I’m not sure if this is appropriate for the religion and philosophy forum. So if it doesn’t I apologize in advance.
Now, I won’t bother any of you by getting into the specifics of the ranting and raving, all from family members staying in MY home, I listened to last night. But I think I’ll simply deliver a few of the more important details of the utter insanity I listened to last night.
-- Barack Obama is the anti-Christ/a Muslim/a Muslim terrorist/a racist/going to kill us all/only cares about you if you have nine babies and is going to make us all bankrupt and give our money to people with nine babies (no joke).
-- My 16 year old cousin thinks it’s a good idea to crucify Obama, Biden, Michelle Obama, and myself and my father for daring to vote for Barack Obama.
-- The $700 billion bail-out is a liberal conspiracy led by Barack Obama. Seeing as how he is the anti-Christ, he needs control of the banks first so he can take control of the entire world.
-- His middle-name is Hussein, proving he’s a terrorist.
-- My two very young sisters (11 and 8) have been convinced by members of my family that if Barack Obama is elected president they are going to die.
-- Barack Obama is a typical “n*****”
-- The Democrats, and the Democrats alone, are responsible for the economic crisis in a ploy to get Obama elected president.
-- Abortions are sacrifices to Obama (no joke).
-- Barack Obama is black and therefore unqualified to hold any political office.
-- Barack Obama being the anti-Christ is biblical, but don’t ask for the specific scripture it just is.
Now, I’ve known most of my family drank the kool-aid of the very far right a very long time ago. And as most of you may have guessed I’m most angry with my cousin who stated, in all seriousness, that he would like to have me and my father crucified for voting for Obama. I was also deeply angered when my uncle, who has physically assaulted my when I was still a minor, threatened me with violence when I disagreed with him. And of course, I’m also very upset that they have my two very young sisters whipped up into a state of total panic. Especially since they’re all in a state of grieving now having come to the conclusion that McCain will lose the election and thus essentially telling my two sisters they WILL die. It was just after my uncle threatened me that I threatened to call the police if they didn’t leave my house. As they left I also informed most of them that they are no longer welcome in my home.
I’m telling you all this because I want to ask a question and I think it’s necessary to highlight just how much this has affected me. I believe this election has gotten drastically out of hand and in the next few weeks I fear it’s only going to get worse. I especially fear the frenzy some of the people who are as bad as certain members of family may be whipped into assuming Obama will win the presidency.
How exactly did things get this bad? Now I’m very young, 20, so I have no idea if things have always been this bad. Why is it that certain people are incapable of having a civil discussion about politics and the presidential campaign? I don’t expect to change any minds either, the people I’m talking about have huge emotional investment in the election and in the case of my two young sisters who, assuming Obama wins this election, will spend the next 4-8 years fearing that their president intends to cause them physical harm. I hate to say it but my sisters have been indoctrinated rather well, and nothing will convince them otherwise; especially since it’s our mother telling them these things.
Does anybody have any advice? I don’t want to sever ties with my family but this election, and also my admitted atheism, has driven a wedge between us I don’t think we can overcome.
? Why is it that so many Christians have this battered spouse syndrome when it comes to their deity?
