The Margaret White award for zealous Christian witness goes to...

Yes, you know who it is.


BOB JONES UNIVERSITY!



Specifically: Stephen Pettit, head flunkie in charge.


Back when Pettit "took over" BJU (and as we see, he didn't really), I wondered aloud if this was going to be a Soviet-style puppet regime with the Jones faction still running things behind the scenes, or if Pettit might really be an improvement.

Alas, now we have our answer. (I wonder where they put the gulags? Wait, getting ahead of myself.)

First, let's have the AWARD CEREMONY.

Stephen, you have hereby been SELECTED for Dead Air's very first and highly coveted MARGARET WHITE AWARD FOR ZEALOUS CHRISTIAN WITNESS. As one not permitted to peruse popular culture (although I know you secretly do), you will undoubtedly feign ignorance and pretend you never heard of the infamous Mrs Margaret White. Well, I have a quick tutorial below. Let's just say, the Mrs Whites of the world do not waste time with politeness and southern pleasantries, they just get it done, people.

Mrs White, the famous Mrs White. The one who uttered those immortal lines, I CAN SEE YOUR DIRTY PILLOWS!

I refer to legendary actress Piper Laurie, Carrie White's mother, one of Stephen King's most amazing, enduring and (as we have learned from the Jones boys) REALISTIC inventions.



Eve was weak! Eve was weak! SAY IT!

~*~

I don't have the time or patience to delve into the theological question of whether Christianity is misogynist at base. That particular case was already made a long time ago, by Mary Daly. Is there even the possibility of respect for women in a religion that constantly reminds us EVE WAS WEAK? The Biblical literalists are among the most deeply-sexist of Christians, because after all, it IS right there in the text. They didn't make it up. Mrs White is offering the interpretation that I basically grew up with, only she's doing it with ZEAL. And hey, aren't all Christians supposed to witness with ZEAL??? Because (I wish I had a dollar for every time one of them SPAT this one out at me): IF YOU ARE LUKEWARM, HE WILL VOMIT YOU OUT OF HIS MOUTH (and ohhh how they love that verse.)

The G.R.A.C.E. report, about the treatment of sexual abuse survivors at BJU, came out late last year and laid out BJU's sins in detail. The Greenville News (finally!) excoriated them on their editorial page (its only taken 67 years!) and the internet was abuzz with accusations and counter-accusations. I deliberately took a hands-off approach, because I have tried hard not to join the nasty internet habit (that I once had) of kicking people when they are down. That ain't nice, I decided. Give peace a chance! And so I did.

About a week later, I drove past a BJU-affiliated church here in town (they got dozens of em), amusingly positioned right across the street from some "liberal" (compared to BJU) Baptist church... and the marquee on the "liberal" church just read, simply: GRACE.

I instantly recognized this as an in-your-face gesture. Obviously, these liberal Baptists didn't expect SHIT from BJU. Hm, I thought... these Baptists know the BJU-people far better than I do. And I decided this was NOT a good sign.

The liberal Baptists called it. Credit where it is due.

Stephen Pettit has finally spoken. Its mostly in the Christian vernacular, so some of you may have trouble understanding it. I will therefore translate into standard American English that you will easily understand:

FUCK YOU.

Yes, that is the gist of Pettit's speech, one long, gooey preacher-boy, grinning FUCK YOU.

I have not actually decided if this is one loooooong fuck you, which would be FUUUUUUUUCK YOOOOOU!!!!! -- or is it a series of small, nasty little fuck yous?

Make no mistake though. It is a big, giant, brazen, nasty, vicious FUCK YOU.

Amen.

~*~

G.R.A.C.E. stands for Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment.

I like the acronym and the name, because it reminds me of one of Christianity's greatest moral strengths: in humbling ourselves to admit our faults and face our mistakes, we are granted grace. Everything changes, everything is made new. It takes GRACE to admit you are wrong, GRACE to admit you need help. And in doing so, the light dawns, the clouds clear.

The old hymn AMAZING GRACE sums it up: I was blind but now I see.

In other words, preacher Pettit, you had an incredible opportunity given to you, an opportunity for what you claim to want: GOD's GRACE. This was your chance. You could have stood up, taken a deep breath and apologized. You could have. I was hopeful that this crisis might make a lasting impact. Like we used to say in Alcoholics Anonymous, you were provided with a priceless, clear MOMENT OF CLARITY. These moments, these realizations are usually regarded as GIFTS from God, in most religious traditions. This is the meaning of the acronym G.R.A.C.E., which I thought meant you might actually PAY ATTENTION this time, and do the right thing.

