Pro-life video of the day: Never-ending gang violence in Chicago
by LauraLoo
I’d like to share something weighing heavy on my heart.
I cannot get used to hearing about gang violence resulting in daily injuries or murders in Chicago. Just several days ago this particular murder occurred. Three teens allegedly were playing a game called “pick ’em out and knock ’em out” when Malik Jones punched Delfino Mora, 62, in his jaw, sending Mora to the ground. The back of his head was cracked by concrete and he died. Delfino leaves behind a wife of more than 40 years and 12 children:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4G8fLWN99wI[/youtube]
What is the solution to solving the violence in Chicago when we have perpetrators who have no respect for the sanctity of human life – not just others’ lives but their own lives? Add to this problem the Chicago Police Department, which does not have enough ”beat on the street” due to budget constraints. This year, as compared to 2011, the murder rate in Chicago is up 39%.
Your thoughts? Also, please pray for the end to this senseless violence.
Email dailyvid@jillstanek.com with your video suggestions.
Jill Stanek is a nurse turned speaker, columnist and blogger, a national figure in the effort to protect both preborn and postborn innocent human life.
Things are not well in Obamaland.
My thoughts are that we have taken God out of our homes and our schools. We have laughed and mocked the idea that all human beings are created in the image of God and have certain rights given to them by the Creator. We legalized the slaughter of humans at their most defenseless stage of life and are moving on to other defenseless humans (Terri Schaivo etc…) and then we act surprised when kids act violent. Why shouldn’t they? We’ve taught them that they came from animals, are animals and need not, CANNOT control themselves. We’ve taught them that their wants and desires are paramount and all other people and concerns are secondary if important at all. We’ve taught them that when they die, thats it. They’re dead. There is no God to answer to. There is no right, no wrong. Morality is subjective and you can set your own rules.
And so we see a coarsening of the culture. And it is a really scary thing to watch.
Others may disagree with my assessment but as a Christian I see this clearly spelled out in God’s Word. He already predicted this. 2 Timothy 3
I don’t know the “solution” to gang violence. All I know is, respect begins at home. Many(most ?) of these gang members come from single parent homes, with no father in the picture. Meaning that their fathers didn’t have enough RESPECT for their mothers to marry them before they started having children, and their mothers didn’t have enough respect for THEMSELVES to wait for marriage before having children.
When a child grows up knowing that his/her own parent didn’t think enough of them to stick around, they grow up full of anger, resentment, and low self-esteem. In some cases, the mothers take their resentment at being “abandoned” out on the children, not necessarily by outright ABUSE, but the child grows up being made to feel like a “burden” on the mother.
I just think more people need to be taught to have RESPECT for themselves AND others. Lead by example. Children don’t automatically know how to respect- it has to be TAUGHT. If you don’t respect yourself, how can you teach your child respect?
Anyway, that’s my “two cents”.
“Bloodshed follows bloodshed and God has declared His own state of emergency. If you sow bloodshed in the womb you will reap bloodshed in the streets. There is but one King and His Name is Jesus and every knee will bow before Him!” Rev Flip Benham, National Director, Operation Save America
Obviously the solution is to ban abortion so that more people who have a statistically higher likelihood of engaging in violent crime and gang activity will be born.
Don’t look now, joanie, but your eugenic skirts are showing.
The problem here is the breakdown of the family and absent fathers. I wish I knew the solution for that. We are a broken people.
Pamela and Kel, you nailed it on the head. Much gang violence and many abortions have roots in the same problem — fatherless homes that teach neither respect for others nor self-respect.
I don’t know the solution either, there isn’t really a solution as far as I can see. I agree about the home lives. I don’t agree evolution has anything to do with it lol. I do know that if there could be somewhere for these kids to go where they get the same thing that they get out of the gangs, we might be able to keep.some of them from joining up. Most of them didn’t join to commit terrible crimes. They joined for solidarity, loyalty, caring, a form of safety all the stuff that is missing at home. And no one seems to be finding a healthy way to fulfill those needs for these kids. They aren’t all bad people, they got lost really young. And plus, older gang members look for young people to sell drugs because the penalties are less for minors if they get caught, and the kids will do it cheaper. That’s how I ended up running drugs so young. So making it less of an incentive for older members to get kids to join up, by changing drug laws, that might help.
“…people who have a statistically higher likelihood of engaging in violent crime and gang activity”
Margaret Sanger isn’t dead! She still categorizes people and comments on this site to “assist the race toward the elimination of the unfit.”
Another great Letter to the Editor at 12:58 p.m. (:
Joan,
Since your side didn’t kill them when they had the chance…..
Perhaps a late, late, late, later, latest term abortion for some of these perps??
“Any country that accepts abortion, is not teaching its people to love, but to use any violence to get what it wants.” Mother Teresa
Social identification with the victims rather than with the perpetrators is what leads people to NOT commit cruel and brutal acts proposed to them by others.
Research on the topic just released today:
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/afps-sin071812.php
This might also explain why having a baby (social identification with the pre-born) leads one to reject abortion.
But joan, I thought the inner-city abortion rate was ALREADY higher than average! Shouldn’t all the criminals have already been killed in abortions?! HOW CAN THIS BE HAPPENING?!
