“Crusaders” aren’t Christian, we shouldn’t assume—
Just assholes, I’m willing to bet.
They’ve gathered, opposing an atheist girl,
Just people, like many you’ve met.
There’s nothing that hints at some fault of religion—
They’re clearly not frightened of sin—
Their horrible thoughts did not come from the bible
(The odds are, they came from within)
Their words are their own; there’s no need to excuse them;
A threat is a threat is a threat;
These moron “crusaders” are still in the hunt
For “the most clueless idiots yet”
A handwritten letter; a personal screed,
Which the cops will examine for clues…
You threaten, you bully, you menace, you prod…
And of course, in the long run… you lose.
(bit–or more than a bit–of a rant, following…)
For the present, at least, Hemant has a copy of the letter that was sent to Jessica Ahlquist. If it doesn’t work, that might be intentional. Last time I checked, Jessica’s own twitter account had deleted (I think–might have just been a glitch) the letter she got. On the chance that Jessica herself is deleting references to it, I will not reproduce it here.
Bottom line is… idiots are threatening Jessica Ahlquist. I’d say “again”, but my suspicion is that “still” is more apt. I join with others in hoping she has turned over all messages (email, post, tweet, carrier pigeon, whatever) to the authorities. Hemant (at least at present) warns us:
Keep in mind we don’t know who sent it. There’s no evidence it was a Christian.
Which is, oddly, doubly true. First, we have no direct evidence that the writers, who referred to themselves as “crusaders”, meant that to be a christian identity. Secondly, I suspect that a great many christians will immediately distance themselves from whatever these particular perps label themselves as. Certainly they are unlikely to be “true” Christians, with all that salt on their porridge.
So, yeah, whoever wrote that letter is clearly not a true christian. Unless and until this person identifies him or herself, we have no reason to assume it is a christian at all. Seriously. No, really. Cos non-christians have tons of reasons to threaten Jessica. Which I will think of in just a bit…
I’d rather say that no, “crusaders” are, in fact, Christian. They’re the Christians that other Christians should be publicly holding accountable if they want Christianity to have a reputation better than…well, crusaderdom.
I just hope that Ms. Ahlquist ends up being brilliant in whatever field she goes into, just to spite the douchecanoes. I also hope that I’ll end up working with her; and given the breadth of my specialty (nominally a physics specialty, but unavoidably related to chemistry, biology, and medicine, and usefully linked to anthropology, psychology, sociology, statistics, math, etc.), it’s not an unreasonable hope.
Three cheers for the next generation of free thinkers — Noli nothis permittere te terere!
Sean Faircloth had this up for a short time on his FB page, since taken down. The following may have some influence:
“I just mentioned on another thread where somebody posted this letter, that after learning a lot about the process about threats i’ve gotten, reposting them is probably the worst thing to do. I was told by the cops and lawyers that it could undermine any case as it could be seen as engaging. Besides that, the person that wrote this letter is probably getting off on the fact that it’s being reposted.”
Fuck them all, indeed.
Hemant. Hemant has been bitten recently, so he’s playin’ it ultrasafe now. Could be accomofaitheists or irritated white dudes play-acting at being Native Americans for purposes of disguise.
I was about to write a bit of a rant myself, about the “No True
ChristianScotsman” fallacy, then I finished reading your rant and saw that you already got it.“Certainly they are unlikely to be ‘true’ Christians, with all that salt on their porridge.” Brilliant line.
It is a shame what is being done to this girl. While technically, there is no “proof” that the letter came from a Christian, there would sadly be motive. It has been Christians that have been attacking her in the past. There is little reason to doubt that it this time it is not.
What should happen is her local Christian leaders should come out and condemn this kind of behavior. Perhaps even national Christian leaders could do the same? nah, that won’t happen, they will hide behind the “we don’t a Christian sent the letter” thing…
Threatening a teenage girl. For Jesus.
I pride myself on my vocabulary. But I honestly don’t know a word that can describe how loathsome this person is. And anyone who agrees with him.
Thank the dog for Miss Ahlquist herself. Her courage and class throughout this whole affair have been an example of the best in human behavior, providing a desperately needed contrast to her vicious, cowardly attackers, who often do not even have the balls to sign their own names.
If a sixteen year old girl can stand up to such scum, then everyone of us damn well better too. However we can. Attend a rally. Join a local activist group. Write your congressman. Send money and support to organizations fighting such bigoted hatred. Anything and everything to make it clear that this world does not, does not, *will* not belong to these hateful people. We owe it to Miss Ahlquist. We owe it to our country. We owe it to ourselves.
Yeah, it’s always the same bullshit. A Christian does something horrible, and all the other Christians, instead of condemning him publicly, just brush it off with a casual, “Oh, that’s not a REAL Christian.” I am sick of it.