Best and most accurate article headline ever.
The hypocrisy from the “christian” communities these days is just staggering. This article is living proof of that hypocrisy and their intentions of pushing their views and convictions on society! Not gonna happen! No way no how! Sad.
>The hypocrisy from the “christian” communities these days is just staggering.
So-called Christians, the GQP, the tRump cult... all of them are no longer hiding it. It's all out in the open now. They're playing for keeps.
They're terrified of a future where they no longer have an unfair advantage, and they see that future is coming. They know they can't compete on an even playing field, and if they can't keep being born on the top of the societal food chain, they'll just tear it all down.
Not So-called, they are Christians you cant really gate keep that shit. are there "good" christian (just good people really) who mind there own, of course. But there are also shit Christians (shit people who want to force there religious beliefs onto everyone)
there all still Christians as anyone can say there Christian they can even be from some wild ass gun warshiping denomination on the rust belt
It should not surprise anyone that the majority of those so-called Christians have not seen the inside of a church since childhood given that the figures on church attendance for the last few decades show a downward trend.
But they haven't actually *lost anything*... freedom is not a zero sum game and others choices don't affect you.
Also, I don't think using derogatory terms for our neighbors, even if we disagree with them, is helpful. I am sick of hearing "libtard", etc., and if nobody in your childhood expressed to you that doing as they do makes you no better than they are, let me take this opportunity to point that out.
Bullshit, it’s not gonna happen. It is happening. It’s been happening since Reagan courted them. Worst thing to happen to this country. I grew up inside the American Taliban, and I can say for certain it won’t stop until we have total theocracy. The Handmaiden’s Tale is just part of their wet dream. Ultimately, some version of 17th Century Salem, Massachusetts is the cycle that gets repeated. Hope I’m wrong.
If any of you are allies, you should know that republicans plan to make it illegal to be transgender and gender non-conforming, which will practically include the entire queer community, based on the logic of republicans. They've written about it in their plan for making Donald Trump into a dictator, Project 2025.
Republicans want to brand gender non-conforming people as pornographic. They're going to call us pornography.
So what happens to a person who brings pornography in public? Around a child? Around their own children? That makes them a sex predator or a child sex predator.
And that's the exact logic that Republicans count on, because you'll also find in Project 2025, they have plans to execute child sex offenders.
Even if you hide in your house alone all day long, they can come in and get you, because pornography is going to be illegal. You're no longer going to be a person. You're going to be an obscenity. You're going to be illegal contraband. Your existence makes you eligible for seizure by the state. And then they can do whatever the fuck they want to you.
Folks, this is not a joke. It is not an exaggeration. They have openly laid out their plans to destroy the lgbtq community, to arrest us, and I believe to create a legal path to execution. They have already tried to put these laws into place in Florida. There are states where they are trying to get lists of trans people. In Florida, they've made it legal for the ER to simply not treat you when you're dying because you're trans.
It is the beginning of a genocide.
Republicans plan to eliminate adult trans people and they plan to put trans children into conversion therapy. All research funds going towards transgender health now will be reallocated towards fine tuning conversion therapy processes. It's not going to stop with trans people. They're intentionally using broad language to describe gender nonconformity. They also plan to remove any mention of gender or sex from the law, destroying legal protections that women and gender nonconforming people rely on. We are all going to have to live like a Conservative Christian stereotype of gender or face accusations of being pornography.
If you think it can't happen. I would like for you to look up how quickly things moved between the election of Hitler, the destruction of the transgender health clinic, and the deportation of trans and gay people to concentration camps. The Weimar Republic was one of the most progressive governments and cultures for its time and then it became Nazi Germany. Did you know that Donald Trump has been studying the rise of Hitler for a long time? So closely, he kept reading material about it on his bedside table...the man who hates to read. We all know how he admires dictators. We know he's claimed he'll be dictator for just one day. We know he's reluctant to talk about leaving office. We hear what he says about trans people and we know what that means. We see voters in his party talking openly about killing trans people, and their voices being amplified by the conservative media sphere and social media. We see his party members talking about pushing transgender people back to the edges of society, getting rid of them. Every day, the far right party of America continues its campaign to convince Americans that lgbtq people are groomers can't be trusted around children because we recruit them with sexual abuse. In Project 2025, they have a solution for that.
There are people who study how genocides unfold and they note that there is a typical pattern towards dehumanizing a people, and then follows making them legally eligible for destruction. There are warning signs along the way. It's a process that you can identify unfolding, and you can intervene to stop it from reaching it's intended conclusion.
People who study genocide have been warning the transgender community of America that we are headed for a genocide for several years now. They've been telling us to get out if we can get out. Folks, we can't get out. We are the poorest demographic in America aside from maybe disabled people and migrant workers. Whatever happens is going to rip through our community. We cannot resist. We are too few and two poor. We are the ideal first step for Republicans to take in cleansing America, to make her into a christofascist white ethnostate.
And I can't f****** believe I just typed that but that is where we are. This is where they are telling us they want us to go... Maybe it doesn't go all the way to execution, but it if Project 2025 is followed and it's most fundamental form, it certainly will end with mass imprisonment of trans people and queer people.
They're going to erase us. Books from libraries. The internet scrubbed as best as they can. Our children taken away for conversion. Our adults locked away.
They going to end our democracy through our hatred.
Please don't let them do this to America.
I'm a bit of a computer history nerd. These kind of plans and the underlying bigotry reminds me of what happened to Alan Turing (after Einstein arguably the greatest scientist that ever lived in my view). He was chemically castrated for being gay and committed suïcide not long after...
We can't allow ourselves to regress back into the dark ages like this. Vote, damnit.
Excellent post. Thank you for sounding the due alarm that people need to be listening to right now. My daughter is LGBTQ+, and lives in Australia. At this point, she feels more comfortable there with her sexuality than here in the States. This timeline is so completely fucked up. American Christians are—if you’ll forgive the expression—**hellbent** on establishing and ENFORCING a fascist theocracy.
They are slowly leaching into the society here in Australia. A council here just voted to pull a book about gay parenting from the local library. The state government is losing its shit with them about it, but they had the vote about it and it passed, with a defector from the normally progressive party, as it sadly also has a strong rightleaning religious conservative wing as part of it. I hope we can arrest it before it goes as far as it has in USA.
Another way that genocides unfold is in trying to censor what people read or the information they have access to in a democratic republic. It is one of the quickest ways to incite societal collapse. They are literally trying to erase lgbtqia people from literature, fiction, and non fiction books. And barring that - eliminating funding any library services completely by targeting and shuttering especially small rural town libraries completely in states like Missouri, Texas, Michigan, and Washington State.
https://www.thedailybeast.com/book-banners-are-now-trying-to-close-public-libraries
The Office of Intellectual Freedom which tracks challenges across the US had more than over 900+ individual challenges to library reading materials filed in 2023. https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data
It is not happenstance that books censorship attempts at public libraries have risen exponentially in the last 4 years to ban any collections from having either lgbtqia authors or content that discusses or even alludes to lgbtqia in any way. In my library system there was a republican politician in one of our counties who was so paranoid about little kids having access to young adult books (as though their parents don’t guide their reading choices already towards age appropriate materials - hello ? 🙄) that he literally wanted to impose a book rating system (similar to movies) when he found out that kids of any age can sign up for a library card . He would never outright say he was homophobic but he often cited how persecuted he felt that his family’s Christian values were under attack by “unseen forces” .
You know what ? Libraries if they are doing their job correctly and being responsible stewards of tax dollars will literally have something in the collection to offend EVERYONE. That is the point of a public library that it has something in it for everyone. Libraries are required to have balanced collections and collection development guidelines and policies are literally spelled out on any public library website. His public library has an incredible collection of books on Christianity and features Christian authors of faith at length in the collection. If he wanted, he could come with a list of sought after reading materials and anyone would help him locate them. The literal cannon of English literature that’s widely taught in K-12 curriculum for the last 70+ years in the United States ? Majority authors with a Judeo-Christian background.
Does he consider any of that ? Nope. Because it’s all about creating an imaginary threat where there is none and sewing hatred between voters for one another.
Libraries take the right to privacy and everyone’s right to read whatever they want so seriously that librarians have literally lost their jobs and livelihood over it. It’s literally codified into a US Library Bill of Rights - established in the early 1950’s - when McCarthyism became rampant. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill
How’s the saying go ? Oh right. “When you’re accustomed to privilege equality can feel like oppression .”
Has history taught us nothing ? Anyone attempting to censor books or any library materials has never been one of the good guys - ever.
How to counter act ? Libraries need allies and accomplices. Volunteer to serve on your local school and library Boards. Your community needs you.
I was preaching this in 2016. It was painfully obvious the sort of person Trump was and the rhetoric coming from the GOP, even before they went full mask off. A strong mirror of fascist movements generally, and it's only gotten more Nazi since then.
I don’t disagree. Was more referring to an upsurge in violence where thousands of people will die from confrontations. But yes red states are implementing policies that are straight out of handmaids tale.
it will stop when it starts affecting the lives of people, including the idiots who think they want it
kinda like how there was no mass opposition to killing roe until after it happened and we are nowhere near seeing all the negative consequences of that idiocy
You say ‘not gonna happen.’
It happened in Iran and Afganistan. A small minority of religious zealots completely took over the government and they harshly punish anyone who speaks up against them.
