The churches open their doors to everyone who wants to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus Christ, the central mythological event in their belief system…except clowns. No clowns allowed!
I have been moved by this tragic rejection, and while they are obnoxious and annoying, I can see where clowns have their place in the world. I have therefore re-enabled anonymous commenting on Pharyngula. Beep beep.
However, if you’ve figured out all that typekey stuff, you might as well keep using it — some of you have noticed that once the busy work is done, it actually simplifies commenting. I’m also going to reserve the right to turn off anonymous commenting at any time — for instance, when I fly off to Oregon this week and my ability to police the site is limited, I’ll probably require registration once again for those three days.
*sharpens his knife
We all float down here…
I am deeply offended by this act of multicultural avoidance.
Hey PZ,
we were just getting started yelling at each other out of boredom in the “Sandwiched” thread !
I just hate having to re-register
every time I think of a new nym.
I’ll echo the sentiments of quite a few expressed here: could you at least make it obvious that unregistered commenting is disabled? It sucks to type a dissertation into the comment box, click “Post”, and have the server spit it back at you; some browsers even clear the box when you hit ‘back’.
What? what? so having given my details to yet another outfit on the interwebnets in order to continue participating in this most wonderful of blogs and now you tell me I don’t need to? Oh well as you say there are benefits, this RSS aggregator that I use (Vienna for Mac) doesn’t use cookies like Safari does so I have had in the past to type my name and address whenever I wish to comment and now I don’t. So I think I’ll keep it. I’ll be watching my spam folder carefully though.
Rookie.
Shit.
It’s disturbing that the instant I remove comment registration, Pete Rooke leaps in, thinking he can now comment. No, he’s still banned, and he knows it, since he had to use a different email address to slither past the filters.
Are you sure it’s really Rooke? Do the IPs match?
Maybe this is completely off topic…but, that clown story was hilarious.
I think it would be awesome if a large amount of pepole all across the country dressed up as clowns one sunday and went to church. Maybe not causing such a disruption, but being visible and telling everyone why we are there (church is for clowns).
I always enjoyed the troll-baiting here, but I was hoping registration would be left on a bit longer so we could see that “Are deists theists?” discussion turn into Lord of the Flies
Yay, anonymous commenting! Thank you :) I’ve nothing against TypeKey, I’ve just been lazy about registering with them, and now it’s nice not to have to do so.
Or just having a red rubber nose-ball to slip on once they were in.
Oh right. NOW that I’ve figured out the damned sign in, you turn it off.
That’s just cause to pitch a hissy! *SNORT*
Mwahahahaha… with anonymous commenting re-enabled, our plan to seize control of Pharyngula can finally commence.
1) Pharyngula,
2) Then, the rest of ScienceBlogs
3) all of TEH INTARNETS!!!!11eleventyone11!!!1!
4) ???
5) Profit.
Mwahahaha Mwahhahahaha […] *evil laughter continues indefinitely…*
Who has the metaphysical conch? Beelzebub?
Does anyone else get annoyed when the history channel plays their damn religious shows (like 7 deadly sins, which is on right now)?
Delurking myself here, since now I can do that again without going through all that seemingly bothersome Typekey business.
So beep beep indeed, and thank you all for inspiring me to read Watchmen, and keeping me entertained with all the religious insanity and ruthless (but witty) commentary.
(Also, next time, can we please have some delicious tofu recipes to balance out all the bacon stuff? That would make my day!)
Can you give policing rights to trusted commentators?
That story was hilarious! *wipes tears*
hehehehe,they came close you know……
I was impressed with the “clown doctors” that helped spread a bit of good mood in the Italian earthquake area the other week.
And,if a clown would make funny noises and disrupt me watching the Cricket,which is probably as close as I ever get to any religious activity,I would be pissed off too.
I think commenting here would be a lot more enjoyable if we could have profiles (with pictures and a brief bio), like any forum site.
Frankly I thought the clown antics pathetic and boorish. It makes the people that politely escorted him out seem classy by comparison. Rather like Borat abusing the hospitality of his hosts by coming to the table with a bag of shit. T
I spent Easter cleaning and refurbishing the BBQ and making burnt offerings to the Gods. He likes the smoke from burned flesh and I do too.
Oh sweetMother of Misery save us from pictures and bios.
@ quidam
i agree that actively disrupting their services is not the best tactic, but really, dressing as a clown and quietly sitting there is quite amusing. just to show the level of disrespect.
