As we all sit here trapped inside of our global pandemic panic rooms many of us find ourselves communicating more than ever via the internet. The comfort of confronting someone from your living-room has always been a joy for those that fear the beauty of a real debate, but now more than ever, with everything irritating everyone… they seem to be out in masses.

The other day in our local news paper there was an article that some Pittsburgh church’s were offering drive thru confession services. As you see above the picture looked ridiculous, but even with out that photo- the premise is ridiculous. When we are being urged, begged, pleaded with to stay in… why prey on people, forcing them to come out due to fear of God? As someone that was raised Roman Catholic I can assure you that a prayer session between you and God is even more sacred than a trip to the confessional and that the only things missing will be possible exposure to Covid-19 and the collection plate.

When I posted the article an acquaintance of mine became very upset. She said that posting this shows I do not respect other beliefs and that I preach acceptance but do not give it. Let’s just get one thing straight, I respect a person’s right to believe what they wish. I do not subscribe to the notion that the government should police our beliefs. That being said, supporting your right to believe does not mean I have to respect what you believe in. If you want to support an undercover pedophile ring, I am not going to stand beside you and cheer you on… and if said pedophile ring wants to show a picture of themselves looking foolish in a plastic bubble during a pandemic, I am going to make a tongue in cheek joke about it… because if I think too much about what might happen in the actual confessional booth I am likely to weep.I will never sit idly by and watch as someone does something careless, biting my tongue because I don’t want to make them feel bad. Maybe I come of as too much of a Consequentialist for some, but I am willing to risk it for the greater good. As far as the accusation that I have a “constant need bash beliefs that are not yours, Christianity in particular.” all I do is laugh. First off, I am much more tolerant of religious nonsense than most of the secularists that I know (have you met my husband lol). I actually think the act of confession is ridiculous and demeaning. I remember making my first confession and thinking it would be a super intense experience but nope, such a let down… I just made up some crap about lying to my mom and the priest told me to say a few hail Mary’s, nothing magical. That being said I don’t make fun of confession on the regular- I did however make fun of it when there was a picture plastered in the news featuring Father Bubble Boy and his magic car wash confessional. Take a joke people. Yes, I do criticize religion. As I stated earlier, I will never forgive the Catholic church for what they have done to our children and for what they continue to allow to happen… and to those of you that step foot through those church doors, you show your support for their actions, whether your brain can allow you to comprehend that or not… it’s still there.

The easiest point of all to address is “Christianity in particular”. Of course westernized society is the most critical of Christianity, you are constantly shoving it down our throats. There are blessings and prayers and crosses and bloody thorns representing you everywhere from the hospital to the gas station. None of the other main stream religions try snake their way into your life like Christianity does. If you simply worshiped and left others alone there wouldn’t be a problem but you insist that others should agree with you. Then you demand that they agree with you. Then you threaten them if they don’t. Then you are gone, because you are superior and they are flawed. Christianity gets the most criticism because it is the most critical of outsiders, plain and simple.

If you cannot handle a little tongue in cheek humor, seriously reconsider being my friend because I love to joke around. I will make jokes about politics, religion and also laugh at myself. For many people, like myself, jokes are a coping mechanism. Even when attacked anger isn’t an emotion that dominates me, I am more of an empath. I take things to heart and find myself overcome with a flurry of emotions that center upon what that others may be feeling of the situation. My writing tends to be emotional, this is true… but I also make a lot of jokes… because sadness and humor are the way that I balance out into happiness. Don’t we all need a way to escape the pain of the world, even if just for a little bit?

This week Amber Guyger was sentenced to 10 years in prison for the murder of Botham Jean. A white woman burst into the apartment of an innocent black man shot and killed him and wasn’t even taken into custody at the scene. I could go on and on about how lenient the sentence was, how it only happened this way because we live in a blue and white world that gives privilege to those that don’t deserve it, but I won’t. Instead I want to focus on the impact statement from Jean’s brother Brandt and the inappropriate behavior of Judge Tammy Kemp.

When addressing the court of the impact of Botham’s death Brandt spoke directly to Guyger. He stated that he forgives her, loves her as a person and wants only the best for her. In addition he stated that he didn’t even wish for her to go to jail but instead to give her life up to Christ. After stating the best thing she could do now is give her life to Christ he embraced her right there in the courtroom. I am not going to fault him for his reaction. He may truly believe that prison will not make the difference and Christ will . However as an Atheist I cannot imagine how devoting her life to Christ would in any way be beneficial. Clearly it did nothing to protect Botham, a youth pastor and active member of his church. The only thing his devotion to God could really do is possibly give hope to other believers that he is now in heaven, when in reality he is dead, killed for no reason, not even a martyr… just gone.

