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Racial intimidation escalates in Arroyo Grande

March 6, 2012

A White Rabbit Radio, a site recommended on both of the flyers, picture.

By KAREN VELIE

While the suspects of an Arroyo Grande cross burning await their trial, the victims continue to be assaulted with racism now in the form of hate filled flyers.

On Friday, the African American teen who awoke last March to find an 11-foot cross burning outside her bedroom window pulled into the Shell service station on Grand Avenue with her mother. They then discovered two racist flyers placed over ads on top of the pump they where using.

“Replacing whites with non-whites is not justice,” one of the flyers says. “It is time to straiten this out.”

A gas station employee said that he has been taking down racist flyers, some “worse” than the two noticed on Friday, for months.

And while hate speech is protected under the First Amendment, placing flyers on private property over ads is not, Arroyo Grande Police Chief Steve Annibali said.

“We have seen those flyers around town,” Annibali said. “I’ve also seen them around SLO County.”

In December, a hate filled flyer identical to one of those found last week in Arroyo Grande was found in a bathroom in the Cal Poly Robert E. Kennedy Library.

“How long would it take anyone to realize I’m not talking about a RACE problem,” the flyer says. “I am talking about the final solution to the BLACK problem?[sic]”

Since the March 2011 cross burning, the Arroyo Grande family has been the victim of numerous acts of intimidation including an alleged gang member knocking on their door to discover if they still lived on Elm Street, racial flyers and spray painted racial graffiti.

In December, the alleged victim of the cross burning discovered someone had spray painted the name of a white supremacist gang and a cross on a wall across from her then Elm Street home using a pre-made template. The vandalism faced the site of the earlier cross burning.

The family, which has lived in the area for 10 years and recently moved into a new home, is not being named to protect their privacy.

In July, police arrested Orcutt resident Jason Kahn, 36, San Simeon transient Jeremiah Hernandez, 32, Arroyo Grande transient William Soto, 20, and San Simeon transient Sara Matheny, 24. All four are former Arroyo Grande residents.

Each of the suspects is charged with arson, cross burning, terrorism, conspiracy and hate crime enhancements while conspiring with others.

Kahn was also charged with witness intimidation.

There is some evidence that the suspects are connected to organized hate groups, police said.

Last week, San Luis Obispo County Superior Court Judge Jacquelyn Duffy agreed to extend the start of the trial until April to allow time for the defense attorneys to get access to all 911 recordings, police reports and interviews. The defendants have all pleaded not guilty and remain in jail.


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Ignorance reveals itself in many ways. American modern racism appears to be mostly motivated by economic and social desperation, and people of color often viewed as the most-recent immigrants ready to work for less and more despereate than the existing desperate establishment. People who are adequately fed and financailly comfortable don’t respond the same way as say poor (white) people might – a couple of generations back on one side of my family made this obvious to me.


With my dark brown hair and eyes, and a good tan, I often wonder if it OK to visit AG. I’d probably be OK if its at a farm field.


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Gimlet Eye, regarding your last paragraph, as of late it’s looking like the total dwell time people are spending in that balance zone you mentioned is limited to the instances spent there while transiting between the two remaining extremes. What a neighborhood, huh?

Like you, I don’t think instincts are bye-bye…yet, just increasingly overidden. Those attributes you mentioned, dreams, mystery etc. I also think are overidden and if don’t use it, you probably will lose it.

But the Jetsons seemed to be happy….

Thx for the references!


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Boy, that’s some fodder for a lengthly discussion.


We humans don’t wanna accept death so we’ve granted ourselves immortality by inventing a soul.


Relax, the resusitated say it’s one sweet experience and look forward to it, kinda. Personally I think they’re experiencing the last feeling they will ever have, then it’s…..lights out permanently. No reports available after that phase though, so who knows.

I’d prefer my dog & horse’s death process actually, no grieving, high costs burden to the relatives etc., no Chemo, no anticipation, nice pet hosp. or hay filled barn. Quick too!!

We will all find out, at least for an instant.

You have no choice but to squander it because you won’t be leaving with any of it, suander away!! Appreciated your response.