@ patrica,OM
maybe not pictures and bios, but the commenting here is not the best set-up i’ve seen for many 100s of comments. Scienceblogs could make it a little more user friendly.
Dammit! Now I have a font cootie. Chiiiimp!
Good Friday in my home town was proof that xtians and humour do mix quite well. Anyone who remembers Vic Reeves’ and Bob Mortimer’s Big Night Out will surely wipe a tear of amusement from their eye when they hear that an actor playing Jesus, whilst carrying a large crucifix towards the cathedral, was greeted by the crowd with reverential chants of “What’s on the end of the stick, Vic?”
(Not entirely relevant, but it sure cheered me up)
I wouldn’t be as polite to a clown interfering with my secular mass indulgence in fiction and mass rituals. Think of things like the theater, the cinema, sing-a-longs and LARPs. I’d want him out of our shared experience very quickly so we can all continue with the suspension of disbelief and enjoy the rest of our evening/day.
Yays.
For some reason, the TypeKey log on page is blocked at my work, even though Pharyngula isn’t. Three cheers for being able to put in my .02 again.
Michael – While I go look at Prof. Dawkins site everyday, I rarely read more than a few comments because all the pictures and motion get very tiresome. I don’t want to even imagine the characters some of the trolls would post.
Patricia
I am thinking of a forum that I’ve been a part of for 5 years, when making these suggestions. There are mods that must approve pictures (only pictures of yourself) and features such as quote posting (being able to quote a person to directly respond to them. Maybe because that’s what I’m used to i rarely comment here.
Snort.. Just so long as you don’t change the system to what ever Greta has going on over at her site.. Uses the same identical system, but somehow, recently, typekey/pad, or just how its set up on her site, has fowled things up so that you have to go into IE to use it. Its only gotten worse. First, something went wrong with the “captcha” functions, so they would bug out, preventing you from posting, then typepad/key, the way it was set up there, flat out refused to let you log in. Now, you can’t even hit the preview or post buttons, because they remain dimmed, and unusable, so even if captcha “did” work, you can’t use it, nor does attempting to log into typepad/key work either.
The only sites I have “ever” had these kinds of issues with are the ones using typepad/key, and oddly, its only “some” of them. :p
I am willing to put up with it here only because, so far, this one isn’t broken…
I’m just pleased as punch to have my sainthood restored, especially because the fact that I had a TypeKey account well before compulsive registering was yet another stretch of a miracle that confirms my sanctification.
Michael#18:
Infuriating. The most annoying mythomentaries are about how the Israelites escaped Egypt with the help of divine volcanic activity and/or meteor shower.
Michael#23:
Another improvement would be an hierarchy of comments and not this flat system, so instead of referring to each comment inside the comment text, I’d click on a “reply” link or whatever to each comment separately.
Please remember, when referring to things in the distant past, always use the modern nomenclature : B.P. – Before Pharyngula.
@Michael
What exactly is so hard about copying and pasting and shoving it between quote marks. The html is funky, but it’s hardly rocket science either. The problem with automatic quoting is that with long posts people don’t edit the quoted bit and so much more screen real estate is used up with pointless repetition. Bad for those of us with computer usage problems, my mouse bites.
Newbies,
we’ve had those “bio/profile” and “hierarchic comment structure” discussions here a million times,and whats here now is a mixture of commenter consensus and overlord dictum.
That clown did nothing positive for the atheist cause. His sophomoric humor gives more ammunition to the theists. This is not the way we should work.
Hepius (40), your concern is noted. Not everything has to be about the “cause,” sometimes people are allowed to have a little fun.
Michael @ #11
Don’t you mean “Maybe this is completly on topic…
The clown suit was fine. Honking his horn in the middle of the service was rude. Why: substitute “lecture by PZ Myers” for “service” in the last sentence and you’ll see.
And here I’d pulled up a lawn chair at Greg Laden’s blog.
First it’s off, then it’s on, then off again, now you threaten to put it back on again, but only for a little while.
I get it, you’re trying to confuse me so much I can’t post. Sorry, but the eggs on the other foot, I have a wife. She’ll figure it out for me.
The truth about clowns.
Like whore’s drawers
Damn you, PZ, I was finally getting away from the internet commenting. I’m with Tony Stark when it comes to the registration.
Actually, no, I like having secret powers.
Hepius (#40) “That clown did nothing positive for the atheist cause. His sophomoric humor gives more ammunition to the theists. This is not the way we should work.”
Hepius, I totally agree with you, and as a professional clown I might add that he did nothing positive for clowns either.
