Making an excption.....

[nancylebov]

Usually, I don't post "look at the idiocy" articles-- my flist does that efficiently enough-- but this one involves extreme stupidity and really good art, so....




Ursula Vernon said:

So today I got a very nice e-mail from a librarian who has participated in the summer reading program, for which I did the big poster and art and whatnot. (Which, hey, I can post now!)

In addition to the main poster, I did a bunch of little spot art that went into various T-shirts and bookmarks and tote bags and stuff. They kept the aquatic theme, and the committee was very clear on what they wanted, so honestly, a lot of it looks like something that would go on a pair of board shorts, and at one point I found myself doing a shark covered in tribal tattoos, about which my feelings were…well, damnit, if anything in the fish world would get tribal tattoos, it would be a mako shark, and did I mention they were paying REALLY well?

The shark became a bookmark. I thought no more about it. And then the very good-natured librarian wrote me, eyes rolling audibly–and I shall not mention name or location to protect the innocent–to say that one of her patrons had become concerned because those squiggles! They looked like Arabic! And the patron had used the bookmark in her Bible!

You know, not a single person has said “By the way, your poster is a GIANT GOAT GOD RISING FROM THE SEA! Repent, sinner!” and thrown holy water. I was kinda braced for that. I had a little speech prepared about the mythological representation of Capricorn as a sea-goat and the Tropic of Capricorn and so forth. (Actually, a couple people wrote to ask what the inspiration was, but they were all very nice about it.) I mean, heck, back in that regrettable period when Mom was married to a crazy evangelical, unicorns, rainbows and stars were secret Satanist signs,* along with the moon and the Beatles. Had they had their way, goat-kind would have been exterminated, and the loss to our collective cheese culture the price we paid for virtue.

But then, today.... this, expressing great concern about children being exposed to occultism, showed up.

Comments

[terri-osborne.livejournal.com]

Really, it's times like this that I want to point out the Occult nature of their little belief system to them. *rolleyes* Oh, look, there are my optic nerves again.

[absynthe77.livejournal.com]

"Occult assault" is an awesome band name.

[tod-hollykim.livejournal.com]

Really, would make a *great* metal band name!

[fidelioscabinet.livejournal.com]

FWIW, Vernon, with her usual good manners, asked that people not go and fill up this poor, silly Dominionist's post with meanesses.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

the second link, 'showed up', links to a 404 page with a HUGE PICTURE of Frank the Goat on it.

THIS MEANS SOMETHING.

[thnidu.livejournal.com]

What it means is that nancylebov dropped the final "l" in ".html" while copying and pasting the UR.

[thespian.livejournal.com]

well, SINCE I SAW A GOAT'S HEAD, maybe ILLUMINATI SATAN OCCULTISTS influenced HER ACTIONS.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Corrected. Thanks.

[terriwells.livejournal.com]

I read the comments and actually got a little disturbed. At least one or two comments I couldn't tell whether they were serious or someone trying to punk the site. It's like the term "harmless fantasy" has no meaning for them.

[richardthinks.livejournal.com]

I'm fighting hard not to say something unkind about religion and fantasy here in general. I guess I'll note that there's always a fringe and leave it at that.

[kip-w.livejournal.com]

The only harmless fantasy is the Bible!

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

What language does the Arabic phobic patron suppose Arabic speaking Christians read the bible in? Sorry, I forgot, The Bible was written in English.

[trinker.livejournal.com]

KJV, the only divinely inspired version, dude!

[chickenfeet2003.livejournal.com]

Well James certainly thought he was divine.

[richardthinks.livejournal.com]

Those squiggles! They look like Aramaic!

...oh.

[dcseain.livejournal.com]

Wait, isn't Aramaic the same as Arabic :P LOL

[freyas-fire.livejournal.com]

Excuse me, I have to go beat my head against the wall for a few minutes...hours....
*thud* *thud* *thud*

...

I can't imagine what "Alice in Wonderland" and other similar classics did to their poor innocent brains when they were children. If I recall correctly, we learned fairly early on in childhood that there is a DIFFERENCE between REALITY and FANTASY. They "tsk tsk" at the shelves of "occult laced" book on the shelves, but how much you want to bet they have not read a single one of them?

Just because some Christian faiths teach their followers that they should do a literal interpretation of the Bible, doesn't mean that applies to ALL books.

The irony is, the more they tell their kids that those books are "evil," without giving solid reasons why, and forbid them to read them, the more those kids are gonna want to read them, and, knowing kids, they will *find* a way to read them. What happened to reading a book together and having a valid discussion about it? Gawd forbid they should actually teach their children how to think for themselves.....

I think I need to go back to beating my head against the wall now, before I say something really offensive, which I don't want to do as I try my best to respect other people's belief systems, but cripes! Why do they make it so hard, sometimes???

*thud* *thud* *thud* ...

[subnumine.livejournal.com]

We all know from Star Trek that blank, luminous eyes mean blasphemously godlike powers; but I'm not sure square pupils would have averted this nonsense.

(And I do recognize that the eyes are colored like the sea; like the pirate elements, appropriate for a sea spirit.)

But don't these people even read Scripture? seven heads and ten horns, not two each (counting the dragon on the staff).