Hey kids! Do you like TRUTH?! How about critical thinking? If you do--and I know you do!--I've got just the blog for you!
Justin has got it all over at his blog, oh yes. He says so right there at the top, and throws in some comparative religion, contemporary culture, and history for good measure. And you can see it all in his entries, too. For example:
1. Are you at a loss for how to teach young boys about gender relationships? Justin knows what just you need:
The Little Mermaid contains everything you need to know to understand women. It is exactly the movie you would want to show your sons, and make sure they fully understand its lessons.
Why is that? Well, it seems that Ariel is "Everygirl" for various reasons, which I will come to in a moment. Let's first consider, though, what the "Everyman" concept means. He doesn't literally mean that Ariel represents every girl, no no no. Just an ordinary girl. You know, most girls. She's someone that, you know, most girls are like. Normal girls.
And what are normal girls like?
Ariel is Everygirl: flighty, dreamy, disobedient, impulsive, and shallow. On the positive side, she is innocent, idealistic, sincere, brave, fun, and charming.
Aha. Looks like Justin's got us pegged, laydeez. Yes, that's right. We are all--well, MOST of us, the NORMAL ones--Manic Pixie Dream Girls. Justin couldn't have produced a more comprehensive list of MPDG characteristics if he had been doing it on purpose
At that point I need to say that we can stop right there. We don't have to go on, because what we're learning from this particular entry is not what sort of thing people should teach their sons. What we're learning is that Justin doesn't know what actual women are actually like.
Idealizing women and/or compartmentalizing them is something a lot of conservative Christian men do, though, so I'm not particularly surprised. It's just, you know, I was looking for some critical thinking. Some truth. As I was promised.
2. If you're sick of he the old said/she said, how about some science? Justin has a lot to say about evolution, but the bit about sharks is my favorite:
Ok, so puzzle me this: how can sharks have genes for fingers and toes? Of course, there is the obvious fact that sharks don’t have fingers and toes, in fact, they don't have skeletons at all… So why would they have the genes for a specialized bone structure? Evolutionarily speaking, sharks are a primitive form of life. They evolved into their present state long before land-creatures even existed. So why would sharks have genes that are only valuable to skeletal land-creatures?
According to the theory of evolution, it is reasonable to assume that mammals have some fish genes, since fish are the ancestors of all land-creatures. However, the opposite is not the case. Fish would not have uniquely mammal genes, because previous life forms should not have genetic structures that evolved only later. They could not have received the genes through their genetic heritage, nor were they able to receive finger/toe genes through a genetic inflow from land creatures. So how did the genes get there?
Again, an inability to get cause and effect the right way around is pretty standard in the fundamentalist Christian arena, so I'm not particularly surprised. It's just, you know, I was looking for some critical thinking. Some truth. As I was promised.
3. I was going to talk about comparative religion next, looking specifically at the Islam tag, but I got knocked for six by this:
It is gratifying to see the Swiss beginning to fight for their own land. It is certainly the right of all indigenous people to resist displacement by foreigners.
Right, kids, I think it's time to talk about history (after all, it's one of Justin's interests). Given that Switzerland has been a country for nearly 100 years LESS than the USA, it's a bit rich to refer to the "Swiss" as "indigenous" people. Perhaps he means WHITE PEOPLE.
Once more, I'm not particularly surprised by Justin's casual, embedded racism, or his finding it difficult to look beyond his own nose. It's just, you know, I was looking for some critical thinking. Some truth. As I was promised.
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Once you've finished laughing while shaking your head in a slightly sorrowful and entirely disbelieving fashion and wiping away the tears of hilarity, you may not have the energy to type. Regardless, I urge you to Troll This Blog.
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