| General Non-Fiction posted January 29, 2016 |
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Close to home, close to the bone...
Disciples of Hate
by kiwisteveh
I don't write much prose. This is my first piece for the year. I am stirred up to write by a posting I have read here on FanStory this morning, and most of all by the startling responses to it.
The post I am referring to is little more than a xenophobic tirade, ending with a particularly vivid and violent (if somewhat bizarre) image of suggested punishment for those intolerable people who don't happen to have the good fortune to be citizens of the USA.
The piece is confronting and somewhat disturbing in its virulence, but probably no more so than the rants of Donald Trump on a similar theme. The ending would be laughable, if it were not for the obvious hatred that inspired it. It is divisive, angry and hate-fuelled.
Could this be satire, like Jonathan Swift's famous 'Modest Proposal'? (He suggested that the poor in Ireland should sell their babies to be eaten, thus, at a stroke, boosting the economy AND providing extra food in a time of hardship AND reducing over-population.) Nope, no sign that this is anything other than the author's genuine feelings.
I am a tolerant man. I can accept that people have radically different views from my own. I am startled by the following Trump has acquired, but not totally amazed. A recurring question is 'Where on earth do these people come from?' Now, I have some sort of an answer - they are close to home.
I violently disagree with the tone and the message of the piece, but I grant that the writer has a right to post it. What staggers me is the response of reviewers. Nearly to a man, they support the ideas behind the piece. Many applaud the writer for the bold stand. A few go even further to disparage the religion and culture the author is attacking. Some, incredibly, seek to lay a cloak of Christianity upon their prejudice and mistrust. Love your neighbour as long as he is far away. Whatever you do, do not allow him to enter our country. Put up the 'Full House' sign. Let's punish them for the wickedness of their kind. Funny, I don't recall Jesus saying any of those things.
It is a lovely day today. I sit here in comfort, looking out at a sun-soaked rural scene. The birds are singing in the trees visible from my window and a gentle breeze keeps me cool. I am curiously depressed.
********
For the record, I have no religious beliefs, nor do I ascribe to any supreme being. Religious faith is a wonderful thing when practised according to the tenets of love and good will towards our fellow men. Alas, too often it is a vehicle for some of the fouler things in our world, arrogance, prejudice and the unshakeable conviction that our way is the only right way.
I don't write much prose. This is my first piece for the year. I am stirred up to write by a posting I have read here on FanStory this morning, and most of all by the startling responses to it.
The post I am referring to is little more than a xenophobic tirade, ending with a particularly vivid and violent (if somewhat bizarre) image of suggested punishment for those intolerable people who don't happen to have the good fortune to be citizens of the USA.
The piece is confronting and somewhat disturbing in its virulence, but probably no more so than the rants of Donald Trump on a similar theme. The ending would be laughable, if it were not for the obvious hatred that inspired it. It is divisive, angry and hate-fuelled.
Could this be satire, like Jonathan Swift's famous 'Modest Proposal'? (He suggested that the poor in Ireland should sell their babies to be eaten, thus, at a stroke, boosting the economy AND providing extra food in a time of hardship AND reducing over-population.) Nope, no sign that this is anything other than the author's genuine feelings.
I am a tolerant man. I can accept that people have radically different views from my own. I am startled by the following Trump has acquired, but not totally amazed. A recurring question is 'Where on earth do these people come from?' Now, I have some sort of an answer - they are close to home.
I violently disagree with the tone and the message of the piece, but I grant that the writer has a right to post it. What staggers me is the response of reviewers. Nearly to a man, they support the ideas behind the piece. Many applaud the writer for the bold stand. A few go even further to disparage the religion and culture the author is attacking. Some, incredibly, seek to lay a cloak of Christianity upon their prejudice and mistrust. Love your neighbour as long as he is far away. Whatever you do, do not allow him to enter our country. Put up the 'Full House' sign. Let's punish them for the wickedness of their kind. Funny, I don't recall Jesus saying any of those things.
It is a lovely day today. I sit here in comfort, looking out at a sun-soaked rural scene. The birds are singing in the trees visible from my window and a gentle breeze keeps me cool. I am curiously depressed.
For the record, I have no religious beliefs, nor do I ascribe to any supreme being. Religious faith is a wonderful thing when practised according to the tenets of love and good will towards our fellow men. Alas, too often it is a vehicle for some of the fouler things in our world, arrogance, prejudice and the unshakeable conviction that our way is the only right way.
The post I am referring to is little more than a xenophobic tirade, ending with a particularly vivid and violent (if somewhat bizarre) image of suggested punishment for those intolerable people who don't happen to have the good fortune to be citizens of the USA.
The piece is confronting and somewhat disturbing in its virulence, but probably no more so than the rants of Donald Trump on a similar theme. The ending would be laughable, if it were not for the obvious hatred that inspired it. It is divisive, angry and hate-fuelled.
Could this be satire, like Jonathan Swift's famous 'Modest Proposal'? (He suggested that the poor in Ireland should sell their babies to be eaten, thus, at a stroke, boosting the economy AND providing extra food in a time of hardship AND reducing over-population.) Nope, no sign that this is anything other than the author's genuine feelings.
I am a tolerant man. I can accept that people have radically different views from my own. I am startled by the following Trump has acquired, but not totally amazed. A recurring question is 'Where on earth do these people come from?' Now, I have some sort of an answer - they are close to home.
I violently disagree with the tone and the message of the piece, but I grant that the writer has a right to post it. What staggers me is the response of reviewers. Nearly to a man, they support the ideas behind the piece. Many applaud the writer for the bold stand. A few go even further to disparage the religion and culture the author is attacking. Some, incredibly, seek to lay a cloak of Christianity upon their prejudice and mistrust. Love your neighbour as long as he is far away. Whatever you do, do not allow him to enter our country. Put up the 'Full House' sign. Let's punish them for the wickedness of their kind. Funny, I don't recall Jesus saying any of those things.
It is a lovely day today. I sit here in comfort, looking out at a sun-soaked rural scene. The birds are singing in the trees visible from my window and a gentle breeze keeps me cool. I am curiously depressed.
********
For the record, I have no religious beliefs, nor do I ascribe to any supreme being. Religious faith is a wonderful thing when practised according to the tenets of love and good will towards our fellow men. Alas, too often it is a vehicle for some of the fouler things in our world, arrogance, prejudice and the unshakeable conviction that our way is the only right way.
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