Posts by GrreatTeacher

11

Boy, 7, taken away from his parents. Judge rules he has been damaged by his Jehovah's Witness mother's religious beliefs

by snugglebunny in

i guess that's what a cult upbringing does to a child:.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3092457/boy-7-taken-away-parents-judge-rules-damaged-jehovah-s-witness-mother-s-religious-beliefs.html.

GrreatTeacher

Malachi, just letting you know that judges in the US do not wear wigs.

There's much I could've commented on, but I've decided to stop there.

65

Richard Dawkins espouses Militant Atheism: "Mock them, Ridicule them." Attack Religious People with Insults!

by MagicMItchJensen in

richard dawkins has said frequently if we don't agree with religious or spiritual people we need to "insult them!

" tell their their out of their "fucking gourds!

" and make sure you really show them how stupid they are for believing in something they can't prove!".

GrreatTeacher

Cantleave, yes, I would agree that I'm not agnostic regarding logic because it's in a completely different category than religious belief.

Logic can be used to dismantle many different statements or beliefs other than just religious ones.

Rationalism is not a religion. It's a way to test reality.

81

The incredibly white NAACP leader

by Simon in

this is a bizarre story.. there is a woman who is the local leader of the naacp who is obviously trying to mislead people into believing she is black who is actually white.

very white.. she obviously gets a tan regularly but looks more orange.

yes, orange really is the new black!.

Yeah, I wonder. You can't be given a job or denied a job based on your race. But, yet companies track the race of their employees in order to prove to the Equal Opportunity Employment Commission that they are not discrimnatory. So, her employer knows her racial makeup (she claimed black, white and native) but cannot hire her nor fire her for strictly racial reasons.

But, they might be able to fire her for lying on her application

20

A Hummingbird in My House

by Oubliette in

we just had a hummingbird in our house!

it flew in through an open door.

i had been cleaning my back patio and left the screen open for a few moments when i was putting stuff away.

GrreatTeacher

We have gorgeous irridescent green ones around. Kind of rare, but what a precious sight. They show up when my gladiolias bloom.

Once had a bat fly down the chimney into the house, but that was nowhere near as exciting I'm sure...

65

Richard Dawkins espouses Militant Atheism: "Mock them, Ridicule them." Attack Religious People with Insults!

by MagicMItchJensen in

richard dawkins has said frequently if we don't agree with religious or spiritual people we need to "insult them!

" tell their their out of their "fucking gourds!

" and make sure you really show them how stupid they are for believing in something they can't prove!".

GrreatTeacher

Good point, truthseeker. What's common sense to one person might not necessarily be so for another.

81

The incredibly white NAACP leader

by Simon in

this is a bizarre story.. there is a woman who is the local leader of the naacp who is obviously trying to mislead people into believing she is black who is actually white.

very white.. she obviously gets a tan regularly but looks more orange.

yes, orange really is the new black!.

GrreatTeacher

I doubt there is a crime here. I find it interesting. There seems to be some kind of backstory going on that no one can figure out.

Acting as if you're a member of another race is common. But showing pictures of people who are obviously of another race and claiming them as your own to bolster your racial identity is deceptive. It's flat out lying about who you are. Not illegal, but something weird is going on there. If I had a friend who showed me fake pictures of a father and a son who I found out were not really hers, I'd drop her like a hot potato because of her dishonesty both because it's simply unethical and also because it seems mentally ill.

65

Richard Dawkins espouses Militant Atheism: "Mock them, Ridicule them." Attack Religious People with Insults!

by MagicMItchJensen in

richard dawkins has said frequently if we don't agree with religious or spiritual people we need to "insult them!

" tell their their out of their "fucking gourds!

" and make sure you really show them how stupid they are for believing in something they can't prove!".

GrreatTeacher

No one is asking anyone to believe in atheism because Dawkins said so. It's a conclusion many have come to after considering much evidence from many sources.

