An open letter to Pat Robertson

[draconis]

Dear Mr. Robertson,

Will you please sit down and shut your flapping mouth? Your ridiculous accusations that the people of Haiti are being punished because of a "deal made with the devil" several centuries ago is even more outrageous than your similar accusations made against the victims of Katrina, 9/11, and other recent disasters. At least in those cases, you were claiming that the victims were being punished because of something *they* had done. They at least had a certain cause-and-effect linkage, even if it is a completely ludicrous one. Now you're claiming that the Haitians are being punished because of something someone did *centuries* ago? No one who was involved in your alleged "deal with the devil" could *possibly* still be alive today. Doesn't your own Bible have something in there about the sons not being punished for the sins of the father?

By your so-called "logic," one of your "flock" who receives something they perceive as a blessing from God might not be getting it because they are a good and Godly person, but because one of their ancestors was. So... the Godly person was denied those blessings, but it's okay because someone else got them. Doesn't sound quite so righteous from that side, does it?

The worst part of your diatribe isn't even the hatred, bigotry, and ignorance that it proclaims (and thereby also paints other Americans and other Christians in the same light). No, the *worst* part is that you have now undoubtedly persuaded some people that they should NOT try to help out. Never mind that we're talking about fellow human beings in need -- you have proclaimed their suffering as Right and Just, and therefore they are not *deserving* of aid.

The lack of those extra dollars undoubtedly means that someone's suffering has been increased, extended, or both... or possibly even that extra lives have been lost that might have been saved.

Sir, for every one of those lives that have been negatively impacted because of your *insane* hate-filled diatribe, I hope that every iota of their extra pain and suffering gets returned to you in full, and that you are fully aware of what it is and why you're receiving it.

No love,

Me

Comments

[devohoneybee]

What passes in the name of "religion" sometimes just makes my brain shut down from the blackness of the rage.

[alysswolf]

Pat Robertson represents the vile underbelly of religion who would have fit right in with the witch hunters and Inquisitors of previous centuries. Like them, he worships at the altar of ignorance, hate, and arrogant self-righteousness.

There is even some question whether the Bois Caiman voodoun ceremony he refers to even happened (may be more folklore than history). Don't even get me started on the whole "Napoleon III or whatever" comment. If you're going to pontificate about history, at least get it right.

[draconis]

Amen.

This is the first time I've used the "false gods" icon. I'll be honest, it was a toss-up between that one, the one of a dragon breathing flame, or the one about "actions and consequences" -- i.e. that by choosing to "kick someone when they're down," he may find the same visited upon him.

[draconis]

Yes, he does -- and those are his GOOD qualities!

Frankly, I don't even CARE whether or not the ceremony actually happened. To me, that is completely irrelevant. The people living (and dying) there today had nothing to do with it.

(BTW, the icon is directed at him, NOT at you!)

[rike-tikki-tavi.livejournal.com]

Nice letter. Have you seen the one in the Minneapolis StarTribune, that somebody wrote to Robertson in the name of Satan. Good Stuff.

http://www.startribune.com/opinion/letters/81595442.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU

[jcbdragon.livejournal.com]

Oh, that is just TOO good!

[jcbdragon.livejournal.com]

Since I know that the paper will eventually take down that link, and because I wanted to preserve a copy of that letter, I'm posting the letter here. Great work, Lily Coyle!


Dear Pat Robertson,

I know that you know that all press is good press, so I appreciate the shout-out. And you make God look like a big mean bully who kicks people when they are down, so I'm all over that action. But when you say that Haiti has made a pact with me, it is totally humiliating. I may be evil incarnate, but I'm no welcher.

The way you put it, making a deal with me leaves folks desperate and impoverished. Sure, in the afterlife, but when I strike bargains with people, they first get something here on earth -- glamour, beauty, talent, wealth, fame, glory, a golden fiddle. Those Haitians have nothing, and I mean nothing. And that was before the earthquake.

Haven't you seen "Crossroads"? Or "Damn Yankees"? If I had a thing going with Haiti, there'd be lots of banks, skyscrapers, SUVs, exclusive night clubs, Botox -- that kind of thing. An 80 percent poverty rate is so not my style. Nothing against it -- I'm just saying: Not how I roll.

You're doing great work, Pat, and I don't want to clip your wings -- just, come on, you're making me look bad. And not the good kind of bad. Keep blaming God. That's working. But leave me out of it, please. Or we may need to renegotiate your own contract.

Best, Satan

LILY COYLE, MINNEAPOLIS