What really bothered me about the final moments of the sentencing phase was what the judge did. While overcome with emotion from the unprecedented act she had just allowed to occur in her courtroom, she decided to step far outside the bonds of our law. Judge Tammy Kemp left the bench and returned with a copy of the bible, she holds it out to Guyger and states “You can have mine. I have 3 or 4 more at home. This is the one I use every day. This is your job for the next month. Right here. John 3:16”. It continues on, in front of every member of Jean’s family she embraces Guyger, attempting to provide comfort to a murder while stating “I believe in Christ… you haven’t done so much that you can’t be forgiven. You did something bad in one moment in time. What you do now matters.”. Then she forces the bible upon Guyger who carries it out of the courtroom.

I cannot even process what just happened. I try to put myself there, having someone I loved taken away and having to watch a judge bring God into the courtroom and tell the killer that it’s what happens from this point on that matters. Does this mean that breaking into an innocent man’s apartment, shooting him, refraining from providing any life saving measures and then focusing completely on how it would affect you is totally meaningless? What kind of delusional world do these believers live in. I decided to look around at various sites to see what people were saying about the events and I must say it was unnerving. One exchange in particular caught my eye. While discussing the sentencing a person wrote “But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”.

Someone, anyone, please tell me how this is a positive thing? Yes, releasing your conscious of the weight of hate and forgiving can be beneficial for a victim to move forward in life, but they shouldn’t have to do it because if not they will be punished by God. The next response to the thread stated “the bible states if we do not forgive, we cannot be forgiven.”. Seriously, think about that for a moment. The murderer repents and is forgiven by God but if the victims cannot find forgiveness for the killer they will be judged by God. The third comment states “That’s what a true Christian would do.” but what I wonder is, why would they do it? Are they doing it because it is what they need to move forward? Are they doing it to honor the memory of the one they lost so that hate doesn’t tarnish their legacy? Or are they doing it because if they don’t God will never forgive them?
Let us also not forget that there is a huge difference between a grieving brother expressing that faith may be beneficial and a judge assigning religious work to a criminal. What gull it takes to think that you can force your beliefs, a person who has power over you, using that power to direct someone to take on their belief system. Imagine the outrage our country would have had if they judge handed her a Koran. There would have been protests and shaming, an appropriate reaction, but only if it applies to the bible as well. As an Atheist, if I was told that my punishment included finding Jesus I would have to decline. I would accept a punishment that fit my crime as long as it was within the boundaries of our country’s laws, but never would I allow God to be forced on me.
God and religion have no place in our judicial system. Do not let a beautiful embrace and act of forgiveness take away from the fact that a judge forced religion upon a criminal. Don’t let it negate the fact that people are seeing this act as inspirational and the perfect way to not be punished by God. I am fortunate to have never lost someone to a tragedy such as this, I cannot imagine the pain and I won’t pretend I do. I respect the Jean family and all those that loved Botham and I will not criticize their grieving process. But please, remember that this is just another reminder that Christian’s feel entitled to force their religion on us at all times and it is because we let them get away with it… and we cannot keep allowing this to happen.

Yesterday the jury issued a verdict of not guilty in the case against officer Michael Rosfeld, the man who shot and killed Antwon Rose. As I followed the trial I noticed that much of what the defense was presenting came from what people thought and what they felt with little focus on what they knew. It brought me back to another high profile case where a 17 year old black boy unjustly lost his life. On November 23, 2012 Michael David Dunn shot into a car and killed Jordan Davis. In the first interview that Dunn had with detectives he made a point to say that he shot his gun because in his mind the occupants of the vehicle had weapons. One of the detectives responded with the most sensible statement I have ever heard; “I can’t shoot someone because in my mind they had a weapon”. What an amazing revelation. It seems some law enforcement officers still belief that it isn’t enough to think it, you need to know the truth before you kill someone that is not an immediate threat to your life. Sadly during the trial here in Pittsburgh the officer stated over and over that he thought he saw a gun and as it turns out those feelings satisfied the jury.

We live in a culture that is relying too much on what they feel rather than what they know. This is pretty much the driving force behind religions, blind faith, no evidence required. Sometimes I wonder if the adults that were indoctrinated as children are even capable of relearning critical thinking skills. If they have gone their entire life believing their future is set in motion by a higher power and that their is a judge higher than man. Will they always be comfortable saying  “well i can see why he felt that way” to justify actions that following the facts should never have happened? Will they say “he did what he had to do” because subconsciously they believe our actions are ultimately out of our control? If you are not able to set aside emotion and deal strictly with facts, can their be justice in the world?

Fact: Antwon Rose was in a car that was involved in a drive-by

Fact: Michael Rosfeld had no proof of this at the time of the traffic stop that resulted in the death of Antwon Rose.

