29 July 2008

Actions have consequences

Earlier I posted about the Christian campaign of intimidation and threats aimed at Webster Cook and PZ Myers over the removal and planned "desecration" of a consecrated communion wafer. Well, apparently there is some justice in this world, because at least one of the miscreants has suffered some concrete payback for this disgusting behavior.

Flower-company employee Melanie Kroll used her work e-mail account (or, apparently, allowed her husband to use it) to send a threat of violence to Myers. Since Myers quite sensibly has a policy of publishing all such threats he receives, including any available details to identify the sender, the threat was quickly traced to its source. Kroll's employer, understandably alarmed at this misuse of company resources, fired her.

The message to the thugs and bullies is loud and clear: actions have consequences. Myers reports that he has been receiving far fewer death threats since Kroll's firing. (But please do read the linked posting for some entertaining and enlightening samples of the threats he has received.)

Myers, by the way, has carried out the promised desecration. You can read about it here, along with some interesting history of the role of the communion wafer in the Christian persecution of non-Christians.

Note: On my previous posting about this affair, the comments thread was basically hijacked by one hyperventilating individual who ignored the actual issue at hand and wrote comment after comment venting outrage at the victims (and at me personally). That's not going to happen with this one. If I get the same kind of comments here, I'm going to zap them in moderation. Fair warning.

3 Comments:

Blogger Fran said...

The death threats are insane - so wrong.

And you know how I feel about this issue at large.

The whole thing is screwed on all sides, but the death threats take all and reduce everyone.

There is no way I can find the words to express my outrage or dismay about them.

WRong wrong wrong.

29 July, 2008 10:19  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've always wondered if some christian fundamentalist fanatics were a bit jealous of the power of the fundimentalist Islamic hate factor, I mean "The we'll kill you if don't agree or dare criticize us" attitude.

It IS wrong & it's very sad that any human beings feel they have to stoop so low, because they've been taught to fear & hate other human beings that don't believe the same way they do, to the extent of wishing they were dead.

29 July, 2008 19:06  
Blogger Infidel753 said...

The death threats are insane - so wrong.

I'm glad to see you say that. I wonder what it means that, as far as I can recall, you're the first (and only) Christian I've seen condemn the death threats.

I've always wondered if some christian fundamentalist fanatics were a bit jealous of the power of the fundimentalist Islamic hate factor, I mean "The we'll kill you if don't agree or dare criticize us" attitude.

That's quite possible -- because they must have noticed that, in many cases, it works. Look at the abject cowardice being displayed in western Europe, in Canada, and sometimes even here.

If you reward behavior, you encourage more of the same behavior, because you've shown the people who are doing the behavior that it works. If you knuckle under to death threats, you encourage more death threats.

We must stop knuckling under, whether it's to Christian threats or to Muslim ones.

Thanks for stopping by.

29 July, 2008 20:09  

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