'Christian' caught on camera throwing coffee and ranting at Muslims praying in a park

[ashling]

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3353454/Woman-tosses-coffee-praying-Muslim-men-California-park.html?ito=social-facebook

Denise Slader, a California Department of Corrections employee, has been identified as the woman behind the Sunday incident

Rasheed Albeshari says his friends were praying in a Bay Area park that afternoon when Slader came up and started condemning their religion

A park ranger tried to intervene, but the situation escalated and Slader lunged at Albeshari for filming the exchange

Albeshari says Slader threw coffee and whacked him with an umbrella

The Alameda County District Attorney's Office is considering whether to press hate-crime charges against Slader

Slader is also under investigation by her employer


Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3353454/Woman-tosses-coffee-praying-Muslim-men-California-park.html#ixzz3tzAoq2w1

[Major Nikon]

1. "Brainwashed by hate"

She can say goodbye to her job at the very least.

[Warpy]

2. Nobody like that should be allowed into any position of the least power.

She's going to be out on her ass.

[whatthehey]

3. Why the scare quotes?

Christian is not a synomym for wonderful person, and it is crass bigotry to use it as if it were.


Trust me it is not just possible but pretty damn common for a vile hateful asshole to be a perfectly genuine and committed Christian, and vice versa.

[ashling]

4. "Scare quotes?"

Are you talking about the original headline for the article, or my subject line?

[cleanhippie]

5. The original has it like this: 'Born Again' Christian....

That is a very different context that what the OP posted.

[ashling]

10. The original headline does not fit into the subject line

My OP was simply an abbreviation of the original.

[whatthehey]

25. Except the quotes are misplaced. Conveniently so.

This is a British newspaper and the term "born again" is not in general use over there. The quotes are to refer to a description likely unfamiliar to their readers, not to imply that the attacker is not a real Christian like the OP does. Abbreviations shorten, not rearrange.

[cleanhippie]

31. I understand, but your change changes the entire context.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

6. So we're not allowed to use quotation marks, even if we want to? Does being critical...

...of "Christians" and Christian hypocrisy mean one is a bigot?

[whatthehey]

7. That's not the bigotry, as I hoped would be clear

The bigotry is in abetting the no-true-scotsman handwashing that Christians nigh universally indulge in whenever one of their brothers in faith does anything wrong, from mild pecadillos through wackjob personal misbehavior like this to mass murder.

By referring to such people as "Christians" in scare quotes the statement is clear that they are not real genuine Christians but fake Christians. This is routinely done even when the idiot in question has long demonstrated and vehemently declared their firm commitment to their faith.

But think for a moment. What does allowing, let alone furthering and propagating, such usage, really say? It says that we accept that anyone objectionable, wacko or evil can't be a real Christian, only a "Christian". What is that then in a world beset with objectionable wacko and evil people saying about NON-Christians? If Christians cannot have those qualities, then every objectionable, wacko or evil person in society must by definition be a non-Christian!

By granting Christians exclusion from being evil etc, (by not calling such people unquoted Christians) it means all evil comes from the rest of us. That's pretty clear bigotry no? Subconscious or otherwise, it means the false kenning of Christian = nice person has been internalized.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

9. I see what your saying. I was taking the quotation marks as a remark about how the offender...

...describes herself (themselves) and then goes and does something quite un-Christian-like.

Also, I have a BIG problem with loud-mouthed, self-described Christians conducting themselves in ways that are not at all Christian.

Thank you for that explanation.

[ashling]

11. Chisolm, that is what I meant by using the single quotation marks

The offender describes herself as a Christian. I find her behavior to be less than Christian.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

14. Agreed, ashling. nt

[whatthehey]

21. And it's the fact that you have an inflated opinion of what is Christian behavior that's the problem

By thinking that real Christians don't behave this way, you falsely elevate them to a higher class of people than nonbelievers, and in turn unavoidably denigrate anyone who is not a Christian by associating good behavior as inextricably linked to belief in Christianity.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

35. That was not my intention at all. Oh well, I guess someone will be along any moment now to...

...to revoke my Atheist Club membership.

All this over quotations marks. That's DU for you!

[whatthehey]

42. Just picture analogs and you may get the problem

Bernie Sanders, a "contender" for the Democratic nomination

ChisholmTrailDem, a "sensible" DU poster

Those would not strike you as subtle or even not so subtle dismissals?

BTW these are pointed examples only, not statements of my own opinion

[trotsky]

17. "something quite un-Christian-like"

So Christian = good? un-Christian = bad?

Can Christians do bad things, or is anyone who does something bad a 'Christian'?

[ChisolmTrailDem]

22. You're completely missing the point. Christians are supposed to live their lives in a Christ-like..

...way. To do otherwise, to me, is to be un-Christian. It's the hypocrisy that is my pet peeve when it comes to self-described Christians who turn around and do things of which Christ would not approve.

Un-Christian is not automatically bad, as long as the non-Christian is a moral and honorable person who doesn't go around attacking Muslims while they are praying.

[trotsky]

26. Someone's definitely missing the point. On that we agree.

Who gets to define what a "Christ-like way" is? Do all Christians agree on what it is?