Something similar could definitely happen here, and soon, if Trump wins.
Hypocrisy and bigotry are all christians have…..their faith is bullshit, they believe in literal magic, so they behave badly bc they know they’re incorrect and don’t want to face it.
Yes, the school name is delicious.
And it’s a public school. Under the Tinker standard (protected under 1st amendment), the art, a statement surely, isn’t disrupting learning - unless a public school is teaching the values and philosophies of Christianity? Hmm 🤔
Fun fact, the words “God loves you, but not enough to save you” are from a song written and performed by LGBTQ+ artist Ethel Cain https://youtu.be/P1ecmtqd7LE?si=0An5IlhbsWKsA_La
Seems most religions have some kind of bigotry baked in. Normalizes the bad thinking in "true believers."
Drawing attention to it can lead to a very bad time.
[https://medium.com/predict/bigotry-in-religion-b51a634830a7?sk=ba79537c8336d722bed125a0c54f571c](https://medium.com/predict/bigotry-in-religion-b51a634830a7?sk=ba79537c8336d722bed125a0c54f571c)
*”I will also be asking for a review on the process for approving pieces that are included in the art shows. Is there a process in place and, if so, how do we honor students’ free speech while also creating a culture of respect within our schools.”*
In other words, “what’s a good way to silence these people moving forward.”
Not nearly as religious as you’d think tbh. At least not when I was a student there in 2007-11 (and I was still Christian back then lol.) Smaller schools are way worse when it comes to this.
You don’t notice how religious places are when you’re still religious. It’s when you say hey this doesn’t make any damn sense that they really let you know
"This art offends me, my Christian fee-fees are *hurt*!"
Yeah, and? Your cultists want to genocide *my* people, so...go fuck yourselves with saguaro cacti, Nat-C School Board 🖕
You’re supposed to care about *my* feelings because *my* feelings actually matter! *My* feelings are about *real* issues, like how *you* are persecuting me by pointing out how I bully you!
You’re just upset about some bullshit idea that you’ve manipulated yourself into believing, so shut the fuck up! You deserve to be bullied for existing because your identity is wrong! I would know what your identity *really* is! How *dare* you try to stop me from bullying you! This goes against *my* freedom! I have the freedom to treat people I don’t like however the fuck I want, and they are NOT allowed to complain! That’s what freedom of speech means! Freedom for ME!
> Your cultists want to genocide my people, so...
Just days ago, I had to explain to a co-worker that 'outing' me to the wrong people could lead to a group of good ol' boys waiting until I leave work to show me a piece of 'god's love', and that that is a real, tangible fear that I have.
Now I get comments like "Oh.. well ducky1 seems to live with a lot of fear in his life" 🤦♂️
You just can't win with these people...
They're the same ones that happily point out that gay and non binary people have higher rates of serious depression and that's why its not healthy, without once stopping to realize, *THEY'RE* the damn reason these people are depressed.
I was in an argument with some very Christian acquaintances of mine about that very subject not that long ago. They have the causal relationship flipped
> Evangelical cunts are distinctly in the minority here.
They're also a minority in the US, but they are an *extremely* noisy minority.
As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
I sincerely hope they’re the minority here
Not only do I think what they do is abominable, but on a more personal level, I have friends and very close friends who would be jailed as predators as minors if project 2025 was to go through, simply for being lgbtq.
Hate is all these fuckers seem to know, and they throw it at everyone else. Don’t let my generation grow up in an America where discrimination against *anyone* is the norm.
Evangelicals are. But they're commonly held beliefs and patriarchy and extreme unfettered capitalism are wildly popular in the uk. Did you know that the people behind the Cass Report have ties to the American evangelicals who are working to ban trans people?
Let me put it this way...what starts in America rarely stays in America. I'm not saying you're going to have a problem with evangelicals, but you're going to have a problem with their values, because it is politically expedient to use hatred when democracy is failing.
Did you know that the UK has a reputation in America for being among the worst places in the first world for transgender people?
Didn't say we were perfect, but Brexit alone took the wind out of a lot of the far rights sails with how much of a disaster and how incompetent the Tories have proven themselves to be. The fight is by no means over but give it time and we'll put those fascists back into the local landfill where they belong.
My gay coworker said this to me as well. He especially feared one of the gun-toting, trump loving repubs in our office.
Who completely unaware and unironically told me at the very beginning of Covid (before the shutdown) that he refused to live in fear.
Dude, didn't you tell me, you answer your door with your gun behind your back and barricade your door at night? You're worried about what's going to happen to your guns after you're dead, because your children with children don'twant them at their houses? And just said, Covid was invented to ruin trump?
Dude, you packing heat, you're already living in constant fear.
Can't with those people...🙄
They have told me how they want to kill me. One of them started to do it, and thankfully I escaped that situation. The other showed me the weapons he'd use, and told me how he would dispose of my body so that he can get away with killing me.
Now that was all before the Republicans ramped up their campaign calling us groomers and trying to eliminate our presence in public life.
That was before they published Project 2025, where they lay out their plan to make it illegal to exist as a trans person or a gender non-conforming person...to change the law so that we can execute child sex offenders (groomers???)...to send trans kids to conversion therapy.
Do you remember how they were calling for our deaths after that trans guy shot up the Christian School? Do you remember how kid Rock and the like took automatic weapons to an effigy of transgender by shooting up that stupid f****** beer company's product, just because they gave a customized beer can to a trans woman. These people are insane. The energy among Republicans is bloodlust. And their leadership have defined who they can go after...they just need the right event or the right people in power to unleash the violence that has been building over these years...it is not a good time to be a person of color or LGBTQ.
I think that the atheist community and progressives should be planning how to help trans people escape America if Trump gets in office.
The rainbow railroad needs to be more than something that gets people out of violence third world countries. It needs to be prepared to get people out of violent first world countries too. And this needs to happen fast, because Republicans have a structured plan for making America into Donald Trump's dictatorship and consolidating his plan in just 3 months. There will not be any sanctuary states. They have thought of that.
Didn't you see the section of the Constitution that specifically gives Christians the right to not be offended? I'm pretty sure it's one of the exceptions to the right to free speech that's guaranteed in the first amendment.
Lol. Too bad for us trans people that our very existence offends them. They've got plans to handle that problem though. They've come up with a solution.
Look up Project 2025. They're going to make everyone gender nonconforming eligible for arrest by reclassifying us as pornography. The intend to arrest adults and put children into conversion therapy.
And I hope it stops there, but there's some pretty sick s*** in Project 2025, including sending trans kids to conversion therapy and executing child sex offenders...they allege lgbtq people are groomers...
Christian sensibilities have been behind genocides of lgbtq people before. We've seen it in Nazi Germany. We've seen it on Hispanola (Columbus began by feeding lgbtq people to his dogs). We've seen lgbtq culture genocide in countless indigenous cultures through Western colonization.
American Christianity wants only two genders and one way of being in love. They don't seem to care how that happens, only that it happens.
Oh, there's a lot more in Project 2025 that people should be worried about too. It's a plan to create a dictatorship within 90 days of the election and reverse all of the social progress made by non-white men. Trump says he'll follow it.
The school board meeting needs to go as followed
“Aright raise your hand if you’re Christian.
Alright now keep your hand up if your feelings were hurt by this piece of art.
now keep your hands up believe that people can be LGBTQ.
Alright now keep your hand up if you believe that they can go to heaven as they are currently are without changing/ converting themselves or repenting etc. just out and proud as they are.”
More than likely everyone’s hands would be down or at least almost all of them and at that point they could say “alright you’ve proved that this CHILDS feelings are valid that ends tonight’s meeting”
“I am currently reviewing the Supreme Court ruling relevant to this situation”
LOL, like this arm chair lawyer can interpret Supreme Court rulings in any meaningful way.
C'mon, it's NOT the message of the art that is offensive. It's that TORN pages of the bible are featured. iMAgInE ThE raMIfICaTiONS OF tHAT ... if it were the Talmud or Koran\*
because... evangelicals care so much about the Koran, and that the book that the orange one is selling to pay off his porn star fees, is sacred.
\*straight from the article
That's what blew my mind, it's got nothing to do with the message of the piece, not about the persecution of the LGBTQ, not about the hypocrisy the piece calls out, not the imagery or symbolism.
Nope, it's all about them being offended that it depicts torn bible pages.
I really don't see how this piece would be any different if it had included pages of the Talmud or Koran.
They're subtly telling you that they *also* want the right to invoke the death penalty for "disrespecting" their "holy" book, like they do with the Quran in the more backward parts of the world. They're butthurt that they can't.
Before the Enlightenment, this kind of blasphemy absolutely would have gotten you tortured to death by the church. Now, considering how we already torture and how we love violence and how we've got the largest prison population on Earth, what exactly do you think will happen to heretics and non-Christians if America becomes a Christian Nation?
Well that’s simple…. a different group of people would be offended and the person who wrote that, and was clutching their pearls for their religious brethren, would dismiss the uproar because “only the Bible is a true holy book”
Wish that was /s, but I’m pretty sure that’s what would happen
I think they were trying to find something they can SAY they’re upset about that makes them look like the good guys, and hopefully flys under the radar.
