Your intrepid watcher has not spent much time on this blog dealing with the “intelligent design / evolution”* debate. Some of that is because, frankly, there isn’t much debate in my mind. THis issue comes down to faith – and I don;t have any, so score me for evolution.
I am much more interested, as a whole, in looking at the commonalities behind most fringe activist movements because I think there are threads there… there is an essential attraction to the feeling and tactics.
That being said, something amusing happened recently. On March 20, 2008 PZ Myers was tossed out of an advances screening of the ID movie “Expelled”. The story is amusing enough but gets much funnier when you realize that his guest got in without incident.
The punch line? His guest was Richard Dawkins who is possibly the most well known atheist of modern times. If you are unclear yes, this is funny. There are lots of places to get more information about the story listed below and Greg Laden has a huge list of links as well. Go take a look at them, then come back here and we’ll continue because that isn’t really my point in this post.
What I want to mention though is that every movement seems to draw it’s idiots and asshats. If you read the comments on the original post by Myers you will find a large number of them. And those are “the good guys”. The is the problem. The science and evolution “side” is attracting these sorts of folks more and more often I think as it’s front man (Dawkins) becomes himself more rude and strident. The discussion in question needs the calm voice of science… and what it is now attracting are screaming paranoid conspiracy theorists. This is not Dawkins intention to be sure, but it is a side effect.
Like many private events the screening of “Expelled” was secured by folks in what appeared to be police uniforms. One of two things was going on… both legal and fine.
- The event anticipated trouble, and thus the local police stationed someone to keep the peace (fairly common)
- The use of off duty police officers (who commonly wear their uniforms – it’s a perk of being a cop) was paid for by the venue or producers
One of those officers informed Myers that he could not attend “Expelled” and that if he did not have a ticket to another show in the theatre he would have to leave. This is completely within the rights of the venue and the event. . Unless your a paranoid moron who is dying to make fine a a vast conspiracy out of it all so you can play the victim.
While Myers and Dawkins are themselves pretty cool guys, many of the commenter’s on the thread over at Myers blog (I haven’t checked most of the others) have totally lost their minds. Claiming everything from human rights violations to screaming about the Nazi’s the are simply highlighting the problem.
The moonbat rule: When you choose to take on the mantle of the persecuted, you will attract rabble rousers and thugs who are looking to use your status to excuse their own insanity.
Well, no matter what – it’s pretty damn funny.
*note: yes, of course that is a less than perfect phrasing
appendix: Online discussions about the PZ Meyers / “Expelled” incident.
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