“If kids got raped at Denny’s as often as they got raped at church, it would be illegal to take your kid to Denny’s. Trans urinators aren’t a danger to kids. Youth pastors are.” —Dan Savage
What should we come to … if political denunciation is to be turned without check against art?
God’s Rightwing Terror Turn
This post on Reddit contains a lot. But, since I have such extensive (and deplorable, destructive) insider knowledge of Bill Gothard, his cult and his cultists and their oeurve, It rang true.
None of the Gothardites is more passionate and … well, cultish than the (in)famous Quiverful Duggers. And, of course, they are chock full of pedophiles and pedophilia and outrageous stupidity and lunacy.
“Amy, now 39, was not allowed to be alone with her grandfather at any point when she was growing up in Arkansas. ‘I wondered all the time. I asked. I asked my mom, I asked my grandma, and they obviously were going to protect the answer. They didn’t want me to know that information growing up,’ she says After his death, Amy’s mom sat her down to reveal the truth, that her late relative was a ‘predator,’ as Amy labeled it in her new book. “‘I honestly did not know why until my mom and I spoke after he passed away,’ she shares. ‘But I obviously assumed. I always had assumptions as to why, but it was never spoken about. It was a little difficult, but I’m one of those people that when I was little, I asked questions, sure. But if something was told to me, I just believed it.’ “‘I was very naive, and I’m a kid, so I was like, “Okay,”‘ she continues. “I knew grandpa couldn’t go to the trampoline with me. I knew grandpa couldn’t sit and watch a movie with me. I knew grandpa couldn’t be in a car with me. I knew grandpa couldn’t take me to school. There were so many things, and I just knew that that’s how it was.
And here are the two comments I most relate to:
The sole value of organized religion — and conservatism in general — is respect for and obedience to [one’s perception of] traditionally established hierarchy, and hierarchy dictates that those on top (in-groups) are rightfully idolized and receive privileges, credibility, and resources, while those on the bottom (out-groups) are demonized/dehumanized and/or bound by restrictions, scrutiny, and lack of resources. To them, the second-greatest injustice imaginable is for those [they perceive to be] on the bottom [of social hierarchy] to have access to the rights, credibility, and resources reserved for those on top. The first greatest injustice is for those on top to be bound by the restrictions, scrutiny, and lack of resources reserved for those on the bottom. It is never the act itself that upsets them, but rather, the social standing of the person doing the act, as said act is a privilege meant for those on top of [their perceived] hierarchy. (See also: pedophilia – Trump and Catholic church vs. LGBTQ+ and drag queens) To them, children are property of their social betters, and “know your place” is their mantra. Shido_Ohtori
And:
Exactly. They don’t have morality (this or that is wrong) nor ethics (what if everyone did this?). They are not built like that. And it’s deeper than just them thinking rape is right or wrong depending on who does it to who. It’s that they can’t even conceive of any harm as a crime unless it is against a social better. They won’t see it. Violence, humiliation, rape, exploitation, coercion flow down the authoritarian’s hierarchy in a way that’s so natural, so inherent to their worldview, that it would be like noticing the air and getting mad about it. Authoritarian types don’t resort to violence to put the hierarchy back in place, the way people imagine. Violence IS the hierarchy. It’s what it’s for. It’s what it’s made of. —DaBlurstofDaBlurst
But here’s the rub: These people are now in charge of the government. And this regime is completely destroying everything we knew. It’s a new world, and it’s run by the New Apostolic Revivalists, with billionaire tech boys tagging along and exploiting it for everything it’s worth.
I’ve said many times: Trump is irrelevant and almost dead. It’s increasingly obvious that he is not in control, is not in touch with reality, is fed what he wants to hear. The government head is nominally the vice president and the real players are Larry Ellison and Peter Thiel and some assorted funders/enablers with very deep pockets.
Democracy is done in this country. We are a religious oligarchy. Among other things. Cruel, venal, irreligious, hypocritical, ultra-violent. And I’ve been along for the long, slow, ever-steeper slide, courtesy of American evangelicals.
The only question is just what happens next. I can guess.