Ha. Dream on.

In the weeks that followed the release of the report, The Greenville News talked with one of the survivors, blogger Cathy Harris. I was so profoundly disgusted by this article, I went on the radio and announced the Margaret White award was imminent, and I would be taking nominees. "But so far," I said, "there isn't any contest."

WHAT made me decide on Margaret White?

THIS PASSAGE:

[BJU counselor Jim] Berg also asked whether [Cathy Harris] felt any pleasure during any of the [childhood sexual] abuse and, if she did, she needed to repent, she said.

During one session, she said Berg told her he wanted to do a trust exercise. He pulled a rat trap from his desk, set the hammer and put a pencil on it. The trap broke the pencil into pieces.

She said he then told her to put her finger on the trap. When she refused, he got angry and put another pencil in. The trap did not snap shut.

If she couldn't trust the people God put over her, how could she trust God? she recalls him asking.

"I kept being told how unspiritual I was," she said.

The counseling ended when he told her he couldn't help her and God couldn't help her either.

"His counseling was more harmful than the abuse," she told The News.

In his interview with GRACE, Berg acknowledged that his counseling was often hurried due to his heavy workload and that he did not have extensive training in counseling sexual abuse victims. He said he did not know until 1992 that South Carolina had a law that required certain professionals, including educators, to report abuse, despite the law having been passed in the 1970s.

Really? Because *I* knew, and I think most people know, due to LAW AND ORDER SVU reruns... which I forgot, they are not allowed to watch over there.

That finger-in-the-rat-trap game is something worthy of Carrie's mom, doncha think? (ASIDE: Cathy, if this scene ends up in a horror movie, as it surely will, you could probably sue for copyright violation and make some bucks.)

This passage, Cathy Harris' harrowing horror-movie counseling session, is like Bette Davis serving Joan Crawford a rat for dinner in WHATEVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE; it is definitely in the same neighborhood as Margaret White yelling that Eve was weak! Eve was weak!

~*~

Stephen, if you ever want this done up properly, let me know. We might be able to take some donations and rustle something up, like a plaque, certificate or whatever, you know, for your wall. I am sure you are proud of this award and will want to show everyone, so I will do my best to make it pretty. I mean, you do want to impress your new right-wing politician friends, doncha?
Congratulations!

Just remember something.

The end of the film instructs us: "Carrie White burns in hell."

And whose fault was that? Will Margaret White burn there too, for driving her daughter crazy? I think that's an easy call, even for you.

Take heed and repent, Pettit.

~*~

Warnings for graphic violence, probable heresy and so on.



You knew I couldn't resist posting that... dirty pillows at 20 seconds!

~*~

NOTES

1) Please see Camille Lewis' refutation of Pettit's lies/fuck yous. As usual, Camille is the go-to on this subject, as one who knows where all the bodies are buried.

2) All photos in this post are from THE ORIGINAL Brian DePalma version of Carrie--except no substitutes, especially inferior remakes of perfect horror movies.

Unbelievably, I started writing this just as AMC decided to show CARRIE, which I take as a sign of divine intervention, just so I could get some good shots.

GRACE investigation outcome rocks Bob Jones University to its foundations

After much gnashing of teeth, inside-intrigue and at least one publicly-threatened cancellation, the investigation of Bob Jones University by the independent religious organization called GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) has at last concluded. (pdf file here)

It was officially presented last week, and the Baptist community of upstate South Carolina was promptly thrown into convulsions.

There is nothing in this report that would surprise followers of religious fundamentalism, or those who intimately know how deep-fundamentalism works on the psyche. I first heard stories about how Bob Jones University shames victims of sexual assault, when I arrived in Greenville over 26 years ago and attended AA meetings here. Women who abuse alcohol make excellent victims, and I heard about the shaming of these women (for both drinking and then for having been victimized), up close and personal... over and over.

It has taken all this time for these stories to come to light.

The tales were rampant, and yet, I didn't really understand the authority of BJU and how these places work psychologically. Can't you just leave?!-- I would ask them, uncomprehending.

I might as well be asking the Amish to leave. I think that's a good comparison for the lack of preparation young fundamentalists (often homeschooled) have for the real world. They are frequently very unworldly, confused, overprotected, sheltered... again, the perfect victims, who will stay silent. And so they have.

Until now.