Increasing our cultures’ social identification with victims of violence is a basic avenue of the pro-life movement. During the last 40 years the pro-life movement has made a lot of gains by various methods of promoting the pre-born as full and valuable members of our shared society. Having a heart for widows, orphans, single parents and the pre-born reaps long term rewards for the spreading of the gospel of life when having a heart is what motivates our actions.
Failure to create a culture that has true social empathy results in people doing the kind of things going on in the streets of Chicago and across America.
“Joan,
Since your side didn’t kill them when they had the chance…..
Perhaps a late, late, late, later, latest term abortion for some of these perps??”
My “side” doesn’t kill anyone, Carla. Individuals, not “sides”, have abortions. I know you’re not much for individuals accepting responsibility for their own actions though.
Also, a “late, late, late, later, latest term abortion” sort of sounds like the death penalty. In political terms, who is more likely to support that?
“But joan, I thought the inner-city abortion rate was ALREADY higher than average! Shouldn’t all the criminals have already been killed in abortions?! HOW CAN THIS BE HAPPENING?!”
Actually, the violent crime rate in America has been falling precipitously since the 1990’s. Food for thought.
Is it too late for me to warn the good folk of the forum not to feed the trolls…?
Joan (sorry, troll-feeding)–
Your side most certainly is complicit in the 4,000 abortions that will take place today.
ABSOFREAKINGLUTELY.
I know you’re not much for individuals accepting responsibility for their own actions though.
Hahahahahahahahahahahahaha! Thanks for the chuckle.
“Is it too late for me to warn the good folk of the forum not to feed the trolls…?”
Oh, Paladin, don’t you know it’s always too late?
My “side” doesn’t kill anyone, Carla. Individuals, not “sides”, have abortions.
I’ve never heard of one abortionist who is opposed to aborting preborn humans. Put all the individual abortionists on one list and they are the folks who are on your side, joan. The rest of the folks on your side are those who believe it should remain legal for abortionists to continue to kill preborn humans.
Sorry, Paladin. I have this strong calling to explain simple concepts to the simple-minded.
Again: “sides” don’t perform actions, individuals do. And those individual doctors who perform abortions do so at the request of individual women who voluntarily transact with them for their services. Individuals such as Carla, who is trying to pass off the blame and guilt she feels for her own choices onto others. It’s like a drunk driver blaming people who don’t support banning alcohol for the car crash he caused under the influence.
Okay, okay, Uncle, Uncle!!
My calling doesn’t call me to go that simple.
Uh joan, I’m pretty sure the drunk driving is the equivalent to abortion it that metaphor. If we lived in a society were some people thought drunk driving ought to be legal, i would blame them somewhat for the incident’s of it that occured.
And those individual doctors who perform abortions do so at the request of individual women who voluntarily transact with them for their services.
But Joan, as folks on this blog will tell you, women are just silly and child-like creatures who cannot, under any circumstances, make their own informed decisions relating to their reproductive organs or as Praxedes says, “simple concepts to the simple-minded.”
And if gang violence is related to stresses from too many people in too many deprived circumstances, just think – if abortion is criminalized there will be lots more children being born to those socio-economic circumstances — yay, clap hands for more poor babies in urban ghettos. But as the folks here know, the deity will provide as he (cuz we know it’s a nice big man) is currently doing in Chicago. Oh, right, there’s lots of nice childless couples who want those babies and for those babies not adopted there will be orphanages (not run by the evil government) run by the Catholic Church just like those in Ireland where the kids were so happy…
Success! Now, we liberals have the world we desire. Karl Marx believed that, after WWI, the workers of the world would rise up and his eventual revolution would appear. it did not. The marxists reviewed the situation. As elite intellectuals, they could not be wrong. They came upon a profound insight: oppressive capitalist society did not remain standing merely through economic forces. It remained in place by diffuse but powerful cultural forces. The Cultural Hegemony. Go google that.
To arrive at the eventual revolution, not only do workers of the world need to be informed of their oppression, but they also have to be informed of cultural oppression.
The oppressive unholy trinity is Christianity (and Judaism – guilt by association), the nukelar family (mom, dad, and their bio kids), and Commerce (just us agreeing to economically mutually agreeable transactions).
To push society into the terrible state necessary to encourage the eventual revolution, these three informal but powerful institutions need to be corroded, bastardized, and corrupted. Then they will lose their power, society will no longer be steady as those institutions weaken, society will suffer, the people will suffer, the people will rise up, and the eventual revoluation will be here.
So, we liberals have either knowlingly or unknowingly been involved in this campaign to weaken the unholy trinity of the capitalist cultural hegemony.
A leading place where our marxist propaganda was well-received has been portions of the Black community. That community had been treated badly. The unholy trinity has been marketed to that demographic group powerfully. If it feels good do it. Drug laws are racist. The nukelar family is old-fashioned. Sex only in marriage is old-fashioned. It is your life to live, and you are entitled to your happiness, even if you have produced offspring. The Man is trying to hold you down. you “deserve” reparations, and everyting else Jesse Jackson jr. has listed: entitled to a house, ‘livable wage’ job, college education, etc. regardless of whether you put out effort or not.
