Two sides (faces) of the Authoritarian Personality type: One manifested in Hitler, the other is manifesting in Pastor Mike along with his raging evangelical ilk. Pastor Mikey still doesn't get it. His febrile brain has now confused powerful, cogent responses to his obvious silly dreck (in his answers to my questions) as "raging" - and he asks in his latest blog posts 'Why do Atheists Rage?' Well, one reason is that we're exasperated at stupidity ....especially of the evangelical Christians and their fellow travelers. (As we'll see you can take that literally!)
Mike whines:
'Phil , the atheist' : Der (atheist ) "Fuhrer" of today is no different than his idol , Adolf Hitler . The anti-Christ atheist maggots will do everything within Satan's power to not only silence Christians , but EXTERMINATE us !! Let's keep our armor of God always at the ready , my friends !"
Mike needs to take a deep breath and maybe some meds. (Paxil? Better, a psychotropic). He's clearly lost his mental ballast. If he thinks I am a "Fuhrer" he doesn't know the meaning of the word. According to The Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, der Fuhrer (der Fuerher, n.) is "the designation of the singular German leader (Adolf Hitler) identified not only as the one leader of Germany but with Germany itself (Vaterland)."
Now, since I don't live in Germany (been there a couple times: Waldbrol, Dissen, Bielefeld, the East German border near Allendorf) I've never lived there and never held any positions there, far less being a "leader" of even a scout troop. So, clearly Mikey has no conception of how he uses words, so why should we express surprise.
Now, note, instead of returning my takedown of his palsied responses with logical, rational arguments, all he can offer is spewing venom along the lines of atheists being "anti-Christ maggots". Interesting that he conveniently turns his judgmental eyes from the evangelical maggots who have recently:
1- Denounced the troops and praised their killings (in Iraq, Afghanistan) because the U.S. military allows gays to serve - though they still must remain in the closet.
Mikey can thank his evangelical crazy bro, Pastor Fred Phelps, of the Westboro Baptist church - who is evidently as batshit crazy as Mikey is.
2- Under a "Pastor Lively" - evangelicals have traveled to Uganda to stir up a prolonged hate campaign against gays there, forcing them into hiding. As shown on ABC News last night, the stirred up denizens are now so exercised (over the evangelicals' claims the "homos are after your kids" ) that they are ready to kill them all. The government of Uganda is also considering a new law that would allow the death penalty for gays. Looks like they want to return to the old biblical days for "justice".
There are your examples of what happens when the incipient hate of these sanctimonious maniacs goes unchecked- whether directed at gays, atheists, Catholics, or Muslims, or abortion doctors.
So, in truth, it's Pastor Mikey, Pastor Fred Phelps, Pastor Lively and their crew who more emulate Hitler (who recall, sought to exterminate gays, atheists, Jews - as well as gypsies, socialists and Communists). There wasn't an iota of tolerance for anyone, any group.
So, what we have here is really a case of THEM (evangelicals) wanting to "exterminate" all those who criticize their beliefs and bible. They are incapable of responding with cogent argument, so have to resort to epithets.
Mike claims we not only want to "silence Christians" but "exterminate them". Not at all. We welcome your lot saying all you want, just not in public where we have to hear it. In other words, feel free to protect your own.....from whatever Devil's wiles you perceive, in preventing abortions for your women - wives, daughters, but do NOT deign to extend your bloody reach to OUR women! You get that, pastor! Our women and their bodies are not YOUR concern! Their fetus' lives are not your issue, or righteous hobby horse! Nor your imaginary deity's!
We certainly have no wish to "exterminate" the evangelicals -or any other Christians, we just wish they'd keep a lower profile. We wish they'd stay out of the rest of the populations' business, and cease their infernal hate campaigns - against everyone not believing as they do.
Instead of delivering a temperate response, Mike goes right for the militancy again: "keep our armor ready"? FOR WHAT? We have no inclination to fight you all, but to try to get to the table of REASON and break bread. It seems you're incapable of that!
The Psychogenic Reasons for Evangelical Hatreds:
It would be remiss of me not to at least go into a little bit of the psycho-genic basis for the hatred on display from those like Pastor Mike or his brother in arms, Fred Phelps. We ask the question: Why this fiery hatred to all unilke them? Why this demonic-inspired fury when people simply question their belief system? What gives?
