Comments on: A Progressive Defence of Benedict

By: anonymous

anonymous — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 15:57:00 +0000

Why would the Pope apologize for someone else’s actions???

He didn’t “make” them react the way they did. By apologizing, he’s given them all the more reason to continue manipulating the world with their easily offended natures….it’s all a game to them.

Their behavior is akin to addicts who eventually cause the victims they abuse to apologize for “making” them abuse them.

If little children can learn to take responsibility for their own actions, why can’t Muslims? Or, are we expecting them to act like adults when their emotional maturity is really that of children??? ….or less than….as in the “toddler years”….when the world revolves around them, and they’re learning that they have to fit in, not the other way around.

By: Vincent

Vincent — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 12:04:59 +0000

Vincentâ€™s argument is that people should refer to The Pope as The Pope. Did people call Pope John Paul II Karol JÃ³zef Wojty?a in everyday parlance? No. So why the obsession with calling Benedict “Ratz”?

Nice try at changing the subject, though, very similar to how the media and Muslims took an in-passing comment to obfuscate the main point of a great dialogue.

By: Jim

Jim — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 11:21:31 +0000

Vincent’s argument that many people are immoral and that, without God, there is no morality, implies that the lack of morality among people means there is no god. I doubt that he intended that.

By: Vincent

Vincent — Sun, 17 Sep 2006 10:13:43 +0000

Do people refer to the Dalai Lama as Tenzin Gyatso, or Tenny G? Do people refer to retired sumo wrestler Akebono as Chad George Rowan? Do Davie Street queens like ‘Blastfurnace’ and –name removed– refer to their idol Sir Elton John as ‘Reginald Kenneth Dwight’? No, they don’t. So why the obsession among certain circles with calling Pope Benedict “Johnny Ratz”?

Some possible reasons:

-Ratzinger is a scary sounding German name.
-Sounds like ‘Rat’, geddit?
-Reminds people of his Hitler Youth past.
-Childishness (look at me! I dis the Pope! Fuck, I am wicked!)

My theory is that 1) many people are immoral, 2) without God there is no morality, and 3) many people try to destroy the concept of God to evade accountability for their immorality. In any case, when you see someone refer to the Pope as ‘Johnny Ratz’ or variations thereof you can be sure you’re dealing with someone with unresolved God issues.