The much-awaited report came out last week. There are now several follow-ups from the Greenville News, suggesting legal action is not out of the question. (More here and here.) And hey, let's count it as a small miracle and nothing short of AMAZING that the once-reticent Greenville News is finally getting with the program. This is the same Greenville News that studiously and deliberately IGNORED all reports of questionable, hinky behavior from BJU since I first started reading it. As I have complained countless times, our local paper of record mostly talks about how WONDERFUL Bob Jones University is; lots of special-interest stories about alumni and their opinions, business ventures, gardens, whatever... not to mention their super-duper Arts Department, Music Department ... just one long GUSH GUSH GUSH.... you'd think it was freaking Oxford, the way they have constantly extolled the virtues of the place.

Sometimes I have felt like the Greenville News is one long combo education/travel brochure advertising Bob Jones University.

Well, not this week. A editorial gives them what-for, in no uncertain terms:

Bob Jones University will be challenged over the next few months to prove it truly understands the devastating nature of the findings from a two-year investigation into how the school for decades handled reports of sexual abuse on and off the campus. The school's response will demonstrate whether it is committed to helping vulnerable people failed by school leaders who handled sexual abuse disclosures in a manner that for many victims deepened their pain and stalled or made impossible their efforts to recover from traumatic experiences.

GRACE began its long-awaited, 301-page report that was released Thursday with a compliment to BJU for taking a "bold step forward" to examine "how it may have caused deep hurt in the lives of students who had suffered from the ravages of sexual assault." GRACE is a self-identified Christian organization based in Lynchburg, Virginia, and its full name is Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment. BJU under former President Stephen Jones does deserve credit for undertaking the independent GRACE investigation and agreeing to make public its findings.

Others deserve even more praise, however, and that includes the former students who have forced the university to acknowledge and address its failures when it comes to how allegations of sexual abuse were handled. Former students and even some current ones recognized the injustice that has taken place and have refused to back down even in the face of criticism and some hostility. The courage displayed by alumni and former students who insisted on the GRACE investigation is even surpassed by that required of the sexual abuse victims who participated in this study. They are the heroes here for agreeing to share their stories of the original abuse and then the revictimization that followed as they were struggling to deal with what had happened to them.

The two-year investigation produced an unflinching report into how BJU failed to provide a safe environment where students could seek help and begin the healing process after they arrived on campus dealing with childhood sexual abuse or were assaulted during their student years. Part of the investigation included a confidential survey, and in it more than 60 percent of the self-identified abuse victims who responded said the college's attitude toward victims was one "of blame and disparagement."

One of the most damaging findings was that key college leaders were slow, by decades, to understand their legal requirement to report alleged sexual abuse in many cases. Laws were developed more than four decades ago, and refined and sharpened over the years, to require adults in positions of authority to protect innocent children who are being abused. It is absolutely appropriate for Solicitor Walt Wilkins to begin his own investigation, which was announced Friday, into the way BJU handled the sexual abuse reports.

Wilkins has an opportunity to put an exclamation point on the brutal report by holding BJU officials accountable if his investigation finds violations of legal requirements to report sexual abuse. "If they were convincing individuals not to report crimes that could be considered obstruction of justice," Wilkins told Greenville News reporter Lyn Riddle. "We need to see if it rises to that level."

One key finding of the GRACE report stated, "The survey findings support a possible conclusion that BJU representatives may have sometimes discouraged the reporting of sexual crimes to the proper authorities." Although school officials have reported a different interpretation of some comments or counseling advice, some victims said they were told the abusers should be forgiven and not reported to law enforcement authorities, and that they would be selfish if they shared their experience with others and in doing so hurt the school.

Victims also reported how they were made to feel ashamed for what had happened to them, and they came away from sermons or counseling sessions thinking they had contributed to the abuse. "Women and girls were taught they must 'confess' the part of sexual abuse they enjoyed, that they probably enticed the abuser," was among the viewpoints expressed.

One victim reported she was abused by her grandfather from the ages of 6-14, according to the GRACE report. When she went for counseling, she later reported being asked, "Did you repent for your part of the abuse? Did your body respond favorably?"

Daisy interjects: OH GROSS.

Two school leaders were held out for especially strong criticism in the GRACE report: Bob Jones III, who led the school for many of the years covered by the investigation, and Dr. Jim Berg, dean of students during much of the period covered by the investigation and the man, who with an educational background in theology, helped develop the counseling program for students.

The GRACE study led to a number of recommendations, some already implemented, that include timely reporting of suspected abuse, a recognition that victims should never be blamed for abuse or assault, and an agreement to separate counseling services from the disciplinary process.