Harvey A. Hornstein provides some answers in his monograph: Cruelty & Kindness: A New Look At Aggression and Altruism, Prentice-Hall, 1976). Hornstein notes that the personality type characterizing those such as Adolf Hitler, was "authoritarian". As we shall see as we unearth its chcaracteristics, this also applies to Phelps and Mikey.
As he observes (p.40), the general attribute is:
"For authoritarians, the boundaries of "we and they", in group and outgroup are intolerantly and narrowly drawn. Mindful of every difference, they unsympathetically decided, 'mercy is for us, but not for them."
After citing a study by Gaertner (ibid.) showing that authoritarians are only likely to assist or help those like them in an emergency, he goes on to note (ibid.):
"Authoritarians are socially exclusive. Their prematurely definitive and harshly judgmental distinctions between ingroups and outgroups are fruitless attempts to resolve their own intra-psychic conflict. Their prejudice is an almost indelible aftermath of the quality of their childhood attachements to principal caretakers"
This is certainly germane to Pastor Mike (I can't speak for Fred Phelps or the Pastor Lively) because in his critical formative years (2-3 yrs. old) he had to be left at a day nursery on Palm Ave. in Hialeah, FL, in the care (unbeknownst to our parents then) of a brutal caretaker :Mrs. Crumley, if you can believe that name- almost Dickensian in tone. What this woman did to the child was just cause for a lawsuit(child battery), but lacking legal resources our parents punted. The best they could do was remove him from the Bluebird Nursery on discovering assorted welts.
Now, I'm not a psych major, but my theory is that this appallingly brutal "caretaking" set the stage for Mike's later aggression, hatreds and anger. (Though I believe it was majorly reinforced by a stint at Parris Island - where they also brutalize people to "make them men" - before serving.).
Mike's authoritarian demons - like Hitler's (who was regularly beaten by his papa, Alois) set the stage for years of unsettled living, moving from place to place, including trailers - in Lake Panosofkee, FL, before he finally found his "authoritarian niche" - which is his KJV bible, and hyper-evangelicalism.
Of course, there is no convert like a newbe, and Mike - since his evangelical "conversion" (baptism, getting saved on the Lord JC) has been just that. So, we see him waging neverending war against the outgroups - Jews, Catholics, atheists, abortionists, Muslims, Mormons, etc. By all rights, his site ought to be listed along with the Christian Identity hate sites in the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Review. But, I imagine he doesn't make the cut because he has too few followers. The SPLC has bigger fish to fry!
Hornstein concludes his section on the authoritarian personality thus:
"Intolerant, prejudiced, authoritarian people are not at ease. The baggage of their youth is filled with inescapable hates and fears. Mistrusting their own impulses, they are waryof others and the impulses they might possess. Their world becomes a jungle which must be carefully scrutinized because it is filled with human beings who harbor the "evil" that they painfully learned to deny in themselves."
The part about denying the "evil in themselves" is especially pertinent and I am reminded here of an old Buddhist saying that Alan Watts mentions in his The Wisdom of Insecurity:
"Your goodness must have an edge to it"
Translated, it means no man- human can aspire to perfection, perfect goodness. Humans simply aren't designed like that - because we are innnately risen apes and not fallen angels. To try to posture goodness all the time inevitably leads to disaster and being outed - just look at all the politicos who've gone down in recent years-- from Elliot Spitzer, to John Edwards, to others. They attempted to embody and project more "goodness" (or righteousness, if you will) than they were capable of.
How does this apply to a guy like Mike? He needs to put his KJV down - grab some dvds from Blockbuster (or wherever) and watch some entertaining movies on the tube, or better: go out to the cinema. Take his whole family. He needs to forget the edicts, mandates and nonsense of his religion for a while, and also leave his keyboard alone.
If Mike eased up, he'd also ease up on himself and lessen the "intra-psychic" conflict that is clearly feeding his inner reptile brain. It might even be feasible for us to at least re-acquaint as brothers again, as opposed to being at each others' throats ad infinitum. Right now, however, his "beliefs" mean more to him than brotherhood, so be it. We continue.
Still, what we don't want is him becoming an evangelical version of Hitler, with a cross on his banner instead of the swastika!
Live and let live, Mike. And you may live longer too! (Because angry people are ten times more likely to get strokes and heart attacks!)