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Humans have this unique thing called “free will.” That’s what allows them the potential to apply knowledge and/or love to over-step their instincts when appropriate and wise and “do the right thing.”


Treating others as one would like to be treated is one example of employing free-will and trumping instinctual or emotionally-wrought response to do otherwise.


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Agreed, 100%.


Indeed, I think, just from a sociological survival standpoint, it is more advantageous to, once the new person or idea or whatever has been evaluated and found not harmful, to accept them as one of the established group.


All immigrant groups brought valuable skills and ideas to America. It wasn’t right to scapegoat them, pay them less, etc. And the established group (Americans already here) probably actually lost valuable resources (skills, ideas, etc.) that the immigrants brought with them during the time they were scapegoated and discriminated against.


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Mary, The act of anticipating possible harm from a person or group based on negative past experiece is what is interptreted as “racism”. When does the transition from evolution at work to bigotry happen?

I think it’s with the addition of paranoia. As in the recent burned cross event maybe???


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Granted, by far, most Republicans are NOT psychopaths. However, the Republican party was, at some point in the twentieth century, infiltrated by psychopaths who developed a culture and leadership that steers the Republican party to a great, and terrible degree, using the unaware “average Republican” as compliant pawns in their schemes.


We can all pretty much agree that our modern world has a lot of psychopaths milling about, including murderers and psychopaths, some of who are quite intelligent. It stands to reason that a significant number would wish to enter politics and be “leaders.” For various reasons, the Republican party is the political party in the United States that has been the most welcoming and tolerant and compliant for psychopaths.


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WiseGuy,


You’re obviously referring to my GOP (Gods Own Party) “Religious Right” when you’re stating that they’re psychopaths! I take offense to this Satanic and ungodly act of yours!


So what if my GOP have yet to propose a Job’s bill since their 2010 control of the House, or have filibustered President Obama’s Job creating bills in the past and have done absolutely NOTHING relating to jobs since taking office!


Through our faith of TRUE Christianity, it’s more important to impede upon the woman in the way of controlling her life in the way of contraception and her overall health in a lessor degree than creating jobs!


Barring the fact that my GOP started with the gays in 2010, instead of helping our society with our pre-election mantra of “We will create jobs”, once we gained control, then our Christian God was summoned! In doing so, His religious edicts took precedent over our population needing jobs, praise!


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“God’s Own Party,” indeed.


Ted, you’re quite a kidder. I like that about you.


I’ve never understood the logic of Christians pimping God for politics–one of the dirtiest, most corrupt institutions on this planet. I mean, could you possibly demean any more the concept of God?


The GOP started its determined march to nutball-land when Ronald Reagan first bent knee to the Christian right in order to get elected president. In so doing, he created a leviathan of monstrous proportions.


The concept of bringing religion into politics was Paul Weyrich’s brainstorm. In fact. it was Paul Weyrich who gave the idea of the term “Moral Majority” to Jerry Falwell.


Weyrich and his cabal of advisors were so influential to Reagan’s presidency that they had an office in the White House itself. When Reagan was elected, Weyrich gave him two huge binders of policies Weyrich wanted accomplished in Reagan’s presidency, and Reagan did almost every last thing Weyrich demanded.


At some point, Nancy Reagan became concerned about how Weyrich and his cabal was taking control of the presidency and manipulating Reagan, perhaps setting him up to take the blame for all of the illegal programs, working with the CIA, to support death squads and the like in foreign countries with natural resources U.S. corporations wanted. This occurred probably right before the reelection, when Ronnie was starting to show signs of dementia.


It was Nancy who is said to have been the one to force Weyrich and his cabal out of the White House, and who steadily diminished his power in the Reagan presidency.


Anyway, thanks to Reagan and Weyrich, that is when Christians (for the laypeople, hopefully it was unwittingly involved) became befouled in politics, when they started funding death squads, assasinations, selling arms to Iran, dealing in cocain, etc.


