The Return of the Definition of an Idiot

OK, here we go . . . .

Long before KO was doing "Worst Person in the World," I was offering an occasional notice when someone said or did something so idiotic it couldn't be ignored.

I haven't posted anything on it in awhile (not for lack of idiotic material from which to choose), and yes, I know, I've been very silent during this political season...but I'm done.

This guy....is an idiot on so many different levels...

Enjoy...




Where to begin.."my God's bigger than your God?" Really? Is that all you've got?
"God, let my guy win because your reputation is at stake?" Please, brother...give me a break.

My people have heard me say this more than once..."God doesn't need defenders...God expects, as a response to Amazing Grace, that we live lives in right relationship with God expressed through just relationships with each other...especially those pushed to the margins of life."

Period.

And when people spend most of their time feeling like they have to defend God, or the doctrines of the Church, it is, more often than not, rhetorical cover for not really having faith worth a damn or caring enough to be in relationship with the least of these.

"Sorry, don't have time to live the sacramental life, I've got to defend the virgin birth because Jesus' reputation is on the line." If it wasn't so tragic, it would be laughable.

But there's more at stake here....too much vitriol spewed, too much of our lesser natures stoked, inflamed, too many bells rung that can't be unrung. And it wasn't by accident.

It smacks of desperation, fear, lots of anger that someone must be blamed for the way things are.

So, Pastor, Brother, Reverend, or whatever you call yourself, you're not a part of the solution, you're part of the problem...welcome to the list.

Definition of an Idiot - Or, "Prove to Me, Sir, that You're Not a Bigot"

This piece of work is Glenn Beck.

He recently "interviewed" Rep-elect Keith Ellison, a Democrat from Minnesota.

The gentleman from Minnesota is also Muslim, a first for the House of Representatives.

So Mr. Beck, in his interview makes the following statement:

"What I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies."

How is this guy even on the air? CNN should be ashamed.

Between him, and the propaganda machine over at Fox - make no mistake who the terrorists are.

How Do We Respond to Disaster?

. . . a few random thoughts on what I'm seeing happen on the Gulf Coast, New Orleans, and what I'm seeing about to happen in Memphis....

• I heard my clergy brother, the Rev'd Dr. Frank Thomas, pastor of Mississippi Blvd. Christian Church admonish the clergy gathered for a meeting yesterday that the words "refugee" and "evacuee" have got to go. And I heartily agree. So, you will no longer hear those words from me. We will speak of our "friends" and "neighbors" with whom we are sharing our lives.
• Know when to criticize.
• Kanye West, whose diatribe on the NBC telethon last night took everyone aback, missed the point. George Bush does not hate black people, as he asserted. I don't believe there was premeditated intent on anyone's part to keep support from anyone in need.
• This isn't about race, at least overtly - it is part and parcel of what the sin of poverty does to the masses, regardless of race. Although, without question, most of the faces we see left behind are African American. So trapped are they by the principalities and powers under which they live, so trapped are they by the attitudes such poverty instills in the individuals as mechanisms simply to survive, that they cannot flee it, even if it's what they desired most, anymore than they could flee New Orleans before the flood, without someone to offer help.
• The other side of poverty is what affluence does to those enslaved by the many and much of life. Without conscience and empathy, those of us who live in affluence are blinded by the plight of those who are trapped in poverty, or, we'll give it the old, "there but for the grace of God, go I," line, which is a load of crap.
• Oh, and then there's this - for anyone who would dare call themselves a disciple of Jesus of Nazareth, with whom did he relate? To whom did he demand association of those who would follow? This distinction is the defining character of Christianity. Where criticism is appropriate, is for those who are charged with protection of the citizenry by their election to office whose negligence is not to recognize poverty's reality and then act surprised these people didn't evacuate and blame them for not doing it. I don't know Kanye West, I hear he's a hip-hop star - I'm too old to know that...but I'm betting he's not from New Orleans or the Gulf Coast. He's entitled to his opinion, I guess, but he was not licensed to divert the energies of so many who had rallied around this cause by breaking script. Just after he finished basically calling the President a murderer, and was yanked off the screen, Aaron Neville, pride of New Orleans, whose family was rescued and evacuated, sang "Amazing Grace." Kanye, go have your conversation with Aaron. And if you can't help the cause of support and relief, shut your dadgum mouth...

Congrats, Kanye, you have reached the threshold of "idiot" that I'm now bestowing on any who betray the responsibilities given them when they stand in front of me on camera, or behind a mic. You're in distinguished company - Pat and Rush. Well done.

• Pace yourself. Trust me on this. I know what I'm talking about. After the initial flourish of support, the expected outpouring of folks who give and relieve the suffering of those in trouble, what happens next? Who will be there two weeks from now, two months from now? The answer? We will. There are no better outlets for immediate support in disaster than Red Cross and Salvation Army. That's what they do. When we see them, and other church groups rushing to do something right now sometimes we feel that if we're not among them, we're not doing anything. But we are. We are committing to the long haul. We are setting an infrastructure to support these folks who come to us for months if need be. I've learned this best from my experience with UMCOR in Jackson during the tornado I lived through. Don't compare our support with someone else - only compare it with our capacity to give support.

Another Definition of an Idiot

KEITH OLBERMANN: "I actually heard a commentator this afternoon—it was that Limbaugh—suggest that the issue of class and race in those who were left behind in New Orleans was irrelevant, because, as he put it, those people were not forced to live there and they weren‘t bussed into New Orleans. And I was thinking, A, this guy is even more clueless than I thought he was, which is saying something. But, B, there are people who actually believe that."

Definition of an Idiot