story
Changing the facts
Given the way things are developing over there I think we need a dedicated thread for this.
I considered exhuming a thread from 2007 it doesn’t really serve the purpose (although it’s interesting to see Phil Dwyer insisting that the US is solidly and safely Democratic)
There are several fire and brimstone preachers who hold regular tent meetings, are highly active on social media, have tens of thousands of followers, and are deliberately fomenting hate and division. They are predictably antiabortion homophobic etc and so forth, but further they say that voting Democrat is bad, even evil, some are calling for the Church and the State to be united.
They‘re not all fire and brimstone but they’re all doing the same stuff.
Greg Locke
Kenneth Copeland
William “Dutch” Sheets
Bill Bolin
There are many others. Some of them are obscenely rich and running obvious grifts, but that’s not the worst of it. There are book burnings, accusations of witchcraft, insidious criticisms of groups and individuals that have (probably) been the direct cause of attacks.
There is a weird claim that Trump is the Son of Man, or the Messiah. A book is being handed out free at Trump rallies. How many people believe or dismiss this is unclear
There is a new version of the Bible that includes quotes and even changes that support their views.
Plenty of people are saying it’s a storm in a teacup, they don’t have much reach, it’s a crazy fringe, it won’t amount to anything. I think that pointing and laughing is dangerous complacency.
Trump is playing footsie with this crowd. The GOP are still hedging their bets with him. America is horribly polarised. Roe V Wade has been overturned. Kanye West has triggered an increase in antisemitism with his stupidity. Systemic racism continues unabated. Climate change is going to do enormous damage to their economy and stability. Q-Anon, the Patriot movement, the Oath-keepers, the Watchmen…. And behind it all is their weird gun culture.
The right and the far right see the growing crowds and the growing strength in the evangelical movement and they’re getting to be the same crowd. It’s becoming more difficult to be an atheist in the US, or to not have religion as an obvious part of your identity.
It’s happening elsewhere in the world too, but America always does things big bigger biggest so they get their own thread.
I‘ll post some links below. Here are a couple to be getting on with.
www.politico.com
www.opendemocracy.net
I considered exhuming a thread from 2007 it doesn’t really serve the purpose (although it’s interesting to see Phil Dwyer insisting that the US is solidly and safely Democratic)
There are several fire and brimstone preachers who hold regular tent meetings, are highly active on social media, have tens of thousands of followers, and are deliberately fomenting hate and division. They are predictably antiabortion homophobic etc and so forth, but further they say that voting Democrat is bad, even evil, some are calling for the Church and the State to be united.
They‘re not all fire and brimstone but they’re all doing the same stuff.
Greg Locke
Kenneth Copeland
William “Dutch” Sheets
Bill Bolin
There are many others. Some of them are obscenely rich and running obvious grifts, but that’s not the worst of it. There are book burnings, accusations of witchcraft, insidious criticisms of groups and individuals that have (probably) been the direct cause of attacks.
There is a weird claim that Trump is the Son of Man, or the Messiah. A book is being handed out free at Trump rallies. How many people believe or dismiss this is unclear
There is a new version of the Bible that includes quotes and even changes that support their views.
Plenty of people are saying it’s a storm in a teacup, they don’t have much reach, it’s a crazy fringe, it won’t amount to anything. I think that pointing and laughing is dangerous complacency.
Trump is playing footsie with this crowd. The GOP are still hedging their bets with him. America is horribly polarised. Roe V Wade has been overturned. Kanye West has triggered an increase in antisemitism with his stupidity. Systemic racism continues unabated. Climate change is going to do enormous damage to their economy and stability. Q-Anon, the Patriot movement, the Oath-keepers, the Watchmen…. And behind it all is their weird gun culture.
The right and the far right see the growing crowds and the growing strength in the evangelical movement and they’re getting to be the same crowd. It’s becoming more difficult to be an atheist in the US, or to not have religion as an obvious part of your identity.
It’s happening elsewhere in the world too, but America always does things big bigger biggest so they get their own thread.
I‘ll post some links below. Here are a couple to be getting on with.
Opinion | How Christian Nationalism Is Taking Root Across the World
The electoral success of the far right in Italy and Brazil is a warning for the United States.
www.politico.com
OPINION: Abortion ban is start of wider attack on our rights
The Republican Party is poised to impose a Christofascist theocracy upon all Americans – limiting the rights of women and LGBTIQ+ people
www.opendemocracy.net
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