People say that the officer was just doing his job, but was he? During a traffice stop he shot a teenager that was not an immediate threat  three  times in the back, then handcuffed him and left him on the ground as he gasped for breath. He did not feel the need to try to preform life saving measures, he just panicked and left the rest to the officers who arrived several minutes later. All we hear is that he thought he had a gun, he thought he reached for a gun, he thought he saw a gun. But guess what, ANTWON ROSE DID NOT HAVE A GUN. So these feelings he had are why Antwon is dead. People argue that Antwon should not have run from the car and I agree that it was not a wise choice, but running from a traffic stop does not warrant the death penalty. You would think that officer Rosfeld’s feelings at the time shouldn’t be a factor because the jury was able to view video evidence that showed Antwon running away. They could see that he  didn’t reach for anything and he didn’t turn around, in fact the shots came so fast I can’t imagine he’d have had time to. Luckily I don’t have to speculate, there is evidence that we can see and it is plain as day that a defenseless teenager was shot dead as he retreated. So how did a jury of his peers find him not guilty of all possible charges? It is because people become blinded by personal bias and after-the-fact information. I cannot tell you how many people have commented “He wasn’t innocent, he was involved in a drive-by earlier”. There are even people still listing Antwon as the shooter in the drive-by despite (once again) video to the contrary as well as a confession by the real shooter. Others have stated that Antwon had a clip in his pocket at the time of his death and therefore that makes him a criminal and office Rosfeld had the duty to protect himself and others. Yes, he did have the clip in his pocket, but it is a moot point because officer Rosfeld could not have known it was there when he shot and killed Antwon. We live in the United States and whether you like it or not, everyone has the right to a fair trial. The other boys that survived the event will all be charged and unlike officer Rosfeld they will likely serve time for their crimes. Apparently when you have the right combination of judge and jury you are allowed to be the executioner.

I have no idea when or if this epidemic will end, I am ashamed that my hometown has now contributed to the injustice.  All I can say is that I promise to do my part to bring awareness to the state of our society.  My thoughts and my heart are with all of the people that loved Antwon, he will not be forgotten.

R.I.P. Antwon Rose II

Our society is completely backwards. People are outraged because Nike included Colin Kaepernick in an ad and have decided to burn the products that they already paid for as a form of protest. They are outraged by a quote, a statement against intolerance… I bet it will be the hot topic at lunch after church on Sunday. Yes, we live in a society that will burn their shoes when someone stands up to police brutality but will put money in the collection plate when they learn that priests are raping children.

What did Colin Kaepernick really do that was so disgraceful that it warrants this type of outrage? He used his celebrity as a platform to peacefully protest police brutality. He wanted to stand up for those who lost their lives. Philando Castile, Michael Brown, Alton Sterling, Freddie Gray, Antwon Rose… those are just a few of the higher profile cases, but this is a problem that runs deep and if people with power don’t keep it in the public eye people will keep brushing it under the rug.

People try to say that kneeling during the anthem in memory of the victims of police brutality is somehow disrespectful to our troops. What is truly disrespectful to our troops is the way they are treated by our country once the government has taken all they need. Our vets that cannot get proper healthcare for the devastating physical wounds, that suffer PTSD and are dismissed, having to deal with a president that refers to a POW as a coward, and most importantly the ones who died in combat in wars that never had to happen. Colin Kaepernick is not the face of disrespect towards our troops, our politicians are.

Back to the outrage and misplaced anger…. Why are people so gung-ho to destroy the merchandise of this company? They haven’t done anything other than remind us that some people use their platform for good. Where was the burning of bibles when the priests were exposed for the monsters that they are? Where was the boycott of all churches for covering up the abuse? How is speaking out against a problem more severe than hiding one? What has happened to our world?

There are so many major issues happening right now. We are living under a corrupt government that wants to strip us of our rights. America is on the verge of being nothing but a joke and you are allowing yourself to be distracted by an ad. You have been so blinded that you don’t even see that by fighting against Colin you are risking your own right to speak out.  If you really think that defending police brutality is the place to direct your energy, I support your right to protest. If you want to ignore the real issues and burn Nike merchandise, just do it. But remember that this nonsense will not be without consequence and by the time you realize what is happening it may be too late.

Just a few days ago I wrote about the sexist attitude of religious men. How they talk down to me, call me things like “sweetie” and “honey” and they even try to make my existence as a sexual being part of the debate when clearly it has no place being discussed. I also made a YouTube video addressing how religious men wouldn’t dictate when or where I would breast feed my child. It was titled “my breasts are not your stumbling block” and it covered how these men like to sexualize everything a woman does and blame them when they cannot control themselves. Needless-to-say this is an issue all women face at some point in their lives, whether you are an “obedient wife” or a “heathen temptress”, religious men will find a way to blame you for their actions.