Remember Firesign Theater? My favorite quote:
We’re all bozos on this bus.
Are you trying to get flirty again Piltdown Man?
Mr Clown was a total jackass. I don’t like church, operas, basketball games, weddings or funerals either, but I don’t go out of my way to disrupt the proceedings and hinder others’ enjoyment.
Did he throw a desert that was exactly 3?
Jesus, I just realised how terrible that joke is. I am so sorry everyone. I’m still posting it, sure, but I’m not proud.
“I don’t like church, operas, basketball games, weddings or funerals ”
Please don’t mess with Opera. It has nothing to do with, say, basketball. But I recognize sometimes our “Divas” resemble Quarterbacks.
Hepius (40), your concern is noted.
#40 was not a concern troll. The crap that Ian pulled is NOT helping. It was self serving and utterly useless.
Not everything has to be about the “cause,” sometimes people are allowed to have a little fun.
Fine, but can the fun be above the level of that of a three year old? Anyone laughing at his stunt needs a swift kick in their juvenile attitude.
Mmm, what’s stopping you? I have a TypeKey profile linked to my name. There’s not much in it, but I did toss in a pic and a few pieces of info for the stalkers. *waves*
If you’re talking about forums with all of that stuff embedded, then I have to disagree. Those pages are so hard to read from all the clutter. I prefer the clean look here. I doubt PZ gets to choose the blog software anyway.
Michael @ 27
What do you suggest for a commenting system? Most blogs I’ve seen have the exact same type of linear commenting used here. Forum type threaded commenting wouldn’t work (I don’t think) when responding to a central post by the blog owner as is done here.
That said, I am happy that that PZ has shit-canned registration for a while. The laughable posts and the edifying responses from our more brilliant posters just hasn’t been the same this week.
as a coulrophobe i have to agree with the sentiment of not allowing clowns anywhere.
Am I the only one to see the irony here? They crowd the clown out the door, while they will allow to remain any dowdy dowager in grotesque garb and creepy cosmetics. It’s not a matter of dress code: they get pissy when they think they’re being ridiculed, and they’re known to turn violent.
I have to go with the coulrophobe. Clowns should not be permitted in polite company, even in a church.
Oddly enough, I have an aunt, who I haven’t seen in over 30 years but remember loving very much, who appears to have become some manner of Christian clown.
I still love her. But…WTF?
I find it extremely asinine that TypePad has an UPPER limit on the length you can have for your password.
Funnily enough I can’t watch videos here at work, but everything else seems to work.
Except that clown’s attempt a “humor”. Disruptive, blunt, unfunny, and not at all helpful.
Calla:
Good for you!
One caveat: Tofu may not be good for you.
I haven’t seen PCRM’s take on this yet, but they have always emphasized that a healthy diet is a widely varied diet.
Yay! Now I should be able to comment from work since I don’t have to use typekey
One would think that christians would welcome a clown into their midst, since everything they believe is laughable.
“Ee-ah! Ee-ah!” yay! Happy Monkey everyone!
The next person to mention threaded commenting gets a pie to the face. Seriously, Hate. Threaded comments. So. Very. Much.
And clowns are one of the universal evils.
@Pilty:
from the link you “generously” provided:
ahh, that explains why I find clowns so funny. They’re a parody of Christian fiction.
Have I ever mentioned I find you funny, too, Pilty?
Michael @ #18 —
No, I don’t get “annoyed” when I see faith-based religious programs on the History (or any other) Channel. What I get is frustrated.
I DO think the time has come for there to be an alternative voice available on cable/satellite TV which presents the Free Thought/Humanist/Agnostic/Athiest POV 24/7/365.
I get a lot of good programming off the Net broadcast by both CBC and the BBC, but it rarely if ever makes it to the domestic US market. “A Brief History of Disbelief” is a classic case in point. It showed up on PBS, but got very little publicity or promotion.
Here on the Big Island of Hawaii, Oceanic Time-Warner Cable has at least three channels devoted completely to Christian programming:
EWTN – Eternal Word Television Network – Catholic
BYU TV – All Mormon, All the time
INSP – Inspiration Network – “family-oriented Christian television and Biblically-based entertainment, educational and ministry programs.”
There are also six stations in Honolulu that offer religious programming, the most of any US television market: KWHE (LeSea), KAAH-TV (TBN), KALO (Ind.), KWBN (DayStar), KKAI (Faith TV) and KUPU (Ind.).