Mike whines:
'Phil , the atheist' : Der (atheist ) "Fuhrer" of today is no different than his idol , Adolf Hitler . The anti-Christ atheist maggots will do everything within Satan's power to not only silence Christians , but EXTERMINATE us !! Let's keep our armor of God always at the ready , my friends !"
Mike needs to take a deep breath and maybe some meds. (Paxil? Better, a psychotropic). He's clearly lost his mental ballast. If he thinks I am a "Fuhrer" he doesn't know the meaning of the word. According to The Webster's Encyclopedic Dictionary, der Fuhrer (der Fuerher, n.) is "the designation of the singular German leader (Adolf Hitler) identified not only as the one leader of Germany but with Germany itself (Vaterland)."
Now, since I don't live in Germany (been there a couple times: Waldbrol, Dissen, Bielefeld, the East German border near Allendorf) I've never lived there and never held any positions there, far less being a "leader" of even a scout troop. So, clearly Mikey has no conception of how he uses words, so why should we express surprise.
Now, note, instead of returning my takedown of his palsied responses with logical, rational arguments, all he can offer is spewing venom along the lines of atheists being "anti-Christ maggots". Interesting that he conveniently turns his judgmental eyes from the evangelical maggots who have recently:
1- Denounced the troops and praised their killings (in Iraq, Afghanistan) because the U.S. military allows gays to serve - though they still must remain in the closet.
Mikey can thank his evangelical crazy bro, Pastor Fred Phelps, of the Westboro Baptist church - who is evidently as batshit crazy as Mikey is.
2- Under a "Pastor Lively" - evangelicals have traveled to Uganda to stir up a prolonged hate campaign against gays there, forcing them into hiding. As shown on ABC News last night, the stirred up denizens are now so exercised (over the evangelicals' claims the "homos are after your kids" ) that they are ready to kill them all. The government of Uganda is also considering a new law that would allow the death penalty for gays. Looks like they want to return to the old biblical days for "justice".
There are your examples of what happens when the incipient hate of these sanctimonious maniacs goes unchecked- whether directed at gays, atheists, Catholics, or Muslims, or abortion doctors.
So, in truth, it's Pastor Mikey, Pastor Fred Phelps, Pastor Lively and their crew who more emulate Hitler (who recall, sought to exterminate gays, atheists, Jews - as well as gypsies, socialists and Communists). There wasn't an iota of tolerance for anyone, any group.
So, what we have here is really a case of THEM (evangelicals) wanting to "exterminate" all those who criticize their beliefs and bible. They are incapable of responding with cogent argument, so have to resort to epithets.
Mike claims we not only want to "silence Christians" but "exterminate them". Not at all. We welcome your lot saying all you want, just not in public where we have to hear it. In other words, feel free to protect your own.....from whatever Devil's wiles you perceive, in preventing abortions for your women - wives, daughters, but do NOT deign to extend your bloody reach to OUR women! You get that, pastor! Our women and their bodies are not YOUR concern! Their fetus' lives are not your issue, or righteous hobby horse! Nor your imaginary deity's!
We certainly have no wish to "exterminate" the evangelicals -or any other Christians, we just wish they'd keep a lower profile. We wish they'd stay out of the rest of the populations' business, and cease their infernal hate campaigns - against everyone not believing as they do.
Instead of delivering a temperate response, Mike goes right for the militancy again: "keep our armor ready"? FOR WHAT? We have no inclination to fight you all, but to try to get to the table of REASON and break bread. It seems you're incapable of that!
The Psychogenic Reasons for Evangelical Hatreds:
It would be remiss of me not to at least go into a little bit of the psycho-genic basis for the hatred on display from those like Pastor Mike or his brother in arms, Fred Phelps. We ask the question: Why this fiery hatred to all unilke them? Why this demonic-inspired fury when people simply question their belief system? What gives?
Harvey A. Hornstein provides some answers in his monograph: Cruelty & Kindness: A New Look At Aggression and Altruism, Prentice-Hall, 1976). Hornstein notes that the personality type characterizing those such as Adolf Hitler, was "authoritarian". As we shall see as we unearth its chcaracteristics, this also applies to Phelps and Mikey.
As he observes (p.40), the general attribute is:
"For authoritarians, the boundaries of "we and they", in group and outgroup are intolerantly and narrowly drawn. Mindful of every difference, they unsympathetically decided, 'mercy is for us, but not for them."
