This anti-Catholic crap is getting to be annoying

[Douglas Carpenter]

202. I think one should exercise the same caution about stirring up religions, ethnic and sectarian

hatred as one would exercise if they were talking about black people, gay people or Jewish people for that matter. The more articulate sworn enemies of black people. gay people or Jewish people - all are quite capable of presenting a compelling case against the groups who they deem threatening. They all would claim that they are not being prejudice - they are just stating facts. They all can produce quotes, facts charts and evidence to argue that the group they want to keep marginalized must be even more marginalized. I heard here on DU one person who was clearly quite hateful of Muslim people asking, "Why can't we have an open and honest conversation about Muslims?" Well of course what they meant by an open and honest conversation about Muslims is what David Duke would mean by an open and honest conversation about the Jews or what Tony Perkins would mean by an open and honest conversation about gay people (or Muslims for that matter - being that the religious right has declared Muslims and gay people to be the principle enemies of Christian civilization).

There a few things in the world more dangerous than igniting sectarian hatred of any sort. It has been done against many groups in the past - with frequently catastrophic consequences - with the most extreme example of course exercised against the Jews of Europe in the middle of the 20th Century. No, doubt many of the anti-Semitic propagandist thought they were just telling the fact and being honest.

Yes, I do think some of the attitudes I find throughout the third world where I have lived most of my life are certainly retrograde. There is no question that in the 26 years I spent in the Middle East that a general liberalization of society was taking place. It would have been unthinkable in 1986 to ever hear any criticism of the government or most certainly the religious authorities. By the time I left in 2011 - that had become common place and was even being published - albeit a bit cautiously in their mainstream newspapers. Women had become around 50% of University students and were becoming a major part of the professional class. Is it anywhere near western levels of liberal enlightenment? NO, of course not - but they have made more progress in the enlightened direction over the last two decades than Europe made at times over a period of hundreds of years. They are obviously moving forward.

I don't think there is any possibility that extreme sectarian hatred will break out in American or Europe against Catholics. Nor is there any possibility that whipped up hatred against Catholics will help facilitate a rise to war against any Catholic countries. This is a very real possibility when we talk about anti-Muslim sentiment. Nonetheless it is not possible to have a progressive majority without a lot of religious people involved including a lot of Catholics. To shun religious people including Catholics and to give them a message that they are not wanted on the left - is to hand the right a position of permanent dominance and to make the left a permanent fringe minority. Furthermore, I don't see anything productive about all this Catholic bashing and I do think people can show a little bit of sensitivity and respect for other peoples' feelings.