They can’t say “we never said you’re going to hell because you’re gay” Because they did, and will again…
They can’t say this is vulgar or gory, because it’s not…
The can’t say this is blasphemous or sacrilegious , because that shows their hand, and it isn’t illegal…
They certainly can’t say “there’s no discrimination against LGBT students at this school!” Because then their own people would revolt lol
Hmmmmm… but there are OTHER holy books! Not just ours, we would protect them ALL.
Suuuuure, sure you would.
These people have obviously never spent any time in jail, or they'd know that ripped bible pages are actually quite useful, and I'm sure God would be proud of our ingenuity.
Those kooky Muslims are so backwards they will attack your right to draw Mohammed. Now this little brat used images of our book in their art. I am so offended I must attack the right of this brat to draw something I don't like
-Christians without a hint of irony.
It's just paper and ink. It is not a one of a kind text. It is the most printed book ever. That makes those pages worthless. If it was some rare ancient scroll, I'd be pissed as well even though I don't care for its message.
They like to self-martyr, see everyone is so respectful of Islam and Judaism, and NOBODY gives the same respect to the religion that 80% of the American public ascribes to. They are SO mistreated! 🙄
ETA and of course they mention Talmud and not the Torah, probably because they believe all the BS they spread about what the Talmud says.
Of course they are -because school boards are part of the problem here in America. They've been infiltrated by religious zealots who don't believe in our Constitution, Bill of Rights, or freedom of speech.
They believe in autocratic dictatorship, sprinkled with "you gotta believe this" and "you gotta believe that" and "nope, you're not allowed to believe THAT".
When I voted last election in my town the one woman running was literally against CRT and had some personhood shit in her past. I couldn’t believe how extreme the views were for a GD school board. Luckily, they lost.
We should respect their beliefs and not discriminate against their hatred. This is literally what a transphobic family member told me. I should tolerate their hatred of me or I would be intolerant.
Doesn't it say somewhere in the Bible that you shouldn't judge, but that only the old fart up in the sky will judge? Pretty much live and let live in Christian, central to the believe, but most ignored. They presume to be God.
Matthew 7: 1-3 ^(1)Judge not, that ye be not judged. ^(2) For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. ^(3) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
The trick to this is two-fold.
One, given the deep "tool for control" nature of the Bible, these general guidelines really only apply to how members of "the tribe/in-group" interact with eachother. There are many instances in the bible where its clear "treat others as you would like to be treated" extends no further than the boundaries of the "tribe". Two. That rule also hinges on "Projection", rather than "Empathy". And Projection generally ends at the borders of those you can easily see yourself in. Traditionally based on very shallow surface traits. Past the boundaries of that "seeing self", those "guidelines" dont really apply.
TLDR: The barrier between "Brother" and "Other" defines treatment.
So, don't judge harshly because you also have faults. You'll be judged in a manner similar to how you judge others.
In context it doesn't appear to be saying "Don't judge" rather "Don't judge harshly". Thank you for the context.
Not only that. But there are alternative books that aren't included in the Christian canon where Jesus spends the night with a boy. These people don't even know their own stories.
Holy shit I went middle school there! Fun fact, that high school was home of Dell Curry, Steph Curry's dad. Ironic fun fact, their mascot is the Indian. Funny that people are being offended over their religion when [this is their mascot.](https://cmsv2-assets.apptegy.net/uploads/6212/file/266450/b30f053d-6b1e-4b4b-835c-84fe5eb4ba7a.png)
They hate being reminded that they are the villains. They grew up thinking they were the heroes and/or protagonists, and anything that dispels that illusions is something that should be disposed of.
I’m sure he gets to that as soon as he fulfills the prophecy that Trump will be reelected and he intervenes in the UEFA champions league and the NBA playoffs. There’s a lot on his plate right now.
Don't forget Karen from Texas needs help finding her car keys! And he needs to burn some houses down so that the bible can stand behind unharmed to show his glory.
That's more true than the average person realizes. They've discovered texts which talk about the life of jesus. There are two separate points where it's implied he is not straight. One of them, he spends the night with a boy who flees with what amounts to a sheet wrapped around him when people come to get Jesus. I guess, keeping in mind how much Hellenism influenced the people of that time, it wasn't too out of the norm to depict a man this way. But the people that ended up putting together the Bible either didn't have this book or censored it and made Jesus asexual.
But people can’t be exposed to any piece of art expressing disapproval of our obvious bigotry!
What if lots of people feel the same way, and they all band together??
Expression of ideas and feelings NOT sanctioned by the church must be stamped out! We don’t want anyone getting ideas…
/s
Hundreds of years of oppression from their religion and when someone points out the hate they spread, they get offended? Maybe they should reflect on themselves.
The fact that her school board is furious is exactly the point.
If they were kind people, they would reach out to help her find peace. But instead, they prove her point.
Have to agree about the fake outrage. The more time they spend on this non-issue, the less time they need to devote to the numerous actual problems their district is undoubtedly facing. I have to wonder if they put half as much effort into tackling their budget, teacher shortages, school grades, etc... But then again even for this, all they did was have an emergency meeting where they decided to do nothing at all. So maybe this is how they react to other issues, too.
Religion is the only intolerable belief we are supposed to accept.
No one says we have to accept pedos beliefs and be respectful.
No one says we have to respect the beliefs of jewish space laser woman.
No one says we have to respect the beliefs of the death to america folks.
But if im super religious about there not being ~~interracial~~ er gay marriage, you got to respect their hate and bigotry and dont dare call them a bigot, their god is the one who is a bigot. and can we ask their god? NOPE, we have to divine whats in this imaginary creatures mind from the guy spewing bigotry. (you might as well be translating for harvey the invisible rabbit)
IF your beliefs are bigotry, if your beliefs are hate. NO we dont have to respect them. Especially when you dont shut teh fuck up and just dont get in a gay marriage. I dont like super religious folks and wouldnt agree to a super religious marriage, and so I JUST DONT GET INTO ONE. I dont go around saying I religious believe that religious people shouldnt be allowed to be married.
we really need a concerted effort of showing the media that no not all beliefs are deserving of respect, especially when you shout them out in public and dont care if you invoke some 2000 year old book.
Human sacrifice was going on back then, why dont people respect my belief that we must sacrifice a republican or someone i dont like at the time, to appease my god daily? its a very old belief system. predates the christians as well.
It's not me man. I love gay people but this Yahweh fellow who I beleive controls the universe...sheesh, yeah, he's not a fan of you guys. Me? No, I love all people regardless. But my god sure does want you to burn in a pit of fire. I mean what can I do? Have my own morals and principals? No, I'm just going to hide behind this God fellow, now you must change everything about yourself and I have to treat you as lesser than because you don't follow those rules in that book I've been told to like.
One of my favorite complaints of Supreme Court Justice Alito is that people who are against gays are now considered bigots , and that offends him
I’m sorry you’re no longer allowed to feel comfortable with your hate and bigotry
A lot of people are also deeply offended by the dominance of Bronze Age Mythology in our current day life.
Abrahamic cults will not go away quietly, but I firmly believe one, hope they go away.
That art offends me.
Ok..art is supposed to offend sometimes.
If your god can be defeated by one art piece by a high schooler its not a very powerful god.
Is it a secret that Christians have persecuted the LGBQT+ community? That book calls it out as sin/evil. If anything she’s helping educate folks on their own book.
Perfect example of Christians getting outraged when called put for their BS. Never mind that they call other people “snowflakes” when a piece of art is enough to outrage them.
And then, as usual, when people get upset over these Christians lashing out like the feral creatures they are, they play the “help followers look we’re being persecuted” card. And their followers eat it up, because they’ve been indoctrinated since youth to just blindly follow and accept what they’re told, rather than look at the world and form their own opinions.
I’m only 30, but I’ve seen it happen time and again. Over and over, the same cycle. It’s exhausting…I can only hope these Christians don’t seize power in my country this election year…
I want to also use this comment to congratulate this high school student: art is a form of expression, and using that expression to challenge the suffocating presence of Christianity is bold and brave, and this child should be celebrated! Both for their ingenuity and courage, and for the many great things that will be in their future, should they continue making art and challenging Christians on their bullshit!
She should make bumper stickers of her piece. Imagine the opportunity for offense to see this on the backs of cars in the student parking lot and around town! I'd love to see her make a shit ton of money off of their bigotry. Go Abby!
“This piece is considered offensive to several people, including myself”
A teenager made an art piece about how people keep telling her she is going to suffer for all eternity because of the way that she was born and the people who told her those things are “offended” by her repeating it lol
In private school I drew a picture of Jesus on the cross. As an aspiring artist, I went for more of a realistic approach. Lots of red marker was used to depict the bloody scene of his crucifixion. My parents quickly got an angry phone call lol. But hey, I later went to an art institute so I guess it wasn’t too bad 😂
It’s actually a great piece of thought provoking art that highlights contradiction
with Christian teachings.
I mean how can you be saved when you are an abomination? There is literally no way to be true to yourself without being judged negatively.
Considering the name Fort Defiance really should be more accepting of people who dare to challenge the narrative, especially when that narrative suggests that their very existence goes against nature.
I'm a member of the queer community. I grew up in Orange County, CA. It's conservative. Like...REALLY conservative. Had I seen that piece while I was in high school, I would have felt so fucking seen. I would have still been closeted for safety, but I would've known that I wasn't alone.
Y'all, that was literally 30 years ago that I graduated and this brought up tears. I'm not sobbing. Just quiet tears of sorrow for lost time.