After citing a study by Gaertner (ibid.) showing that authoritarians are only likely to assist or help those like them in an emergency, he goes on to note (ibid.):
"Authoritarians are socially exclusive. Their prematurely definitive and harshly judgmental distinctions between ingroups and outgroups are fruitless attempts to resolve their own intra-psychic conflict. Their prejudice is an almost indelible aftermath of the quality of their childhood attachements to principal caretakers"
This is certainly germane to Pastor Mike (I can't speak for Fred Phelps or the Pastor Lively) because in his critical formative years (2-3 yrs. old) he had to be left at a day nursery on Palm Ave. in Hialeah, FL, in the care (unbeknownst to our parents then) of a brutal caretaker :Mrs. Crumley, if you can believe that name- almost Dickensian in tone. What this woman did to the child was just cause for a lawsuit(child battery), but lacking legal resources our parents punted. The best they could do was remove him from the Bluebird Nursery on discovering assorted welts.
Now, I'm not a psych major, but my theory is that this appallingly brutal "caretaking" set the stage for Mike's later aggression, hatreds and anger. (Though I believe it was majorly reinforced by a stint at Parris Island - where they also brutalize people to "make them men" - before serving.).
Mike's authoritarian demons - like Hitler's (who was regularly beaten by his papa, Alois) set the stage for years of unsettled living, moving from place to place, including trailers - in Lake Panosofkee, FL, before he finally found his "authoritarian niche" - which is his KJV bible, and hyper-evangelicalism.
Of course, there is no convert like a newbe, and Mike - since his evangelical "conversion" (baptism, getting saved on the Lord JC) has been just that. So, we see him waging neverending war against the outgroups - Jews, Catholics, atheists, abortionists, Muslims, Mormons, etc. By all rights, his site ought to be listed along with the Christian Identity hate sites in the Southern Poverty Law Center's Intelligence Review. But, I imagine he doesn't make the cut because he has too few followers. The SPLC has bigger fish to fry!
Hornstein concludes his section on the authoritarian personality thus:
"Intolerant, prejudiced, authoritarian people are not at ease. The baggage of their youth is filled with inescapable hates and fears. Mistrusting their own impulses, they are waryof others and the impulses they might possess. Their world becomes a jungle which must be carefully scrutinized because it is filled with human beings who harbor the "evil" that they painfully learned to deny in themselves."
The part about denying the "evil in themselves" is especially pertinent and I am reminded here of an old Buddhist saying that Alan Watts mentions in his The Wisdom of Insecurity:
"Your goodness must have an edge to it"
Translated, it means no man- human can aspire to perfection, perfect goodness. Humans simply aren't designed like that - because we are innnately risen apes and not fallen angels. To try to posture goodness all the time inevitably leads to disaster and being outed - just look at all the politicos who've gone down in recent years-- from Elliot Spitzer, to John Edwards, to others. They attempted to embody and project more "goodness" (or righteousness, if you will) than they were capable of.
How does this apply to a guy like Mike? He needs to put his KJV down - grab some dvds from Blockbuster (or wherever) and watch some entertaining movies on the tube, or better: go out to the cinema. Take his whole family. He needs to forget the edicts, mandates and nonsense of his religion for a while, and also leave his keyboard alone.
If Mike eased up, he'd also ease up on himself and lessen the "intra-psychic" conflict that is clearly feeding his inner reptile brain. It might even be feasible for us to at least re-acquaint as brothers again, as opposed to being at each others' throats ad infinitum. Right now, however, his "beliefs" mean more to him than brotherhood, so be it. We continue.
Still, what we don't want is him becoming an evangelical version of Hitler, with a cross on his banner instead of the swastika!
Live and let live, Mike. And you may live longer too! (Because angry people are ten times more likely to get strokes and heart attacks!)
Again, it's a waste of time countering this guy in any way especially personal. He will just come back with more animus and more tripe to drive his agenda which is hating everyone not in his particular flock.
ReplyDeleteThe best possible policy is to leave him to his own devices, especially if he's as damaged a person-human as you show. Certainly getting brutalized as a very young child is bound to have nasty repercussions on the personality whether it is an authoritarian one like Hitler's or not.
I look forward to no more Pastor Mike content and just getting back to more mindful items, like your series on complex numbers and astronomy questions answered!