Thursday, August 9, 2012

Pat Robertson on the Sikh Temple Shooting

On August 5th, a gunman opened fire on worshippers at a Sikh temple in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, leaving multiple people dead and wounded. The shooter, identified as 40 year-old army veteran Wade Michael Page, reportedly turned the gun on himself. News reports state that Page was a racist skinhead who performed in a white supremacist band and often spoke of "racial holy war."

In the wake of yet another violent tragedy, many Americans have responded with empathy and grief. Others still are asking the hard questions about the role of guns, religious intolerance, and white supremacism in this tragedy. Now is a time for sensitivity and collective reflection, as we ponder how to prevent future mass violence.

Sadly, I don't think Pat Robertson got the memo.

On the August 6th edition of The 700 Club, Robertson was his usual insensitive self as he discussed the Wisconsin shooting. At the 3:17 mark, Robertson speculated about the role of Satan and atheism (!) in such violence, despite no evidence of Satanism or atheism as Page's motivations.
"What is it? Is it Satanic? Is it some spiritual thing? People who are atheists? They hate God. They hate the expression of God, and they are angry with the world, angry with themselves, angry with society, and they take it out on innocent people who are worshipping God. And whether it's a Sikh temple or a Baptist church or a Catholic church or a Muslim mosque, whatever it is, I just abhor this kind of violence. It is the kind of thing we should do something about, but what do you do? What do you do? Well, you talk about the love of God and hope that it has some impact."
(Hat tip to Right Wing Watch. See www[dot]cbn[dot]com/media/player/index.aspx?s=/archive/club/700club080612_ws)

8 comments:

  1. I don't think that there are memos in Pat's twisted world. But I do at least give him a little credit for saying essentially that Sikhs are worshiping God as opposed to twisting it even further and saying something like "that's what they deserve for following a false faith." Pat's not all bad. He's just seriously deluded. :-)

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    1. Wise Fool -- Maybe he's toning things down in his winter years?

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  2. Pat Robertson is a clown who cannot see that it is his own brand of hate, manifested in a violent way, that led to this tragedy.

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    1. ReasonBeing -- Well, self-reflection isn't the Religious Right's strong suit.

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  3. Satan and atheists -- the usual suspects, all right. (gag)

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    1. Donna -- Heh ... it's a wonder gays snd liberals aren't in there too.

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  4. It's hard to know if Robertson is promoting his own interests or if he's a victim of his own delusion. Perhaps it's a fine line ...?

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    1. Cognitive Dissenter -- With him, it's hard to say.

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