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Upon reading many of the responses to Marcotte, I am sickened. Who are these people who think that anyone might deserve murder and rape threats for something "offensive" they wrote? Marcotte did not advocate banning the Catholic Church, she attacked it. I suspect that those of you who are writing in with the "she deserved it" line have never been subject to threats such as these or physical assault. Be careful, because you are morally completely at sea here.
As for offending "people of faith" or the Catholic Church, who cares. I am not an atheist, but I have to say that doubt looks a lot better than "faith" to me. "Faith" is given a free pass as something positive in American political discourse today. Yet "faith" often means "Damn you, I believe what I believe, I won't debate it, don't offend me." As such "faith" is often just an insult to an interlocutor, a declaration that I won't debate rationally with you. As I am sure most of the commenters on this thread are aware, the greatest mass crimes in human history have been committed in the name of "faith" - heretics burned, crusades embarked on, Bolshevik faith that collectivization and five million dead was necessary for the coming utopia, Osama bin Laden's deep faith etc.
As for the Catholic Church hierarchy (I have great respect for the Catholic laypersons I know), once they acknowledge women's equality by allowing them to be priests, and once they stop propagandizing against birth control in poor overpopulated societies, and once senior officials in the church stop covering up the rape of children by priests, then I'll think about giving them some respect. The stance against birth control is particularly disgusting. Plenty of evidence indicates that fertility control is CENTRAL to women's liberation. No birth control, no women's equality.
The thin skinned are those whose faith is so weak and fears so great that they think someone who attacks their church's policies "deserve" death and rape threats.
Matthew Lenoe
