So a few days ago, I was on YouTube when I got a friend request from someone. In an attempt to see who the hell this random person was, I checked their profile. The first thing that popped up?
The Obama Deception, in HD. Being fair-minded, I watched the first few minutes of it to see whether or not it was the right-wing equivalent of Michael Moore's stellar work. Don't get me wrong, I love a good story and Michael Moore is a fantastic audio-visual storyteller. He does, however, have a tendency to misrepresent facts and that's not what documentary is about. I should know: I've done real documentary work.
Anyway, I lasted about five minutes. It was right after they accused Obama of making a civilian military force to suppress Americans that I decided I'd stop. I had seen enough. So I posted a comment on the diary saying simply, "Talk about delicious hysteria and fearmongering" and went upon my merry way.
Then I got a message.
It was a link from another conservative linking me to a video about Sharia law. I checked the link, then checked his profile. His favorites list read like Scott Roeder and Hal Turner's love-child might: filled with things demonizing Sharia law and that stupid Department of Homeland Security for defaming right-wing extremists. Suffice it to say I sent him a message back:
You're hilarious. Christianity has a movement similar to that of Sharia Muslims. They're called Reconstructionists. Put up a video about how Christian Reconstructionism calls for a society ruled by Biblical law and how there is no neutrality between believers and non-believers in the Recon worldview (allowing and essentially excusing attacks on people who don't wish to believe in such a narrow and bigoted point of view). Make a video about the sizzling hatred that such a worldview brings regardless of whether or not its Muslim or Judaic or Christian in origin and stop making Muslims the problem.
Because they're not.
The problem is extremism in all forms. That includes domestic terrorists like Scott Roeder. I see in your favorites list a piece deriding the DHS memo that explicitly stated - weeks in advance - that certain conservative extremist groups might become violent. I would love to hear you explain away how he's just a lone wolf with no connections whatsoever to any organization, but we both know that anything you'd say about Mr. Roeder would be baseless and would probably end with you pivoting back to your narrow-minded talking points about Sharia Law and the grave danger it poses. Which is why you're hilarious (in the morbid humor type of way): you cannot comprehend that you're just as far out there as the other guy and that you both get your power through lies, manipulation and violence when all else fails.
Your bigoted world-view sickens me. I paused for a moment when I wrote that because quite frankly I was worried that calling you a bigot would reflect poorly on me, merely showing that I was myself a bigot. Until I realized that bigotry is about judging people before you get to know their views or know the person. Unless your YouTube profile is an elaborate hoax, I have gleaned a sufficient amount of information to know you, sir. My bet is that you'll use "faggot" as an epithet, even if you don't say it towards me. My bet is that you'll tell your friends and family of this message and pick apart my words to give yourself a modicum of comfort.
But the truth is that regardless of what you do, I'll pray for your immortal soul to find guidance. I'll pray for you to find the real Jesus Christ, the one who favors equality, empathy (a word I know must set your conservative mind ablaze) and inclusiveness. Because the funny part is (again in the morbid way) I'm a better Christian than you'll ever be, because I actually follow what Christ taught.
And Christ never taught someone to hate.
True Christianity has been hijacked by people who don't even understand that Christ preached tolerence, not hatred. And it saddens me to see those led so awry by it. Oh well, luckily I turn 21 at midnight tonight so I can drink away some of that sadness.
I mean, I'm gonna be a writer after all and last I checked a good addiction's a prerequisite for being prolific.