Tuesday, July 15, 2008

Analogies

I've run across some good ones in the various comments I've seen.

One (I'm paraphrasing): What if Myers wrapped copies of the Koran in bacon, covered them in chocolate, put them on sticks, and sold them at the county fair? Would he keep his job?

Several from here:

I am puzzled as to why professor Whatsit is making such a big deal out of what is to him, admittedly only a cracker. I don’t know a lot of people who would be so single-mindedly obsessed with, say, eating a cheeseburger at a PETA meeting, or going out of their way to eat pork in front of a group of orthodox Jews.

The action is calculated to offend. That is all. It advances no argument and illustrates no point. It’s just a big “F*** you” to Catholics. Please don’t try to paint that as somehow courageous. It’s as courageous as sucker-punching Gandhi.

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I will challenge Professor Myers to the following: instead of desecrating the communion wafer, I challenge you to desecrate the Jewish seder dinner. Invite the president of your university and the Board of Governors to your “Desecration of the Seder” dinner, and see how long you keep your tenure at the university where you teach.

Of course, the point is not to give other ideas for desecration, but to illustrate what is the essence of what is being incited against Catholics. For some reason, and I suppose it must be because Catholicism is the Truth, it is very hard for most "tolerant" people to see this (although I suspect that if Myers could come up with some similar outrage against any other Christian group, the same dynamic would apply). What is totally obvious in any other context somehow becomes invisible in this instance. It is a fascinating blind spot.

1 comment:

K T Cat said...

I think you've hit upon a terrific party game. See who can come up with the most complicated desecration plan for PZ Myers to execute. I love your Koran on a stick one, but I'm thinking more along the lines of insulting Buddhist, Inuit lesbians...