Sources:


Bellant, Russ. “Old Nazis, the New Right, and the Republican Party”


July 1, 1999


Bellant, Russ. “The Coors Connection: How Coors Family Philanthopy Undermines Democracy”

July 1, 1999


Diamond, Sara. “Spiritual Warfare: The Politics of the Christian Right by Sara Diamond ”

July 1, 1999


and others….


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Contrary to the assertions by some here, humans absolutely have the ability to curtail racist actions and reactions. Any “xenophobic” instincts can be overcome by employing the mind and heart.


Animals cannot stop their instinctual tendencies. Humans can. Humans who do not or cannot, remain animals to that extent.


When a mouse runs past a cat, the cat cannot help himself from pouncing. Humans have the ability to monitor their instinctual habits and modify their reactions based on human wisdom that, in healthy individuals, trumps knee jerk reaction and instinctual responses based on fear.


Racism is regressive and animalistic and fear based. We have the tools to step beyond that. Thank God.


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WiseGuy,


Uh, tell your synopsis regarding racism being fear based, and that it can be controlled in some way, to our population below the Mason Dixon Line! How many generations do you think it will take before this becomes evident? Twenty, thirty?


Yes, thank God for His racism in our bible! He has set an example for us as I’ve shown on page one of this article. Praise His racist ways!


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There is a big difference between racism and the type of xenophobia which triggers humans to be wary of unrecognized newcomers until you can ascertain their intentions. Xenophobia doesn’t mean hating someone because of the color of their skin. In psychology–and its origins is as a psychological term–it simply means a fear of people or things that are different.


Bigotry and racism can result from xenophobia in a person predisposed to having hate for other people and things, but xenophobia is not equivalent with racism.


Your comparisons of human survival reactions, encoded in us millions of years ago, to that of animals is invalid. A bear $hits in the woods, too. Doesn’t have anything to do with the way humans in our culture handle the process of elimination of their body waste—although sometimes a human will use the same type of location a bear does for the elimination process. That would, for most people in our culture, however, be an unusual, isolated process, not something they live with every day.


People–who are not the type who can embrace racism and bigotry–will, once they’ve checked out the newcomer and found them to be without threat, will move on from the position of being previous wariness.


I don’t know, as a rule, a racist can unlearn racism. They can learn to suppress its expression, but, especially if they continue to live in an environment where racism is accepted and reenforced on a frequent basis, it would be very difficult.


Just my opinion…your mileage may vary.


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P.S. Wiseguy, consider culture, before contact with the Europeans. It was because the Hawaiians had not learned to be wary of newcomers, and not trust them until they were proven to be trustworthy, that led to the near decimation of the culture. It resulted in a holocaust of change and the loss of much of what was the Hawaiian culture and people.


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Mary, I’ll tell you about Hawaiian history, because I know a lot about it, and the story is not as simple as you make it. In fact, your statement is misleading as you attempt to use it as a foundation for your pet theory that we have to accept racist behavior as inevitable.


Ancient Hawaiian culture stumbled because, for one thing, Hawaiian leaders were too often greedy and corrupt and murderous, much like our leaders today in the U.S.. Greedy Hawaiian leaders were greedy for the money and treasures that the Europeans offered for sandalwood and other Hawaiian commodities. Hawaiian leaders then forced people into virtual slavery in order to farm massive amounts of sandalwood, the farming of which ruined traditional crop land and led to flooding and erosion, and all sorts of other troubles.


Such a situation caused many native Hawaiians to lose faith in their leaders and their religion, making Christianity seem like a good alternative to many. Of course, the brand of church-based Christianity, combined with greedy businessmen who were not-Christ-like, but co-opted and abused Christian doctrine for profit, dug in and by and by, we have the Hawaii of today.


So, bottom line, the downfall of traditional Hawaiian culture is due in part to a minority of native Hawaiians who facilitated racist behavior and corruption for their own selfish profit, and the expense of the people in general. They were tempted and they fell to temptation and animalistic desire and behavior. And the temptations never stopped. Some people, however, did rise above these base behaviors.


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1. I’ve never said or in any way indicated that I believe we have to accept racism.


