Off topic - skip over
>>hyper-religious" ?????<<
It was a bit of hyperbole. I say that wherever you go, people can be pretty much alike. If you make substitutions for certain phrases you could, e.g., probably have gone to a Young Pioneers meeting in the old U.S.S.R. and think you're almost in a Baptist youth group, except the flags displayed and certain rhetoric. I heard a Christian radio program that was amazingly erotic the other day. It talked about Jesus being in you, First and Second Comings, bride grooms, 1000 years of glory (the Buddhists have 1000 years of climax), and was given in a sensual husband and wife relationship setting.
An progressive atheistic organization can be just as dogmatic as what is typically ascribed to religious organizations. Some things must not be said; some actions must not be thought of, let alone done. Some Earth Firsters believe passionately enough in their agenda to almost martor themselves for the cause (put themselves in harm's way), and play heavily on morality themes to sway opinion. Sounds similiar to some Christian, Jewish, or Muslim historical themes. Emmo's strategy towards a perceived racist remark was to use righteous indignation to make Pallsard feel what? Sorrowful, sinful, scorned, subhuman? I'm just saying that this tactic has been used by religions too, like shunning and excommunication, and has been sometimes associated with them. |