The solution to STDs is not to behave in a way to contract them less, but to have free govt treatment.
In many sectors of our society, we have successfully developed a dependent class, a victim class. We do not have responsible, family-oriented people across the board.
In Chicago, you have a Black community largely split into those who have culturally retained decent morality, and those who have bought the veiled marxist us/them hate speech rhetoric. Grandmas and aunties are raising children as their adult children enjoy a self-focused life.
Elsewhere, these new values are making inroads. Vague spirituality and a self-focused life instead of traditional morals. Lenient parenting. “Values” taught by public schools, rather than role-model parents. An entitlement to ‘healthy sexuality from the teen years, and abortion, are all part of this.
I look at the marxist and socailist websites, and they feel like they are not making progress as they believe they should be; they want more attention and respect. I see them as amazingly successful. These gang-culture inner cities are their greatest achievement. They are destroying the fabirc of society. This is what it looks like. When things get bad enough, they believe, the revolution will emerge.
With Occupy Wall Street, more and more everyday Americans are realizing that, yes, we have marxists and socialists and communists here. You can go look on Youtube about what they believe and what they want.
We were not taught this in school, since in the 70s forward, marxists have been at work in the schools, too. So, all of this could be presented as “normal.” The result is that the young adults spoon-fed this garbage cannot even verbalize a coherent philosophy.
What is the goal of the Occupy Movement? What do you want? The shallowness and range should have embarrassed the youth of this country to go examine closely what is really going on. But the class warfare ‘oppression’ and us/them’ one-percent dogma has been so seductive that many of these young people care not even embarrased to violently protest yet have no clear idea what is being protested.
Doubly sad is that we are seeing where this will lead. The U.S. may b e Greece II. Spain, Portugal and other historically solvent, decent countries are facing the eventual consequences of a self-centered, me-first, us/them society.
the answer is not to give more away, to make drug laws more lax, to build more housing projects. I don’t know what the correct answer is, but it is not to destroy Chirstianity, the nukelar family, and commerce.
(*wry smile*) If I were the “I told you so” type, I would insert a comment here about how the feeding of trolls only causes them to multiply and swarm… but since the list members are already being punished through those natural consequences (i.e. increased troll population on-thread), I’ll pass over it in silence…
If it feels good do it. Drug laws are racist. The nukelar family is old-fashioned. Sex only in marriage is old-fashioned. It is your life to live, and you are entitled to your happiness, even if you have produced offspring.
And this is wrong, how…? Funny, even GOP pro-life gov. Chris Christie says the war on drugs is a failure! But yeah, Marxists are trying to destroy “Merka.” Thank you Joe McCarthy. And yeah, let’s go back to the values of the 50’s cuz they worked so well…
So what’s your solution, lifers? Lots more babies cuz we all know that once that baby is born we all live happily ever after. Or do you want to set up Christian “values” centers in the ghettos where kids learn abstinence? What is your solution? The one thing that we can’t do is take away their guns because those guns are their sacred right as Americans. So where do we go from here?
And remind me of how Christianity (80% of the country) is being destroyed when there are no pograms and the Christians are trying to impose their laws on the rest of us.
The oppressive unholy trinity is Christianity (and Judaism – guilt by association),
Hate to break it ya but American Jews are overwhelmingly liberal, pro-choice, and resent the attempt of Christianists who are trying to foist their American Taliban ways onto a secular country. They know all to well how that works out, if you catch my drift.
Joan, Joan, Joan.
You made me LOL.
And again…I paid someone to kill my first child. Her name is Aubrey. I take full responsibility for my abortion of 22 years ago. And no guilt. I received the grace and mercy and forgiveness that only comes from Christ.
Ahem.
Sorry Paladin. :)
Trollicious!
Paladin, it’s fun, and I’ve had a really long day.
Cmon……
Ooh, another band name….
THE TALIBAN CHRISTIANISTS!!!!!
“Ooh, another band name….THE TALIBAN CHRISTIANISTS!!!!! “
Ok, would someone be so kind as to update my memory with a complete list. I know we have the anti-choice rascals, THE TALIBAN CHRISTIANISTS and at least one other one I’m forgetting. (perhaps more).
Loosen the gun control laws in Chicagoland, allow law-abiding citizens the means by which to defend themselves, and watch the gangs scatter like roaches.
I am ignoring the trolls lol.
“Social identification with the victims rather than with the perpetrators is what leads people to NOT commit cruel and brutal acts proposed to them by others.”
I do agree with this. When I was on the streets I did some truly terrible things, stuff I will probably never forgive myself for. And I don’t think I was some sociopath (though I guess I could be fooling myself). When you are young, alienated, and never had any role models to teach you how to behave in polite society, your peer group is your society. You don’t identify with the people who’s nice home you broke into, because you never had a safe home and these people are like aliens to you. You don’t identify with the guy you mugged for ten bucks, because hey he has money and you don’t and you need it and screw him anyway, he is probably like your abusive dad or absent dad. It’s not a complete lack of empathy for all humans, really, it’s just that the only people who you have ever really connected with are your peer group, or gang, and you don’t even think of the victims as people. It’s actually extremely difficult to overcome, to get people who are so damaged to see things from anyone else’s point of view. If you can catch kids at risk of becoming like this YOUNG, and I am talking like ten or younger, and get them role models and people to look up to, that might do some good. Because if a bunch of angry desperate children end up getting pulled into a close knit environment where its really the only acceptance they have only known, you are going to get this gang culture and once they are in it, it is extremely hard to break out of.
