Wednesday, March 08, 2006

With a Heavy Heart

One of my Social Justice kids yesterday was asking if I'd ever heard of Prussian Blue ... she briefly told me about them; I just checked out their website. Apparently these blonde-haired blue-eyed thirteen year-old twins have been singing and making music since they were nine. Not a big deal, unless you consider their band's description, according to their own web site:

Recently they received international media attention because Prussian Blue is a White Pride band. The songs they the girls sing reflect their White Nationalist beliefs. Today, if you are White, and proud to be White, it is considered Politically Incorrect by the media. The music that Prussian Blue performs is intended for White people. They hope to help fellow Whites come to understand that love for one’s race is a beautiful gift that we should celebrate.
I had seen some of this kind of stuff, primarily from tolerance.org and its "hate group" information. But in terms of actually visiting some of these sites (especially National Vanguard) ..... with the exception of Fred Phelps & Westboro Baptist in Topeka, Kansas, this was my first real exploration.

I have to admit, much of what I was reading wasn't nearly as inflammatory as some of Phelps' stuff, but at the same time, that could be almost worse. At least Phelps is upfront about his beliefs; you know where he stands. But some of these other groups do a really good job of presenting themselves as fine upstanding patriotic family-values kinds of folks — what's wrong with that? We joke at the house sometimes about loaded questions -- you could ask "Do you want to pray at 5:00 AM?" and, when the others say no, you could follow it up with "What, you don't want to pray?" Who doesn't want the best for their kids, families, and nations?

With Westboro Baptist, on the other hand, I can't see the appeal. It is a site filled with such hatred and such venom that even though they don't use four-letter words, I still would not be able to read any of it to my students. Plus, they have a lovely game where you have to keep the kids (represented by a baby bottle) away from the sodomites (represented by a pink swastika). And, it's nice to see that they've broadened their domain names beyond the traditional "God hates fags/america/sweden/canada/everyone else" .... there are now some new improved domains like "Priests Rape Boys" and "Your Pastor Is A Whore" and "God Is The Terrorist."

Ahhh ..... what a way to spread the good news.

Of course, as I Devil's Advocately pointed out a while back .... how does my passing judgment balance out their passing judgment? And how does this fit with the idea that we are to be a prophetic voice to the world, proclaiming the wrongs that we see? {Other related posts of mine about that are here, here, here, and here.}

I guess part of the "proclaiming the wrongs" comes from how we proclaim it. Are we doing it out of love and concern for our neighbor, or out of an "I'm better than you" mentality? In my Brokeback Mountain post, I had something I snipped from a Focus on the Family editor, where he's commenting that a victory won gloatingly is not a victory in Christ.

In looking for Fred Phelps' site (without wanting to use one of the more pointed URLs), I made the mistake of trying fredphelps{dot}com. That took me instead to "Fred Phelps Hater Blog." And, while I am no fan of Fred Phelps .... neither am I a fan of the Fred Phelps Hater Blog. It's no more Christian to be calling him a "bigoted southern cracker" and a "publicity whore" that "spawn[s] offspring." Don't they realize they're doing the exact same thing they're complaining about?

Hatred is NOT the answer, people. Even if you think you're on the "right" side. After all, isn't everyone? I can't imagine there are too many people out there who feel that they themselves are truly promoting the "wrong" agenda. As the seven-year-old daughter of a friend of mine asked when her mom was trying to explain what had happened on 9/11, "But, if they thought they were doing what God wanted them to do, then how can that be wrong?"

Hatred will only breed more hatred.

When will we learn?

Let us not become the evil we deplore.

The site that I still absolutely love .... the one I discovered last fall with my Phelps posts ... comes from the website godhatesfredphelps{dot}com.... and I love the message it displays:

God Hates Fred Phelps
...well, not really. In fact, we don't even hate Fred Phelps, and we certainly don't presume to speak for God at all.

What we do know is that we are gay, straight, bi, Latino, Southern, Asian-Americans, of German ancestry, Boston Irish, forty something, twenty something, Catholic, Atheist, Jewish, heavyset, athletic, legally blind, hearing-impaired, tall, short, masculine, gender-neutral, feminine, transgender, polyamorous, monogamous, married, single, parents, children, professionals, students, singers, dancers, web designers, janitors, teachers, artists, aspiring rock stars, taxpayers, sisters, brothers, neighbors, friends, and lovers, who won't stand for intolerance, hatred, and violence against the people we love.
And I haven't even mentioned all the hatred among nations ....