BJU President Steve Pettit and others who hold the university dear to their hearts now carry the burden of implementing GRACE report recommendations, trying to salvage the school's reputation, and reaching out to vulnerable people hurt first by their abuser and again by how their confidence was betrayed and their case mismanaged. There's more the school should do, too.

The extraordinarily damaging views about abuse that were uncovered in the GRACE report have hurt more than the victims who participated in this investigation. Those views were shared over the years with young men going into the ministry, with students preparing to be teachers or counselors, and with boys and girls who now have their own children who are venturing into a world that can be unsafe and downright cruel. A step toward redemption should include BJU's heartfelt and comprehensive effort to make its closest allies understand how much horribly wrong information was spread for many years and how critically important it is to change a fundamentally flawed view of sexual abuse.

I really can't add anything to that. I am proud of them for finally saying it.

And for my part, I wanted to rip the BJU administration a new one, but I figure I will save that for the radio tonight. (TUNE INTO WOLI AM/FM, listen live at 8pm!) But more than that... I have had an epiphany. (Kevin Spacey voice: I hate when that happens.)

The people who have given me so much grief over the years? These Bob Jones mavens who have written me up on the job and started fights about Jaysus (credit to Tom Wolfe for spelling) and made pests of themselves at the Black Sabbath concert and at the bookstore where I worked??? I now see that many were suffering. Perhaps, suffering greatly, and directing this pain outward was what they were taught to do, the only way they knew how to cope. And there I was, an available target.

Not unlike the way THEY were an available target.

And so, the pain is passed on.

I have decided not to do that this time. I want to be better than that.

It is my hope that fundamentalists will learn from this, that they have plenty of problems of their own to deal with, and they should probably stop pointing at other people and deal with themselves. I think plenty of people have figured this out in the past week--maybe more than I ever believed possible. And for all of you, I offer an olive branch. (holds up two fingers) PEACE!

Please speak out and share. And organize for change. My love to you all at this difficult time.


~*~

EDIT #1: One person already speaking out, sharing and providing excellent analysis is survivor Dani Kelley, who is doing a series on the GRACE report. Please check out her blog.

EDIT #2: My friend Camille Lewis offers some inside-baseball on the situation, for all of us to peruse: Bob Jones University rewrites recent history to ward off federal investigation, PART ONE and PART TWO. (The timeline featured in PART TWO, is indispensable for those who want the step-by-step of how the investigation came to be.)

Stephen Jones resigns as Bob Jones University president

Stephen Jones is resigning as president of Bob Jones University, according to our ever-worshipful Greenville News.



Jones, son of Bob Jones III and empty suit, supposedly suffers from bad health (and yet has no trouble sneaking up to North Carolina to see popular movies that BJU-students-and-affiliates are not permitted to watch locally). And so he must depart.

The rapidly-sinking popularity of Bob Jones University might have something to do with his exit, although of course this fact isn't mentioned in the story. That wouldn't be NICE, and the Greenville News is always always always extremely NICE when it comes to our local cult, to the point of refusing to investigate scandals. (see last link)

From the Greenville News:

Bob Jones University President Stephen Jones plans to resign, the school said Friday, citing health issues.

The university said in a statement Jones submitted his resignation at the regular meeting of the BJU Board of Trustees.

“The persistence of my health issues over the last three years is preventing me from providing the leadership the University needs at this time and prompted my personal decision to resign,” Jones, 43, said in a statement.

“The BJU mission is more important than I. Serving the BJU family for over eight years has been one of the great gifts of God to my wife and me, and I am looking forward to serving here in whatever new role God has for me.”

A university spokesman said Jones declined to be interviewed.

Larry Jackson, chairman of the university trustees, said the board accepted his resignation as president effective at the end of commencement, May 9, 2014.

“The Board fully understands the effects of Dr. Jones’ continuing health issues as they relate to the demands of the position,” Jackson said, “and we appreciate his leadership in giving priority to the mission of the University. The Board is grateful for his significant contributions to the ministry of BJU, his dedication to its mission and his love for the faculty, staff and students during his tenure as president.”

In a statement, school officials said trustees will immediately establish a search committee to identify candidates for president and “will prayerfully fill the position as soon as God leads us to a qualified person.”

“The Board of Trustees is completely committed to the historic position and mission of Bob Jones University and to maintaining the University’s firm stand on the absolute authority of Scripture,” Jackson said. “The board will seek a new president equally committed to our mission and biblical position.”

