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debunkingxian2012-12-22 10:06 am
elf) wrote in debunkingxian2012-12-22 10:06 am
Entry tags:
The headline you won't read
The headline nobody is carrying: CRAZED CHRISTIAN GUNS DOWN SCHOOLCHILDREN.
If Adam Lanza had been Muslim, the early reports would have blared that loud and often, and there'd be a whole drama, possibly bigger than the gun-control debates, about whether Islam is, or is not, an innately violent faith. If he had been atheist, the fundamentalist crowd would've jumped on that as proof that America's future safety lies in a return to church-based laws and mandatory attendance. Had he been any kind of Pagan, there would've been a flood of articles wondering if he thought the shooting was some kind of bizarre human sacrifice.
Since he was, instead, Catholic, there's only a side mention of his religion, buried in an article about how the community is mourning at the church he and his family attended.
Because it's not *news* when a Christian is a violent criminal. His religion can't possibly be part of his psychological problems; it doesn't matter if his religion allowed him to justify his acts by thinking "they're innocents; they'll be going to heaven anyway." No media campaign wants to inform the public when the disturbed criminal whacko is Christian, just like no media campaign calls Adam Lanza the "white" shooter. However, while his race is obvious, his religion is not--and that feeds into the privilege-blinders that allow Christians to believe that their religion is "better" than other ones.
If Adam Lanza had been Muslim, the early reports would have blared that loud and often, and there'd be a whole drama, possibly bigger than the gun-control debates, about whether Islam is, or is not, an innately violent faith. If he had been atheist, the fundamentalist crowd would've jumped on that as proof that America's future safety lies in a return to church-based laws and mandatory attendance. Had he been any kind of Pagan, there would've been a flood of articles wondering if he thought the shooting was some kind of bizarre human sacrifice.
Since he was, instead, Catholic, there's only a side mention of his religion, buried in an article about how the community is mourning at the church he and his family attended.
Because it's not *news* when a Christian is a violent criminal. His religion can't possibly be part of his psychological problems; it doesn't matter if his religion allowed him to justify his acts by thinking "they're innocents; they'll be going to heaven anyway." No media campaign wants to inform the public when the disturbed criminal whacko is Christian, just like no media campaign calls Adam Lanza the "white" shooter. However, while his race is obvious, his religion is not--and that feeds into the privilege-blinders that allow Christians to believe that their religion is "better" than other ones.