Will we ever get it?

11 Comments:

Blogger Estelle said...

First off, they stole the name of a very lovely breed of cat.
Will people ever learn? Yes. They learn each and every day. That letter you copied from my blog long ago proves that. I am still in contact with that woman and she is now an advocate for gay adoption! Amazing.
It is stupid to be proud ot be white. It's not an accomplishment. It's a genetic make up. And there is nothing to be ashamed of if you're not white. There is nothing wrong with being HAPPY that you are white, just as long as you do not assume to be a superior race. Which, unfortunately, so many do.
I love the Fr*d Ph*lps part at the end. I must check out that website.

3/09/2006 11:32 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I think one route people might take to making inroads on this kind of stuff is to celebrate one's cultural heritage rather than race per se. There's a big difference between celebrating one's German or Irish or English or Russian heritage and celebrating "being white" (especially with a sense of superiority). And there are differences between various "white" cultures, just as there are myriad different Latino, Asian, and "black" cultures. Celebrate your roots, yes, but with the understanding that other people have other roots that are just as special.

3/09/2006 12:52 PM  
Blogger HeyJules said...

"Will we ever get it?"

One can only hope and pray...

3/09/2006 1:56 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

O/T....

Estelle: Isn't the cat a Russian Blue?

[Yeah, way to contribute nothing useful to the converstaion at hand, Natty....]

As always, Steph, I love that you take the time and effort to reflect on the stuff that you do. I envy the ability to focus these days... Spring Fever perhaps?

3/09/2006 2:32 PM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

... after exploring some of the links and doing my own Googling...

Dude! This is some scary stuff! NationalVanguard.org .... very scary!!!!

And who knew Rudyard Kipling was such a racist? Or at least that he is, 100 years later, being held up the "White Man's Poet"?!

Oy. Yuck. Ptooey. Thanks for the eye-opener.

3/09/2006 2:45 PM  
Blogger Keturah said...

My fiance sent me a link to the Prussian Blue website a few months ago - we were both quite put off by the whole experience. They are a wolf in sheep's clothing. They look innocent but the word they spread is dangerous. I was especially shocked when I read some of the lyrics for their songs. They sing about non-white bloodshed and I am saddened by the fact that they've been taught this type of hatred since birth. It's a part of human nature that I really don't understand.

3/10/2006 12:14 PM  
Blogger lorem ipsum said...

My first thought was of the poison Sybil took in The Picture of Dorian Gray! I wonder the reason behind the name... I'm afraid to look.

3/11/2006 11:46 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yeah, the reason behind the name Prussian Blue is a scary one... It's a term popular among Holocaust deniers who say that if people were really gased in the chambers like the world claims they were, then there would have been a chemical residue, called prussian blue, on the walls, which, they claim, there was not. Creepy as H*LL! That's just the tip of the very scary iceburg if you have the stomach to poke around the PB website.

3/11/2006 12:33 PM  
Blogger lorem ipsum said...

Natty, that's appalling. *shudder*

3/11/2006 5:05 PM  
Blogger see-through faith said...

great post!

will we ever get it? truth? no. That's why we need Jesus

and natty
"the reason behind the name Prussian Blue is a scary one... It's a term popular among Holocaust deniers who say that if people were really gased in the chambers like the world claims they were, then there would have been a chemical residue, called prussian blue, on the walls, which, they claim, there was not. Creepy as H*LL! That's just the tip of the very scary iceburg if you have the stomach to poke around the PB website." is the scariest thing I've read in a long time.

Father forgive us :(

3/13/2006 6:55 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I've heard of Prussian Blue from a few places. So sad that such young minds are already twisted--but the good side is, I suppose, that they have plenty of time to change.

And you're right, hatred towards anyone is not the answer, ultimately. But I think it is difficult to maintain that when you are the targeted group. It's relatively easy for me not to hate White Pride groups (disgust, revulsion, yes) but misogynists who actively campaign to have my rights taken away? That's harder.

3/20/2006 12:34 PM  

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