And as we know, Bob Jones IV, who was next in line before Stephen, was mysteriously passed over. Nobody will ever tell us why. (I figure its the same reason older brother Fredo was passed over, in favor of Michael Corleone: "Fredo has a good heart, but he's weak and he's stupid.")

Of course, we're all ready to hear the reason BJIV has been excluded from Apostolic Succession by his father, Bob Jones III (known as "triple-sticks" by some of the former-faithful). But take my word for it, we won't be getting any reasons, which means we can go ahead and fill in our own. I think one possible reason is that BJIV went to Notre Dame (that is to say, a REAL college, not a fake one, like BJU). After preaching against the Catholic Church for decades, Bob Jones III actually paid for his oldest son to attend Notre Dame! The money of the anti-Catholic faithful going straight to "the flagship Catholic University of North America" -- is that some nerve or what? Years ago, I discovered when the fundamentalist zealots periodically invaded the Catholic bookstore (where I used to work), all cranked up on Jonathan Edwards and ready to rumble, all I had to do was ask how they felt about their money going to Notre Dame so that Bob Jones IV could have a REAL education? Why didn't he just go to BJU? Notre Dame MUST be a better school, I protested, or Bob Jones wouldn't want his progeny attending, now would he?!?

I loved how the BJU-fundies would turn almost crimson whenever I brought up this forbidden topic. (Of course, they are not allowed to criticize The Founder or anyone related to him.) But I also noticed that they seemed to be holding back. There was obviously MORE to the story, and (unfortunately for us dedicated scandal-mongers) they didn't want to share it. In the above-linked story, they claim BJIV is working for WORLD magazine, although my spies tell me he has not been on the staff for many years.

So keep in mind, you're only getting a partial version of the truth, and uncomfortable facts are routinely dropped down the memory hole. Every story about BJU is only partial. We will only learn the whole truth after the place totally implodes. The obedient Greenville News takes its marching orders from BJU, even more than they do from the local Republican Party, and yes, there is a predictably heavy, heavy overlap.

The Greenville News has never, ever done any investigative journalism on the many abuses that have taken place at BJU over the years. ZIP. For example, in the above-linked account, we get this:

Last year, after several former and current BJU students and faculty protested the way the school had handled sex abuse allegations on campus, university officials said they contracted with GRACE, or Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment, for “an open and objective analysis.”

A final report should be issued early next year, according to officials from Lynchburg, Va.-based GRACE and BJU.

Note that none of this was initially covered by our local newspaper of record. We finally get this defanged, tepid account A YEAR LATER. (more details here and here)

Chances are, we are only getting a small fraction of the story and the real reasons for 1) Stephen Jones being installed as president of BJU in the first place (as the article makes clear, he didn't want the job) and 2) his upcoming departure.

And I wonder who the first non-related president of Bob Jones University will be? Can anyone be as perfect as blood relatives of The Founder? This is obviously a crisis in the House of Jones.

Let's hope it is one more chapter in the slo-mo disintegration of the cult.

Comments welcome. Bob Jones University-apologists will be harshly dealt with, so no whining that you weren't warned.

Day of the Dead links

At left: I celebrated Samhain with the pagan community at Greenville Unitarian-Universalist Fellowship (known as GUUF). It was wonderful!



I always loved the Christian rituals at this time of year, so its nice to know I can find working alternatives.

Hope your Halloween was fun. (PS: here are my adorable grandbabies in costume!)

~*~








Occupy the Microphone:

Our Wednesday radio show was probably the best one this week, featuring Mary Olsen of Nuclear Information Resource Service. Have a listen!

Thursday's show: Senator Lindsey Graham's stock takes a nose dive in polls

Friday's show: Did the US government know before or after the Israelis attacked Syria?

Remember, you can listen to us on livestream every weekday, LIVE AT FIVE! (And if you'd like to donate your spare change to us, please go HERE.)

~*~

Random Links:

:: 11 signs you might be an MRA (Men's Rights Advocate). Although this was posted earlier this year, I just came across it... and this certainly rings true for all of my online brawling.

:: How the religious right won: Birth of the fundamentalists, in our modern times (Salon) is excerpted from Molly Worthen's upcoming book, titled Apostles of Reason: The Crisis of Authority in American Evangelicalism. Excellent history and analysis, highly recommended, and I am hoping to read the entire book soon.

