tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post173654402129261853..comments2023-11-10T09:15:40.084-08:00Comments on The Friends of Jake: Fundamentalist violence in all faithsDavidhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10124314924693077453noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-52185874842881124292015-08-02T22:16:17.841-07:002015-08-02T22:16:17.841-07:00Say her name: Shira Banki, 16 straight ally, murde...Say her name: <b>Shira Banki</b>, 16 straight ally, murdered in the Jerusalem attack. Memory eternal, rest in the arms of the Holy One...JCFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14516376500318551838noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8238382886103256219.post-66402315307729840662015-08-01T12:55:39.401-07:002015-08-01T12:55:39.401-07:00I think some of it goes back to the concept of &qu...I think some of it goes back to the concept of "fighting words"...which I <i>get</i>. Human beings have individual and group self-concepts which, when assertively denied by someone else, sets up a cognitive-dissonance which can be an almost physical pain. People then lash out at the source of the pain---another human being(s).<br /><br />It's easy to say "sticks and stones yada-yada", but we see how hate-filled words can (for example) provoke self-harm among LGBT youth. To the extent fighting words are a voluntary choice, I think the speakers SHOULD try to exert some restraint (see re burning Qurans, for example).<br /><br />But about the (latest) anti-LGBT attack in Israel, where queer people's mere EXISTENCE sets up this cognitive dissonance? That's the other side of it: the person experiencing the pain (the rabbi, here) is, I would say, merely <i>mentally ill</i>. <br /><br />But it's a sticky wicket, to be sure. You can go on (for example) JoeMyGod and read that "ALL religion is mental illness!!!" [Yours Truly will just downvote, but I rarely engage---anymore ;-X ] To me, it seems like a qualitative difference between affirming faith in some kind of Higher Power, and being so freaked out by someone else's belief-system (or way-of-life) that attacking that other believer is your "logical" response.<br /> <br />Eh, I'm rambling now. My 2...3c.JCFhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14516376500318551838noreply@blogger.com