There's that good ole biblical scrub brush, trying to remove logic and free-thought from the minds of the faithful. And it seems to work pretty well, especially on the uneducated and the young, as evidenced by the video you are about to see.
My hilarious co-worker Mia (who made me the amazing Teddy Z) sent me this video, knowing I would find it both hysterically funny and deeply disturbing at the same time. It was uploaded to YouTube this past April, but imagine it was made in the mid 90's, when every white kid wanted to be Eminem (even the one's who weren't allowed to swear or rap about stuffing their girlfriends into the trunk of car and driving it off a bridge). Enjoy (if that's the right word) "Nu Thang" as performed by a talentless young man who no doubt rues the day this thang went viral:
My favorite comment on YouTube? "This may be the strongest argument that there is no God." For Uncle P, it's the strongest argument against making kids go to church for hours on end and screaming Bible verses and tales of damnation at them until there are so filled with the "Holy Spirit" they produce crap like that video. I think going to church should be like drinking alcohol; no one under the age of 21 allowed. Kids' brains are mush, ready to believe whatever crap you throw at them: Santa Claus; the Easter Bunny; the Tooth Fairy and an invisible omniscient being who rules the Universe and demands your devotion and obeisance without a shred of proof of his existence.
Of course, the most egregious example of these techniques are used against LGBTQ kids whose parents can't believe their loins may have produced something their own brainwashing has convinced them is EVIL... These poor kids are forced to attend mental laundromats where they are supposedly 'cured' of being gay. And there's a new documentary about such so-called "Ex-Gay" ministries. This Is What Love in Action Looks Like will premiere at the San Francisco LGBT Film Festival this June (via). It tells the story of Zach, who at the age of 16, was sent to just such a camp by his parents in 2005.
These people make me so angry. Despite the fact the American Psychiatric Association removed homosexuality from their list of mental disorders over 40 years ago, these nut jobs think LGBT kids can "pray the gay away." Reputable psychologists and psychiatrists all agree that these programs do much more harm than good and that a person's sexuality is no more changeable than a shark's need to feed.
Okay - I'll admit I've been on an anti-religion kick of late. But these jerks just make me so crazy with their ignorance, fear and hate disguised as "the love of Jesus." I need a palate cleanser. I know - how about 1999's But I'm a Cheerleader starring Natasha Lyonne; Michelle Williams; Bud Cort; Mink Stole; Clea Duvall; Melanie Lynsky; Eddie Cibrian; RuPaul; Julie Delpy and the amazing Cathy Moriarity in a veritable Who's Who of Indy Film actors.
There. That's better.
More, anon.
Prospero
