Off tender toes and heavy boots...

It would appear that I have stepped on someone's toes.

The someone, in this instance, would be Maria E. Alexander, author of several books (including Lost on the Darkside:: Voices From The Edge of Horror (Darkside #4) (Darkside), The Anthology at the End of the Universe: Leading Science Fiction Authors on Douglas Adams' The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy (Smart Pop series), Blood Surrender and others.) I subscribed to Ms. Alexander's plog over at Amazon.com as I do many author's plogs, mainly because I aspire to be a writer myself, and just as one studies better chess players in order to improve one's game, I thought that by listening to accomplished authors and writers will help in my own endeavors. The problem arose when Ms. Alexander posted on the "blasphemy challenge" that is circulating on YouTube. I consider the whole thing an empty gesture, the equivalent of an angry teen trying to shock one's parents by flipping them the bird, and I said so on her "additional comments" section:

The whole "blasphemy" thing is passe'; if you want to style yourselves as daring, then you have to put your ass on the line--and I see precious little of that from those who took the "blasphemy challenge".

I was not expecting such a venomous reply.

The following is my rebuttal to Ms. Alexander.
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Maria E. Alexander wrote:

An anonymous non-fan of my last post cravenly posted to additional feedback the following comment:

First, I was unaware that the additional feedback posting feature was annonymous; I am Dennis J. Mahon, and I make no attempt to hide or conceal my identity. I certainly was not expecting so much venom and vitriol in response to a single sentence:

The whole "blasphemy" thing is passe'; if you want to style yourselves as daring, then you have to put your ass on the line--and I see precious little of that from those who took the "blasphemy challenge".

Would you allow me to rebut?

First I have to say that the atheists who took The Challenge weren't out to impress you.

Who, exactly, were they trying to impress? Certainly not Christians--one does not impress others by attacking them or their beliefs. It is the equivalent of expecting a parent to be impressed by the temper-tantrum of a spoiled child.

I know you think the world revolves around you, but Copernicus disproved that theory in the 16th century. (Someone had to break the news. Glad it was me.)

Well, I admit that I probably have more years behind me that ahead of me, but I cannot claim that I am so old as to have lived in the age of Copernicus; and, while I will admit that I do need to loose weight, I am nowhere near so massive that any astronomer would remotely consider me the potential center of the solar system.
(And, just a point--Copernicus did not prove the theory of Heliocentrism--he proposed the first modern theory of heliocentrism; it took the combined efforts of Galileo, Kepler, and Newton to prove the theory valid.)

Second, Christians happen to find this to be the deadliest act you can perform. Sorry if that bored you back into the closet, but they were the ones who were intended to appreciate the "ass laying" you are so jonsing for. If you think you're a Christian, and you don't think this is extreme enough, then please take your ignorance somewhere where it can be appreciated by people who aren't familiar with scripture.

Well, yes, it is the most deadly act a Christian can perform--as a final act of defiance; in order to meet the conditions of blasphemy as set by Matthew 12:30-32, such a denial of the Holy Spirit would have to preclude any possible act of repentance on the part of the actor (as clearly outlined in Matthew 20: 1-15)--in short, it would have to be one's final act, a deathbed proclamation, and the atheists in those YouTube postings hardly looked to be at death's door.
I also have to ask--what risk is the atheist taking when he or she makes such a proclamation? It is the equivalent of betting that Schroedinger's Cat will be found dead when the box is finally opened--your expectations of loss are rather low.
And I not certain why you are so certain that I am "jonsing for an ass laying"; I merely pointed out that this is an empty gesture on the part of atheists. You assume a great deal.

Second, atheists have always had their asses "on the line." To open your mouth and admit you're an atheist is to be one of the least trusted people in America, according to this poll to appear in the American Sociological Review. They are rated below Muslims, recent immigrants, homosexuals and other groups for being trustworthy.

Yes, because being considered "untrustworthy" is as perilous a state as being robbed of one's lands and life, as is the experience of many Christians throughout the world today. What utter tripe. If you are going to claim that you have suffered for your belief, I demand that you show me your scars. Admit it--atheists in the West have it easy; there are no calls for the beheading of atheists from the pulpits of Christian churches. And given the provocation that acts like the "blasphemy challenge", are you at all surprised that atheists are mistrusted?

Therefore, it's still socially acceptable to be prejudiced against atheists -- even moreso than gays and immigrants. Also, atheists are never elected to government office. This means that the people most likely to uphold the separation of church and state, and create policies that are fair to all and not just their favorite bible study group, are not allowed to govern.

Imagine that--a group that goes out of it's way to insult to earn the mistrust of the majority, wonders why the majority doesn't believe that atheists have the best interests of all at heart, and doesn't elect open atheists into positions of power. How surprising.

Further, I object to the "you" part of your cravenly posted message. (At least the people in the Blasphemy Challege said their names. You didn't.) You are assuming -- and remember, when you assume you make and "ass" of "u," and this is no exception -- because I'm defending free speech and respect for some of the most intelligent, good-hearted, sensible people in the world that I'm an atheist. I can't say that I am. But given the choice between their camp and yours (yours being the "anonymous ass" camp), I would happily join their ranks. In fact, I often do to weather the crazy-making non-thinking of religious people and the hippy-dippy crap-fodder of lazy agnostics and pagans.

The "you" in my statement was used in a generic sense, as in "You reap what you sow"; I suppose that it would have been clearer to use "one" instead:
The whole "blasphemy" thing is passe'; if one wants to style oneself as daring, then one has to put your ass on the line--and I see precious little of that from those who took the "blasphemy challenge".

I apologize for my lack of clarity. However, I must say that in your interview with the BBC you made it clear that you used to be a fundamentalists, and now you are "on the other side"; to what "other side" do you refer if not atheism? It would appear that you are guilty of the same thing I was--you assumed that your words were clear to all who heard them.
I wonder why you feel that you must "defend free speech" in this matter--I did not say that the YouTube posting be removed, nor did I say that the posters had no right to make such postings; I merely called them passe'. Just because one has the right to say something doesn't void the right of others to call him foolish for saying it. Otherwise you are declaring that free speech is the right of some, but not all.
As to respect, well, no--I am rather stingy with my respect, and one must work hard to earn it. I do not extend my respect to those who make empty gestures.

So, please go stuff the miserable stump of flesh you call your life back in the washing machine, microwave or whatever other brain-disabling device from which you've crawled. If you're oh-so-unimpressed with this plog, grow a life -- not to mention a spine -- and move on.

I did not say I found this plog unimpressive--I would not have subscribed were that so. What I said (and still maintain) is that the "blasphemy challenge" was unimpressive. I would have thought that an author would have better reading comprehension--not to mention thicker skin.

Because actions, not beliefs, are what make people what they are. And you have proven by your cowardly actions exactly what you aren't.

Indeed; and by the emptiness of the gesture made by the "blasphemy challengers", they have shown exactly what they aren't.

Next?

P.S. Any further messages left in the "additional feedback" feature will not be read. Go and unload your wad there all you want, but you're just dripping on your shoes.

Ah, well--so much for dialogue.
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Normally, I go out of my way not to offend; but there are occasions when one must simply say the plain truth--and the consequences be damned. This was one such occasion.