Of course, this does not include on the other religious stuff broadcast on the other cable and local channels. There are numerous non-english programs ministering to the wide diversity of cultures in the islands, including Japanese, Korean, Pacific Islander and other ethnic groups. While there are some Buddhist programs, most are Christian ministries.
It’s long past time that the Free Thought/Humanist/Agnostic/Athiest community got off its collective ass and started getting their stories told.
It’s all well and good to rant and rave about the creotards/xtians/etc but we have to admit they are doing a much better job of reaching the masses with their message.
If I was younger, had more money and a modicum of expertise, I would love to start a cable channel to fill this niche in the market. But I’m old, tired, broke and no one pays much attention to what I have to say, so one of you will need to get your ass in gear and create the channel.
What should it be named?? Any suggestions??
Well, considering the biological bent of such a cable channel, and its effective goal of choir-preaching, maybe we should call it Hox News?
In case it wasn’t clear, I’m not fond of the idea of a cable channel devoted to “all atheism all the time”. Frankly, what such a channel should cover is already covered, at least in theory: Discovery Channel, Science Channel, etc…
at least in theory
there lies the rub.
I’ve seen some real crap on disco channel, and don’t even get me started on the history channel.
Ichthyic @ 69:
Yuk.
Is that a self-portrait, Pilty?
Some background mythos.
This is going to get naughty.
I don’t think you are planning to be up in the valley when you visit Oregon, but if you will be near Corvallis and will be enjoying a beer somewhere I would enjoy the chance to meet.
…from Pilty’s most recent link:
well, I guess that must mean god was on their side, eh?
It’s a fookin’ miracle, I tells ya!
…more from the same link, before I start laughing at Pilty some more:
this is SO wrong, as an ichthyologist who actually studies sharks I feel it my responsibility to correct it.
There is a very long history of irrational response after shark attacks. I can list hundreds of examples where after a shark attack, locals organized massive “shark hunts” to try and eradicate all sharks found in their areas.
funny, but I can’t recall any clown hunts.
A good thing is that slowly but surely, as people actually learn more about sharks, and just how rare attacks really are, and how endangered many shark populations are… the attitudes have started to change, and in many places where knee-jerk shark hunts were common (like Hawaii), they are now becoming far rarer. Knowing the important role sharks play as keystone predators in many ecosystems has lead to even commercial fisherman contributing more to their conservation than their demise.
Still a LONG way to go, however.
bottom line:
as usual, Pilty barfs up a link full of misinformation and outright lies.
Holy shit Pilty. How old are you again?
Do you check under your bed for monsters at night?
I bet you believe that the Beatles hid satanic messages in the music too.
Do you worry that if you say Candyman three times in the mirror he might actually show up?
You noticed that the solution was for the clown to go to the United Methodist Church. This is not an insult. At St. Andrew UMC in Highlands Ranch Colo (one of those hated megachurches), our youth pastor is an ex-stand-up comedian. Not exactly a clown, but in the same ballpark. Open minds, open doors open hearts. By the way the Easter service (noon- I had to work Sunday AM) was all rock’n’roll. And speaking of tofu a woman in Colorado tried to get a vanity license plate reading “ILVTOFU”. It was deemed obscene and rejected by our plate decency nazis.
ILVTOFU
LOL
frankly, I’m surprised the plate overlards caught it.
When Pilty posted his first anti-clown link (#47) I thought he was just fooling around. I even thought to myself, “Good random fluctuations of the space-time continuum, Pilty’s grown himself a sense of humor.” Then, without further comment, he posted a picture from a horror flick (#74) and I started to wonder. Then he posted a link (#76) to an article about coulrophobia.
Far be it from me to sneer at someone with an irrational phobia. I have a strong aversion to cockroaches and other insects, so I’m familiar with phobias. But I’m wondering what exactly Pilty is trying to tell us.
Pentecostal Churches here in the smaller areas will start youth groups, and buy rock music instruments.. straight out recruitment technique… rope ’em young. Lost a cousin to them. He used to be bright but, he bought into woo, lost all curiosity about the world, and became quiet… it’s sad.
He’s trying to tell us that he’s half baked.
Or a cryptic Simpsons ref to having insomnia.
Does that describe our boy at all?
But I’m wondering what exactly Pilty is trying to tell us.
trust me when I tell you:
You’re probably better off not knowing.
Well he is a catholic after all.
Ichthyic @ 80:
Stop! You’re killing me!
But seriously folks …
The point is, whatever people’s reactions to sharks, they are “an unequivocally real (albeit rare) danger”. Extreme fear is a natural, if arguably irrational & excessive, response to these creatures. Clowns are supposedly friendly, entertaining beings yet can trigger equally fearful responses. The article was merely speculating as to why that should be.