And Carder that will do the opposite of work, I am pretty sure. Not that I am against gun laws at all, its just that these kids do. Not. Care. About getting hurt, for the most part. I got shot at breaking into a car.once, I laughed about it later and secretly wished they had hit me. More violence ain’t fixing this stuff.
(*putting on best Brooklyn Jewish accent*)
“Oy, vey… vat’ll ya do with these people, nowadays? Dey go chasing trolls, after all da good advice… mishugina!”
At least wash your hands when you’re done, eh?
Too late to edit my comment, I meant to write I am not against guns at all, lol, I own two I am obviously not against them. I am actually opposed to a lot of gun control, I think a lot of the well-meaning laws tend to have the opposite effect.
I wonder why we haven’t heard from those carnival barkers Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton. Certainly one would think these prima donnas would be in Chicago, leading massive demonstrations against the killing. Has anyone heard from that congresswoman with the silly hats and flower that squirts water, who was wailing about Trayvon Martin being hunted like a dog, Fredericka something or other?
Hi JackBorsch,
I support the use of guns by law abiding citizens. Maybe Mr.Mora would be alive today if he had one.
I have to laugh when Rosie O’Donnell attends rallies opposing guns, then has hired guards with guns to protect her family. Of course Rosie had no clue they had guns. Uh Rosie, when you hire these folks, don’t you make inquiries as to how they will protect your family? Did you think they used rolled up newspapers?
Jasper,
“filthy jew” is despicable and an embarassment to everyone on this blog. I have no love or respect for Emanuel, but it has nothing to do with his religion or ethnicity. As a child a Jewish family opened their home to me when my mother had to work and my family life was in tumult. I take great offense at your post.
Awww there is Jasper with that Christian kindness and love, caring for his fellow man.
Jasper, perhaps it would interest you to know that my mother is Jewish, and I (by heritage) am Jewish, as well (though I was brought up Catholic). Would you please reconsider your tirade, to that effect?
Jasper, what you have just said is the single most offensive thing I have ever read on this blog (excluding pro-choice comments). I certainly hope you will retract it in its entirety sometime soon. Oh, and I regret to inform everyone that I liked that comment by accident. (I never got used to my laptop’s mouse).
I hit like on your post Jasper until Mary’s post when I went back and re-read and saw “filthy jew”. I seem to have a trigger finger with the like button at times and need to be more careful — I agree with Mary that this is despicable.
The one thing that we can’t do is take away their guns because those guns are their sacred right as Americans.
Only women should be allowed guns in America. After all if we TRUST WOMEN enough to choose to kill their preborn children, we certainly should be able to trust all women with a loaded gun.
I suspect Jasper will retract his comment when Jewish politicians stop forcing their religious view on us that life does not begin at conception, rather than supporting laws based on modern science which proves that life begins at conception. I wouldn’t use his language as it implies that all Jews are guilty of this, but I can’t blame him for being angry.
Oh and while we’re at it, in addition to the whole “filthy Jew” thing, there was some not so nice implications regarding black people in that post as well.
Uh, John, Jasper was not even talking about abortion policy in that post, so honestly I can blame him for being angry.
Finally fixed my email.
B f-ing S John, politicians of all creeds and beliefs are enforcing pro-choice laws. I love your implicit endorsement of anti-semitism, no matter how you try to justify it.
If these comments arent deleted I am never going to comment on this blog again. I will not be a party to racism.
John Lewandowski,
Doesn’t wash. The religious convictions of politicians, which includes so called “Catholics” and “Christians” are not the issue here. Anger is one thing, vile bigotry another.
Hi JDC,
Good point. Let’s not forget who most of the victims are as well. Mr. Mora was a minority. The little girl gunned down on her front porch was as well.
Thank you moderator for removing Jasper’s post. If there was ever a violation of Jill’s rules and standards, that was it.
Interracial crime is actually fairly rare, most crime is intraracial. For those like Jasper who might not understand big words, it means whites tend to kill whites, and blacks tend to kill blacks. It’s fairly well established in criminal justice studies, if you aren’t too bigoted to see past the end of your nose.
Thank you mods for your quick removal.
To whatever mod had the good sense to remove that comment, I thank you deeply.
Be careful about where you place blame. I was un-wed when my first child was conceived and the father of my kids abandoned them but my kids aren’t in gangs. I don’t have strong male influences for my son though I’ve tried so hard to enlist church friends, relatives etc. My income is so low – – poverty-low so by all accounts above my son should be seeking a gang to replace the father he doesn’t have. The difference is this:
I would NEVER EVER allow my son (or daughter) to grow up so close to crime. When the crime got bad in our area, I sought better lives for us, sold the possessions necessary to afford to get away, and found an area in a different city in a better neighborhood.
I taught my children early to embrace law enforcement, shun the “snitches get stitches” idea and view all gang members as losers.
