A lovely May day it was Friday afternoon. The birds sang in their boughs. The students trundled to class. The religious hate-mongers spewed their bile on College Green. It may be that I skipped a Sunday school class or two, but as I recall it, Jesus was a proponent of loving all people, no matter if they looked at a naked picture or not. That's not to say that Christianity hasn't had a lengthy and tumultuous history of insensitivity and violence. It most certainly has. This does not, however, give credence to the preachers who have come from across the country to indoctrinate good, simple-minded Athenians and convince Jews that they are ripe for the burn-pile.
These men, the esteemed Brother Micah included, are not good people. Moreover they are not good Christians. The indiscriminate condemnation of people is indicative of pure ignorance. Freedom of speech aside, there is no excuse for this behavior. Sure these fools can be shrugged off as just religious nutcases or as dogmatic self-righteous mud-slingers
but that would be missing the point.
It is criminal that Ohio University allows these men to make their pilgrimages here every year. Those in power who agree with the notions these fat-mouthed monsters espouse should have their job titles snatched away and should be driven out with the rest of us condemned for drinking a beer, wearing shorts, or having gay sex in church. We have all been made as individuals and should embrace our difference so long as they aren't harmful to each other. It would be remiss of me not to announce a call-to-arms against these men, and yet my hand is forced away from advocating such an approach, as it would lower us to their level. The most civil way to face these scum-suckers would be simply turning a deaf ear to their rants and vilifications, or if ambition strikes you, maybe grab one of their signs of hatred and give it a hearty throw toward heaven. God bless you if you have the strength.
Kevin Tasker is a sophomore studying creative writing. 4
Opinion