From the piece:

The decisive battles over the meaning and role of the Bible in modern society [in the 70s and 80s] did not, primarily, unfold in the form of dueling proof texts or Sunday pulpit ripostes, but in skirmishes for control of the machinery of intellectual authority: seminaries, missions boards, denominational presses, and authorized church history. The personal magnetism of gurus was not sufficient to stanch the secularist tide. Just as thousands of volunteers at Billy Graham’s crusades worked to settle new converts into local churches before their enthusiasm could evaporate, conservative activists knew that the fervor wandering sages left in their wake would fizzle unless channeled into institutions and sustained by an infrastructure built to teach and train future generations.

Worthen provides an in-depth account of exactly how the fundies took over the various Protestant denominations from within. And it's some fascinating history:

Historically, Southern Baptists have opposed the idea of creeds: formal statements of doctrine to which all members of a church must subscribe. Every Baptist is expected to articulate his beliefs for himself. The principle of “soul liberty” or “soul competency” means that each believer is accountable to no one but God. Few principles, however, are absolute in reality. Early Baptists approved confessions that reflected consensus and set boundaries for acceptable beliefs, although they did not recite them in worship. Southern Baptists, alarmed by Darwinism’s challenge to traditional interpretations of the Bible, adopted a “Faith and Message” in 1925 declaring their belief that God created man “as recorded in Genesis.” The convention elaborated on this statement in 1963 after seminary professor Ralph Elliott roiled Southern Baptists by advocating a nonliteral reading of the creation story in his book The Message of Genesis. The [Southern Baptist Convention] emphasized the “proper balance between academic freedom and academic responsibility” in Christian education, but reiterated the fallible nature of any doctrinal statement, the possibility for future revision, and the importance of soul competency.

Conservatives began to suspect that the historic Baptist resistance to creeds provided cover for heterodox interpretation of essential doctrines. They pushed for traditionalist revisions and more rigorous enforcement of statements of faith at the denomination’s seminaries and colleges, and even agitated for emendation of the Baptist Faith and Message. Creeds, far from threatening the Baptist way, were the only way to preserve it.

If you are interested in the history of Christianity (and specifically, how the biblical-literalists took over everything), this is a great read.

And it explains so much.

:: Check out Paul Krugman's New York Times column titled, A War on the Poor:

John Kasich, the Republican governor of Ohio, has done some surprising things lately. First, he did an end run around his state’s Legislature — controlled by his own party — to proceed with the federally funded expansion of Medicaid that is an important piece of Obamacare. Then, defending his action, he let loose on his political allies, declaring, “I’m concerned about the fact there seems to be a war on the poor. That, if you’re poor, somehow you’re shiftless and lazy.”

Obviously Mr. Kasich isn’t the first to make this observation. But the fact that it’s coming from a Republican in good standing (although maybe not anymore), indeed someone who used to be known as a conservative firebrand, is telling. Republican hostility toward the poor and unfortunate has now reached such a fever pitch that the party doesn’t really stand for anything else — and only willfully blind observers can fail to see that reality.

Read it all.

:: Jonathan Chait explains Why Letting Everyone Keep Their Health-Care Plan Is a Terrible Idea. (New York magazine)

:: Your Day of the Dead dose of cute comes from sweet Harley, all dressed up in a Hello Kitty costume. Adorable!

:: Your spiritual-reading assignment: A Journey from Humiliation to Humility, by Corrado Pensa:

Humiliation is not auto­­matically present; it gets fabri­cated by the ego. We have a choice. We can get into the old habit of fab­ri­cating suffering, or we can stop and watch. Can we lit­erally sit still in the tiny con­traction that we ex­perience, in face of that person who never smiles back at us? ‘Never’ means ‘every time’. ‘Every time’ means ‘a number of opportunities’. Are we going to use those opportunities? Or are we going to consider them irrelevant, minor?

Maybe it is the end of a long day. We are tired and our feet hurt. Can we focus on this fact instead of drifting into wanting and aversion? Can we be gently aware of the range of physical sensations as well as the range of reactions? This is such a wise use of time. But it can just slip through our fingers. We can con­stantly think that we have something more important to do.

~*~

I took some artsy photos in a car wash and I also updated my Flickr page, so yall come over and see my purty pics.

Have a great Day of the Dead/All Souls Day.

Bob Jones University's MACBETH witches wear dreadlocks

Above, the three witches of MACBETH, sporting dreadlocks.

Today on Occupy the Microphone, we discussed Bob Jones University's newest production of MACBETH, which got a gushing (and what other kind is there?) endorsement from Sunday's worshipful GREENVILLE NEWS. As I have complained before (about a half-million times), the GREENVILLE NEWS has never ever criticized Bob Jones University, even when they appoint professional rape-apologists to their board, or suspend students for watching GLEE. As I have also said, they don't even print Letters to the Editors critical of BJU; segregation, racism, sexism, homophobia, students not being able to face their accusers, long-time faculty railroaded out of jobs because they state on internet forums that they don't like corporal punishment, etc... it's all peachy keen and wholesome as the dickens.