2. Have you read “Honor Killing”? You might find it interesting.


The Hawaiian leaders, pre-European invasion, had a responsibility to provide for their people, and they did. If you don’t know this fact, then you miss the heart of the Hawaiian culture.


Like the indigenous Australians, Hawaiian natives were forced away from their culture. Children were forced into schools where they were beaten if they spoke their native language.


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If I misinterpreted your view on racism, Mary, I apologize.


As for Hawaii, long before and up until the Christian missionaries arrived in Hawaii, a native Hawaiian could be stoned to death or killed in other horrible ways for an number of “taboos”, including stepping on the shadow of a king or kahuna.


Kings and kahunas (some, not all), forced their people into virtual slavery in some cases. Waimea Valley, on Oahu, was one of the great places to live, abundant with food, until Native Hawaiian leaders turned it into a sandal wood farm, abandoning subsistence crops and following bad agricultural practices that eroded soil and led to flooding.


In many cases, native Hawaiians welcomed Christianity into their land and lives, as an alternative to a warring Hawaiian society where people were routinely sacrificed (killed) in most horrible ways, at the order of kahunas and who knows who else.


I’m not trying to excuse abuses and greed and atrocities committed by Europeans and Americans in Hawaii, but I am pointing out that Hawaiians themselves, sometimes for selfish or greedy reasons, sometimes for political or religious reasons, opened themselves up to European influences.


Hawaii’s political leaders, natives included, were not all universally benevolent and without faults.


Interesting that now Hawaii is likely the most racially tolerant of all of our United States.


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Likely the most tolerant now? Ever live their? Believe me it’s @ the other end of the tolerant states list. Hawaiins are warlike as hell. Evolution and instinct @ work here again. Land was sparse and didn’t fit many people, islands I think they’re called sooooo…game on. War, death, etc. They didn’t have your “tools”. Sorry man, had to.

It’s out there and cannot change or no evolution. I hate when that happens too.

Hawaiians told me an interesting story re: King Kam. (not in sp ck).The guy wasn’t happy just being in charge on Oahu so he calls up the other islands and invites their Top Dogs over for a barbeque. Opps, every guy got a different party date so he could be whacked individually upon arrival. Bam!, King of the whole chain.You gotta admire him, minimum loss of life, short suffering times, quick transition of power, etc. We can’t touch him in that catagory.

As far as racism goes, it’s only there when mentioned. Back at the burning cross juncture my call was to shutup about it and it’ll subside lest it expands, especially in a hard economy. But apparently that’s no fun so….. Funny, Iv’e been called a racist here right here. Nah, just an observer.


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The fact that they opened themselves up to European avarice and gree was for many reasons. I doubt even the most avaristic Hawaiian would have helped the Europeans if they could have foretold the Holocaust that would be visited upon their civilization and its culture.


They simply did not have much experience with people from outside the islands, certainly not from hordes of Europeans with an “advanced” culture, where killing and enslaving other cultures for financial profit was considered good business.


The Hawaiian kapus, like most taboos in cultures, were probably established when the practice of the taboo was advantageous for the greater good.


Like taboos from other cultures are often basically public health codes enacted during circumstances or times that presented perils we no longer face in this age.


As an example, many believe that the Kosher practices originated as basic public health codes.


Of course, like most of our own taboos (i.e., the Old Testament laws), in the current time the taboos just don’t make sense. For instance, being executed if one eats shellfish. It may have been public-health related, too.


One of the kapus in Hawaii I’ve never understood is the ban against women eating bananas. Really? Bananas?


Of course, there was always the City of Refuge, where, if one could run fast enough and long enough to out-pace those ready to execute you for violating a taboo, and reach the City of Refuge, one could find sanctuary and live.


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Wiseguy, really? Let’s forget a millions years of instinct developement in the natural world of which not much is left today because of people like you who think their “education” will think us out of the human (actually the entire world’s) prediciment?? What has “education” acheived really, besides a polluted, dying planet?

When we traded in our instincts for “education” and ego we wrote our (and the entire world’s) death warrant.

It’spredator/prey and dumping your instincts will put you in the the latter grouping.