I teach my children the value of education by reading to them early and loving their knowledge and building on their strengths. I’m in school now to finish up my degree to further show them how important it is. When the schools in our district became less than great, I pulled them out and home schooled.
I teach my children to love God above all, that church doesn’t save you any more than sitting in a garage can make you a car, and that God deeply loves them.
I’ve called the police on my daughter for bad behavior and expected my neighbors, relatives and friends to do the same – calling her into account.
I’ve taught them to take responsibility for their own actions and not to blame others for the things that happen to them, that there is no free ride or easy way out.
Not everything can be helped (or harmed) by the parents but putting children in the right mindset by teaching them values of the class in which you want them to live (or better) can go a long way.
Much of our lives can be controlled by the things we require from ourselves and the people around us. Our mindset, and the power to take our lives into our own hands instead of blaming others, is ours. The rest is caused by sin, abuse (in every form) and mental illness.
Sorry about the ‘Filthy Jew’ comment. I certainly don’t mean all Jews or course since I have some Jewish friends who are very nice people.
Jacklynn Borsch said: “Interracial crime is actually fairly rare”
The Color of Crime from the New Century Foundation, this data is from 2005, although the statistics may be worse now that Obama is in office:
• Of the nearly 770,000 violent interracial crimes committed every year involving
blacks and whites, blacks commit 85 percent and whites commit 15 percent.
• Blacks commit more violent crime against whites than against blacks. Fortyfive
percent of their victims are white, 43 percent are black, and 10 percent are
Hispanic. When whites commit violent crime, only three percent of their victims are
black.
• Blacks are an estimated 39 times more likely to commit a violent crime against
a white than vice versa, and 136 times more likely to commit robbery.
New Century Foundation is a white supremacist group. That’s disgusting, you are quoting them like a reliable source. I’m half non-white, quote me some stats on Cubans plz. I’m dying to know how terrible we are, just like the blacks!
Right on, Sydney M and Gena!
Life without my Savior is unfathomable. I don’t know how anyone can get up in the morning, much less live like anything matters, without Him.
Also, there is indeed a giant correlation among the onset of teaching of evolution in public schools and increase in criminal behavior.
PS) America is NOT 80% Christian, cc, no matter what some poll may have told you.
” The organization is headed by founder Jared Taylor and is known primarily for publishing American Renaissance. Taylor advocates voluntary segregation as a natural expression of racial solidarity while denying that his views constitute white supremacism. Viewing societal problems as racial and religious in nature, Taylor upholds racial homogeneity as the key to peaceful coexistence. He sees Japan as an exemplar of a racially homogenous society, and views Asians generally as genetically superior in intelligence to whites. He also view whites as genetically superior in intelligence to blacks”
Lmao. This is the dude that heads the foundation Jasper got his crap from. Awesome. I applaud your loving attitude and research skills dude. Cool beans.
Racism is disgusting.
“Jacklynn Borsch”
Oh i see what you did there, changing his name into a female name. Real mature, totally how adults behave in a conversation.
Jack Borsh,
Why are you calling blacks terrible? I didn’t realize you are a racist. Sometimes facts are tough things to swallow. I said fatherless black kids are the problem.
Lol, JDC, he usually just uses a slur for gay men for me, says way more about him than me haha.
Jasper,
I love how I am the heathen while you are the one quoting white supremacist organizations and making anti-Semitic slurs. Now, I know for a fact they don’t teach that in Catholic school, how do you justify it?
Let Jasper stew. Gena is the one who showed the way out of this.
Got back from vacation a couple weeks ago, and within 48 hours my son had been attacked and we’d had a shooting on our block. So yes, it’s been hot in Chicago. :-(
Solution: God and family, achieved with the help of school vouchers and ending welfare.
School vouchers are necessary to allow children to attend schools where they can be taught about God.
Welfare as we know it must be eliminated. It has destroyed the family, making fathers unnecessary. Phase it out in 5 years to give newly pregnant women enough time to get their children in school and get jobs. No new applicants will be accepted following the law’s passage, which will be accompanied by a media blitz of the message, “Wed before you bed.” During phase-out period, existing cases will be transferred, along with funding, to groups like the Salvation Army, who have proven themselves as truly helping needy people get on their feet. After 5 years, those funds too will end.
Then churches, with the generosity of congregations of people whose tax burden has greatly lessened, can continue their work of helping people in emergency situations. For people with severe disabilities, whose physical/financial needs are beyond that of the church, government can step in to help them. We Americans are very compassionate, after all. Welfare currently is no kindness.
Jasper 11:17pm
Puh-leeze. You call that an apology? If you have an issue with the man and his politics, fine, address that. It has nothing to do with his religion or ethnicity. I have an issue with Sharpton and Jackson and their politics. It has nothing to do with their race.
Hi rasquel,
I’m so sorry to hear about your son being attacked and hope he is well. Yes things are definitely hot in Chicago. I’m sure you’ll get a visit any day from Jackson and Sharpton, to protest the violence and killing.
church doesn’t save you any more than sitting in a garage can make you a car,
I’ve never liked this saying because so many people use it and other similar sayings as an excuse not to attend church, or to only attend during the holidays, weddings and funerals.
