Violence Equals Cowardice!

Fundamentalist religious believers went on a shooting rampage in Paris apparently over a cartoon poking fun at the Muslim prophet Mohammad — insults be upon him. While reading up on this breaking story, I saw a 2012 quote from Charlie Hebdo journalist Laurent Leger. The quote reads, “You don’t throw bombs, you discuss, you debate. But you don’t act violently. We have to stand and resist pressure from extremism.”

I do not know if Laurent Leger is among the 12 people killed today in Paris, but his quote reminded me of just how cowardly violence is. When people can’t defend their ideas or beliefs with logic and intellectual vigor, they turn to the only avenue they have left – violence. This is especially true when it comes to religious beliefs, but it is also true with violence in general. All bullies are insecure and weak.

Religious extremists are the most insecure and weak people around. They know their beliefs are ridiculous and they know they can’t defend such ridiculous beliefs logically, so they turn to bullying and often times, violence. Asserting that your deity of choice is great is just dumb. If your deity really was great, you wouldn’t need to tell us. Wouldn’t God or Allah just show us he was so great by materializing down here and curing cancer or something?

The fact is that no deity is great because no deity actually exists. Religions are all bullshit and the religious know it. They can’t produce any valid evidence for their ridiculous beliefs so they indoctrinate children, dominate culture, suppress knowledge & critical thinking, and intimidate those who might cast any doubts on their beliefs.

Religious believers hate atheists because we exist. We are a constant reminder that their beliefs are ridiculous. Our mere existence is a threat to their insecure beliefs. When we actually start calling them out on their bullshit beliefs, that threat becomes too serious for them not to get violent. So of course Muslim extremists are going to act violently toward cartoonists who point out the ridiculousness of their beliefs. And of course they have to reassert the greatness of their deity as they gun down twelve people.

Obviously this doesn’t make it right. Religion twists people’s morality. To them, morality is whatever the divine dictator says. It is no longer about human empathy and compassion for the well-being of others.

My heart goes out to the brave cartoonists, journalists, and police officers who died today in Paris as a result of religious insecurity and cowardice. Sadly, this will probably not be the last time we see such cowardice manifest in violence and death. All we can do to honor the victims is to continue to speak out against the ridiculousness of religion and remain skeptical and satirical of all ridiculous ideas and beliefs.

Allah sucks my balls!
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