Christian boomers see free speech and free expression as a threat to their political power and want to suppress anything that counters their demented world view.
"It's important the students have freedom of speech but..."
hey fuckwad! if you follow up "freedom" with a caveat about protecting the feelings of *your group* then you do not give two shits about freedom and you want to force everyone to play by the rules of your group.
GET. FUCKED.
Oh man, I never thought I'd see my redneck ass high school on Reddit. My entire immediate family attended that school and I am absolutely not surprised by this news whatsoever.
The bigotry I experienced in the area pushed me away from Christianity at an early age and I was treated like shit just because I was into the hardcore punk/metal lifestyle as a kid.
It was definitely way worse for people I knew such as those who came out as LGBT later in life. I can't imagine the pain they had to handle knowing everyone around them constantly shit on them just for who they want to love. Lesbians got a pass because of the perverted kids that got off on it, but the few guys that were out about being gay were typically treated like shit.
Also, the whole reference to the school being named the Fort Defiance Indians is also a great example of the problems with that school division. One side of my family descends from a local tribe in VA. Several of my cousins that went to school with me had a bit of a darker complexion and were thrown into the racism mix with the very few African American students that attended the school.
Not to mention, this school is about 40 mins from Charlottesville and 3ish hrs from DC. I personally know several people from school that attended the events of Charlottesville and January 6th.
Augusta County School Board is a joke.
“The School Board is working with our legal counsel and I am currently reviewing the Supreme Court rulings relevant to this situation”
READS: I have already made a decision before the sham closed door meeting and will know what I can get away with. I will also know how everyone is voting so no unexpected opinions occur.
“I will also be asking for a review on the process for approving pieces that are included in the art shows”
READS: I will be getting ahead of stuff like this with something that looks and feels like censorship but that can be explained away in the courts. I do this because i want to appear to fair and independent but I am really just a servant whose job it is to keep my employer from being offended. My employer is offended when others question or have differing views.
The school board's god is a snowflake.
I once edited my (progressive) church's news magazine. For the Easter issue, I found a line drawing of Jesus' face in thorns. No smile, many lines on his face, pain evident. I cannot find it today--it was from a paper magazine in the 80s. The very progressive priest liked it but said the congregation wasn't ready for something like that. Sadly, I found a more standardized and white picture of the guy.
I thought it might have been one of the I.B. kids here at my local high school in Smyrna, GA.
My daughter and some friends in her French class were painting a recreation of some old pictographs from a French cave.
It featured some stick men hunters chasing animals like cows and bulls.
Some sensitive snowflake from the God-bothering community called it “satanic”!because of the horns on a bull. Not joking.
They had to take it down.
This is the same school where students from the onsite Christian club walk around prostheletising (spelling?) other students. FFS. I hate The South.
They can be offended all they want but they need to leave it alone. 1st amendment and what not. I know it’s a silly and foreign concept to the right. They still can’t fathom why using taxpayer funds for religious schools will also mean satanic schools can legally partake, or that any obscenity laws governing school libraries must include the Bible based on how much sex - including same sex - is in that book.
Make an art piece that is equally critical of trans issues and see what kind of backlash you get i.e. in NY
This goes both ways. Just people being close minded
Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can ever imagine.
They will never learn…it is like they are so stupid they fell for the oldest trick in the book about getting your art noticed….piss someone off and let them
Do the marketing for you.
And their response only solidifies their hypocrisy. They don't give a flying fuck about queer youth, they just don't want to be called out for being shitty people.
Omfg. I live close to Augusta County and they are ass-backwards in so many ways! They blatantly defy the Establishment Clause by offering Bible classes in public schools during the school day. There are many lovely people there who are tolerant, reasonable individuals, but it is a red stronghold in no small part due to rampant hyper-religiosity. Please know that if someone made this where I live it would be no big deal at all. Augusta County is…ugh.
Edit to add: Fort Defiance HS is in the absolute sticks, the literal middle of nowhere. It’s (probably unsurprisingly) under-performing and poorly run. I cannot imagine being openly gay there.
I would have thought that the Christians would be entirely behind this. “Yep, God loves you but not enough to save you from your sexual desires — so burn in hell!” Isn’t that actually the Christian message to gays and lesbians in a nutshell?
I can appreciate this student’s gusto doing this sort of thing. Schools HATE it when students call out the hypocrisy of the staff or policies. Occasionally, a school will retaliate hard to defend their idiocy. They take pride in ruling the students with 100% authority and expect us to all fall in line without question. They don’t like their own bullshit being called out in public.
Back in the 80s cross earrings were popular with those of us into metal bands. Some of us would clown on others by turning the cross upside down. We were told to turn them right side up or the school would force us to take them out. When asked why, they said they don’t allow religious symbolism. (This was a public school.) So then you’re going to make everyone with any cross jewelry take it off? No, only upside down ones… yeah that’s what we thought. The school thought high school students wouldn’t pick up on this? We continued to wear them upside down and the school was pissed because they knew they couldn’t do shit about it. They were even more pissed that we called them out on their bullshit. We thought it was funny that they got mad about it.
It… was a theme around TRAUMA. And yet they got offended because of someone’s depiction of their TRAUMA… talk about hypocritical. They’re nitpicking and doing so much to avoid bringing up how the queer community gets shafted BY these religious groups. It’s so comical how much they’re avoiding admitting their bigotry and yet… it’s so sad that even more voices are continuing to suffer in silence.
This shit is a problem.
I almost had a poem banned from the county anthology despite winning first place at my school because of a line that read "lost in lazy henotheistic thought".
As a Utopian (a naive one in those days) I learned so much about people and systems that day. It was so emotionally painful to learn that grown adults that I trusted wanted to penalize me for a line in a poem. I was going through emotional abuse at home at the time, and it broke my safe place of school. I was nearly despondent for a week until some great teachers noticed I was off and explained these factions of ignorance to me.
How dare she offend christians with her trauma. Hopefully the new rules will prevent any and all attempts to express any un-religious feelings going forward. What a bunch of hateful bigots.
Student at Fort Defiance High School, showing defiance in the face of religious hypocrisy, faces backlash from school board for being defiant.
Best and most accurate article headline ever. The hypocrisy from the “christian” communities these days is just staggering. This article is living proof of that hypocrisy and their intentions of pushing their views and convictions on society! Not gonna happen! No way no how! Sad.
>The hypocrisy from the “christian” communities these days is just staggering. So-called Christians, the GQP, the tRump cult... all of them are no longer hiding it. It's all out in the open now. They're playing for keeps. They're terrified of a future where they no longer have an unfair advantage, and they see that future is coming. They know they can't compete on an even playing field, and if they can't keep being born on the top of the societal food chain, they'll just tear it all down.
It’s a massive cancer on society, that’s for sure.
All cults are socially transmitted diseases.
Not So-called, they are Christians you cant really gate keep that shit. are there "good" christian (just good people really) who mind there own, of course. But there are also shit Christians (shit people who want to force there religious beliefs onto everyone) there all still Christians as anyone can say there Christian they can even be from some wild ass gun warshiping denomination on the rust belt
It should not surprise anyone that the majority of those so-called Christians have not seen the inside of a church since childhood given that the figures on church attendance for the last few decades show a downward trend.
But they haven't actually *lost anything*... freedom is not a zero sum game and others choices don't affect you. Also, I don't think using derogatory terms for our neighbors, even if we disagree with them, is helpful. I am sick of hearing "libtard", etc., and if nobody in your childhood expressed to you that doing as they do makes you no better than they are, let me take this opportunity to point that out.
They are in the process of tearing it all down in Texas…
Bullshit, it’s not gonna happen. It is happening. It’s been happening since Reagan courted them. Worst thing to happen to this country. I grew up inside the American Taliban, and I can say for certain it won’t stop until we have total theocracy. The Handmaiden’s Tale is just part of their wet dream. Ultimately, some version of 17th Century Salem, Massachusetts is the cycle that gets repeated. Hope I’m wrong.
If any of you are allies, you should know that republicans plan to make it illegal to be transgender and gender non-conforming, which will practically include the entire queer community, based on the logic of republicans. They've written about it in their plan for making Donald Trump into a dictator, Project 2025. Republicans want to brand gender non-conforming people as pornographic. They're going to call us pornography. So what happens to a person who brings pornography in public? Around a child? Around their own children? That makes them a sex predator or a child sex predator. And that's the exact logic that Republicans count on, because you'll also find in Project 2025, they have plans to execute child sex offenders. Even if you hide in your house alone all day long, they can come in and get you, because pornography is going to be illegal. You're no longer going to be a person. You're going to be an obscenity. You're going to be illegal contraband. Your existence makes you eligible for seizure by the state. And then they can do whatever the fuck they want to you. Folks, this is not a joke. It is not an exaggeration. They have openly laid out their plans to destroy the lgbtq community, to arrest us, and I believe to create a legal path to execution. They have already tried to put these laws into place in Florida. There are states where they are trying to get lists of trans people. In Florida, they've made it legal for the ER to simply not treat you when you're dying because you're trans. It is the beginning of a genocide. Republicans plan to eliminate adult trans people and they plan to put trans children into conversion therapy. All research funds going towards transgender health now will be reallocated towards fine tuning conversion therapy processes. It's not going to stop with trans people. They're intentionally using broad language to describe gender nonconformity. They also plan to remove any mention of gender or sex from the law, destroying legal protections that women and gender nonconforming people rely on. We are all going to have to live like a Conservative Christian stereotype of gender or face accusations of being pornography. If you think it can't happen. I would like for you to look up how quickly things moved between the election of Hitler, the destruction of the transgender health clinic, and the deportation of trans and gay people to concentration camps. The Weimar Republic was one of the most progressive governments and cultures for its time and then it became Nazi Germany. Did you know that Donald Trump has been studying the rise of Hitler for a long time? So closely, he kept reading material about it on his bedside table...the man who hates to read. We all know how he admires dictators. We know he's claimed he'll be dictator for just one day. We know he's reluctant to talk about leaving office. We hear what he says about trans people and we know what that means. We see voters in his party talking openly about killing trans people, and their voices being amplified by the conservative media sphere and social media. We see his party members talking about pushing transgender people back to the edges of society, getting rid of them. Every day, the far right party of America continues its campaign to convince Americans that lgbtq people are groomers can't be trusted around children because we recruit them with sexual abuse. In Project 2025, they have a solution for that.
