I said I might be ignorant, I’m genuinely asking. Is there any religious requirement in Christianity to periodically commune with others? Without it, I can’t understand if we asked to break a habit or a ritual, and how to compare how they were affected.
This would be funny if it wasn’t also chilling:
“I am not one to spread false information,” one of the earliest posts stated. “There are two buses heading this way from Portland, full of ANTIFA members and loaded with bricks. Their intentions are to come to Klamath Falls, destroy it, and murder police officers. There have been rumors of the antifa going into residential areas to ‘fuck up the white hoods.’” …
The antifa buses became a kind of local scavenger hunt. Someone spotted an empty green bus at Klamath Community College. A white bus with “Black Lives Matter” and peace signs painted in green and blue was spotted in the Walmart parking lot. A local recognized that bus as belonging to a local musician, but others didn’t buy it. Someone reported a U-haul in front of T.J. Maxx, or maybe it was the House of Shoes.
As someone who has lived in both big cities and small towns, this rings true to me. Within the hearts of many in small towns beat two conflicting ideas: the knowledge that their town is by no means the center of the world, and the stubborn, proud belief that it ought to be.
Antifa Henchman: My master! Our plan unfolds as we speak. The riots have spread over Washington, New York, Chicago, Los Angeles…
Antifa Leader: Good, good … but not good enough! No, while these cities may hold millions upon millions of people and treasure untold, they are nothing - nothing! We must strike at the country’s heart. We must seize the true jewel of the crown!
Antifa Henchman: Where, your evilness? Tell me where, and I shall send our hordes!
Antifa Leader: Send them to … Klamath Falls!
I think you are a step ahead most of the country is phase I looking at Phase II. The CDC guidelines call for three separate 14-day periods of decline case, hospitalization, decreasing number of positive/negative test ratios etc. Without rebounds and right now 22 state have increasing number of cases. No where in the country is close to hitting all the marks. A month ago, the CDC and governors were all taking about Fall at the earliest for allow sporting events, rock concerts. Now, protests unlike a sport event have a 1st amendment protection, so I understand providing some slack. But we are talking a major violation of the guidelines, that we argued so vigorously for the Federal government to provide just a month ago.
You’d laugh if it wasn’t so pathetic.
magnet
4259
“Requirement” is beside the point. There is no requirement that anyone protest in the streets, either.
It’s not about what one is required to do. It’s about how people want to express their deepest convictions. For BLM, that could be donating money, meeting virtually via Zoom, writing letters, using social media, and public gatherings. We encourage all of these ways.
For religion, people also want to express their convictions. We encourage all of those ways except the last.
Personally, that makes me uncomfortable. I don’t condemn people who are willing to risk infection in order to attend a BLM march, and likewise I’m starting to think that I shouldn’t condemn people who are willing to risk infection to attend a religious service.
Pretty much what I’ve been saying get tested, self-quarantine, and Public Health officials of all levels reminding people that these protest could very well become super spreader events. Asking people to be considerate not only of their health but of the family and community before attending. Asking the BLM organizers to consider alternative events.
mono
4261
We had a protest in our small town today which had a very good turnout, in the context of the population.
EVERYONE wore masks. The only exception being the person taking their turn on the mic. Being outdoors, and wearing masks greatly mitigates the spread compared to pool parties with no masks. If it were an indoor rally that’s a whole 'nother ballgame. Going to work, or church, in a building w recirculating air is far more dangerous.
vyshka
4262
Wait, didn’t they say they disciplined the flight crew? That is all sorts of fucked up.
And they’re still moving full steam ahead with their opening plans.
Except… they are. Even Fox News is running it with a neutral headline.
https://www.kansascity.com/news/coronavirus/article243301266.html
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/cuomo-coronavirus-testing-george-floyd-protesters
Stopping protests sends law enforcement the message that increased brutality to stamp out dissidents works. It also provides the talking point of “well if they suddenly stopped, everything must be fine now/the cause must not have been that important”. On top of that, it gives the departments a chance to catch their breath. There’ve been a handful of reports that police are being asked to pick up more and longer shifts due to protesting. Grind them down and let morale suffer.
FWIW, my deeply held conviction is that staying home to pray or staying home to protest would accomplish the exact same thing.
(Speaking of which, when will the Lincoln Project do a “Mr. Trump, tear down this wall” ad?)
Sounds like a good reason to stop doing it then.
If churches want to be safer, though, they should take a page from the protests and meet outside.
And indeed some do. A Catholic church in my town has been having outdoor mass in the parking lot since Mass. entered phase 1.
Thanks that’s good to see, I watch a lot of CNN and other than Sanja Gupta, I basically never see folks on their urging them to do that. I’d like to see them go further and urge older people and people who aren’t able to self-quarantine to stay home.
I see what you mean, I guess I was being unwittingly insensitive, ironically enough. But, in my mind, I still can’t find an equivalence between a temporary restriction and a fight for unalienable rights, although I know it’s all down to subjective opinion. I’m too jaded about politics, and that’s while being very privileged, but worried about who isn’t.
Seems like things are changing, but actually never change
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w8KqDIPdCOg
Yep, I’m curious about that, too.
I guess though that maybe there was an order to be a show of force, and the crew in that helicopter decided to “expand” on that a bit too much.
ShivaX
4274
So apparently Seattle PD decided to claim the intersection where there had been peaceful protests for quite a while now. And instead of standing back some distance, they’re right next to the protesters?
This seems… poorly thought out.
