, acceptance, and the celebration of humanity in the world. Not puppy tossing, war, bigotry, racism, and hate....among other things.
********************************** A certain blogger motivated us to join in this movement and speak out. This began when a friend messaged Catalyst saying that this individual showed up on his friend's blog - She was writing a serious blog to reach out for support, and voicing her thoughts of suicide. This "The Memphis Lee" guy apparently barged into her blog exclaiming that the world would be better off with out her.
Goading People into Suicide
When a person is having suicidal ideation, they will often cry out or flare up. This is expected!! It's called a "cry for help"!! as the person is probably thinking that no-one wants to be their friend or nobody seems to love them or they are in a hopeless situation or something similar.
When a person does this - yes they do it for attention - some people do it all the time and yes it does get old.
However, telling someone to "off" themselves and do us all a favor is *NOT* what you should be telling these people. This tiny bit of egging people on to kill themselves may just be all that is needed to inspire them to end their lives.
If you don't have anything nice to say to someone who obviously appears to be somewhat troubled with their lives and is suicidal then it is your obligation as a human being to reach out to them or to leave them alone. How can anyone behave like this and condone this behavior?
These people have family and friends - how would you like it if your brother or your cousin or your sister or your mother killed themselves just because some clown told them to "do us all a favor" and "off" themselves?
People with ignorant and belittling attitudes towards a suicidal persons' feelings are *exactly* the things that put a depressed person over the edge. You are trivializing their existence exactly at the time when they needed friends the most.
How would you feel if you told someone to kill themselves.. and they did? oh, it was said in jest was it? Make sure you are prepared to tell that to the families and friends of the people that were in that person's lives. ********************************************
What kind of person does this?
Around this same time this person was posting on Linux Louis's blog on homosexuality. As a matter of fact - he was the first to post on the blog: The Memphis Lee "With all do respect "LinuxLouis", I say hang them all up in a tree and use them as a pinata'! I have never been a supporter or a "live and let live" type of guy on the matter. It's all a choice, that's it. Show me a scientist who says it's not, and I'll show you a hundred that say that it is. Kill 'em all, let God sort them out! That's how I roll.!!!" Posted by The Memphis Lee on Wednesday, March 12, 2008 at 3:46 PM
He calls himself "The Memphis Lee" and represents the epitome of ignorance in the blogosphere. Have your views - but telling people to kill themselves and suggesting an entire faction of the human race should be killed crosses far beyond our lines in the sand. Should this type of hate be allowed to continue? This guy seems to get off on it. It disgusts us, and I'm sure it disgusts most. The sad part is - that's not all.
The following is a collection of quotes from his blogs:
Here are his views on Freedom of speech: "With all that said, I'd like to address the cock sucking muthafuckers who think that blocking me or setting their blogs to private changed anything! You stupid cunts only made my point for me you god damn retards! You're more than welcome to go hide and act like little bitches, but everyone knows that I skull fucked the shit out of you and your backwards ass faggity little piss ant arguments. Welcome to The Memphis Lee's house you stupid sons of bitches! You make me feel so good when you run away after I get done blog raping you, how does it feel?! I love it, and yeah I'm one cocky arrogant asshole, but you can't help but come back for more. I know just how many of you twats come and read my blogs, but your punk ass is so scared of having me chew you up and spit you out in front of everyone you don't dare open your mouth to me! You weak little dick heads know better than to get involved here on even ground because I'll shit all over you, and make you go get my lunch!"
Apparently, if you did not note it previously, he really hates gays: "In case I haven't always been clear, I decided to go on the record and share my thoughts and opinions about gay people. I FUCKING HATE THEM!!!" "If you want to support something or contribute to a group or organization, don't contribute to anything that has to do with AIDS or gay people. Let these fuckers kill themselves off. If you don't want to catch something, then don't take part in the leading behavior that you're most likely to catch it. I don't view AIDS as a disease; I see it as the solution!"
(hate to tell him, but male homophobics are statistically likely to be attracted to other males - though in denial or deep hiding - LOL - only 20% are not). "Gay people are all the same, all they want to do ultimately is continue their perverted sexual desires and the more gay they are the more opportunities they have to meet more gays and have more screwed up sexual encounters and they expect us to allow them to just keep corrupting our youth. They actually think it's their right to coerce other people to be gay. I'd like to kick the shit out of the person who allowed these psychos to adopt children. Guess what statistically happens to a child that is in a home where a parent beats on the other spouse and children? Guess what statistically happens when a child is molested by a parent or guardian? That's right, in both situations those individuals end up repeating the cycle, just like a small boy would end up doing if he grew up watching dad and dad making out on the couch."
He wrote a blog entitled "Nigger": "Why are black people portrayed in the media as drug dealers, poor parents, and gang bangers? Because that's the way they choose to be portrayed." "Let me give you the definition of a nigger as The Memphis Lee sees it. It's a frame of mind, it's a behavior. It's the lowest of the low, the scum of the earth. When you act like a nigger, you're going to be treated like one, and hopefully called one."
(No, this word is perceived by society as repulsive). "Should black people be allowed to get a free pass while white people are held accountable for making racist jokes or statements?"
spewing hate: " American Indians are dirty, smelly, and usually consuming alcohol." " Mexicans always steal hub caps." " Mexicans usually carry blades." " Why do black people enjoy fruit drinks and chicken so much?" " American Indians are the dumbest people on the planet." " People from Iraq have gross feet."
Dude even hates fat people: "I seriously have some ideas that I think we should consider. I think fat people should have to register just like child molesters, only they won't be allowed to live any where near where they serve or have food. I also think fat people should be assigned probation officers just like criminals. They should have to check in regularly and if they have gained weight since their last visit then they should get put in jail or if the probation officer does a surprise visit and they have unauthorized food they would also get put in jail."
His views on immigration: "Illegal aliens should be shot on site. That would fix the problem!" "Feeding the hungry in other countries?! Fuck them!!! I've seen the stupid videos they show on T.V. with all of those lazy bastards sitting around the food house waiting for their free meal. I have an idea, stop having fucking kids!!! The one thing I do notice in all of the shots that they have of their environment, DIRT! Plant some shit you dumb asses. Here is another fucking tip you continent is surrounded by water, get a fucking fishing pole and a GOD DAMN net and fish!!!"
Here is a desperate and shoddy attempt to justify his personal views on hate: "I hate everyone, I don't discriminate!!!!!!!" "Hate is what drives us. Hate is what fuels us to change the things in this world we don't like. It makes us strong and it gives us the power that we normally don't have. If it weren't for hate we wouldn't have ever came to the great country that we live in today. If it wasn't for hate the liberals and the democrats would rule the world. If it wasn't for all the stupid ass people out there, you wouldn't be blessed with people like yours truly The Memphis Lee! The truth is, you can't have the love without the hate."
Where do people like this come from?
Should we just turn our backs while people like this spread their toxic ooze all over the internet? I'm not! And everyone decided to take part in this blog movement is not.
Freedom of speech is NOT a hate pass! So we ask the readers of these blogs to take action - give this guy a piece of your mind.
Take your pick:
Did telling a suicidal person to kill herself do it for you? (that is what did it for Catalyst).
Did the blatant hate and publicly voicing genocide of homosexuals do it?
Did the condescending racism do it?
Whatever pissed you off - let this guy know this affects us - all of us! It's a social disease.
people participating in this blog movement (and the list is growing):
moody
quiet
drained
amused
rushed
contemplative
impatient
indignant
argumentative