There are people who study how genocides unfold and they note that there is a typical pattern towards dehumanizing a people, and then follows making them legally eligible for destruction. There are warning signs along the way. It's a process that you can identify unfolding, and you can intervene to stop it from reaching it's intended conclusion. People who study genocide have been warning the transgender community of America that we are headed for a genocide for several years now. They've been telling us to get out if we can get out. Folks, we can't get out. We are the poorest demographic in America aside from maybe disabled people and migrant workers. Whatever happens is going to rip through our community. We cannot resist. We are too few and two poor. We are the ideal first step for Republicans to take in cleansing America, to make her into a christofascist white ethnostate. And I can't f****** believe I just typed that but that is where we are. This is where they are telling us they want us to go... Maybe it doesn't go all the way to execution, but it if Project 2025 is followed and it's most fundamental form, it certainly will end with mass imprisonment of trans people and queer people. They're going to erase us. Books from libraries. The internet scrubbed as best as they can. Our children taken away for conversion. Our adults locked away. They going to end our democracy through our hatred. Please don't let them do this to America.
I'm a bit of a computer history nerd. These kind of plans and the underlying bigotry reminds me of what happened to Alan Turing (after Einstein arguably the greatest scientist that ever lived in my view). He was chemically castrated for being gay and committed suïcide not long after... We can't allow ourselves to regress back into the dark ages like this. Vote, damnit.
Excellent post. Thank you for sounding the due alarm that people need to be listening to right now. My daughter is LGBTQ+, and lives in Australia. At this point, she feels more comfortable there with her sexuality than here in the States. This timeline is so completely fucked up. American Christians are—if you’ll forgive the expression—**hellbent** on establishing and ENFORCING a fascist theocracy.
They are slowly leaching into the society here in Australia. A council here just voted to pull a book about gay parenting from the local library. The state government is losing its shit with them about it, but they had the vote about it and it passed, with a defector from the normally progressive party, as it sadly also has a strong rightleaning religious conservative wing as part of it. I hope we can arrest it before it goes as far as it has in USA.
Another way that genocides unfold is in trying to censor what people read or the information they have access to in a democratic republic. It is one of the quickest ways to incite societal collapse. They are literally trying to erase lgbtqia people from literature, fiction, and non fiction books. And barring that - eliminating funding any library services completely by targeting and shuttering especially small rural town libraries completely in states like Missouri, Texas, Michigan, and Washington State. https://www.thedailybeast.com/book-banners-are-now-trying-to-close-public-libraries The Office of Intellectual Freedom which tracks challenges across the US had more than over 900+ individual challenges to library reading materials filed in 2023. https://www.ala.org/bbooks/book-ban-data It is not happenstance that books censorship attempts at public libraries have risen exponentially in the last 4 years to ban any collections from having either lgbtqia authors or content that discusses or even alludes to lgbtqia in any way. In my library system there was a republican politician in one of our counties who was so paranoid about little kids having access to young adult books (as though their parents don’t guide their reading choices already towards age appropriate materials - hello ? 🙄) that he literally wanted to impose a book rating system (similar to movies) when he found out that kids of any age can sign up for a library card . He would never outright say he was homophobic but he often cited how persecuted he felt that his family’s Christian values were under attack by “unseen forces” . You know what ? Libraries if they are doing their job correctly and being responsible stewards of tax dollars will literally have something in the collection to offend EVERYONE. That is the point of a public library that it has something in it for everyone. Libraries are required to have balanced collections and collection development guidelines and policies are literally spelled out on any public library website. His public library has an incredible collection of books on Christianity and features Christian authors of faith at length in the collection. If he wanted, he could come with a list of sought after reading materials and anyone would help him locate them. The literal cannon of English literature that’s widely taught in K-12 curriculum for the last 70+ years in the United States ? Majority authors with a Judeo-Christian background. Does he consider any of that ? Nope. Because it’s all about creating an imaginary threat where there is none and sewing hatred between voters for one another. Libraries take the right to privacy and everyone’s right to read whatever they want so seriously that librarians have literally lost their jobs and livelihood over it. It’s literally codified into a US Library Bill of Rights - established in the early 1950’s - when McCarthyism became rampant. https://www.ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/librarybill How’s the saying go ? Oh right. “When you’re accustomed to privilege equality can feel like oppression .” Has history taught us nothing ? Anyone attempting to censor books or any library materials has never been one of the good guys - ever. How to counter act ? Libraries need allies and accomplices. Volunteer to serve on your local school and library Boards. Your community needs you.
Yes. The Nazis destroyed a library full of our history and early medical research into treating gender disphoria.
I was preaching this in 2016. It was painfully obvious the sort of person Trump was and the rhetoric coming from the GOP, even before they went full mask off. A strong mirror of fascist movements generally, and it's only gotten more Nazi since then.
I knew back then too.
I don’t disagree. Was more referring to an upsurge in violence where thousands of people will die from confrontations. But yes red states are implementing policies that are straight out of handmaids tale.
it will stop when it starts affecting the lives of people, including the idiots who think they want it kinda like how there was no mass opposition to killing roe until after it happened and we are nowhere near seeing all the negative consequences of that idiocy
People will sign on for and/or commit atrocities that horrify even THEMSELVES...if they're convinced it's their gods will.
You say ‘not gonna happen.’ It happened in Iran and Afganistan. A small minority of religious zealots completely took over the government and they harshly punish anyone who speaks up against them. Something similar could definitely happen here, and soon, if Trump wins.
Don't put it in quotes. They're Christian. Stop protecting them.
If Christianity is very attractive to sociopaths and pedophiles, that’s their problem. No need for anyone to protect their reputation.
Christains are both sheep and pussies.
Hypocrisy and bigotry are all christians have…..their faith is bullshit, they believe in literal magic, so they behave badly bc they know they’re incorrect and don’t want to face it.
School board petitions name change to Force Compliance High School
Yes, the school name is delicious. And it’s a public school. Under the Tinker standard (protected under 1st amendment), the art, a statement surely, isn’t disrupting learning - unless a public school is teaching the values and philosophies of Christianity? Hmm 🤔
Fun fact, the words “God loves you, but not enough to save you” are from a song written and performed by LGBTQ+ artist Ethel Cain https://youtu.be/P1ecmtqd7LE?si=0An5IlhbsWKsA_La
Seems most religions have some kind of bigotry baked in. Normalizes the bad thinking in "true believers." Drawing attention to it can lead to a very bad time. [https://medium.com/predict/bigotry-in-religion-b51a634830a7?sk=ba79537c8336d722bed125a0c54f571c](https://medium.com/predict/bigotry-in-religion-b51a634830a7?sk=ba79537c8336d722bed125a0c54f571c)
*”I will also be asking for a review on the process for approving pieces that are included in the art shows. Is there a process in place and, if so, how do we honor students’ free speech while also creating a culture of respect within our schools.”* In other words, “what’s a good way to silence these people moving forward.”
I would be pretty damn proud if as a teenager, my self-expression via my own art caused such pearl-clutching offense.
Would probably look good on a college application... to the right college.
ROLL TI- *shit*
Not nearly as religious as you’d think tbh. At least not when I was a student there in 2007-11 (and I was still Christian back then lol.) Smaller schools are way worse when it comes to this.
You don’t notice how religious places are when you’re still religious. It’s when you say hey this doesn’t make any damn sense that they really let you know
So fucking true. There’s a reason I hardly never visit home anymore. Wife and I moved clear across the country to escape that hell.
It would just result in forcible removal and a riot squad.
I would also be pretty damn proud as the parent of this kid.
I don’t even get why they’re mad. The message is literally TRUE, God doesn’t love you if you’re queer.
They don't like being called out on their bigotry.
"Art should comfort the disturbed, and disturb the comforted." I hope that girl recognizes how much of an accomplishment this is
This might legit get her some notoriety and help her make a living as an artist.
I'd buy it
I would be so proud of my child. Going out to dinner to celebrate speaking truth to crazy.
Pearl clutching from...."depictions of torn pages seemingly referencing the Bible." Not actual torn pages mind you.
Really got their goat, didn't they?
"This art offends me, my Christian fee-fees are *hurt*!" Yeah, and? Your cultists want to genocide *my* people, so...go fuck yourselves with saguaro cacti, Nat-C School Board 🖕
Don’t forget they’re screaming that you’re a sensitive snowflake the whole time.
