I was thrilled when I learned that crazy Georgia Congressman Paul Broun–who had quit his seat to run for Senate–didn’t make the runoff for that office, and would henceforth be known as “former Congressman Broun.”
Broun was the member of the House Science and Technology Committee who–among many other things– rejected the theory of evolution and described biology, cosmology and geology as “lies straight from the pit of hell.” To call him nutty as a fruitcake is an insult to fruitcakes.
Then I found that one of the two candidates vying for Broun’s vacated seat–worse, the one favored to win–is more of the same.
In a 2012 book, that candidate — pastor and talk radio host Jody Hice — alleges the gay community has a secret plot to recruit and sodomize children, In It’s Now or Never: A Call to Reclaim America, Hice also asserts that supporters of abortion rights are worse than Hitler and compares gay relationships to bestiality and incest. He proposes that Muslims be stripped of their First Amendment rights. […]
Hice claims homosexuality causes shorter life spans and depression, and he insists same-sex couples cannot raise healthy children…. Hice also offers an extreme interpretation of the Constitution, claiming states can nullify federal laws and take up arms against the federal government if they consider a federal law unjust…. In Hice’s view, the United States took a turn for the worse after the Civil War…. Hice argues that Muslim immigrants constitute an existential challenge to the United States…. Hice also compares reproductive rights advocates to Nazis.
Hice also believes, among other things, that secularism causes sexually transmitted diseases.
Is this country a victim of biological warfare? An undetectable air born infection, maybe in the water, pollution levels that shuts down brain activity in a specific segment of this population while others are immune to effects? While these symptoms are not specifically located in the southern part of this country; it does seem to be more in evidence in that locale. Are these symptoms evident in other countries or only in the U.S.? Bat-shit crazy is an insult to bats; bats leave humans alone unless they are disturbed. This ever increasing group of fools do the disturbing; are they the product of creationism or are they the result of the evolution of some low-level life form gone unnoticed till recently? Something has set them off, their numbers seem to be increasing and they are infecting this government, this county and making way for future generations of bigoted, narrow-minded fools to become our leaders.
I have some cousins in the south. They are not crazy and they are democratic voters. They point and laugh at these snake handling pastors. It’s crazy what comes out of the back woods down there but ‘my’ family isn’t stupid like that. Thankfully.
Crazy People, Holy Books and Guns. Dixie.
I’ve always believed that, between the two, angry crazy people and angry sane people, give me the angry crazy people. They are usually rigid, make a lot of really bad decisions, end up looking foolish, and their followers are usually as credible as they are. There are exceptions, of course, but a stable electorate usually finds them out.
@Aging Little Girl: Thanks! We’re not all like these unsavory descriptions! A few of us are even voting Democrats. Around here, we Dems hold our meetings in a phone booth. We’re not a large segment of the local population.
So glad you have moved bat-shit insane back into the acceptable lexicon – I so missed the phrase.
Betty, my cousin said, I don’t care who you vote for as long as it’s a Democrat. I laughed because back then, I thought I was a conservative. How wrong I was. I couldn’t vote republican for a million bucks. Snake handler is a good name for those people, no matter where they live. South, North, Midwest, Back Woods, back 40, it doesn’t matter. They are bat shit crazy.
@Aging Little Girl: My friend and high school English teacher went on to East Tennessee State University to teach, where somehow he became a noted and widely-published authority on serpent handling churches, particularly in East Tennessee and Eastern Kentucky. He is now retired Professor Emeritus of English. A young pastor recently was bitten and fled to his home to die. He resisted all aid and assistance, leaving it “in God’s hands”. He died. My friend the professor went to the pastor’s funeral. His comment to me was that “He (Jamie, the pastor) was a good man.” My professor friend may not understand all the reasons why they handle serpents (other than 200 years of tradition back in the hills), but he views them with compassion. These churches take the Bible completely literally, no questions asked.
I remember reading about that pastor that died recently. I’ve heard about those snake handlers pastors for as long as I can remember. 🙂
My friend the professor didn’t know about Jamie’s passing until I e-mailed him about an article on the death in my local newspaper. The professor understands these people perhaps more than most of us do–although probably not completely. Nobody does, outside their faith. He was moved by the young pastor’s passing and also his willingness to put it entirely in the Lord’s hands. That practice is a little “too faithful” for me.