I would guess that the answer lies in the decline of religious belief. When people really believed in the devil, they also believed in the effectiveness of supernatural weapons against the devil. In the old Christian worldview the devil had already lost, he had been defeated by Christ, he just hadn’t realised it yet. Thus he was a buffoon, a figure of fun.
The familiar image of the ‘scary clown’ – a modern phenomenon – represents the return of the repressed. We’re not allowed to believe in either praeternatural evil or its ultimate defeat by supernatural good, so we’re left helpless and fearful in the face of something we know exists but lack the conceptual vocabulary to define and overcome.
Rev. BigDumbChimp @ 81:
No. But I do say my prayers.
From ghoulies and ghosties
And long-leggedy beasties
And things that go bump in the night,
Good Lord, deliver us!
It’s not a matter of “hidden satanic messages”. It’s not even a matter of images of Crowley or dismembered babies on their album covers. It’s a matter of cultural change in a luciferian direction.
the pro from dover @ 82:
Empty heads.
(Actually the really evil satanic clowns don’t give a shit about Methodists. They have bigger fish to fry.)
two sharks are eating a clown when one asks, “Does this taste funny to you?”
nicely played
I’ll be chuckling about that little ditty for a while.
Stop! You’re killing me!
but as an atheist, I have no compelling moral grounds not to, though, right?
*squeezes hands tighter*
how’s that now?
The article was merely speculating as to why that should be.
poorly.
The point is, whatever people’s reactions to sharks, they are “an unequivocally real (albeit rare) danger”.
then the article used a horrible analogy in order to try an illustrate that “point”, as they said there were not equivalent vocal admonitions against sharks like there were against clowns, and that simply is not only NOT the case, it is exactly the opposite of it.
this is the danger of using other websites, that you don’t bother to research yourself, to try and make your fucking inane points.
the point is… you being inane, of course.
I would guess that the answer lies in the decline of religious belief. When people really believed in the devil, they also believed in the effectiveness of supernatural weapons against the devil
@ ’tis himself:
Didn’t I just tell you you probably wouldn’t really want to know what this fucktard was trying to say?
:P
Great, that means I’m a non practicing satanist and a non practicing anglican… both of my bases are covered… whew.. it’s like a weight being lifted.
I’ll be chuckling about that little ditty for a while.
sounds like a candidate for FSDT.
Piltdown:
I think you make too much of clowns and their putative correspondence to the devil because of your own phobia and mythology.
By the way, when you say “We’re not allowed to believe in either praeternatural evil or its ultimate defeat by supernatural good” you’re outright lying. We are allowed to believe whatever we want to, no one can stop us.
What you should’ve written is “We’re no longer forced to believe in either praeternatural evil or its ultimate defeat by supernatural good” (as was the case in those halcyon days you fondly imagine the late middle ages to have been).
I wonder how that corresponds to witch trials. Religious people of all Christian denominations could be quite fearful (and hateful) while believing in praeternatural evil and all that. I think a phobia of clowns, if it did originate as Piltdown suggests, were a low price to pay for a lack of witch hunts, no?
cultural change in a lucifer-in direction?
does that mean we’re all becoming bioluminescent?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luciferin
cool!
I’m gonna go for the headlamps under the eyes thing.
http://oceanexplorer.noaa.gov/explorations/04deepscope/background/deeplight/media/fig3a_400.jpg
So clowns are supernatural weapons against the devil. Gotcha.
I’ll never doubt you again.
In 1627, the Markgraf von Baden-Durlach ruled that the goods and possessions of convicted witches would go to him instead of being split between the church and the accuser. Trials for witchcraft in his jurisdiction declined to two in five years instead of 20 to 30 per year as were held previously. Perhaps fear of Satan wasn’t the only thing driving witchfinders.
Clowns are supposedly friendly, entertaining beings yet can trigger equally fearful responses.
again, the parallels between clowns and creationists are piling up.
‘Tis Himself @ 102:
No, no, clowns are the devil. Do try to keep up, old chap.
Yoritomo @ 100:
Depends what you believe about witches …
John Morales @ 99:
Possibly I’m reading too much into it. I do think the ‘evil clown’ meme of recent years is an interesting cultural quirk all the same. (Cf. ‘alien abductions’.)
Social pressure, social conditioning & social convention can do a very good job of stopping us believing in things – or, more precisely, stopping us fully, openly & self-consciously articulating what we believe in our hearts.
