It was hysterical to me until the quote from the 7 year old. How is this not child abuse? The girl is scared to death.
They may have their escape hatch - "It just means we weren't among the elect" - all prepared, but how emotionally damaging will it be to any of them? I doubt they will shrug, accept that they weren't chosen, and quietly rebuild their lives. Chances are they are going to be GUTTED.
Nothing good can come from this.
When I first heard of Harold Camping's lunatic ravings, I was in it for the lulz. He planted the seed that will potentially ruin their lives. Come May 22, he'll spin and back pedal and take no responsibility just like he did in 1994.
Having grown up with this rhetoric, I can validate that it's psychological child abuse. Fortunately, I can look back on it now with a sense of humor. Which is why my car, Cthonia, is getting back her sticker on May 21 that reads "When the Rapture comes, can I have your car?" The May 21 Rapture billboards are pretty ubiquitous here. Hell, maybe I should put the sticker back on sooner than later.
It's a reprint of an article I wrote for make/shift magazine.
The other is that I was taught to live in a constant state of fear, especially as my folks believed that the Anti-Christ was coming before the Rapture, not after. I'm sure my late mother thought that Obama was just that man, as I heard lots of mutterings in my childhood that the Anti-Christ was a man of "dark skin" who comes from the East. Fortunately, I was never racist, not even as a kid, and didn't swallow the automatic malarkey that normally goes with this sort of association. Many, however, do, and are the "birthers" who disbelieve any evidence whatsoever that Obama is U.S. born, not Kenyan. You'd think they'd want to properly I.D. the Anti-Christ, but fuck no.
As you'll read in the article, some of the fear stuff I worked out in my own quirky way but a lot of it was quite difficult to heal from. Took many years of therapy and 12 Step work. And it explains why I lean far more liberal these days -- I can't stand living in the fear that Republicans thrive on. Just makes me want to crawl out of my skin when I get an earful of that.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
timeasmymeasure
no subject
Date: 2011-03-06 08:22 pm (UTC)They may have their escape hatch - "It just means we weren't among the elect" - all prepared, but how emotionally damaging will it be to any of them? I doubt they will shrug, accept that they weren't chosen, and quietly rebuild their lives. Chances are they are going to be GUTTED.
Nothing good can come from this.
When I first heard of Harold Camping's lunatic ravings, I was in it for the lulz. He planted the seed that will potentially ruin their lives. Come May 22, he'll spin and back pedal and take no responsibility just like he did in 1994.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-06 08:40 pm (UTC)Having grown up with this rhetoric, I can validate that it's psychological child abuse. Fortunately, I can look back on it now with a sense of humor. Which is why my car, Cthonia, is getting back her sticker on May 21 that reads "When the Rapture comes, can I have your car?" The May 21 Rapture billboards are pretty ubiquitous here. Hell, maybe I should put the sticker back on sooner than later.
no subject
Date: 2011-03-06 09:21 pm (UTC)You only have 3 months. Get on it!
ETA
May I ask what you were taught as a child and how it shaped your worldview? How hard was it to get over it?
no subject
Date: 2011-03-06 10:08 pm (UTC)Well, it had a couple of different effects. The first, you can read about here:
http://www.scribd.com/doc/22591916/Dogma-Darth-Vader-and-My-Sexual-Awakening
It's a reprint of an article I wrote for make/shift magazine.
The other is that I was taught to live in a constant state of fear, especially as my folks believed that the Anti-Christ was coming before the Rapture, not after. I'm sure my late mother thought that Obama was just that man, as I heard lots of mutterings in my childhood that the Anti-Christ was a man of "dark skin" who comes from the East. Fortunately, I was never racist, not even as a kid, and didn't swallow the automatic malarkey that normally goes with this sort of association. Many, however, do, and are the "birthers" who disbelieve any evidence whatsoever that Obama is U.S. born, not Kenyan. You'd think they'd want to properly I.D. the Anti-Christ, but fuck no.
As you'll read in the article, some of the fear stuff I worked out in my own quirky way but a lot of it was quite difficult to heal from. Took many years of therapy and 12 Step work. And it explains why I lean far more liberal these days -- I can't stand living in the fear that Republicans thrive on. Just makes me want to crawl out of my skin when I get an earful of that.
Feel free to email me if you want to talk more.