Dawkins doesn't do anything for you? Great! You've still got to do your homework; what evidence do you have for a god?

81

The incredibly white NAACP leader

by Simon in

this is a bizarre story.. there is a woman who is the local leader of the naacp who is obviously trying to mislead people into believing she is black who is actually white.

very white.. she obviously gets a tan regularly but looks more orange.

yes, orange really is the new black!.

GrreatTeacher

I get the feeling she has some sort of mental issues. She's not just been appropriating black style and culture; she's been chronically lying about it. She claims a black man is her father. I've heard she's been pretending one of her adopted brothers is her son. She's fictitiously created her black "family" so her race won't be questioned. This seems pathological.

Just a hunch, but with a name like Rachel and brothers with the names of Ezra and Isaiah, I'll bet this was a screwed up fundamentalist family. Adopting the younger children fits the pattern. I've seen a picture of her that looks as if she's wearing an old fashioned dress. I'll bet she is estranged from her parents for that reason. She grew up in a screwed up religious family and was mentally scarred by it. Another religious fatality.

90

After 2 years my parents make contact. The end result is that I promise them to cryogenically preserve ONLY their heads

by paulmolark in

it has been 2 and a half years since my departure from the religion.

i was told by my parents from the start that i would never speak to them until i returned to jehovah dog.

a few months later they told people they hoped i died before the end came, then all of this culminating in them telling my inactive / fading sister that they don't consider me a child anymore and they have given me up to satan.

GrreatTeacher

Religion is my mother's drug of choice when she self-medicates the pain of her psychiatric condition that remains undiagnosed because she has convinced her doctor that she only has chronic depression.

I'm sure this doctor has never heard the more sordid parts of my mother's story. I'm sure the doctor has no idea about the cult she's involved in either.

I'm betting on borderline personality disorder combined with features of narcicism. Also, possibly bipolar disorder because when patients get manic, one of the symptoms can be hyperreligiosity.

But, no, no, she has taken care of her mental health issues by seeing a psychiatrist who has diagnosed her simply with depression. So, she's all good, thank you. But, more importantly, let's talk to you daughter about your serious bipolar disorder diagnosis and all the medication you have to take to stay healthy. Such a shame, but it runs in the family, you know.

Notice the complete lack of self blame for raising me in a toxic environment that likely set off whatever genetic predispisition I might have had. So, of course, there's no more work for her to do with a therapist because there's nothing wrong with her other than a touch of genetic depression.

God only knows the omissions and lies and self-deceit involved in her doctor's visits.

Frustrating because I've had to work very hard, for years for my sanity. And, I'm the one to be pitied?

It's the smugness that drives me crazy. The attitude that Mom's got her life together, but daughter doesn't. Infuriating.

Sorry to take over the thread, Paul. It just brings up so many bad memories of similar bad behavior on the part of my mother, with the religion enabling them.

I just know that I wont tolerate bad behavior from her anymore, and I'm glad that you're not, either.

90

After 2 years my parents make contact. The end result is that I promise them to cryogenically preserve ONLY their heads

by paulmolark in

it has been 2 and a half years since my departure from the religion.

i was told by my parents from the start that i would never speak to them until i returned to jehovah dog.

a few months later they told people they hoped i died before the end came, then all of this culminating in them telling my inactive / fading sister that they don't consider me a child anymore and they have given me up to satan.

GrreatTeacher

Yeah, because there were times my mother could be wonderful. We took many wonderful vacations. When we were small, we were like props to her play.

When we became teenagers and she couldnt control us any more she got nastier. She told us she didn't like teenagers. Well, developmentally, teenagers start to separate from their parents and, as a narcissist, my mom thought every person in her life is there for her benefit.

So, the act of growing up felt like a betrayal to her. And she treated us resentfully, trying to keep every last piece of control she could. She actually denied me a razor when I started growing hair under my arms. Because she wasn't ready for it.

Oh, the crazy, so much crazy!