Although he doesn’t tell me what to write about, my husband has emerged over the past years to become my number one adviser and editor of not just the family cookbook I wrote several years ago, but now some of my Wintersong posts. In fact I respect his intelligence and ability so much that I’ve asked him several times to be a co-writer of Wintersong, but he always refuses. So you could have knocked me over with the proverbial feather last night when he asked me if I would publish a guest post from him. Of course I agreed immediately because I knew that it concerned an issue of great importance to him. After seeing it, I agreed wholeheartedly, and am very pleased to present a guest post by Hubby.
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I stumbled on to this video through one of the blogs I scan read most every day. My initial reaction was one of incredulity. Daughter # 2 thought it may be a satire but I think that it is real. Some people may find it offensive but considering the ages of the girls in the video, I was sorry for them. I also think it is real because I still have vague recollections of hearing similar arguments from a couple of nice young missionaries some 35 years ago in CT. Besides, these girls make as much sense as some of the Townhall screamers we have seen recently.
The girls titled their YouTube video “Don’t let the devil win!” Now for the scary part, they will be voting in the next presidential election in 2012.
My Wintersong 
Beyond frightening.
Blind faith or brainwashed? Alas that was the way we were exposed to ‘religion’ when I was young… Rome was right and everyone else was wrong! Rome sure had selective blindness when it came to the way children were treated by some clergy.
The most frightening idea is that these girls will be voting in 2012 and I am certain they will be voting for the horrible Sarah Palin if she runs and I fear she will.
I must say the young woman from India was a delight and I admired her cool-level headed way of handling these girls. Of course, the young evangalists had no idea they were being handled. This in itself is laughable.
This is my first visit to your blog. I think the video thought-provoking.
I couldn’t watch the whole thing, they’re just far too stupid. I did go to YouTube and the first page of over 8,000 comments say basically the same thing.
All three…. It’s arrogant to try to argue from a position of lack of understanding(of her own religion), ignorance in the lack of knowledge of geography and race and stupidity to argue with someone so obviously more intelligent than your self and on top it’s crass stupidity to publish your stupidity and ignorance.
That may well explain George W Bush…
Seriously …. It is evidence of the worst type of religious indoctrination of children and young people.
It also illustrates the worst type of religious self satisfaction…
I couldn’t finish watching either. I don’t know what’s worse: their proselytizing or their total lack of knowledge of about the world. Very scary.
Good post, Pasu. You raise important issues. Do it again.
Thanks Ruthe. I occasionally suggest blog topics to Alice. If she is not so inclined and I feel strongly about it, I will do the posting if she would let me take the blame. Otherwise I am happy to stay in the background.
P
I still think it’s satire–there have been a number of discussions about it in other places, and apparently it used to have some tags that revealed its satirical status, including tags for Henry Fielding and Poe’s law, both of which suggest the views presented therein are over-the-top for the purpose of spoofing them.
See here: http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ptitlehkm94ato?from=Main.PoesLaw
This person makes a pretty good case: http://eringoblog.net/?p=1933
Finally, somebody who actually read through all those comments on the video found this reference in one of Molly’s comments:
“Right down to where she was asked of her views on the Flying Spaghetti Monster and replied ‘All hail his noodly appendage!’
This reference demonstrates that Molly has the same sense of humor as these folks: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flying_Spaghetti_Monster.
Of course, some people in this country do think this way, and clearly lots of people, even well-educated ones, don’t know geography as well as they should. It doesn’t help that our government conflated Iraq with Afghanistan back in 2003, but I digress…
I think these young women are older and smarter than the ones they are portraying (and see the other one about going green for god–that one is pretty funny too).
Saraa seems too with it to not know who Santa Claus is and plus there were a lot of edits, which makes me wonder what did they cut out? I’d have to say it sounds like a spoof although I must admit the girl in the green tee shirt gets an academy award for acting like an ignorant girl brainwashed by fundamentalists to believe that if you are not one of us then you must be the enemy.
Here’s the wrap-up from my guest blogger, Hubby. I think he was surprised to learn so many people not only read it, but many took time to respond:
Thanks to all who commented on this post. Those of you who think the video was a spoof, you may be right because it is an edited video and the tags (I did not pay any attention to them) that went with it. If it is a spoof, the girls in the video were excellent actors.
I am still not quite convinced that it is a spoof. I thought that the Indian girl’s behavior was quite typical of one being raised in a traditional “all Indian” family in this country. The kids from these families tend to be polite, non-confrontational, and generally leave rather than fight back. Her last statement about having to go home to eat rice was a classic response to having to deal with offensive idiots. As for the other two, I have mentioned before that my encounter with the young Mormon missionaries was very similar. I was told that I can not go to heaven unless I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior. I asked them if 2 billion Chinese and Indians who are non-Christians will not go to heaven either. They said that it is true that they will not unless they too accepted Christ. I believe that in the fundamentalist worlds (of any religion) this has not changed to this day.
But again I will not be upset if the video does turn out to be a spoof.
But Hubby! Doesn’t it just make sense that Jesus loves white skin better! 🙂
Alice & Pasu, You should come to Northern Ireland. They speak the same language as we saw on that video. The Free Presbyterian’s – Rev Ian Paisley’s Church – Tell their faithful that they are saved and sure of a front row seat in Heaven! God love the the rest of us! At least Hell will be warm. 😉
There are plenty of other groups who tell us we need to be Re-born… Don’t tell Elly, no way do I want to send her back to where she came from (She is bigger than me now!).
I am not sure if the two girls are missionaries or they have a mission. Look like, they are genuinely ignorant of other religions and they genuinely believe that ‘those who do not believe in Jesus will go to hell’ and they try to help the Indian Girl. The Indian girl appears to be knowing about both the religions but unable to/or has given up / not so much interested in explaining her religion fully to them
I got to see the video only today. I don’t think it is a spoof as it has been edited at crucial points of discussion.I entirely agree with Alice that the Indian girl’s response was typical of one broughtup in a traditional Indian home.
I guess Saraswathy was taken by surprise.If she had known what the other two girls were upto, she would have got good briefing from her parents to give a fitting reply and render them speechless.
On the whole the video is a sad commentary on the sheer ignorance and stupidity of the girls.
Hi Alice and Pasu, This was a great post. I’m still in Oklahoma but do not have your current e-mail. Please contact me if you can.
Email’s on the way. Hope to hear back soon. Come back and visit again too.