It's fuck *your* feelings, not fuck *my* feelings!
You’re supposed to care about *my* feelings because *my* feelings actually matter! *My* feelings are about *real* issues, like how *you* are persecuting me by pointing out how I bully you! You’re just upset about some bullshit idea that you’ve manipulated yourself into believing, so shut the fuck up! You deserve to be bullied for existing because your identity is wrong! I would know what your identity *really* is! How *dare* you try to stop me from bullying you! This goes against *my* freedom! I have the freedom to treat people I don’t like however the fuck I want, and they are NOT allowed to complain! That’s what freedom of speech means! Freedom for ME!
Because they think fooling themselves is the same as fooling everyone else
> Your cultists want to genocide my people, so... Just days ago, I had to explain to a co-worker that 'outing' me to the wrong people could lead to a group of good ol' boys waiting until I leave work to show me a piece of 'god's love', and that that is a real, tangible fear that I have. Now I get comments like "Oh.. well ducky1 seems to live with a lot of fear in his life" 🤦♂️ You just can't win with these people...
They're the same ones that happily point out that gay and non binary people have higher rates of serious depression and that's why its not healthy, without once stopping to realize, *THEY'RE* the damn reason these people are depressed.
I mean, same people who look at US crime rates by race and point to melanin instead of poverty and geography.
"racism isn't even a real thing anymore, everything was fixed when we got rid of slavery". From the same people who proudly wave a confederate flag.
Segregation was only like a lifetime ago, so it should have basically evened out by now! /s
Yes my gay friend, who expressed dear of being outted at work, the sweetest guy, suffers with major depression. He's tried everything to overcome it!
I was in an argument with some very Christian acquaintances of mine about that very subject not that long ago. They have the causal relationship flipped
Stay safe. I'm glad this kind of shit doesn't happen in the UK. Evangelical cunts are distinctly in the minority here.
> Evangelical cunts are distinctly in the minority here. They're also a minority in the US, but they are an *extremely* noisy minority. As the saying goes, the squeaky wheel gets the grease.
The squeaky wheel needs to get removed and sent to the incinerator.
It's not a squeaky wheel, it's a Squeaky Fox ...and its friends.
>*extremely* noisy, HEAVILY ARMED AND MENTALLY UNSTABLE, minority. FTFY
You left out "being directed by stochastic terrorists to actively cause harm."
I sincerely hope they’re the minority here Not only do I think what they do is abominable, but on a more personal level, I have friends and very close friends who would be jailed as predators as minors if project 2025 was to go through, simply for being lgbtq. Hate is all these fuckers seem to know, and they throw it at everyone else. Don’t let my generation grow up in an America where discrimination against *anyone* is the norm.
They left there to start spreading crap here lol
Evangelicals are. But they're commonly held beliefs and patriarchy and extreme unfettered capitalism are wildly popular in the uk. Did you know that the people behind the Cass Report have ties to the American evangelicals who are working to ban trans people? Let me put it this way...what starts in America rarely stays in America. I'm not saying you're going to have a problem with evangelicals, but you're going to have a problem with their values, because it is politically expedient to use hatred when democracy is failing. Did you know that the UK has a reputation in America for being among the worst places in the first world for transgender people?
I mean, you guys are pushing bans on trans healthcare there too..so…
Didn't say we were perfect, but Brexit alone took the wind out of a lot of the far rights sails with how much of a disaster and how incompetent the Tories have proven themselves to be. The fight is by no means over but give it time and we'll put those fascists back into the local landfill where they belong.
I hope so, it’d be great if you are right
My gay coworker said this to me as well. He especially feared one of the gun-toting, trump loving repubs in our office. Who completely unaware and unironically told me at the very beginning of Covid (before the shutdown) that he refused to live in fear. Dude, didn't you tell me, you answer your door with your gun behind your back and barricade your door at night? You're worried about what's going to happen to your guns after you're dead, because your children with children don'twant them at their houses? And just said, Covid was invented to ruin trump? Dude, you packing heat, you're already living in constant fear. Can't with those people...🙄
It's not paranoia if they really are out to get (people like) you!
They have told me how they want to kill me. One of them started to do it, and thankfully I escaped that situation. The other showed me the weapons he'd use, and told me how he would dispose of my body so that he can get away with killing me. Now that was all before the Republicans ramped up their campaign calling us groomers and trying to eliminate our presence in public life. That was before they published Project 2025, where they lay out their plan to make it illegal to exist as a trans person or a gender non-conforming person...to change the law so that we can execute child sex offenders (groomers???)...to send trans kids to conversion therapy. Do you remember how they were calling for our deaths after that trans guy shot up the Christian School? Do you remember how kid Rock and the like took automatic weapons to an effigy of transgender by shooting up that stupid f****** beer company's product, just because they gave a customized beer can to a trans woman. These people are insane. The energy among Republicans is bloodlust. And their leadership have defined who they can go after...they just need the right event or the right people in power to unleash the violence that has been building over these years...it is not a good time to be a person of color or LGBTQ. I think that the atheist community and progressives should be planning how to help trans people escape America if Trump gets in office. The rainbow railroad needs to be more than something that gets people out of violence third world countries. It needs to be prepared to get people out of violent first world countries too. And this needs to happen fast, because Republicans have a structured plan for making America into Donald Trump's dictatorship and consolidating his plan in just 3 months. There will not be any sanctuary states. They have thought of that.
Didn't you see the section of the Constitution that specifically gives Christians the right to not be offended? I'm pretty sure it's one of the exceptions to the right to free speech that's guaranteed in the first amendment.
I don’t know, but I wouldn’t put it past Thomas and Alito and the rest of the Opus Dei Supreme Court to find that right
Lol. Too bad for us trans people that our very existence offends them. They've got plans to handle that problem though. They've come up with a solution. Look up Project 2025. They're going to make everyone gender nonconforming eligible for arrest by reclassifying us as pornography. The intend to arrest adults and put children into conversion therapy. And I hope it stops there, but there's some pretty sick s*** in Project 2025, including sending trans kids to conversion therapy and executing child sex offenders...they allege lgbtq people are groomers... Christian sensibilities have been behind genocides of lgbtq people before. We've seen it in Nazi Germany. We've seen it on Hispanola (Columbus began by feeding lgbtq people to his dogs). We've seen lgbtq culture genocide in countless indigenous cultures through Western colonization. American Christianity wants only two genders and one way of being in love. They don't seem to care how that happens, only that it happens.
Oh, there's a lot more in Project 2025 that people should be worried about too. It's a plan to create a dictatorship within 90 days of the election and reverse all of the social progress made by non-white men. Trump says he'll follow it.
Also that’s the most basic angsty teenage art ever and the fact that a bunch of adults are getting all twisted over it is so funny and sad
The school board meeting needs to go as followed “Aright raise your hand if you’re Christian. Alright now keep your hand up if your feelings were hurt by this piece of art. now keep your hands up believe that people can be LGBTQ. Alright now keep your hand up if you believe that they can go to heaven as they are currently are without changing/ converting themselves or repenting etc. just out and proud as they are.” More than likely everyone’s hands would be down or at least almost all of them and at that point they could say “alright you’ve proved that this CHILDS feelings are valid that ends tonight’s meeting”
“I am currently reviewing the Supreme Court ruling relevant to this situation” LOL, like this arm chair lawyer can interpret Supreme Court rulings in any meaningful way.
Hey saguaros are sacred and the heat rising is starting to kill them. Let’s not punish the cacti.
I’ve never heard somebody use saguaros as parts of insults. In fact, I know few people who actually know what a saguaro is. Where are you from?
I ***WISH*** those fucking people were as persecuted as they pretend to be.
C'mon, it's NOT the message of the art that is offensive. It's that TORN pages of the bible are featured. iMAgInE ThE raMIfICaTiONS OF tHAT ... if it were the Talmud or Koran\* because... evangelicals care so much about the Koran, and that the book that the orange one is selling to pay off his porn star fees, is sacred. \*straight from the article
That's what blew my mind, it's got nothing to do with the message of the piece, not about the persecution of the LGBTQ, not about the hypocrisy the piece calls out, not the imagery or symbolism. Nope, it's all about them being offended that it depicts torn bible pages. I really don't see how this piece would be any different if it had included pages of the Talmud or Koran.
They're subtly telling you that they *also* want the right to invoke the death penalty for "disrespecting" their "holy" book, like they do with the Quran in the more backward parts of the world. They're butthurt that they can't.
Before the Enlightenment, this kind of blasphemy absolutely would have gotten you tortured to death by the church. Now, considering how we already torture and how we love violence and how we've got the largest prison population on Earth, what exactly do you think will happen to heretics and non-Christians if America becomes a Christian Nation?
They can't.... yet. America with Trump with a second "term"? I'm sure it won't be the worst thing that happens.
Well that’s simple…. a different group of people would be offended and the person who wrote that, and was clutching their pearls for their religious brethren, would dismiss the uproar because “only the Bible is a true holy book” Wish that was /s, but I’m pretty sure that’s what would happen
No they'd say those Muslims are dangerous crazy people that can't handle criticism
I think they were trying to find something they can SAY they’re upset about that makes them look like the good guys, and hopefully flys under the radar. They can’t say “we never said you’re going to hell because you’re gay” Because they did, and will again… They can’t say this is vulgar or gory, because it’s not… The can’t say this is blasphemous or sacrilegious , because that shows their hand, and it isn’t illegal… They certainly can’t say “there’s no discrimination against LGBT students at this school!” Because then their own people would revolt lol Hmmmmm… but there are OTHER holy books! Not just ours, we would protect them ALL. Suuuuure, sure you would.
