What a Fucking Hypocrite

Bill Donahue's fuckwittery knows no bounds. I'm going to have to find myself a dictionary of invective, because my usual adjectives seem remarkably inadequate in the face of his hypocrisy. I don't know how anyone can claim to be holding the moral high ground when neck-deep in the bullshit, but he's claiming for all he's worth despite the telltale stench.

Let's deconstruct a few things here.

First off, the name of his pet project:

CATHOLIC LEAGUE
FOR RELIGIOUS AND CIVIL RIGHTS

He demands religious and civil rights for Catholics. Fair enough. What makes him a hypocrite? Well, perhaps the fact he doesn't seem to believe in religious and civil rights for other folks. If he did, we wouldn't end up with screeching such as this:

“The biology professor made it clear that he would never disrespect Islam the way he does Catholicism. When asked about those who abuse the Koran, for example, he said such an act was analogous to desecrating a graveyard. ‘That’s completely different,’ he said. ‘I don’t favor [that idea].’ But when it comes to the Body of Christ, he opines, ‘The cracker is completely different.’

“This isn’t the first time Myers has shown deference to Islam. For instance, two years ago he was critical of the Danish cartoons that simply depicted an image of Muhammad. ‘They [the cartoons] lack artistic or social or even comedic merit, and are presented as an insult to inflame a poor minority.’ So now the Planet-of-the-Apes biologist has divined himself an expert on the artistic value of cartoons. So thoughtful of him. He even went so far as to say that Muslims ‘have cause to be furious.’ (His italic.) Worthy of burning down churches, pledging to behead Christians and shooting a nun in the back, Professor Myers?"

My goodness me. Here's what I'm hearing from him: it's a no-good, despicable, terrible, awful thing to desecrate a cracker, cuz it's important to Catholics. There's a decided lack of condemnation of those who sent PZ death threats, which is as much as saying, "The bastard deserves 'em!" He all but states outright that the Eucharist is far more sacred to Catholics than the Koran is to Muslims. And as for those cartoons perpetrating what, to Islam, is an outrageous sacrilege, well, their outrage was totally unworthy!

I have news for Mr. Donahue: Muslims feel pretty damned strongly about depictions of the Prophet, from what I understand. It's pretty much on par with mistreating a consecrated cracker. So what, pray tell, is the fucking difference? Why was an atheist less dismissive of Muslim outrage than Crusader Bill?

Might have something to do with the fact he wasn't being a raging hypocrite, unlike Bill "He Likes Moooslims More Than Us!!11!1!" Donahue.

PZ never did say that the Muslims who went overboard had every right to burn churches, pledge to murder Christians, shoot nuns, etc. In fact, let's see what he did say:

So on the one hand I see a social problem being mocked, but on the other—and here comes the smug godless finger-wagging—I see a foolish superstition used as a prod to mock people, and a people so muddled by the phony blandishments of religion that they scream "Blasphemy!" and falsely pin the problem on a ridiculous insult to a non-existent god, rather than on the affront to their dignity as human beings and citizens. Religion in this case has accomplished two things, neither one productive: it's distracted people away from the real problems, which have nothing at all to do with the camera-shy nature of their imaginary deity, and it's also amplified the hatred.

It also doesn't help that their riots are confirming the caricatures rather than opposing them. Once again, religiosity turns people into mindless frenzied zombies, and once again it interferes with progress.

Oh, there's more, if that wasn't enough. It wasn't Islam PZ was deferring to at all. Read the whole post, and you'll see that PZ's principles stand inviolate, despite his sympathy.

Let us now turn to Bill's creative quotemining of PZ's interview with the Minnesota Independent. So nice of Bill not to provide a link, but never fear! I have the power of the Google. And here's the section in question, sans elipses:

MnIndy: What about the stories of US military personnel urinating on and otherwise abusing copies of the Koran in Iraq? Were you outraged by that, or is that a different version of this for you?

Myers: There's a subtle difference there -- maybe an important difference. I don't favor the idea of going to somebody's home or to something they own and possess and consider very important, like a graveyard -- going to a grave and desecrating that. That's something completely different. Because what you're doing is doing harm to something unique and something that is rightfully part of somebody else -- it's somebody else's ownership. The cracker is completely different. This is something that's freely handed out.

Oh, deary me. Bill had to do quite a lot of manipulating to twist that comment into something he could use to prove his point. He wasn't making it clear he wouldn't desecrate Islam: he was saying he wouldn't desecrate something unique or something someone else possesses. That's showing respect for the person, not the religious object itself. And I believe that would be why, now that some enterprising Catholics have sent PZ a few copies of the Koran, he can desecrate away without compromising that statement. Like the cracker, they were freely given. They're not unique - Korans aren't quite as cheap as Communion wafers, but they're available for a decent price at any Barnes and Noble. There's even a copy sitting on the shelf behind me.

So PZ's going to do what so many concerned Catholics have asked him to: he's going to give the Host and the Koran equal treatment. Bill should be happy. He practically begged PZ to show Catholic and Muslim sacred objects equal respect, and considering that PZ's whole point is that religion doesn't deserve this knee-jerk deference, what the fuck did he expect?

“The latest threat by Myers only makes matters worse. Instead of treating Catholicism with the respect he has previously shown for Islam, he now pledges to disrespect Islam the way he pledges to disrespect Catholicism (once again!). This is his idea of equal treatment. "

Why, yes. Yes, it is. He's not a hypocrite, you see. Unlike Bill, who will go into a rabid froth over PZ threatening a cracker, bitch about how he respects Islam more (completely ignoring the context of PZ's statements on Islam, which is that he doesn't respect it at all), and, after allowing his followers to demand the desecration of the Koran, now decries PZ for offering to do it because what he really wanted was for PZ to run off with his tail between his legs.

You want to know what might have given you a quantum of credibility, there, Bill? Maybe you should have issued one of your famous press releases decrying the death threats, asking your mob of religious fuckwits to cease and desist (as PZ did when some of his - shall we say, enthusiastic but clueless - fans started sending hate mail right back to the haters), stating strongly that requesting the desecration of the Koran is just as wrong as threatening a cracker, and asking PZ for a dialogue to see if some understanding could be reached.

But Bill Donahue has no interest in doing any of those things. He doesn't want to foster understanding between believers and non-believers. He doesn't give two tugs on a dead dog's dick what PZ does to a Koran, until it allows him to pretend a superior morality. And now he's trying to set the Muslims on PZ, and it definitely seems like he's hoping they'll go all suicide bomber so that the Catholic League can say "See! We only threatened his life!"

I wonder how the Muslims' deafening silence is sitting with him? They don't seem unduly concerned. They're not flooding PZ's inbox with hate, death threats, and long rants about how important it is for PZ not to desecrate the Koran. I think it's because the majority of them realize that PZ Myers messing about with a mass-produced copy of the Koran is going to do zero damage to Islam. I know it's not because they haven't heard about PZ's promise: Bill's made sure the news is spread as far and wide as possible. Way to show what a bigoted asshole you are, Bill.

I'm not sure what Ibrahim Hooper at CAIR is going to say to all of this. I hope he sees Bill "Fuck the Mooslims Unless I Can Use Them to Bolster My Martyrdom" Donahue for the batshit insane fucking hypocrite he is, and responds accordingly. After all, it's Donahue's followers who brought this on the Koran. PZ was going to stop at a Catholic cracker until they got involved.

Way to spread the Christian love, eh?