I agree that you will never become a car if you sit in your garage but the more time you spend in the garage with your car (and some really good mechanics), the more you will learn about your car (you will, though, have to be willing to get yourself to the garage).
Church fosters community, brings believers together for support and organizes help for both believers and non-believers (I know they don’t all do this so one needs to be wise when choosing a church). Church is also the only place that most Catholics can receive the Eucharist, the Center of our Faith, and it is our belief that He is truly present to us during Mass. I cannot get anything near the same thing by spending time with loved ones, walking in the woods or working at the food pantry.
Anyway, God doesn’t need me, I need him. Jesus does want me to be His hands and feet for others here on Earth, though. Going to church weekly tells Him I am willing to do my part to put Him first in my life and that I am willing to continue to learn how to better serve others and bring them to Him.
I think the world would be a much better place if believers started to more regularly attend church and encouraged others to do the same. If you don’t regularly attend church, I encourage you to be open to doing so.
Apology accepted, Jasper.
A footnote to my 10:10PM post
Within the last ten years, I would be reunited with “Mrs.Frank”. Still the vivacious, loving, and kind woman I remembered from almost 50 years earlier. She was so overjoyed to see me that the store employees said they could hear her all over the store.
I could finally tell her “thank you for your kindness”. “Your home was my refuge”. She spoke of what a joy it was to have me in her home. Later she would send me a note and pictures.
I also advise people that the kindness they show a child can make such a difference in their lives.
In the future Jasper, I will thank you to keep your vile anti-Semitic comments to yourself.
I don’t know why Jasper’s overt antisemitism would raise a single eyebrow here. As it is, this place, with its constant and deeply offensive comparisons between the Holocaust and abortion, is about as friendly to Jews as a Klan rally.
Well, it’s good to know that the regular trolls here really don’t pay any attention to what we actually represent. They just prefer to believe their caricatures.
And joan (CC, what’s the difference? You spout the exact. same. stuff.), you really crack me up. You have some nerve. You really do. You find “deep offense” in Holocaust comparisons, but you find jokes about disabled persons hilarious, you CLEARLY have eugenic beliefs, and you think oppressed women in China “have it coming” when they don’t follow their country’s laws about reproduction.
Seriously, where’s the camera? We’ve been punk’d.
I’m the one guilty of caricaturing? This, coming from someone who has made every effort to depict me as Josef Mengele? That’s rich.
I sincerely hope people of your ideological persuasion continue to be blithely and stubbornly indifferent towards the unique sensitivities of Jews and other victims of the Holocaust, merely in order to preserve an utterly ineffective talking point. Your callousness delivers everyone but the most extreme conservatives right into the arms of your political opponents. Then you stand around and wonder why your movement has almost nothing to show for 40 years of activism.
Despite my friend’s affluence and the good schools, constant family presence, and material goods that she gave her sons, they are both felons.
Despite my other friend’s own drug addiction, unemployment, health problems, gone-again father of her children, her son has received a full scholarship to a very famous and prestigious ivy league school and her daughter already has her degree from another very famous and prestigous university.
I don’t care how much our trolls call for eugenic slaughter, it isn’t right to kill small human beings because you don’t think their parents aren’t fit to pass on their DNA. Margaret Sanger is dead and so should be her ideas. There is NO society, past or present, that murdered its way to peace and prosperity.
Don’t feed the trolls, y’all… it’s not healthy for them or for us!
I’m the one guilty of caricaturing? This, coming from someone who has made every effort to depict me as Josef Mengele? That’s rich.
AMAZINGLY, you’ve actually made the comments I’ve said you made, and you have never once retracted them. There are *multiple comments* from you. Even on this thread, you have made eugenic comments. But you have decided to label us all as Jew-haters based on Jasper’s comments. Personally, I would hold *him* responsible for *his* comments, just as I am holding *you* responsible for *yours.*
<em>I sincerely hope people of your ideological persuasion continue to be blithely and stubbornly indifferent towards the unique sensitivities of Jews and other victims of the Holocaust, merely in order to preserve an utterly ineffective talking point. Your callousness delivers everyone but the most extreme conservatives right into the arms of your political opponents. Then you stand around and wonder why your movement has almost nothing to show for 40 years of activism.</em>
See, this is where you don’t get it. We compare abortion to the Holocaust not because we are “indifferent toward” Jews or Holocaust victims, but because we value ALL human life and view abortion as a grave human injustice. We compare abortion to slavery because both devalue human life.
You wouldn’t be here on this blog if our movement had nothing to show for 40 years of activism. But even if there was nothing to show for it, that wouldn’t change anything for us. It takes a long time to convince utilitarian bigots that humans are actually human and should have human rights despite the fact that others stronger than they would prefer to deny them the most basic of human rights.
Doh! Didn’t mean to use the double negative up there. Then again, abortion IS a double negative: bad for parents, bad for children.