Humans through reasoning like yours are in an irreversable mess, animals on the other hand have had great success for millions of years by developing instincts. Quit separating yourself from the animal world. There is an old saying, “The noble beast”, and nobility is something we lost thousands of years ago. I marvel at my mutt and my horse’s version of what it means to dwell on Earth, but I cringe at the Human’s headlong ride into Hell along with all other life on the planet.

Go ahead and overcome your instincts, “Wiseguy” then watch out because you just became prey. We will have come and gone in an eyeblink, cockroaches do much better than us and you want to give up your animalistic attributes?


I have a question concerning Christianity and Jesus since it’s being brought up here lately. If there really was a man named Jesus who lived two thousand yrs ago why no mention of him by any historians of the era???


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Yeah, I can’t believe the Mod. let me back in either.


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Any way you approach life, justme, you are going to lend up as dead as a crushed cockroach. But there is something known sometimes as a soul which carries forth. The condition of that soul is dependent to some degree upon to what extent one overcome’s his/her animal instincts.


Justme, if you want to live you life and die more like a dog or a horse than a man, that is your choice to some extent. But the opportunity to be human is precious and rare, so some of us prefer not to squander that fantastic opportunity.


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justme, an interesting comment. Although I don’t quite go all the way with you in your thesis, you do bring up a very significant issue.


I think that you are on the right track; millions of years of existence on this planet have made us what we are. “Modernity” and “education” do not erase our instinct or our basic humanity. There needs to be a balance between how instinct guides us and how conscious attention guides us. There need be no conflict between the two.


Despite modern gadgets and fancy schools, control of our food supply, millions of books and the wonders of the Internet, modern medicine and amazing industry, we still are what we are in the most fundamental senses.


We still react to stimuli instinctively. True, we have learned to reflect and focus, to speak and to write, to reason and lay up stores, to produce, to trade, to create (and destroy), but we have not left behind the wonders of the human psyche, the dreams, the mysteries, the myths, the depth of the unconscious mind, even as we have accomplished these various wonders.


In short, it is a great, fundamental mistake to assume that because we are “modern,” because we have come a long way technologically, because we can read and write, and can relax from the constant and brutal chase for food, shelter, and security of preshistoric times, that the power of the unconscious is no more. On the contrary, it has always been with us, and will always be.


You are right, probably more than you realize; those who forget this indeed are headed for Armageddon, whether a personal one in the form of neurosis, or a societal one in the form of catastrophe.


People who are only rational are, by nature, neurotic. People who are only mythological are, by nature, crazy. The first goes to a shrink. The second winds up in a mental hospital. Both suffer about equally. The ideal is in between, in balance and harmony.


Some great material on these topics:


-The videos on C.G. Jung (You Tube).


-Human Action: A Treatise on Economics, by Ludwig von Mises (Auburn, Alabama: Ludwig von Mises Institute, 1998).


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justme, in answer to your last question, I would refer you to the works of Flavius Josephus.


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Ugluk,,


Shhhhhhhhhhhhh!!!! Qut trying to sink our ship!


Unfortunately, Josephus was born in 37 C.E., AFTER the crucifixion of Jesus the Christ, therefore, even if his accounts about Jesus actually came from him, his information could only come to us as hearsay. :(


Addressing your first theory, the validity of the particular paragraph that is usually quoted for this assumption is found in his Antiquities 18, ch. 3, sec. 3. This passage is revealing and disturbing because this allegedly is the most important single reference to Jesus as an historical figure outside of the New Testament itself!


What disturbs us TRUE Christians is the fact that we should suspect this Josephus paragraph to be a forgery! Because, the church fathers were quite fond of quoting passages which supported Christianity, and though these early church fathers were quite familiar with the works of Josephus, NOT ONE, I REPEAT, NOT ONE of them quotes this passage in defense of Christianity until Eusebius does in the fourth century, historical fact!


Fourth Century, get it?!


Do the math.


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Justme,


DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT mention that there is absolutely NO HISTORICAL evidence of our Jesus the Christ ever living, whatsoever! Shhhhhhh, okay?


