I hate stereotyping

 In response to the Islamophobic comments to this article.

I'm sorry. But why the heck does EVERYONE insist on grouping EVERYONE into categories that they don't belong in?!?! I personally think that 90% of the people who bother to comment on this rubbish news site are ignorant homophobic bigots who never leave their 5 acre farm and insist that their wives and female children wear skirts at all times and can't read anything other than the Bible. But no. I know enough females that choose to only wear skirts, enough people who live on farms, enough people who are opinionated to fall into my own trap. Why must we propagate the ignorance? Instead let's treat individuals as they really are.

How many Christian groups promote intolerance? I can give you 2 that have done something news worth in the past year: Dove World Outreach Center in FL and Westboro Baptist Church in KS. Does that mean that we should think all Apostolic and Baptist Churches are centers of intolerance? No. Heck. You know what the problem with the Christian faith is? It's that there is so much schism that you CAN'T group them all together. Why do people have fuel to hate the Catholics? Because you can go into any Catholic church and hear the same sermons. But that's not what makes a church it's own body. The Catholics use the same Bible as the Protestants and the Mormons and ALL those people who believe in Christ. Unless they are the group that thinks that only the KJV is correct which means that those people will want to kill me. And those folks over there who say that Catholics worship the Devil, Mary, Saints as equal to Jesus (take your pick)--I'm on their hit list too. There is no such thing as the Christian faith, because no one wants to admit to it because then you have to include "all of them". Poor Muslims for having a unified faith. Because then no one believes you when you say "that person is crazy--he doesn't really believe in what I believe". I guess that's what happens when your god doesn't allow for division. Oh wait. Doesn't it say somewhere in the bible that the Church (god's church, not a building) cannot be divided? OOPS...someone broke the rule.

If a church with only 50 members has a website, you can be sure that those with 100 have them too. Yup--the church I used to go to (Catholic--you can see that I'm biased) even has a website. Look them up. How many can you find with racist (pick your definition: religion, country of origin, etc) underpinnings. If they aren't bold enough, look for those groups to know to be racist (see above) and see what kind of faith they support. Neo-Nazis attack a number of races "and people with different political or religious opinions"--from Wikipedia. See--there's some "Christian" church out there with people who use their faith as some basis of their bigotry. Why Christian? Because they hate everyone else (see the community approved list.

What does it mean to have a religious community? Why is it that individuals walk into and out of churches of supposedly the same denomination and can only find one that they can actually agree with? As a former Catholic, I have to say that I don't agree with some fathers who think gays are unholy sinners, and to have one's tubes tied is a sentence to life in Hell. Actually, the priests who have had the longest tenures at my church were of a more moderate belief. To live in love free of lies is more holy than lying and cheating to protect against a fate that God gave you. To sentence your children to suffer in a life in which you had them but cannot pay for their well being is a similar sin. I know that this is the same difference you find in your own churches. I know that there has been some time that whatever denomination you are, you have seen a church of the same which you just think are a bunch of crazy nuts--either too liberal or too conservative. The Anglican church is splitting as we speak.

Christians have this luxury--to say "they aren't of my faith". We don't extend this luxury to those of other denominations. To the mainstream American, a Jew is a Jew and who cares if he's orthodox or non, kosher or not. A Buddhist is a Buddhist, etc. The same is true of the Muslims--are they Sunni or Shiite? Do we care? And why do we? At the end of the day we are all individuals with our own beliefs characterized by our own experiences. Why do the radicals attack? Is it because they've heard the snide remarks? The FL pastor didn't want to believe that his burning of the Qur'an caused violent protests in the middle east. All actions have reactions. Why do we only pay attention when the story turns violent and claim "we didn't see it coming"? Columbine, VA Tech, 9-11, that guy who killed a security guard at the Holocaust Museum, Ft Hood, that guy who just killed 6 people this morning when his eggs were cold because that was the last straw. How often is the newsworthy story that "last straw"? What really are the causes behind the effects? Again, do we care? At what point will YOU attack someone? When does it quit having viable causes and becomes merely a matter of insanity--drowning your 5 children, microwaving your newborn, etc.

And one last thing, I promise. How many truly evil people have hidden their intentions behind benign faces?