Like everyone else, I have been heartily laughing at the all the diaries and jokes made at the expense of the followers of Harold Camping who expect to be raptured today.
I highly recommend an excellent diary on the Rec List on the suffering of the children and families of those who have bought into this cult The evil of the rapture
One of G2geek's comment in this diary caught my attention:
How many parents will murder their kids and then commit suicide, either as a way of getting raptured, or as some kind of crazy reaction to not getting raptured?
How many other murders and suicides will result?
and has led to this diary that is short, but with an urgent message.
This is a very serious question. All laughing aside, I think as caring human beings, if it is possible and we are capable, we individually and as a community, need to watch out for the welfare of the members of this cult (especially the children,) as they wake up Sunday morning.
I cannot imagine the crushing blow of disappointment and disorientation that the Rapturites will feel on Sunday morning when they realize that their construct of the world is false. On top of the fracture of their world, they will experience the ridicule and laughter of the rest of the world shaming and humiliating them. This is a lot for a very rigid personality to handle.
One would hope that Camping can pull something out of his ass, to save the sanity of these people, but it doesn't seem possible since he has bet the ranch on this and encouraged his followers to empty their coffers as well. Pretty sordid stuff to wake up and realize that you bet all you had on a cultic lotto that didn't draw your numbers!
Aside from our own mirth at the absurdity of this whole enterprise, I believe that some serious support is now in order to help these wounded souls survive to the next day.
Paul Brandeis Raushenbush writes with a great deal of understanding and compassion:
I can see the attraction of this kind of thinking. If the believer white-knuckles it and holds the line, then God will come and break into the world, relieve their suffering, bring justice to an unjust world, and lift those who believed into an exalted role in the new creation. The more I think about the people who are placing their hope in the current end-of-the-world scheme, the less I want to laugh at them and the more I feel compassion for them.
My guess is that people who put their trust in these movements have a sense of powerlessness, and they need to believe in a radical solution to their current situation. While the rich and powerful make fun, the followers of Camping and the May 21 movement are largely working-class people who feel that they have less and less of a voice or place in this world. Like buying a lottery ticket, they are placing bets on a instant transformation of their personal situation where the last will become first, and the rich will be sent away empty.
So, what I am suggesting, is that if you personally know anyone who is expecting to leave today via rapture, that you be alert to a concern about their welfare and especially of their children. I take G2geek's comment above very seriously. We have had Jonestown, etc. Fundies DO take the final solution and claim that God demanded it. You will have to decide on the appropriateness of your connection with the person or family to know whether you can call or visit them or be supportive to them in another way, today and tomorrow and in the weeks to come. But I believe a watchful, compassionate eye, especially to the children, will be a important.
If these folks, and their children, know that there is community support for them, then as their brains crack, hopefully they can reach out for support and not harm themselves and their children. I also understand that these folks are insulated in their black and white thinking, so that this may be a thankless task. But it is their physical welfare that I am speaking about, primarily.
Let's hope that no one goes off the deep end.
Have a happy rest of the day and a relaxing Sunday!