Getting in on -- and tossed out of -- the Satanist Temple joke

[guillaumeb]

From the article:

Jex Blackmore is a Satanist, as she plainly admits to the camera in Director Penny Lane’s documentary “Hail Satan?,” a portrait of the 30-something Blackmore that opened earlier this year.
But she’s not a Satan worshipper. A self-proclaimed “Satanic feminist,” she was until recently a national spokesperson for the non-theistic, religious-cum-political-activist group called The Satanic Temple. She defines a Satanist as “an individual who embraces her pariah status and actively challenges arbitrary authority in defense of personal sovereignty.”...

The Satanic Temple insisted her appearance (and incendiary rhetoric) wasn’t formally sanctioned by TST, and it has since severed ties with Blackmore. Blackmore, for her part, criticized the organization’s lack of diversity, charging in a recent interview with Jezebel that “we’ve again seen an organization consolidate power into the hands of a group of men or people who support and act as a mouthpiece for those men.” She went on to point out that Satanism has long been vulnerable to being co-opted by white supremacists.

To read more:

https://religionnews.com/2019/05/24/getting-in-on-and-tossed-out-of-the-satanist-temple-joke/

Did Satan cause these white supremacists to be intolerant?

[msongs]

1. replace satan with jesus and you've got her describing the same thing

"Blackmore, for her part, criticized the organization’s lack of diversity, charging in a recent interview with Jezebel that “we’ve again seen an organization consolidate power into the hands of a group of men or people who support and act as a mouthpiece for those men.” She went on to point out that Satanism has long been vulnerable to being co-opted by white supremacists."

that's what happens when you live your life around 2000 year old myths and fairy tales

[guillaumeb]

5. But the exact same behavior is being exhibited.

Almost is if this were typical human behavior.

[Act_of_Reparation]

10. What's your control group?

Almost as if you were sick the day they went over science in science class.

[guillaumeb]

11. Logic can be confusing to a simple argument. eom

[Act_of_Reparation]

14. Logic can be confusing to people who don't know how to use it.

Take those, for example, who would try to logic their way to a declarative statement vis-a-vis human nature.

[guillaumeb]

16. As I said, it can be confusing.

[trotsky]

2. Why didn't you post what the "incendiary rhetoric" was?

You excerpted right over it.

Blackmore and The Satanic Temple parted ways not long after “Hail Satan?” appeared, due to a scene in the film in which Blackmore, surrounded by pigs’ heads on spikes and half-naked worshippers, announced, “We are going to disrupt, distort, destroy… We are going to storm press conferences, kidnap an executive, release snakes in the governor’s mansion, execute the president.”

Regardless of whatever issues TST may have, this is irresponsible and dangerous speech - it's announcing the intent to commit felonies. If there is a legitimate sexist beef with the TST, this is NOT the case to hang one's hat on.

Unless you think her speech was OK, guillaumeb?

[guillaumeb]

7. Was her speech meant literally?

Or was she making a point?

We know that sexism and misogyny is quite prevalent among some "leaders" in the new atheist crowd.

[uriel1972]

20. That's true there are some people who are

"Prominent" who are racist and sexist.

That said, they don't lead much of a crowd and they are not my leaders. I don't support what they say, I don't excuse what they say and I certainly don't "tithe" to them.

I oppose them with just as much passion as I do the institutions of Religion. However, the important point is that they have minuscule clout compared to say... The Roman Catholic Church. Which seems to be built on foundations of sexism and misogyny.

[guillaumeb]

23. Well said.

But to the larger point, while it sounds too obvious, humans do tend to behave fairly predictably.

[trotsky]

25. What "point" would one be trying to make if they are threatening to kill someone?

FFS, gil. I know you're committed to your narrative but can we at least agree threats of murder are bad?

[MineralMan]

3. Why Would Anyone Care?

And why ask us? As far as I know, nobody who posts here has anything whatever to do with the TST.

She sounds like a garden variety nutcase to me, based on the stuff in that article you didn't bother to include in your excerpt.

I don't know her. I don't know any of the people mentioned in the article. I'm an atheist. I don't think Satan exists any more than any other supernatural entity. Go ask those people your questions.

[trotsky]

4. Oh it's transparent as a pane of glass.

guillaumeb wants to goad someone into saying "of course Satan didn't make them into white supremacists," so that he can pull out his "A-HA!" card and "prove" that religion never motivates anyone to do bad things.

It's disingenuous and deceitful, because there are specific verses in the Christian bible that Christian white supremacists base their beliefs on. guillaumeb doesn't want to talk about that, though.

[MineralMan]

6. It's all nonsense, anyhow. Even that group admits that it's a troll group.

There are plenty of those to go around, I suppose. Apparently, our mutual antagonist thinks we are also a troll group.

I won't have it. I can't comment on TST. I know nothing about it, nor have I ever met anyone associated with it. It appears to be some sort of ultra-fringe political group of some kind with a message nobody cares about.

Monsieur B seems bent on associating us with every wackadoo group out there. Nope. I won't have it.

On the other hand, he is associated with "theism" and "the Creator" and stuff. He won't say what he actually believes, though, so his comments and excerpts have no center and are too vague to argue about.

C'est pour rire.

[guillaumeb]

9. D'accord.

[MineralMan]

19. With which part of my reply are you in accord?

I made several statements.

[guillaumeb]

22. The ending.

Only the ending.

[guillaumeb]

8. You should be aware that copyright rules,

and the TOS of DU, require a short excerpt.

[MineralMan]

18. Four paragraphs is the rule.

4.

[Mariana]

17. Gil seems to consider all atheists to be identical and interchangeable.

We're not individual discrete human beings at all. We're a homogeneous mass, with one common hive mind, like the Borg. If one atheist says a thing, then he appears to believe that all atheists must agree.

[Act_of_Reparation]

12. Who gives a fuck.

When Satanists start pressuring lawmakers into passing draconian legislation robbing women of their bodily autonomy, I'll take note.

[guillaumeb]

13. Every tree starts from a tiny seed. eom

[Act_of_Reparation]

15. Every bumper sticker starts with a saccharine and ultimately useless anecdote.

Mind the beam in your own eye.

[uriel1972]

21. or a nut?

[guillaumeb]

24. Some trees do start from a nut.

Which is a seed.

[muriel_volestrangler]

26. If we look at what she said, it was that some white supremacists have historically had a tendency

to identify with satanism, fetishizing it.

There’s been a tendency with Satanism throughout history to be coopted into the realm of men. Many white supremacists have identified as Satanists. I was just talking to someone about this. To me, that’s demonstrative of white men, especially historically rich aristocratic white men, fetishizing this exotic culture of Satanism. The people who have been impacted by the yoke of Satanism as a pejorative have been women and queer people and outsiders who’ve challenged established systems.

https://themuse.jezebel.com/satanic-artist-and-activist-jex-blackmore-on-her-contro-1834791520

So, no, she's not saying that Satan caused them to be intolerant (or to be rich, for that matter).

[guillaumeb]

27. And some seem to like certain aspects of the Norse mythology.

Perhaps they see this as the ultimate in whiteness.