I've been getting a little bit of stick from the Christopher Hitchens beatification lobby of late for not laying off the sick son of a bitch on account of him being .... well, sick, and for not treating him with the tender kindness and courtesy that his status as a terminal case apparently demands under somebody or other's — I don't know who's, but it certainly isn't Hitch's — code of ethical conduct.
This being a Sunday, my lapsed Catholic sensibilities drift back to the Christian teachings, which are the main programs installed in my mind telling me not be as hard on my ideological enemies as Hitchens — in his total and utter "why-should-I-give-a-fuck-about-anyone-else's-feelings!?" freedom from restraint — is on his foes, on people who want to opt out of his battles, and anyone else who just happens to get in the way. And this gets me thinking, why not give the guy a break. But then I remember incidents in which Hitch behaved unforgivably badly before his sickness was apparent, when he still had his God-given gifts of good health, a fine mind and a sharp tongue.
One such was during the final days of Billy Graham's life, when the old man was lying in hospital at death's door, and Hitchens went onto CSPAN and said that Graham was "a disgustingly evil man" who made a living by "going around spouting lies to young people. What a horrible career. I gather it's soon to be over. I certainly hope so." Let's give Hitchens credit for having the courage to be absolutely honest in his sentiments. Fine, I'll emulate him. His words about Graham quoted above match my own feelings about Hitchens down to everything but the punctuation. I would swap the periods for exclamation marks. And Decents, if you think that's contemptible of me, my question for you is where the hell were your protests when Hale and Healthy Hitchens — the man you claim to admire and share a code of ethics with — was doing this sort of thing for a living? You disgusting hypocritical bastards, you make me sick! On the day Hitchens dies, why don't you all go along to the cremation and throw yourselves on the fire after him? I'd be happy to supply the gasoline.
What I have learned from the assorted Deacons and Deaconesses of Decency is that while they can reason like philosophers in order to "prove" the soundness of their position, they can never in a million years accept logical facts or rational arguments that undermine that soundness, and while they can enthusiastically give out harsh condemnation to enemies of all stripes, they cry like babes who are being abused by sumo wrestlers when one of their heroes has to take it. Well, Decents, you can all go pick a number, stand in line, then take my middle finger and swivel on it!
From the archives (October 15, 2007 at The Badger Herald (my bolds)):
Hitchens rails on religion Saturday By Bridget Roby
As outspoken atheist Christopher Hitchens took the stage at the Monona Terrace Saturday afternoon, a crowd of more than 500 greeted the author with a standing ovation and uproarious laughter at each barb at religion. Few were left standing, however, once Hitchens turned to rebuke the audience, mostly members of the agnostic organization Freedom From Religion Foundation, for not "coming out as atheists" and "taking on jihad" in the Middle East.
At the 30th annual FFRC conference, the author of "God Is Not Great: How Religion Poisons Everything” concluded with remarks he predicted "will slightly piss you off," saying world suffering will not end until everyone stands up against the evils and war promoted by Islam.
FFRF Co-President Dan Barker met Hitchens on stage to present him with the "Emperor Has No Clothes Award," which recognizes public figures who "are not afraid to just tell it like it is," according to Barker. Responding to a question from an audience member on what he said was the futility of killing Muslims in Iraq to end extremism, Hitchens parodied: "’How does killing them lessen their numbers?' You must have meant something more intelligent. … We worry too much in America about our ‘right' to be in Iraq. "Make them worry. Make them run scared. … I'm going to fight these people and every other theocrat all the way. All the way. You should be ashamed sneering at the people guarding you as you sleep."
For most of his speech, however, Hitchens' target was Christianity, opening with jokes about the decaying body of deceased Christian Coalition leader Jerry Falwell. "Religion abolishes our obligation to live in truth. … It caters to our worst sadomasochism," Hitchens said. "We'd be better off without it, even if it preached morality, which it doesn't."
He went on to ask if it is "moral" to tell children their sins are forgiven, "because of a human sacrifice they had no say in?" Debts of morality can be repaid, he said, but not erased. The author made arguments against intelligent design theory, saying advances in the last 20 years have made science "totally incompatible with religion." He also told the crowd that heaven would be comparable to North Korea, as they both embody a totalitarianism of eternal gratitude. Hitchens pointed to the "horrific pointlessness and misery" of having to thank a leader for everything when the leader was never asked for in the first place — which he said is intrinsic to both the concept of heaven and in North Korea. "At least you can fucking die and get out of North Korea," Hitchens added....
During his speech, Hitchens argued that atheists must fight to end religion. "You can't be a good person and a God person," Hitchens said. "[Religion] is bound to lead to bad behavior. It always has and it always will." Among the many evils done in the name of religion, Hitchens said he learned while in Iran that prison guards rape women prior to execution, because it is against their faith to execute a female virgin. "Only with God can people give themselves permission to do these things," Hitchens said.
“The enemies of intolerance cannot be tolerant." • "If it is an offense to justice to hold people who may have been victims of mistaken identity or of vendettas by other factions, then it is also an offense to justice to release psychopathic killers who believe that they have divine permission to throw acid in the faces of girls who want to attend school." • "Don't be such a lesbian!
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