How much deep thought IS needed for bigotry?

This is what irks me in American discourse, putting belief on par with facts.

Hedonism = a form of self medication.

But there are plenty of gay guys i also know who are not hedonists, and they didn’t have shitty parents and grew up and supportive communities. And no they are not hedonist. They practice moderation like any other well balance adult, they just happen to be gay.

since behavior which precludes procreation is unnatural and homosexuals (he’s arguing) so confined would not procreate, therefore homosexuality is unnatural

Huh? Any sexually reproducing organisms so confined (males and females forcefully isolated from one another) would not procreate. And how does a forcing a particular arrangement on groups of individuals illustrate anything about those groups? Not to mention that the first assumption does not pass even the most cursory of examinations – claiming “not reproducing is unnatural” is in no way more reasonable than just coming out and claiming “homosexuality is unnatural”.

Creating a concentration camp for homosexuals can only ever be claimed to achieve two purposes – isolating them from the general population (the way one quarantines contagious disease carriers), and making them suffer (the way one incarcerates criminals).

So does the pastor wish to punish homosexuals for who they are (thus seeing them as not being created equal), or does he view homosexuality the same way he does ebola and cooties?

I do not see any other point that the argument could convey, whatever the context. There is no other argument or point that can be logically extracted from what he said.

You can’t break through either side with logic.

That’s why the topic of discussion is a TV personality interviewing some idiot from bumble-fuck, and us watching how terrible of a debater she is.

Why didn’t cooper interview the pastor instead?  Maybe because he was trying to make a far less extreme point than his sentence implies, and it wouldn’t be worth airing.

Their wheels are the squaekiest. Will they get their grease? Is it a sign their social skills are rusty? Or are they just off their rockers?

Next, on “Say Yes to the Dress: Trollish commentors get married”

Or did you hear one sentence quoted by a television personality whose entire purpose is to get people riled up?

Cooper is clearly very good at his job.

Make sure that members are emotionally, physically and mentally ingrained into the group. Organize activities a few evenings a week and make sure that the social needs are all covered – mothers and toddlers, gym, youth groups, regular meetings etc. If all your social networks are inside the group, you will be less inclined to leave.

See outside influences with suspicion, even to the level of family relationships. When you do meet with other groups, make sure this is seen as a witnessing activity and not casual socializing.

Design services to encourage groupthink – have regular altar calls with emotional music, lighting, words etc. to link religious views with group allegiance. Make sure that people are expected to show active approval of whatever message is being preached from the pulpit. When the viewpoints of the pastor are criticized, you will see this as an attack on the group, rather than some of its teachings.

Regularly talk about the answers to prayer, criticize those on the sidelines who don’t see positive answers as lacking in faith. Treat doubt and skepticism as a weakness.

Have regular crises where the true believers are separated from the false ones – Harry Potter readers, people with TVs, whatever. The true believers will be cowed into accepting whatever new standard is and will be further invested in the group.

There are plenty of other ways to achieve it and this is far from some new idea. However, I’d say there have to be some interesting effects of the same groupthink on the pastor. He is in his own little world and is not encouraged to think critically. He constantly hears positive reinforcement of his most strident comments and therefore continues to hold more and more outrageous opinions. He is in the same position as the church in that he doesn’t have anyone to challenge his views on issues such as homosexuality. If he has met homosexuals, this will have been somewhere like a gay pride rally or something where he is there to stand against this abomination.

I think different churches are different in this regard, with some the pastor is clearly manipulating the congregation, but in others he’s as wrapped up in the groupthink as the rest of them.

The average IQ is 100.   “Normal” range is around 90-110, and defined mental retardation starts around 70.

What you’re seeing is someone who has not sufficiently exercised her brain through education, research, and cognitive thought.  Instead, she has subsisted on a lifetime of mental junk food.