LITTLE Orphant Annie’s come to our house to stay,
An’ wash the cups an’ saucers up, an’ brush the crumbs away,
An’ shoo the chickens off the porch, an’ dust the hearth, an’ sweep,
An’ make the fire, an’ bake the bread, an’ earn her board-an’-keep;
An’ all us other childern, when the supper-things is done,
We set around the kitchen fire an’ has the mostest fun
A-list’nin’ to the witch-tales ‘at Annie tells about,
An’ the Gobble-uns ‘at gits you
Ef you
Don’t
Watch
Out!
Wunst they wuz a little boy wouldn’t say his prayers,–
An’ when he went to bed at night, away up-stairs,
His Mammy heerd him holler, an’ his Daddy heerd him bawl,
An’ when they turn’t the kivvers down, he wuzn’t there at all!
An’ they seeked him in the rafter-room, an’ cubby-hole, an’ press,
An’ seeked him up the chimbly-flue, an’ ever’-wheres, I guess;
But all they ever found wuz thist his pants an’ roundabout:–
An’ the Gobble-uns ‘ll git you
Ef you
Don’t
Watch
Out!
An’ one time a little girl ‘ud allus laugh an’ grin,
An’ make fun of ever’ one, an’ all her blood-an’-kin;
An’ wunst, when they was “company,” an’ ole folks wuz there,
She mocked ’em an’ shocked ’em, an’ said she didn’t care!
An’ thist as she kicked her heels, an’ turn’t to run an’ hide,
They wuz two great big Black Things a-standin’ by her side,
An’ they snatched her through the ceilin’ ‘fore she knowed what she’s about!
An’ the Gobble-uns ‘ll git you
Ef you
Don’t
Watch
Out!
An’ little Orphant Annie says, when the blaze is blue,
An’ the lamp-wick sputters, an’ the wind goes woo-oo!
An’ you hear the crickets quit, an’ the moon is gray,
An’ the lightnin’-bugs in dew is all squenched away,–
You better mind yer parunts, an’ yer teachurs fond an’ dear,
An’ churish them ‘at loves you, an’ dry the orphant’s tear,
An’ he’p the pore an’ needy ones ‘at clusters all about,
Er the Gobble-uns ‘ll git you
Ef you
Don’t
Watch
Out!
Ouch. Is that just me, or is Piltdown suggesting that the lack of witch hunts in our enlightened times may be a bad thing? And here I thought that we had overcome at least that superstition. What next, re-start the blood libel, another religiously motivated fear?
Thanks, PZ. I couldn’t get TypeKey to work for me for love or money, and had resigned myself to reading and not commenting.
Clowns and vegans. cuz we don’t really cotton to the boiled egg thing, and the ham, and the kielbasa (not to mention bacon… easter bacon… hmmm bacon)… so no easter for me. yeaster though…
PZ @ #9 [about Pete Rooke]:
Holy crap, I missed that! I didn’t follow the angry plonk-hammer thread but I should’ve guessed, what with how pleasant the comments have been over the past few days. Both Rooke and Facilis, nice!
No, no, clowns are the devil. Do try to keep up, old chap.
keep up?
how does one “keep up” with complete inanity?
or better yet…
why?
@#24: Thank you. I was beginning to wonder if all Pharyngulites had become insensitive to others.
Church services may seem silly to us (I know, understatement) but those people were sitting in their own church having their own service, and had a right to not have it interrupted.
How would you feel, PZ, if some creationist came into your class and beeped a horn every time you said something he disagreed with?
This clown crossed the line.
I agree with those who said the clown stunt was not cool. The guy was just being a real life troll. As much as I disagree with religions in general I would never think of disrupting a church service or even attending one dressed up as a clown. What’s next? Clowns at Christian funerals? I’m pretty sure there are a number of places, not necessarily religious, where some sort of dress code is in effect and people dressed up as clowns would not be allowed. That doesn’t mean they are being intolerant.
I like change, PZ…it makes me feel so, so, so evolved! Or, again…maybe it’s two steps forward, one step back?
In a final topic-jacking shot, I can’t believe nobody suggested bacon-wrapped tofu. (toss that boogerglob out of the middle after the bacon’s crispy and ready to be eaten, though).
I once had a clown for an avatar, elsewhere (just ’cause it’s a silly avatar, and I was working on silly at the time), but got some serious negative press and changed it out.
