An illustration of the Religious Right/Bush Supporter mentality in action.

[arbusto_baboso]

This happened to me at work last week. We were going to have a unit meeting during lunch hour on Thursday, and surprise our immediate supervisor with a pot-luck lunch and card for Boss' Day. So, while we're eating lunch, one of my co-workers (Coworker A) starts talking about the presidential debates. Now, Coworker A is going to law school at night, and was fascinated by the way Kerry and Bush debate. She said you could really tell that Bush never had legal training, while Kerry would be a top-notch attorney.

Well, the conversation turned to the more personal questions asked of the candidates, particularly the ones about their spirituality.

First, a little background. I'm in Southern california. My work unit has six hispanic women in it, all of whom were raised as Roman Catholics, though most don't practice it now. Then there's me, a white male, who was also raised RC, and don't practice. Then there's another white male who is a practicing Catholic with kids in parochial schools. The wild card is Coworker B, who is a Fundie. She has disgusting crap posted all over her cubicle, about how prisoners have more access to the Bible than students do, and is one of the most miserable, ill-tempered, nasty, hateful individuals you'll ever meet.

Well, when we start talking about how Kerry and Bush's sprituality informs their policy-making, Coworker B chimes in with, "Well, Kerry isn't even a Christian."

Eight heads turned in unison to verbally lambast this bigoted, idiotic woman. Now, I'm no great fan of Catholicism for various reasons, but when somebody says something so outrageously bigoted (knowingly, too, this wasn't some innocent slip-up) I MUST say something.

It's just too bad that many of the Catholics who are single-issue anti-abortion voters aren't aware that their "allies" the Fundies don't even regard them as Christians. Maybe this is a wedge-issue we could use?

[Spinzonner]

1. You know, verbally abusing - even in kind - is a counterproductive

way to handle disagreeable people. Shower her with kindness - or at least indifference if you cant stomach that.

Her antagonism and resentment feeds on negative responses from those around her.

You know, the old saw about sticks and stones ...

[arbusto_baboso]

2. Kindness won't work with this one....

Like most repukes, she only sees kindness as weakness.

Besides, how is it counterproductive to let her know that her prejudices are not welcome and won't be tolerated?

[grytpype]

3. No, abuse them.

Kick them in the gut.

[neoSattva]

4. Here's a Bishop's view on Bush vs the 'Culture of Life'

You may want to share it with your coworker:
http://www.freep.com/voices/columnists/egumb20_20041020.htm
BY BISHOP THOMAS J. GUMBLETON
Excerpt:
The United States Catholic Bishops have written that "any politics of human life must work to resist the violence of war and the scandal of capital punishment. Any politics of human dignity must address issues of racism, poverty, hunger, employment, education, housing and health care." Applying this agenda as the guide, it is clear that the president's words have not translated into action....

Yet responsible citizenship calls us to cast our vote Nov. 2. How do we choose amongst imperfect candidates? We must each consult our conscience and consider the entirety of church teaching. And, as the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' voter guide, Faithful Citizenship, encourages, we should measure "all candidates, policies, parties and platforms by how they protect or undermine the life, dignity, and rights of the human person, whether they protect the poor and vulnerable and advance the common good."

What we will not do is vote for a candidate just because he uses words that we like to hear; remembering, as scripture tells us, that we must be "doers of the Word and not hearers only."

[NAO]

5. I was raised a Fundie, and we were taught that all Catholics were...

going straight to hell. They were guilty of breaking the First Commandment (no other gods, no graven images, etc) with their "Mary worship" and their statues of saints.

A revival preacher had a bit he did about why be a Baptist. Be a Baptist because Jesus was a Baptist. How do you know that Jesus was a Baptist? Well, if you are baptized by a Catholic Priest, you are a Catholic, right? If you are baptized by a Methodist minister, you are a Methodist. Who baptized Jesus? Was it John the Episcopalian? NO! Was it John the Lutheran? NO! It was JOHN THE BAPTIST!!

He was only half-kidding about that.