The Year Of Medieval Thinking

Medieval Thinking

Pro tip: only the uneducated thought that the Earth was flat in the Middle Ages. Wonder what future generations–should they so exist–will have to say about who the truly uneducated within today’s society are.

Email

The Kids Who Flee Abusive, Isolated Christian Homes

Fundamentalist Christians

The Article: Escape from Christian Fundamentalism – the Kids Who Flee Abusive, Isolated Christian Homes by Kathryn Joyce in AlterNet.

The Text: At 10 P.M.on a Sunday night in May, Lauren and John,* a young couple in the Washington, D.C., area, started an emergency 14-hour drive to the state where Lauren grew up in a strict fundamentalist household. Earlier that day, Laurenā€™s younger sister, Jennifer, who had recently graduated from homeschooling high school, had called her in tears: ā€œI need you to get me out of this place.ā€ The day, Jennifer said, had started with another fight with her parents, after she declined to sing hymns in church. Her slight speech impediment made her self-conscious about singing in public, but to her parents, her refusal to sing or recite scripture was more evidence that she wasnā€™t saved. It didnā€™t help that she was a vegan animal-rights enthusiast.

After the family returned home from church, Jenniferā€™s parents discovered that she had recently been posting about animal rights on Facebook, which they had forbidden. They took away Jenniferā€™s graduation presents and computer, she told Lauren. More disturbing, they said that if she didnā€™t eat meat for dinner sheā€™d wake up to find one of the pets she babied gone.

To most people, it would have sounded like overreaction to innocuous forms of teenage rebellion. But Lauren, whoā€™d cut ties with her family the previous year, knew it was more. The sisters grew up, with two brothers, in a family that was almost completely isolated, they say, held captive by their motherā€™s extreme anxiety and explosive anger. ā€œI was basically raised by someone with a mental disorder and told you have to obey her or Godā€™s going to send you to hell,ā€ Lauren says. ā€œHer anxiety disorder meant that she had to control every little thing, and homeschooling and her religious beliefs gave her the justification for it.ā€

Continue Reading

Email

Conservative Pundit Admits That Republicans Lie To Each Other, Others

Liberal talk show host Chris Hayes asked conservative pundit Ben Domenech on when he decided that he would stop being lied to by conservative leadership. His response? It’s not just grassroots conservative organizations that GOP big wigs intentionally mislead–it’s each other. But isn’t this the nature of politics in general?

Email

Kurt Vonnegut On True “Terror”

Vonnegut Terror

Amen.

Email

Europe’s Most Racist Christmas Tradition

Sinterklaas

The Article: Europe’s Most Racist Christmas Tradition by Sophie McBain in The New Republic.

The Text: y mother is from Holland and so, like every Dutch child, I celebratedSinterklaas every year. According to Dutch tradition, Sinterklaas, or Saint Nicholas, arrives in the Netherlands from Spain each November for a visit that culminates in him delivering sweets and presents to well-behaved children on the night of 5 December. This year, Sinterklaas has sparked a debate so fierce that even the UN has become involved.

At the root of the controversy are Sinterklaasā€™s helpers, called the Zwarte Pieten, or Black Petes. ā€œAnd do you know why Zwarte Piet is black?ā€ I remember my grandma asking me. ā€œItā€™s because he comes down the chimney to bring you your presents.ā€ This is the story told to most children in Holland, but Zwarte Piet isnā€™t smeared with soot like Dick Van Dyke after a long day on set. His whole face is painted black and he has thick, painted-on lips, a black curly wig and thick gold hoop earrings.

Continue Reading

Email

Hot On The Web