My all-time favorite GREENVILLE NEWS editorial (re: the aforementioned BJU scandal about the rape-excuser on the board) actually stated, "Whatever account is most accurate" (!)--which completely sums up the hands-off approach always applied to Bob Jones University, in which the words "investigative journalism" have absolutely no meaning.

What makes no sense is how the GREENVILLE NEWS obviously wants the big movers and shakers to relocate here; they want the international money-men to colonize Greenville even more than they have already. Do they understand that championing such an awful, embarrassing, oppressive institution is NOT the way to do this? Why not cut to the chase and simply print a banner headline advertising: GREENVILLE UNRESERVEDLY LOVES FUNDAMENTALIST WACKOS? I mean, if you are going to continue to rave about the wonderfulness of BJU without alluding to its repressive history (as well as its repressive present), that IS how it reads.

To name only the most recent example, the goofy, incorrect, thoroughly unscientific craziness in Bob Jones University's homeschool textbooks recently made the media rounds, singled out as an example of redneck stupidity and an occasion of extended hilarity on all the major networks. This craziness included rehabbing the kkk, who really were just misunderstood doncha know:

“[The Ku Klux] Klan in some areas of the country tried to be a means of reform, fighting the decline in morality and using the symbol of the cross. Klan targets were bootleggers, wife-beaters, and immoral movies. In some communities it achieved a certain respectability as it worked with politicians.”—United States History for Christian Schools, 3rd ed., Bob Jones University Press, 2001

And making sure students understand that slavery wasn't all bad:

“A few slave holders were undeniably cruel. Examples of slaves beaten to death were not common, neither were they unknown. The majority of slave holders treated their slaves well.”—United States History for Christian Schools, 2nd ed., Bob Jones University Press, 1991

And you probably didn't know that dinosaurs and humans lived side by side?:

“Bible-believing Christians cannot accept any evolutionary interpretation. Dinosaurs and humans were definitely on the earth at the same time and may have even lived side by side within the past few thousand years.”—Life Science, 3rd ed., Bob Jones University Press, 2007

In addition, fire-breathing dragons might be real, just like on GAME OF THRONES!:

“[Is] it possible that a fire-breathing animal really existed? Today some scientists are saying yes. They have found large chambers in certain dinosaur skulls…The large skull chambers could have contained special chemical-producing glands. When the animal forced the chemicals out of its mouth or nose, these substances may have combined and produced fire and smoke.”—Life Science, 3rd ed., Bob Jones University Press, 2007

And yes, unfortunately, I could go on. Further, Bob Jones University is one of the major suppliers of homeschooling textbooks worldwide ... and they make a lot of their money from this crackpot stuff.

But don't expect any criticism of this goofiness from our local newspaper of record. Not. One. Peep.

Maybe that's the worst part of it: The GREENVILLE NEWS is still pretending the place is a real school, instead of a fundamentalist cult. And this has the overall effect of making us all look like yahoos, every time we pick up their newspaper.

~*~

And so, the MACBETH production, like everything else at BJU, was deemed an unqualified success in the Sunday GREENVILLE NEWS account. But when I saw the photos of the three actresses playing the famous three witches in MACBETH, I was somewhat alarmed (but never surprised, considering who we are talking about) that their hair is all in dreadlocks.

What? (double-take)

Dreadlocks. DREAD. LOCKS.

Keep in mind that witches, to BJU, are real enough that they do not even allow their students to read the Harry Potter novels. Witches are unambiguously regarded as evil, satanic, bad. Thus, we must wonder why they consider dreadlocks specifically something that witches would wear? Why would they think that? I doubt anyone in Scotland in 1057 AD wore dreadlocks, know what I mean? But here in Greenville in 2013, who DOES wear them?

Think about that.

African Americans and white hippie pagan weirdos. You know, the evil people. In fact, it is African drumming that makes rock music uniquely evil and satanic, in case you didn't know. Things from AFRICA are automatically suspect in BJU-circles. (Interracial dating was prohibited on campus until 2000.)

