SuppoHIRP The Troops

Here is something I received as a forward online this evening. Take a second to read it, below it is my reaction to this:


A United States Soldier was attending some college courses between assignments. He had completed missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. One of the courses had a professor who was an avowed atheist and a member of the ACLU.

One day the professor shocked the class when he came in. He looked to the ceiling and flatly stated, "God, if you are real, then I want you to knock me off this platform. I'll give you exactly 15 minutes." The lecture room fell silent. You could hear a pin drop. Ten minutes went by and the professor proclaimed, "Here I am God. I'm still waiting." It got down to the last couple of minutes when the Soldier got out of his chair, went up to the professor, and cold-cocked him knocking him off the platform. The professor
was out cold. The Soldier went back to his seat and sat there,
silently. The other students were shocked and stunned and sat there looking on in silence. The professor eventually came to, noticeably shaken, looked at the Soldier and asked, "What the hell is the matter with you? Why did you do that?"

The Soldier calmly replied, "God was too busy today protecting America's soldiers who are protecting your right to say stupid shit and act like an asshole. ...............So, He sent me."

Re-post this if you support the military men & women

Okay, done? You won’t believe this, but this pissed me off. And at the same time, it brought to light some of the very points I’ve tried to make both here and in conversations. Now, let’s assume this actually took place. It could have, I just doubt it. First of all, the fact that this soldier would assault, yes assault, the professor be-little our troops more than any “bring ‘em home rally”. Should we be more worried that our soldier is supposedly hearing what he thinks is God speaking to him, or that he feels it’s okay to go hit someone cause the voices in his head say to?

This is the type of bullshit the Religious right spreads that highlights just how ignorant they are. Assuming it really did take place, the soldier in the story had the typical Religious right reaction. He didn’t wait to get the point of the professors lesson, he just assumed God wanted him to react with violence. Now none of us, who read this, will know what the Professor was trying to teach. Maybe it was something called tolerance. The “hero” in this story knew three things: the Professors religious beliefs, his political stance and that he challenged God. Rather than listen to him, he attacked him. Then of course he had the reason of, “God sent me,” expunging himself of any responsibility of his actions. He sounds like he’s George W. Bush himself.

I might catch some flack for “attacking an American soldier” in my blog. But, let’s be clear on this. I didn’t attack anyone, “he” did. I have taken the time to give my opinion, and am giving anyone who sees it a chance to respond. In no way does my opinion mean I do not support our troops. On the contrary, I want them all to come home as soon and as safe as possible. I don’t understand how that stance became confused with not supporting them. What this is, is a perfect example of how mankind has fucked up God. People are able to do just about anything, and as long as they say God told them to, they are guaranteed to have some support. And by acting with violence first, we again miss what could have been a pretty valuable lesson.

My favorite part of this was the end, where it says, “re-post this if you support our military men and women.” I’m supposed to feel guilty if I disagree with this and chose not to share it? Well, I posted it. So try and tell me I don’t support the troops. Then pucker up and kiss my ..um, backwards slash.

I think it would be an interesting exercise, to act this situation out in a classroom. Let’s see how the other students react, and the local media. Seriously, this could be one of those hidden camera segments on 20/20 or one of those shows.