Tuesday, January 28, 2014

Illinois Bishop compares anti-gay exorcism to punishing disobedient children



When Illinois made marriage equality legal last year, Bishop Thomas John Paprocki of Springfield, Illinois took it upon himself to perform what he called a "minor" exorcism on the state. In this clip, he explains why he did such an action.

If you ask me, he really should have kept him mouth shut. It begins as semi-comical combined with a little insulting then moves to extremely insulting at the end when he explains how what he did wasn't hatred, but "love," such as the love of parents who punish their children. It reminds me of that scene in The Color Purple when one character's father tells him why it is necessary to physically abuse his wife.  I guess that's the only good thing about this clip. Paprocki totally dismantles the phony "I am opposing lgbt equality because I love them and want them to stop their 'behavior'" fallacy.

He comes across as self-righteous, ignorant, and highly deluded, which are common traits many who push that fallacy share.

 Hat tip to Right Wing Watch.

3 comments:

Tor said...

Yesssss. I really feel the love.

Andrew said...

Greetings, Alvin, from Andrew in North Carolina. I grew up in Illinois, where this priest is, and am in a good mood, so I feel entitled to skip this video. But I feel like making three points:
1) I think well-publicized gay exorcisms are excellent (for everyone but the child). Frank Rich just wrote an article in New York Magazine with the analysis that Fox News assists Democrats now more than Republicans. So instead of making a cause celebre by scolding Fox for every stupid thing it does, we should just patronizingly let them have their say loud and clear. Meanwhile we can put our energy into more strategic battles. That's how I feel about idiots like this priest. Most middle-of-the-road Americans hearing about anti-gay exorcisms will think, "Okay. On one hand, gay men in tuxes or pushing baby strollers. On the other hand, Linda Blair's head spinning and vomiting split pea soup all over the room. *Sigh*. Okay, I choose gay marriage. I can get used to seeing men holding hands at the mall."
I do hate it for the kid(s) who are cannon fodder for this kind of religiosity though.
2) I just came from a website listing their ten favorite insult words, and I suggest the usefulness of "unctuous" and "sanctimonious".
3) I spend a lot of time researching the history of religion, family structures, LGBT people, liberation movements, etc. I've also made a hobby of figuring out how to blast anti-gay arguments and "research" in thirty seconds or less. I drive my husband nuts prattling on about my enthusiasms -- he suffered enough through a Pentecostal childhood and Moody Bible Institute, so I don't blame him -- so maybe I can be in touch with you and help out if you need something researched. If your site lets me, I'll privately send you my email address.
I saw your despondent post about feeling what's-the-use. The same day, I read some great quotes from Mildred Loving. I'm very grateful for her dedication, and grateful to you for the work you're doing. Hope you keep at it. --Andrew, Durham.

Mykelb said...

The patriarchal authoritariansim of the church stinks of sulfur and Santorum.