No written documents, no written anything within His time period other than within our bible New Testament that was written 30 to 90 years SUBSEQUENT to His alleged existance, and the spurious mention by Josephus as describe below.


In any event, Jesus’ Father was one of the most RACIST God’s ever written about, and is relative to this article. The TRUE Christian has the FAITH CARD to say that Jesus existed and that’s all we Christians can hope for. :(


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TRUE Christians understand that racism and bigotry is adamantly shown within our Judeo-Christian bible ad infinitum, and has set an example for us to follow in the same vein as Jesus set an example for us to follow as well. Could this be the reason that we still have racism within our society, and in part, within Arroyo Grande?


The first commandment “Thou shalt have no other gods before me.” condemns those who worship any other than the biblical Hebrew God, Yahweh. (Deut 5:4) Racism? You bet!


God forbids marriages with those of other tribes. (Deut 7:3) Bigotry? Yes!


If you hear of a city where another god is worshiped, then destroy everyone in the city (even the cattle) and burn it down. (Deut 13:12-16) Pure bigotry and racism!


Our God will kill the Egyptian children to show that he puts “a difference between the Egyptians and Israel.” (Exodus 11:7) Can you spell “bigotry and racism?”


Do not allow others to worship a different god. God commands to conquer them and destroy their religious property. (Exodus 23:24) Pure racism!


God is racist when He selected the Hebrews to be “a people for his own possession, above all peoples on the face of the earth” (Deut. 7:6) Our God told His “chosen ones” to kill everyone in the other ethnic groups in Canaan (Deut. 20:16). RACISM and BIGOTRY!


Our Christian God has allowed Christianity to be a racial- superiority religion to any other belief system. Our Bible is loaded with divine orders from our beloved and ever forgiving God to kill those of other ethnic groups and to purge their ranks of false worshipers. Our God is racist when He ordered the massacre of women, children, and infants who happened not to have been born in the nation that he had chosen to be of his “chosen people.”


The above passages are but a few of the many racist examples that TRUE Christians have to live with, and that are within scriptures. We just have to move on the best way we can. :(


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Brother Ted…again you inspire with your godly homework ! We have to be mindful that the instructions pertain to the ‘content of character’ and do not relate to mere physical appearance.


So, let’s go to the ‘root’ : Genesis 9: 20-27, where Noah ( not Yahweh ) condemns the sons of Canaan to perpetuity of servitude…not as slaves as some have misinterpreted.

Now, a ‘servant’ is not that bad a thing. Witness Romans1:1 , and 2 Corinthians 4:5 where we are called to be servants and bond-servants of Christ !


No, the lesson from Genesis 9: 20-27 is to not get caught finding your old man lying naked in a drunken stupor. THERE WILL BE CONSEQUENCES.


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Considering the fact that, in biblical times, one culture’s exposure to another culture would often end up as an a$$-kicking of one of the cultures, with the rapes and deaths of many of its people, I can see why a vengeful God was of comfort to them. They didn’t have exposure to articles about non-attacking/soldiers in the culture that had conquered them. Therefore, they had no experience besides REALLY, REALLY bad things happening when the other culture came to town.


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Mary,


Furthermore, a “provincial” God for each culture is factual. There were MANY God’s in the biblical times and that is supported within our bible, and when you visited an adjoining country, you were under their God’s laws and edicts.


In the case of our racist and bigoted Judeo-Christian God, the rapes and killings that you mention, along with their innocent children and their unborn, were all sanctioned by our God and is supported throughout our Judeo-Christian Bible. Regarding this article, we TRUE Christians have to accept that our God was racist and a bigot, period!


Many of my Christian brethren are not up to speed upon these biblical facts, and that is why Jesus has sent me here to enlighten them within context of the article in question. They can thank me later.


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Brother Ted…Not to rain on your parade…but most of the supposed “Christian” brethren would rather shoot you first than thank you later.


Remember the lesson of OUR LORD: Jeshua BarJoseph … HE told the TRUTH and they flogged him and strung him up to die of dehydration. Very painful.


The HEELOTS around us would KILL you and me if they could, and never give another thiought about it !


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