[ChisolmTrailDem]

27. OFFS!!! Just say what you have to say and stop this dance. Also, are you defending...

...this lady's actions? Were her actions those that should be coming from a Christian?

[trotsky]

29. I'm trying to.

Do all Christians agree on what it means to be "Christ-like"? Yes or no.

[whatthehey]

34. The point is they SHOULD be coming from NOBODY

The point is that pretending there is a higher standard of behavior linked to Christianity automatically means the rest of us are of a lower standard.

There used to be a common racist phrase "that's mighty white of you" and a patronizing "compliment" (see how scare quotes work, OP?) to colonial subjects that they were "acting the white man".

This is EXACTLY the same - connecting Christianity to a higher standard that it, like colonial whites, does not demonstrate or deserve.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

36. Well, no fucking shit! No one said it's a standard that holds only for Christians. God damn...SMH!

[whatthehey]

40. Then why the scare quotes saying she wasn't a real Christian

Would you see something wrong in her being called a "woman" or "corrections employee" in similar quotes? Of course you would! Because of course she is a woman, and a (for now perhaps) corrections employee. What I'm trying to get across is she's also a Christian, not a "Christian".

[Eleanors38]

38. "this dance." What DUers do when confronted by far bigger problems.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

41. The problem is that I'm being accused of elevating Christians, and Christ-like, to a superior...

...class when that was not at all my intention nor did it even cross my mind.

[whatthehey]

44. Well actually the OP did that. You are just determined not to see an obvious problem

What else can it poossibly mean if only "Christians" are ever nasty rather than just garden variety Christians?

[Eleanors38]

45. I understand. Some here like to noodle around in minutiae.

[whatthehey]

30. But the scare quotes denote inversion not hypocrisy

Christians, Muslims, Jews, etc etc all believe they are supposed to be paragons of exemplary behavior, but that doesn't mean they achieve this goal (I have no first hand knowledge of Jains but it's possible they do; I am told so at any rate). It certainly doesn't mean it's cool to imply that anyone that falls short of this standard is therefore a fake Christian and not to be included with those super-nice real Christians who wouldn't possibly ever do anything nasty. That's the bigoted internalization of Christian = better than the rest that is the root problem.

[trotsky]

32. "the bigoted internalization of Christian = better than the rest"

Bingo.

[jberryhill]

39. Good idea. Hey, where are the women with my foot massage?

[ashling]

12. Since you did not see fit to respond to my reply to your

mischaracterization of my OP, I will just jump in here

There was no attempt to "scare" anyone.

[whatthehey]

18. Are you perhaps just unfamiliar with the term?

Scare quotes is a term used for quotations used to negate or contradict the contents within the quotes. It's nothing to do with an intent to cause fear. Typical uses other than the ubiquitous "Christian" any time an overt believer does something nasty, pretending they are not really Christians, are ironic dismissals of inflated claims like


Oh yeah well if a "singer" like Britney Spears issues a new track you know it must be great.


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scare_quotes

I saw fit to offer a lengthy explanation of the problem with their use in this sense to a respondent below yours rather than duplicate my usual rather prolix response.

[WinkyDink]

8. Attacks by Muslims on innocent non-Muslims just might incite attacks in reverse. Shocked. SHOCJKED!

[marmar]

13. Wtf?

[WinkyDink]

19. WTF back. My words simply mean: "Who is surprisedf at this turn of events?" Are YOU?

[ChisolmTrailDem]

16. Yup! Because, as Jesus taught us: "Two wrongs are alright with me!" nt

[WinkyDink]

23. I'm sure everyone here lives by that adage. These seem to many to be perilous times. IMO.

.

[ChisolmTrailDem]

24. I should have stuck with my first thought which was: "WinkyDink said that??" My apologies...

...for misconstruing your comment.

[WinkyDink]

33. The thing is, everyone knows, or ought to, that we have many "militias" just waiting for a "reason."

And when they hear daily, hourly, now even on TV in the crudest terms, that the government is weak or indifferent----out of 300 million people, some are going to act. It isn't like we have a dearth of itchy trigger fingers.

But if anyone is offended by my characterization of "Muslims killing innocent non-Muslims," well, I can't help it if they can't handle the truth. I mean, what other words might one use, if one did not want to obfuscate? "Married couple goes berserk; no clue as to why"?

[Person 2713]

43. Eye for an eye then? This should be our citizen's response? It's to be expected and her action not

shocking?
I thought our country had higher standards

[spanone]

15. mr trump is inciting violence, isn't that illegal?

if not, it should be.

[WinkyDink]

20. No, he is not. Find any Trump quote that calls for violence. Don't seek a heavy-handed govt; you

might get what you ask for.

[Truprogressive85]

28. let me ask

What did those Muslims in the park do

to be attack by this vile POS

[WinkyDink]

37. I said nothing of the victims' behaviors, nor would I. I spoke of the killers', and why it is naive

of us to be surprised if and when violence begets violence.

[Person 2713]

46. Praying in a park is violent? These people did nothing to give the attacker " a pass" due to

recent terrorist attacks.
Can Others attack people protesting at a random PP clinic because another anti choice person killed miles away? Should it be expected? Attack innocent right to life protests because violence begets violence No