“AMAZINGLY, you’ve actually made the comments I’ve said you made, and you have never once retracted them. There are *multiple comments* from you. Even on this thread, you have made eugenic comments. But you have decided to label us all as Jew-haters based on Jasper’s comments. Personally, I would hold *him* responsible for *his* comments, just as I am holding *you* responsible for *yours.*”
Nowhere, not once, have I accused anyone, much less everyone here of hating Jews. What I said is that this place is unfriendly to Jews. And it is, because the vast majority of Jews find it deeply offensive when someone invokes the Holocaust as a talking point in a political discussion, and that happens regularly here.
Frankly, you are not an even remotely reliable source of interpretation for things I have posted here in the past, because you are clearly capable of twisting anything I say into meaning anything you want it to mean. You’ve provided multiple examples in just this thread alone.
“See, this is where you don’t get it. We compare abortion to the Holocaust not because we are “indifferent toward” Jews or Holocaust victims, but because we value ALL human life and view abortion as a grave human injustice. We compare abortion to slavery because both devalue human life.”
And so rather than simply defining the horror of abortion on its own terms (which shouldn’t be at all difficult if it’s really so hideous), you reference specific historical events that people feel passionately about in order to emotionally piggyback on them. When called on this, you double down on these offensive comparisons. That is the indifference I’m talking about. In your world, there isn’t the slightest room for being solicitous of the feelings of others, not if it would require retiring a particular talking point that you’ve apparently determined is completely indispensable.
(*sigh*) Someone seriously needs to re-activate the graphics on this forum, so that I can start posting my full-colour “Do Not Feed The Trolls” sign…
Frankly, you are not an even remotely reliable source of interpretation for things I have posted here in the past, because you are clearly capable of twisting anything I say into meaning anything you want it to mean. You’ve provided multiple examples in just this thread alone.
Yeah, yeah, pro-lifers don’t care about anybody’s feelings; they just want to save inanimate blobs of cells so they can control women’s uteri and blahblahblah. I mean, no pro-lifer could possibly actually believe that abortion is a grave human injustice, just as other past human injustices have been. Abortion is not the only human atrocity, but that doesn’t diminish the heinousness of it. Jews (and the disabled, and the Roma people, and many others) and African Americans were, in the cases of the Holocaust and slavery, treated as sub-human and rights were denied them by those in power. I know pro-life Jews who aren’t the least bit offended by Holocaust comparisons; they believe that themselves. But you don’t care what they think, because it doesn’t line up with your/CC’s “you don’t care about the Jews” tripe.
And it’s pretty hilarious (and sad) that you’re now appearing to deny what you’ve said in the past. I’m not the only one who rightly recalls your statements. Say you’ve changed your opinion, if you will, but don’t deny what’s already been said, joan. We’re really not as dumb as you think we are.
The troll reaction do this is fascinating. (sorry Paladin, a lot of troll feeding will follow). Instead of realizing that we (meaning pro-lifers who aren’t Jasper) basically have the same views as everyone regarding antisemitism and other prejudices, they make silly and offensive statements implying otherwise. Oh and joan, could you have not defined our amount of Jew unfriendliness on it’s own terms (which should be so easy, as we’re so unfriendly) instead of invoking the KKK, which was clearly just a way to piggyback of something people have strong emotions about.
Liberal Catholics and Jews have used their religion to justify their pro-abortion stance. This is undeniable. Some ignorant liberal Catholics seem to think that our modern law should be based on ancient incomplete biological knowledge. Some Jews think that because they interpret Scripture as stating that abortion is acceptable, that therefore regardless of what science says we must have legal abortions. Ironically it’s the orthodox Catholics and pro-life Evangelicals who are demanding that our laws be based on science while liberal Catholics and Jews demand that our laws be based on their religious beliefs.
JDC,
You are awesome. That is all.
X, between you and Jack I’m never going to stop blushing around here.
Hi folks,
We’ve got a BIG problem here (especially those who profess Christianity). Christ Himself was mocked throughout His ministry not only at His Crucifixion. Should we anticipate any less? Trolls (and other mockers) are just me and you – BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD, GO I.
Jasper is a superlative person, who occasionally sticks his nose in. Kind of reminds me of St. Peter when Jasper does this. Reminder Jesus died precisely for speaking the Truth. As in His time, there are many (followers too) who do not accept.
You couldn’t have just gone with good old whale.to?
“Ah Jews, where do we even start?”
Why don’t you do us a favor, not start at all here and just save it for the cross burning?
There are some neo-Nazis down the street from me who would agree with you, Jasper
The Jews are less than 2% of the population and have also had a much greater impact for good on the world. There’s no denying they are prominent among ethnicities. It may have to do with the fact that they were the people chosen to bring forth the King of this world.
Their foibles and their accomplishments and their rejection of that King is merely in the concentrated form done by us all.
Lecture over.
Read below, they are heavily involved in almost every ill we face today…
Just when I thought Jasper’s anti-Semitism could not get any more despicable, he practically quotes Hitler himself!
Please follow JDC’s advice in his/her 7:46PM post. You’d do us all a huge favor.
Paladin:
I have seen your several pleadings not to feed the trolls. Point taken but I am sure you agree their statements are at times so outrageous and/or ignorant they demand rebuttal.
Perhaps though your concern is that it is not very sporting of us to engage with mental midgets, that it really is beneath our dignity to engage in such a one-sided affair. Agreed, though again there is the ever present temptation to pluck that low handing fruit and expose the intellectual dishonesty and moral vacuity that marks their tiny and pathetic attempts to be relevant.