When I watched Bishop Ellis fondle Ariana Grande I was sickened… not surprised at all, but still sickened. You know that oppression of women in religion has hit an all time low when the pastor thinks it is okay to fondle a young woman, in front of millions of people while at a funeral. It is just mind blowing. Of course it is horrific no matter where or when it happens, but when we’ve reached the point that you think you can just touch someone’s body that way, knowing the rest of the world sees you, things are getting out of hand.

As of now Bishop Ellis still hasn’t apologized. He released a statement that he may have gone too far but at no point took responsibility for his actions, this is because he doesn’t believe he did anything wrong.  You see men in religion are taught from a young age that women are subservient beings. That men only have to answer to God. This is the type of dangerous teaching that I fear is being introduced to each generation of young men. Do you think it is a mistake that up until recently all of the priests, rabbis, pastors. etc were men? Men are second only to God and with that message we put all women in danger.

I have seen many people defending Bishop Ellis by blaming Ariana’s dress. To Ariana and all the women reading this, your dress is never the problem, you are never the problem. You have the right to dress any way that you wish and should be able to do so without fear that the divine order will make it okay for a man to touch you. We cannot let events such as this get brushed under the rug. We’ve all felt the chill of suggestive words or a hug that goes on for just a little too long. If you are not inviting someone to touch your body they have no right to do it. If you have invited them to touch your body and they go too far, stop and say something. We need to speak up, we need to make change, the indoctrination that women belong to men needs to be eradicated. #MeToo

 

I want to pose a question to all of the believers. Why does your God keep abusing and killing so many children?

So many times, we hear of criminals that find God while in prison. For some reason it is only after the crime is committed that they can accept Christ into their heart. Some people go as far as to say that it was the crime itself that brought them to God, that he put them in that situation for the specific purpose that they needed a way to see God’s plan for their life. Fine, I can see where they are going with that. They didn’t believe in God, as a result they did wrong, the suffer the consequence and with that learn that they need God to live a life without sin. It is nonsensical to me, but I can at least follow the “logic”, but what about the victims?

There was a case here in Pittsburgh where a man named Matthew Franks killed a 12 year old girl named Tia Wright in a drunk driving accident. The driver was sentenced to 2 years in prison with 8 years of probation and that should have been the end of it. However, Matthew felt the need to push make this about his life and not the life he stole. At sentencing he stated “Throughout the past three years, I’ve become a very religious person,” and a believer in “divine intervention,” he said. “I believe that Tia Wright saved my life and was sent here to serve that purpose.”. That means that God, the same God you worship each day, created her only to have her suffer a gruesome, painful death right in front of her father and best friend. Just the thought of that makes me ill. Where is the compassion, the love that this God is supposed to possess for all those that worship him? How can you continue to support a God that creates innocent souls for no other reason but to cause them pain?

I suppose that up to this point the cases could fall under the no true Scotsman fallacy. That the Christian could say that these killers don’t have true a relationship with God. I don’t know how you could possibly prove that but for the sake of this argument I will let it slide. That being said I must ask what do you do when it is under your own roof. When the abuse is happening in the church. When the people committing the abuse are the ones that have found God, devoted their entire life to God, that have a relationship with God that the organization recognizes them as the people capable of delivering his message. How can you accept that most holy beings alive are the ones that take away the innocence of God’s children?

In the case of the recent ring of pedophile priests that spent years abusing, molesting and raping children, what did the children due to earn a lifetime of pain. Children whose only mistake was entering the house of God now have to live with trauma they endured at the hands of God’s most trusted servants. They have lost the ability to trust because not only were they hurt but when it was exposed, it was dismissed. If the God that they thought loved them could allow the ones he put in charge to cause this pain and the very highest leaders to pretend it never happened. How would it be possible to ever trust again? When the accusations are proven to be true and still there is no justice. There is not a punishment, no consequence for hurting innocent children, God knows the truth, and this is how he wants his leaders to proceed. Just today I had someone reply to this question with “God allows evil to happen to bring goodness out of evil.”. This explains a lot, of course the believers would be willing to cover up crimes and allow abuse to continue, in their minds they are actually benefiting from it. I find this disturbing and disgusting and so I have to ask again, how is this the reality that believers choose to live with.

I would really like to hear the reasoning. I would gladly listen to the justification. Please show me the evidence that makes you continue to believe in God despite all the pain he causes. How do you justify the suffering of children? How do you rationalize the pain? Feel free to message me or reply here, speak openly because if you’ve got an answer and the evidence to back to up I really do want to hear it.