So, Edwin Kagin died day before yesterday. I just found out last night. If you're like most folks, you're probably asking "Who?"
Well, that's what I'm here to tell you.
Edwin Kagin was the South Carolina-born son of a Kentucky Presbyterian minister. He was a man who earned his Juris Doctorate and spent his life fighting for the rights of others.
He was a man who did the near-impossible in shaking off deeply religious roots and becoming an atheist. An outspoken, brave, sometimes brash atheist who devoted himself to the idea of creating a safe society for atheists. A place where we can be open without fear of reprisal. Where our public schools and public offices are not machines of religious indoctrination.
Now, I didn't know Edwin in a "face-to-face" sort of way. No, we never met. But he and his wonderful late wife, Helen (a physician and force to be reckoned with in her own right) founded Camp Quest. Camp Quest, which opened up the world for my son.
This is turning into a tribute, and I didn't actually intend for that to happen. No, I'm writing because I'm angry. I'm angry at the Wills and the Monicas of the world. The small, mean people of this planet who would invade a Facebook group just for the purpose of crowing victoriously or spouting biblical passages on a page frequented by Edwin's children and friends.
Oh, yes. This isn't something new to me--my first foray into atheist online forums was in 1995, AOL. We had an atheist "support" forum, and the Christians would invade constantly, some stupidly preaching, but most attacking. Because, of course, you can't have ANY pocket ANYWHERE of ANYONE who doesn't share your mythology. Oh, no! You've got to ROOT OUT those dirty atheists wherever you find them. Even on private forums where you have to LIE about who you are to join.
Because, as we all know, LYING is one of those touted virtues. Right?
Anyway, so here are some samples of that vaunted Christian love we're always hearing so much about:
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| The above is classic. Typical example of someone who can't tell the difference between a pointy stick and a bible. And why can't she tell? Because she uses them both in the same way. |
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| This guy posted twice, because crashing an atheist Facebook group and joyfully crowing that someone is burning in hell is SO much fun that it needs to be done repeatedly. Says so in the scriptures, I'm betting. |
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| Will #2--in case we missed it the first time |
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| Another oldie but goodie--a variation on the "bet he's sorry now" theme. Not particularly inspired, but also didn't likely burn up too many of those endangered brain cells, either. |
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| These two came as a set. The first blatantly mean, the second more sneakily so. See, there's a smugness to number two that, as a non-believer, you come to recognize . It's a passive-aggressive "whaaat? I was just being nice!" thing. I get it from family pretty frequently. |
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| No, Tom. That's not what you're doing. |
Now, you might be wondering why I've blocked out the names. Believe me, I don't want to. I figure that, if you're okay with spraying your idiotic bile on a Facebook page, you MEANT for the world to see it, and if you said it, you must be PROUD of it. But fact is there are petty, stupid people who do things like this, and then SUE when someone reposts their nastiness in a way that clearly identifies them. So I obscured the names. Not to protect the innocent, but to protect MYSELF, because these buckets o' barf are anything but innocent.
As a special ironic treat, I'd like to share a meme from Mr. Will's Facebook profile page.
Indeed, Will. Exactly that.
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