High school basketball players brutally beaten for Tebowing

[markpkessinger]

77. I don't think people are dismissing the violence here . . .

. . . What I read in most of the posts here is an objection to the implied assumption that goes unchallenged in the OP and the linked article in the OP, to wit, that the two young men were beaten because they engaged in an act of religious devotion. The beatings were wrong regardless of what act precipitated them, and no one is denying that. Pointing out that the real precipitating factor here was more likely the taunting aspect of of the "Tebowing," rather than its purported religious aspect, is not giving a pass on the beatings at all; it is merely calling out a rather dishonest assertion made in the OP.

Speaking as one who is both a gay man and a Christian (of the Episcopalian variety), I call foul on the false comparison you are making here. Look, the article is a pretty transparent attempt to feed into the "Christians are under attack" meme that is currently all the rage among Christian conservatives. Are Christian views sometimes subject to ridicule and mockery in this country? Yes, of course -- as are the beliefs of other religions, as well as non-religious groups. Freedom of religion does not imply freedom from criticism, be it fair or unfair, nor does it imply freedom from mockery and ridicule. But conservative Christians will be only too eager to jump on this story as evidence of anti-Christian "bullying," because it plays into their need to believe they are being "oppressed" (despite the fact that they are a culturally hegemonic group that attempts to hide behind it's own persecution complex in order to oppress others).