But that wasn’t just any clown – it was an ass in clown’s clothing. If he’s going to provoke the superstitious folks that way he’s begging for trouble; at least the folks were civil enough to throw him out without exhibiting monkey behavior.
Considering the history channel seems like a glorification of US war efforts, Happy Holidays with Hitler™, and then religious crap, is it so hard to switch channel, or turn off? Or are you just a glutton for punishment?
The more I think of that clown, the more it ticks me off. Think of all the times PZ has posted a video of theists doing their stupid theist tricks. We’ve all had a good laugh and said how dumb they are. ALL of them. Because each video reinforced the notion that they are all buffoons.
Now they have a video of their own. They can watch it and show it to others and say, “Hey, look at those hate-filled atheists. Look at how they treated us on our most holy day? What’s next? How far will they go?”
Did that clown do anything to move people towards rational enlightenment? Did the clown put anyone else on our side? I’m sure it only hardened the hearts of the people inside that church. Imagine what they’ll say the next time atheism comes up with someone who wasn’t there.
I don’t like church, operas, basketball games, weddings or funerals
Opera is great, as long as the soprano can hit the high notes without sounding like nails on a chalkboard. But not enough of them can do that.
In America, basketball is the only sport worth a damn. First of all, there’s a bunch of buff guys running around in shorts. No pads, no helmets. Just bodies. Yummy. And at least it moves more than most other sports. I mean, seriously–football? All that time standing around and bullshitting, for five seconds of action–and not always good action?
A guy who did that in my bed would be out the door before he could pull his pants up, never welcome to return. If I won’t put up with it in my sex life, I don’t need to be looking to it for fun–i.e., through sports. Don’t get me started on golf or baseball.
The rest, I avoid like the plague.
So I was right not to register! :-) :-) :-)
WTF. TSIB.
No, he checks under his bed for devils at night.
Boy, I can tell you legends… outright scary medieval-or-later central European legends about selling one’s soul to the devil. In about half of them, the devil actually wins.
I’ve read a book about the Middle Ages that summed the situation up as follows: “People believed in God, but even more in the devil.”
Also, comment 100.
Nope. It comes from the following line of thought: There have already been tons of horror books and films about monsters, vampires, zombies and so on. What’s scarier than that? Something that you don’t already expect to be scary from the start. Like clowns, Chucky the Murderer Doll, and (as a parody of that) the Killer Rabbit. In other words, something that makes you think nothing is safe anymore. If fluffy bunnies are no longer safe to be around, what is?
The genre relies on people not finding clowns scary, not even subconsciously.
That includes the Joker of Batman: a madman with a murderous sense of humor.
“Know”?
Sire, je n’ai pas besoin de cette hypothèse. Evil doesn’t require a supernatural explanation. Evil is, unfortunately, banal.
:-D :-D :-D
It’s a matter of “shock the bourgeois and laugh at the response”. It’s trolling. You’re feeding the troll.
Think about it. :-)
Also: Crocodiles, sharks, lions, tyrannosaurs.
Hitchcock’s The Birds also plays with this: who’d be afraid of crows? If crows can kill you, what is safe anymore?
That appears to be a big part of the reason why the number of female “soccer” fans in Europe has been skyrocketing in recent years…
Foreign men in shorts… Now that is some serious eye candy. I considered soccer as a worthwhile sport for my amusement, but had to decline it, as well: Too many dry stretches between scoring. Had a few of those during my single life, so that makes soccer a “no thanks” proposition.
Also, in basketball, the shirts are skimpier. More man skin on display! Woo hoo!
Good grief, I’m a hopeless pervert…
David Marjanović @ 119:
Oh sure, the devil is very dangerous, a wolf among sheep. An individual sheep cannot outrun, outfight or outsmart him, so many battles will be lost. But the war is already won. Provided the sheep don’t rely on their own strength but upon the superior weapons of the shepherd, there’s no need to be afraid.
Armed with the sacraments and sacramentals of Holy Church, the Christian can laugh at the devil. Compare a medieval artistic representation of Satan with, say, a statue of one of the Aztecs’ more bloodthirsty ‘gods’. Whereas the latter is merely gruesome and oppressive, the former is comically grotesque, a figure of fun – sometimes even dressed in jester’s motley …
If that were true, why did they not worship him rather than God? Why did they not feel the need to appease him like an Aztec ‘god’?
You might well be right – although it might be amusing to do some research to find out whether popular manifestations of coulrophobia pre- or post-dated the likes of It, Killer Klowns from Outer Space, etc.
