NOTE: This article has been slightly modified since I first posted it late last night.
Actually, I never knew Marty Braemer, and I'm not about to beat up on him, even when, if ever, all the facts are in. I've resolved to tread lightly.
Yes, I haven't slightest idea why Marty Braemer resigned from his church, but judging from the comments under the last article I wrote about Braemer, and the current thread at the FFF, it sounds like something that might be serious. . .or not.
Still, with the somber tone of that FFF thread, I can't help but contemplate the following:
First I championed my former English teacher, Tom Bennet, then, this year, learned he was wanted by the Feds.
Then I championed Jeri Massi, who disappointed with lies, exaggeration, and a judgmental attitude no different than the fundamentalists she rails against.
And now, after changing my tune on Marty Braemer, am hearing that maybe my enthusiasm might be misplaced.
You know what?
I don't care.
I have spoken with child advocates who will suffer the most ridiculous arguments under the rationalization that 'few are speaking about this, so we'll just accept bad behavior'.
Yeah, when I was with the fundamentalists, we agreed certain things must be kept under wraps 'for the good of the church'.
When I was with the Humanists, I was told we don't really mention the cruelty of the late Madalyn Murray O'hair, or the racism of the late James Hervey Johnson, whose foundation funds many freethought projects to this day, because of how the religionists would interpret it.
And when I was championing the survivors of clergy abuse, I felt encouraged to look the other way at the cruelty of other so-called 'child advocates' since few addressed this issue.
I'm sick of cover ups, no matter how righteous the rationalization sounds.
I'm not going to wax self righteous. I'll wait for all the info to come in, but I'm not going to judge either.
It's not my place.
You (and 'you' know who you are) are the ones who keep putting men, or your vain rationalizations that justify cruelty, on a pedestal.
As one who has been 'exposed' time and again, and sometimes even helped my own expose in the name of 'fair disclosure' and 'clearing the air', I can tell you it's not fun being on the receiving end of judgement by the hypocritical self righteous.
Let us not be gleeful, or act gleeful, or act like we're enjoying it, when the so called 'righteous' fall. After all, the next person being exposed might be you.
Besides, he might have just resigned for the reason so many of us have resigned our jobs: the prospect of better opportunities.
5 comments:
I find it very sad that fundamentalist 'christians' choose so often to turn on each other so easily. Hate produces nothing but hate. And since the whole movement is based on a list of things, people, and institutions they are 'against', they fall into the trap so easily.
The victims of fundamentalism need to get out before more damage is done psychologically and spiritually. They need to come into the real world, and abandon the childish dream world they are a part of.
No Glee for me. If the rumored reason is borne out, then it makes an exchange between him and I far more interesting. I will not however give wings to that rumor until it is demonstrated more convincingly than it has been.
Marty has been on my mind since I heard of his resignation and I do hope it is for relatively ordinary reasons. I in fact do more than hope, I pray that it is something mundane such as "I have a call from so and so church."
I agree with anonymous. However, I would suggest not getting wrapped up in the word 'fundamentalist'.
Nobody, it seems, wants to be called 'fundamentalist' these days. Not even those people who, by the dictionary definition, are themselves 'fundamentalists'.
It was a valid movement in the early part of the 20th Century until around the late 70's, early 80's, but now it's simply another word for, as anonymous described it, 'a childish dream world'.
Until we really grasp that fundamentalism is more of an attitude than a set of beliefs, we just allow it to morph into another word. We wind up keeping the terrible attitudes alive, but simply disguising it as something else.
I'm with The Pharisee in the sense that I hope, if this is truly a scandal, it involves people way over the age of 18.
We certainly don't need another Bob Gray-ish scandal.
I still don't the 'rumored reason'. For that, I'll have to depend on the good ole' FFF.
After thinking about this for awhile, and seeing Marty's recent post, I'm going to take a 'let's see' approach and wait for the drama, if there's really any, to reach it's conclusion.
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