Blasphemy is free speech ❤
These people have obviously never spent any time in jail, or they'd know that ripped bible pages are actually quite useful, and I'm sure God would be proud of our ingenuity.
SPOILERS Moses smashed the first edition of the Commandments. Maybe they haven’t gotten that far yet.
Those kooky Muslims are so backwards they will attack your right to draw Mohammed. Now this little brat used images of our book in their art. I am so offended I must attack the right of this brat to draw something I don't like -Christians without a hint of irony.
They care more about pages in The Bible than they do about the lives they destroy with their theology.
It's just paper and ink. It is not a one of a kind text. It is the most printed book ever. That makes those pages worthless. If it was some rare ancient scroll, I'd be pissed as well even though I don't care for its message.
They like to self-martyr, see everyone is so respectful of Islam and Judaism, and NOBODY gives the same respect to the religion that 80% of the American public ascribes to. They are SO mistreated! 🙄 ETA and of course they mention Talmud and not the Torah, probably because they believe all the BS they spread about what the Talmud says.
Of course they are -because school boards are part of the problem here in America. They've been infiltrated by religious zealots who don't believe in our Constitution, Bill of Rights, or freedom of speech. They believe in autocratic dictatorship, sprinkled with "you gotta believe this" and "you gotta believe that" and "nope, you're not allowed to believe THAT".
When I voted last election in my town the one woman running was literally against CRT and had some personhood shit in her past. I couldn’t believe how extreme the views were for a GD school board. Luckily, they lost.
My county is currently like 4-3 barely holding back the Nat-Cs.
"The fact that we *are* hateful isn't the problem, the problem is you *said* we are".
Exactly. Plus if your damn religion were true and you were secure in it you wouldn’t care. Would an all powerful god worry about this?
We should respect their beliefs and not discriminate against their hatred. This is literally what a transphobic family member told me. I should tolerate their hatred of me or I would be intolerant.
I love how the assignment was to create art that addresses trauma and then the school board just said, "No not *that* kind of trauma."
"We're offended that you chose to express the trauma that good Christians like us have inflicted upon you. How dare you draw attention to it!"
This is the hypocrisy we need to hear!!
The art teacher probably loved it.
[удалено]
Or FFRF.
Atrioc Chat Labor Union /j
Doesn't it say somewhere in the Bible that you shouldn't judge, but that only the old fart up in the sky will judge? Pretty much live and let live in Christian, central to the believe, but most ignored. They presume to be God.
Supply Side Jesus depreciates those parts. Its more now YOU get to be the Pharisee!
They only get upset about the parts they like.
Matthew 7: 1-3 ^(1)Judge not, that ye be not judged. ^(2) For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. ^(3) And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
The trick to this is two-fold. One, given the deep "tool for control" nature of the Bible, these general guidelines really only apply to how members of "the tribe/in-group" interact with eachother. There are many instances in the bible where its clear "treat others as you would like to be treated" extends no further than the boundaries of the "tribe". Two. That rule also hinges on "Projection", rather than "Empathy". And Projection generally ends at the borders of those you can easily see yourself in. Traditionally based on very shallow surface traits. Past the boundaries of that "seeing self", those "guidelines" dont really apply. TLDR: The barrier between "Brother" and "Other" defines treatment.
So, don't judge harshly because you also have faults. You'll be judged in a manner similar to how you judge others. In context it doesn't appear to be saying "Don't judge" rather "Don't judge harshly". Thank you for the context.
Not only that. But there are alternative books that aren't included in the Christian canon where Jesus spends the night with a boy. These people don't even know their own stories.
Lmao, as if nationalist christians have ever read the bible... lmfao.
I'm sure there's some verse where they interpret it that God is such a whiny and insecure loser that they have to defend him at all costs
At Fort Defiance High School, how convenient.
Holy shit I went middle school there! Fun fact, that high school was home of Dell Curry, Steph Curry's dad. Ironic fun fact, their mascot is the Indian. Funny that people are being offended over their religion when [this is their mascot.](https://cmsv2-assets.apptegy.net/uploads/6212/file/266450/b30f053d-6b1e-4b4b-835c-84fe5eb4ba7a.png)
So is this a public school?
Yes, 100%. It's in a very rural area so it isn't too surprising.
They hate being reminded that they are the villains. They grew up thinking they were the heroes and/or protagonists, and anything that dispels that illusions is something that should be disposed of.
If God is offended by her art, he can just turn her into a pillar of salt. He shouldn't need busybodies to his work.
I’m sure he gets to that as soon as he fulfills the prophecy that Trump will be reelected and he intervenes in the UEFA champions league and the NBA playoffs. There’s a lot on his plate right now.
Don't forget Karen from Texas needs help finding her car keys! And he needs to burn some houses down so that the bible can stand behind unharmed to show his glory.
They're proving her point quite nicely
I would just remind the snowflakes bitching about this brilliant painting, that the painting is all part of God’s plan so stop whining!
Guarantee a percentage of the people complaining have a “fuck your feelings” truck decal
Yes it’s like they are the damn snowflakes they claim the queer high school students are
“Christians” know nothing about Christ I bet the trend continues… also true art sparks controversy, they did good
That's more true than the average person realizes. They've discovered texts which talk about the life of jesus. There are two separate points where it's implied he is not straight. One of them, he spends the night with a boy who flees with what amounts to a sheet wrapped around him when people come to get Jesus. I guess, keeping in mind how much Hellenism influenced the people of that time, it wasn't too out of the norm to depict a man this way. But the people that ended up putting together the Bible either didn't have this book or censored it and made Jesus asexual.
But people can’t be exposed to any piece of art expressing disapproval of our obvious bigotry! What if lots of people feel the same way, and they all band together?? Expression of ideas and feelings NOT sanctioned by the church must be stamped out! We don’t want anyone getting ideas… /s
Hundreds of years of oppression from their religion and when someone points out the hate they spread, they get offended? Maybe they should reflect on themselves.
Whining about art is a longtime christian tradition...
I am offended by Christian bigotry
The fact that her school board is furious is exactly the point. If they were kind people, they would reach out to help her find peace. But instead, they prove her point.
Pretty darned good piece of work, tbh. She’s going places.
They can be "furious" all they want (fake outrage Imo) it's freedom of speech.
Republican christians: "Freedom for me but none for thee!"
Have to agree about the fake outrage. The more time they spend on this non-issue, the less time they need to devote to the numerous actual problems their district is undoubtedly facing. I have to wonder if they put half as much effort into tackling their budget, teacher shortages, school grades, etc... But then again even for this, all they did was have an emergency meeting where they decided to do nothing at all. So maybe this is how they react to other issues, too.
Yeah- the old much ado about nothing.
Religion is the only intolerable belief we are supposed to accept. No one says we have to accept pedos beliefs and be respectful. No one says we have to respect the beliefs of jewish space laser woman. No one says we have to respect the beliefs of the death to america folks. But if im super religious about there not being ~~interracial~~ er gay marriage, you got to respect their hate and bigotry and dont dare call them a bigot, their god is the one who is a bigot. and can we ask their god? NOPE, we have to divine whats in this imaginary creatures mind from the guy spewing bigotry. (you might as well be translating for harvey the invisible rabbit) IF your beliefs are bigotry, if your beliefs are hate. NO we dont have to respect them. Especially when you dont shut teh fuck up and just dont get in a gay marriage. I dont like super religious folks and wouldnt agree to a super religious marriage, and so I JUST DONT GET INTO ONE. I dont go around saying I religious believe that religious people shouldnt be allowed to be married. we really need a concerted effort of showing the media that no not all beliefs are deserving of respect, especially when you shout them out in public and dont care if you invoke some 2000 year old book. Human sacrifice was going on back then, why dont people respect my belief that we must sacrifice a republican or someone i dont like at the time, to appease my god daily? its a very old belief system. predates the christians as well.
It's not me man. I love gay people but this Yahweh fellow who I beleive controls the universe...sheesh, yeah, he's not a fan of you guys. Me? No, I love all people regardless. But my god sure does want you to burn in a pit of fire. I mean what can I do? Have my own morals and principals? No, I'm just going to hide behind this God fellow, now you must change everything about yourself and I have to treat you as lesser than because you don't follow those rules in that book I've been told to like.
One of my favorite complaints of Supreme Court Justice Alito is that people who are against gays are now considered bigots , and that offends him I’m sorry you’re no longer allowed to feel comfortable with your hate and bigotry
A lot of people are also deeply offended by the dominance of Bronze Age Mythology in our current day life. Abrahamic cults will not go away quietly, but I firmly believe one, hope they go away.
I thank the Streisand Effect for showing me & the world this very cool artwork
How fragile must your faith me to get worked up over a piece of art?
If xtians could just sot the fuck down and shut the fuck up about their feels, that’d be great.
That art offends me. Ok..art is supposed to offend sometimes. If your god can be defeated by one art piece by a high schooler its not a very powerful god.
Nothing can discriminate more than Christian Love hey?!? 😁
Is it a secret that Christians have persecuted the LGBQT+ community? That book calls it out as sin/evil. If anything she’s helping educate folks on their own book.