Regarding the ‘return of the repressed’ … it’s interesting that the decline of Christianity as a cultural force has not been accompanied by a corresponding decline in the popular fascination with the demonic. One might have thought that such bogies would melt away like frost before the blazing sun of the Enlightenment. Yet – no doubt to Prof Dawkins’ chagrin – modern Western adolescents are probably exposed, via film, TV, magazines, video games, the internet etc, to more & more viscerally intense representations of the dark side than any medieval peasant. All that has happened is that such representations have been liberated, as it were, from the restraints of the Church and are floating free. In the old horror movies, Dracula wilted before the Crucifix or consecrated Host … nowadays, as a character in Blade put it, “crosses don’t do squat” and the vampires are formidably appealing. Anti-heroes in fact.
Theologically speaking, evil doesn’t even exist; it’s just an abstraction. As for the devil, La plus belle des ruses du diable est de vous persuader qu’il n’existe pas.. ; )
Perhaps. They may not have been conscious of what they were doing. On the other hand, we have reported statements by Mr Lennon like:
What is this game of doing things because other people want it? The whole Beatle idea was to do what you want, right? To take your own responsibility.
or:
It seems to me that the only true Christians were (are?) the Gnostics, who believe in self-knowledge, i.e., becoming Christ themselves, reaching the Christ within. Christ, after all, is Greek for light. The Light is the Truth. All any of us are trying to do is precisely that: Turn on the light. All the better to see you with, my dear.
What is that if not luciferian?
I’ve never understood that about soccer. Why don’t they just eliminate the 90 minutes running up and down the field and go straight to the penalty kicks?
Dammit, Piltdown. You’ve written a post ripe for the plucking and I’m far to busy to take part. I’ll limit my self to just one and let the others have at you:
Christians are sheep? Well, I can’t argue with that. Sadly, those who pass for wolves in the real world are more often found wearing vestments, habits, robes and white collars – or silly hats and red Prada shoes.
Christians are sheep?
And they think of their god as a shepherd. Why does a shepherd raise sheep? To kill and eat them without having to bother chasing them down, of course. And he probably took up domesticating his “flock” out of laziness since in the Christian mythos there’s only one god and therefore he didn’t do it to increase the deity carrying capacity of the universe.
Not to mention fleecing them to make a profit. Only in reality the tool is the collection plate – and, historically, the acts of pillaging and confiscation – rather than shears.
Because penalty kicks are only for major tournaments where nothing can separate the sides. You might as well just flip a coin, that’s what penalty shootouts effectively come down to. It’s the 90 minutes in the middle that’s the exciting bit – and a draw is a perfectly acceptable result.
Soccer is hockey on grass. And that would be okay. But it’s still hockey on grass.
I’m cool with the running around and the shorts, but I need to see a payoff more often than not at either end of the court. Plus, there’s nothing quite like a Manu Ginobli circus shot (check what he does at :46). I love that guy. He’s a living highlight reel.
Bah. The fear of clowns is simply due to the fact that clown makeup can (deliberately or otherwise) land the wearer in the Uncanny Valley. Combine this with standard phobia behaviour escalation, you get coulrophobia.
I registered for TypeKey, but didn’t get right what I was supposed to do after, I guess, because I couldn’t comment. Probably because I only have time to visit this blog n the wee hours of the morning and am not ready to jump through hoops.
Not that I do more than lurk often enough to expect to be noticed.
Piltdown:
Maybe, but armed with rationality, the atheist can laugh at the very idea of the devil.
Also, in other news: armed with their tinfoil hats, the kooks can laugh at the mind-control rays. :)
Samantha, you post enough for me to remember you.
After you register, you have to sign in (in the Post a Comment section just above the comment box). Only then can you comment under the TK enforced regime.
I’m glad you re-enabled comments for people (like me) who don’t register anywhere. The kinds of conversations I am interested in just aren’t the registering kinds.
You also managed to turn commenting back on before I lost interest. A little longer and I would have ceased stopping by. Then we would have gone our separate ways.
I’m glad the show is going on.
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The reason they don’t let clowns in is that the clowns already have a job in the pulpit. They are horrified at the prospect of losing their jobs :)
Of course, Darth Ratzinger and his clown army don’t want any competition.
“It’s a matter of “shock the bourgeois and laugh at the response”. It’s trolling. You’re feeding the troll.
Think about it. :-)”
Isn’t that the sole purpose of this blog – to make mocking commentary about opposing worldviews and then laugh when those people get offended? Ah, fifth-grade tactics under the guise of intellectualism….