“Please follow JDC’s advice in his/her 7:46PM post. You’d do us all a huge favor.”
I’m glad you agree and for the record I am a he.
Hi JDC.
Thank you for the clarification.
Jerry wrote:
I have seen your several pleadings not to feed the trolls. Point taken but I am sure you agree their statements are at times so outrageous and/or ignorant they demand rebuttal.
Believe me, I empathise… but rather copious experience (both in trying to debate trolls, and in being a reformed troll, myself) leads me to believe that such efforts are the equivalent of chasing the end of the rainbow, or of scratching the itch that gets raw and infected, but simply won’t stop itching. It simply doesn’t work… and when I, at least, have tried to debate trolls, I’d find myself growing either terribly frustrated, or inclined to become as nasty as they, or both… and I’d rather not go there again.
As a somewhat whimsical aside… here’s a comment made by a friend of mine, years ago, which (a bit like Steven Wright’s humour) forced me to think about it for a bit, then laugh heartily, and it ultimately made me feel quite relieved and much better:
“Just because something comes out of a troll’s mouth, that doesn’t mean it’s true.”
It’s a lovely safety valve to remember (especially by being so comically obvious… a bit like saying, “Just because a glass is full of water doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s not wet”), when hearing the utter stupidity, vileness, hypocrisy, disregard for all consistency and logic (while often trying strenuously to keep up such an appearance), baseless criticisms, and insults from trolls of all flavours, sub-species, breeds and varieties. (I really must finish that book on troll taxonomy that I’ve been urging myself to write!)
Hi Jerry,
While Paladin may have a point, I agree with your post. Concerning Jasper’s anti-Semitism, for reasons stated in a previous post, I take it very personally. You are aware of the circumstances of my childhood and can well understand why I don’t think Jasper is someone fit to wipe the shoes of “Mrs.Frank”. I would hope his bigoted comments concerning Jews would be deleted as quickly as someone using the “n” word, and that outrage would be expressed by posters on this blog.
I confess, I’d been restricting my thoughts to the established trolls (CC, joan, Biggz, and a hand-ful of others); Jasper’s warped (and–forgive me–insane) outlook on all things Jewish surprised me greatly, and I’d not yet added him to the troll rolls, as it were.
LOL, Jasper couldn’t be more anti-semetic if he imitated the voice of Chandler Bing and asked, “Could I BE more anti-semetic?!”
I wouldn’t say that there is some kind of “Jewish supremacist” conspiracy to ruin America. It’s just unfortunate that influentual people from Jewish (and Catholic) families often turn into bitter anti-God extremists. The Jewish ones are more likely to continue to consider themselves Jews after they go atheist, though. Or I guess, they’re not really atheists but anti-theists, since they hate God instead of disbelieving in Him. I’m pretty sure Paul mentioned them in Romans 1.
I like Jewish people. I’m a supporter of Israel too. Instead of personally attacking me try addressing the points. Isn’t that part of the commenting guidelines? no personal attacks?
“Obviously the solution is to ban abortion so that more people who have a statistically higher likelihood of engaging in violent crime and gang activity will be born.”
Stats don’t agree with joan.
Birth control and abortion are negatively correlated with higher criminality. Banning abortion and contraception would increase the birthrates of the non criminal more than the criminal.
Oh give it a rest, Jasper! You’re words and attitude have spoken loudly enough (and yes, I’ve read the whole thread). Don’t hide behind false innocence and by gaslighting others. If you have anti-semitic beliefs, at least be honest about it & own (take responsibility for) your words and actions.
Yep, we’ve heard it all before. Like abortionists who blog “I just love babies!” Or, rather, “I just luuuuurv babies!”
Oh crap, I just realized above I used “you’re” instead of “your” I’ve got to proof read closer. D’oh!
Rachael C.,
That’s funny! I’m so tempted to write an article about the mistakes so many of us make, being so long out of school. Its title would be a paraphrase from Shakespeare: “Out! Out! Damn Apostrophe!”
Hans,
For the 4th of July, my future in-laws had a gathering to which our family was invited. My daughter had a hotdog, and both of my children enjoy slathering their processed meat cylinders with copious amounts of ketchup. Well, she is also not the most graceful of creatures, and the hotdog rolled from the plate, ketchup-side down, of course. I went to clean it up, and the condiment was far too much for the paper towel to handle. I wound up with ketchup all over my hands. Well, my brain is constantly working overtime, and occasionally, little thoughts manage to slither past my teeth and find themselves muttered quietly. My betrothed has an annoying habit of actually LISTENING to the things I say, muttered or otherwise (how DARE he!), and he was the only one who remarked when I said, “All the perfumes of Arabia will not sweeten this little hand.”
It’s actually quite nice, since most of the things I say in this capacity are utterly lost on my children, and no one else is usually around to hear them. ;P
If somone swears when no one hears it (in or out of a forest) did they really swear? :)
Tha goes for clever lines as well!
By that logic, Hans, I guess that would mean I’m actually NOT insane! ;P
And when I wrote “Tha” I was not drunk! :)