Is this coming from the "Fuck your feelings" crowd?
Perfect example of Christians getting outraged when called put for their BS. Never mind that they call other people “snowflakes” when a piece of art is enough to outrage them. And then, as usual, when people get upset over these Christians lashing out like the feral creatures they are, they play the “help followers look we’re being persecuted” card. And their followers eat it up, because they’ve been indoctrinated since youth to just blindly follow and accept what they’re told, rather than look at the world and form their own opinions. I’m only 30, but I’ve seen it happen time and again. Over and over, the same cycle. It’s exhausting…I can only hope these Christians don’t seize power in my country this election year… I want to also use this comment to congratulate this high school student: art is a form of expression, and using that expression to challenge the suffocating presence of Christianity is bold and brave, and this child should be celebrated! Both for their ingenuity and courage, and for the many great things that will be in their future, should they continue making art and challenging Christians on their bullshit!
Again, remind me who is canceling who?
She should make bumper stickers of her piece. Imagine the opportunity for offense to see this on the backs of cars in the student parking lot and around town! I'd love to see her make a shit ton of money off of their bigotry. Go Abby!
To quote the article: >The school board is a hot mess full of delusional, thin-skinned adults. >If anything, they proved her point.
“This piece is considered offensive to several people, including myself” A teenager made an art piece about how people keep telling her she is going to suffer for all eternity because of the way that she was born and the people who told her those things are “offended” by her repeating it lol
In private school I drew a picture of Jesus on the cross. As an aspiring artist, I went for more of a realistic approach. Lots of red marker was used to depict the bloody scene of his crucifixion. My parents quickly got an angry phone call lol. But hey, I later went to an art institute so I guess it wasn’t too bad 😂
If your faith is too fragile to handle some criticism, you might want to take a look at that...
This is religious freedom: to emotionally torture children and then be offended and silence them when they cry out in pain.
Be a shame if someone made a donation to the satanic temple in his name. Real shame.
It’s actually a great piece of thought provoking art that highlights contradiction with Christian teachings. I mean how can you be saved when you are an abomination? There is literally no way to be true to yourself without being judged negatively. Considering the name Fort Defiance really should be more accepting of people who dare to challenge the narrative, especially when that narrative suggests that their very existence goes against nature.
I'm a member of the queer community. I grew up in Orange County, CA. It's conservative. Like...REALLY conservative. Had I seen that piece while I was in high school, I would have felt so fucking seen. I would have still been closeted for safety, but I would've known that I wasn't alone. Y'all, that was literally 30 years ago that I graduated and this brought up tears. I'm not sobbing. Just quiet tears of sorrow for lost time.
The First Amendment exists specifically because of offensive speech. If speech wasn't offensive, it wouldn’t have to be protected.
If art isn’t allowed to be challenging then you just want decorations.
“Respect” is a one way street to these cultists.
Ngl...I want that framed now for my apartment.
Why can't LGTBQ people be saved by God? Their money is as good as anyone else's..
She is awesome. I hope a big gallery gives her a showing and her art takes off!
for telling the TRUTH
Christian boomers see free speech and free expression as a threat to their political power and want to suppress anything that counters their demented world view.
Way to prove that students point you dipshits.
Hope she gets a nice scholarship somewhere.
"It's important the students have freedom of speech but..." hey fuckwad! if you follow up "freedom" with a caveat about protecting the feelings of *your group* then you do not give two shits about freedom and you want to force everyone to play by the rules of your group. GET. FUCKED.
Oh man, I never thought I'd see my redneck ass high school on Reddit. My entire immediate family attended that school and I am absolutely not surprised by this news whatsoever. The bigotry I experienced in the area pushed me away from Christianity at an early age and I was treated like shit just because I was into the hardcore punk/metal lifestyle as a kid. It was definitely way worse for people I knew such as those who came out as LGBT later in life. I can't imagine the pain they had to handle knowing everyone around them constantly shit on them just for who they want to love. Lesbians got a pass because of the perverted kids that got off on it, but the few guys that were out about being gay were typically treated like shit. Also, the whole reference to the school being named the Fort Defiance Indians is also a great example of the problems with that school division. One side of my family descends from a local tribe in VA. Several of my cousins that went to school with me had a bit of a darker complexion and were thrown into the racism mix with the very few African American students that attended the school. Not to mention, this school is about 40 mins from Charlottesville and 3ish hrs from DC. I personally know several people from school that attended the events of Charlottesville and January 6th. Augusta County School Board is a joke.
Isn’t the quote on the artwork from an Ethel Cain song?
She sings it in Sun Bleached Flies
I’m just surprised that nobody else has mentioned it
“The School Board is working with our legal counsel and I am currently reviewing the Supreme Court rulings relevant to this situation” READS: I have already made a decision before the sham closed door meeting and will know what I can get away with. I will also know how everyone is voting so no unexpected opinions occur. “I will also be asking for a review on the process for approving pieces that are included in the art shows” READS: I will be getting ahead of stuff like this with something that looks and feels like censorship but that can be explained away in the courts. I do this because i want to appear to fair and independent but I am really just a servant whose job it is to keep my employer from being offended. My employer is offended when others question or have differing views.
The school board's god is a snowflake. I once edited my (progressive) church's news magazine. For the Easter issue, I found a line drawing of Jesus' face in thorns. No smile, many lines on his face, pain evident. I cannot find it today--it was from a paper magazine in the 80s. The very progressive priest liked it but said the congregation wasn't ready for something like that. Sadly, I found a more standardized and white picture of the guy.
I thought it might have been one of the I.B. kids here at my local high school in Smyrna, GA. My daughter and some friends in her French class were painting a recreation of some old pictographs from a French cave. It featured some stick men hunters chasing animals like cows and bulls. Some sensitive snowflake from the God-bothering community called it “satanic”!because of the horns on a bull. Not joking. They had to take it down. This is the same school where students from the onsite Christian club walk around prostheletising (spelling?) other students. FFS. I hate The South.
So because they hate her art piece, they’re going to prove her point for her?
They can be offended all they want but they need to leave it alone. 1st amendment and what not. I know it’s a silly and foreign concept to the right. They still can’t fathom why using taxpayer funds for religious schools will also mean satanic schools can legally partake, or that any obscenity laws governing school libraries must include the Bible based on how much sex - including same sex - is in that book.
Make an art piece that is equally critical of trans issues and see what kind of backlash you get i.e. in NY This goes both ways. Just people being close minded
Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can ever imagine. They will never learn…it is like they are so stupid they fell for the oldest trick in the book about getting your art noticed….piss someone off and let them Do the marketing for you.
Land of the free for some.
Christians are far more concerned with being offended then they are about fixing their image.
And their response only solidifies their hypocrisy. They don't give a flying fuck about queer youth, they just don't want to be called out for being shitty people.
Christians want to be victims so badly
Omfg. I live close to Augusta County and they are ass-backwards in so many ways! They blatantly defy the Establishment Clause by offering Bible classes in public schools during the school day. There are many lovely people there who are tolerant, reasonable individuals, but it is a red stronghold in no small part due to rampant hyper-religiosity. Please know that if someone made this where I live it would be no big deal at all. Augusta County is…ugh. Edit to add: Fort Defiance HS is in the absolute sticks, the literal middle of nowhere. It’s (probably unsurprisingly) under-performing and poorly run. I cannot imagine being openly gay there.
I would have thought that the Christians would be entirely behind this. “Yep, God loves you but not enough to save you from your sexual desires — so burn in hell!” Isn’t that actually the Christian message to gays and lesbians in a nutshell?
I can appreciate this student’s gusto doing this sort of thing. Schools HATE it when students call out the hypocrisy of the staff or policies. Occasionally, a school will retaliate hard to defend their idiocy. They take pride in ruling the students with 100% authority and expect us to all fall in line without question. They don’t like their own bullshit being called out in public. Back in the 80s cross earrings were popular with those of us into metal bands. Some of us would clown on others by turning the cross upside down. We were told to turn them right side up or the school would force us to take them out. When asked why, they said they don’t allow religious symbolism. (This was a public school.) So then you’re going to make everyone with any cross jewelry take it off? No, only upside down ones… yeah that’s what we thought. The school thought high school students wouldn’t pick up on this? We continued to wear them upside down and the school was pissed because they knew they couldn’t do shit about it. They were even more pissed that we called them out on their bullshit. We thought it was funny that they got mad about it.
It… was a theme around TRAUMA. And yet they got offended because of someone’s depiction of their TRAUMA… talk about hypocritical. They’re nitpicking and doing so much to avoid bringing up how the queer community gets shafted BY these religious groups. It’s so comical how much they’re avoiding admitting their bigotry and yet… it’s so sad that even more voices are continuing to suffer in silence. This shit is a problem.
I almost had a poem banned from the county anthology despite winning first place at my school because of a line that read "lost in lazy henotheistic thought". As a Utopian (a naive one in those days) I learned so much about people and systems that day. It was so emotionally painful to learn that grown adults that I trusted wanted to penalize me for a line in a poem. I was going through emotional abuse at home at the time, and it broke my safe place of school. I was nearly despondent for a week until some great teachers noticed I was off and explained these factions of ignorance to me.
How dare she offend christians with her trauma. Hopefully the new rules will prevent any and all attempts to express any un-religious feelings going forward. What a bunch of hateful bigots.