And so, we have to ask, what do the dreadlocks on witches mean in this context? Was this an openly-racist decision by the wardrobe department, or as Sheila Jackson, my caller on today's radio show, said, is this "subliminal"? Are they aware of the implications of singling out a hairstyle associated with African-Americans and Afrocentric religion (the Rastafarians) and assigning this iconic hairstyle to the most famous trio of spell-casting witches in literary history?

Either way, it stinks... and it illustrates how backward and embarrassing they are, besides.

I am reminded of the many 70s productions of "Jesus Christ Superstar" that cast King Herod as a flaming gay man surrounded by an interracial group of gender-benders. Um, what was THAT supposed to mean? (And I think we can easily see that now, can't we?)

The difference, of course, would be that these productions of "Jesus Christ Superstar" are from about four decades ago... and BJU's dreadlocked MACBETH witches are from RIGHT NOW.

Yes, four decades behind. That's about right.

Another Bob Jones University sex scandal

From WSPA--Bob Jones Administrator Suspended For Soliciting A Prostitute In 1991

Greenville, SC - An administrator with Bob Jones University has been indefinitely suspended from his position for having a prior criminal background.

University spokesman Randy Page issued a statement saying that Dr. Joseph Bartosch was suspended from his position as Chief Brand Officer on Friday, March 15 by school officials. Page states that school officials learned on the same day that Bartosch had been charged with soliciting a prostitute in another state two decades ago and prior to his employment with Bob Jones University.

Bartosch confirmed the allegations to school officials and put himself at their disposal, Page stated. School officials will gather facts about the incident and reach an appropriate decision as soon as possible about Bartosch's employment status.

According to online records obtained from the Superior Court of California, Bartosch was arrested and charged with misdemeanor solicitation of a prostitute in 1991. The records indicate he served three days in jail and was later sentenced to three years of probation.

Bartosch's biography indicates that he graduated from Bob Jones University in 1982 and joined the Administration in 2012. He finished with a Master of Counseling degree in 2006 and an EdD in Curriculum and Instruction in 2007. He lived in Sacramento from 1990-2004 and was Head Master at Sacramento Preparatory Academy.

The official statement from BJU can be read HERE. If you wanna listen to edifying sermons by the fascinating Dr Bartosch, they are HERE.

This new sex-scandal comes directly on the heels of multiple scandals plaguing the school since the 2011-12 academic year, during which rape-apologist Reverend Charles Phelps resigned from the BJU board, amid protests, outrage and general disgust. Accompanying this media-foofaraw, student Christopher Peterman organized a demonstration in support of sexual abuse survivors, and was summarily tossed out of BJU, just a few days before his graduation... supposedly for watching "GLEE" on his laptop. This incident made it to CNN and beyond.

After that blew over, more or less, there were alarming accounts of sexual assaults at Bob Jones University, made public and demanding immediate follow-up. On January 10th of this year, BJU called on a non-profit Christian outfit called GRACE (Godly Response to Abuse in the Christian Environment) to do an independent, third-party investigation. This investigation/inquiry will continue until April 30th. However, it seems to be proceeding in the usual BJU-half-assed manner; although the school dutifully posted this info on their website, it is benignly-labeled a review rather than an investigation. In addition, they haven't alerted students and former students, nor parents, faculty, staff or alumni, that there is a survey being actively conducted. [*see edit below]

According to multiple accounts, the BJU-admin was asked to publicly announce that there was a survey and investigation underway, but they have declined to do so. (sigh) Well, of course they have.

~*~



Minding my own business in a shopping mall, when ... YOW! Accosted by Bob Jones University yet AGAIN!

As I have said here many times, they virtually RUN the upstate.

~*~

Bob Jones University, bane of our existence here in upstate South Carolina, has reacted to recent, multiple sleazy scandals (and persistent rumors) by feverishly gussying up their image. They suddenly have billboards everywhere, featuring fresh-faced, happy kids who could be students anywhere... and these groups of laughing students/poster kids invariably include ONE STUDENT OF COLOR. ((shock)) If anything shows how hard the unrelenting criticism of the past decade has hit BJU, that might be it.

When I moved to Greenville 25 yrs ago, there were NO billboards (and what kind of worldly nonsense is THAT?) and absolutely no advertising for BJU. The overriding sentiment was, they didn't want just ANYbody attending their exclusive fundamentalist enclave. If you called the place to ask admission questions, they would not answer you. You had to be recommended by godly personages and go through specific channels. They kept the majority of people out, and they were proud of it.

When BJU finally produced some cursory mainstream ads, websites and the occasional billboard--the all-white student line-up was blinding. Embarrassing, too, since Greenville is only 62% white. Apparently, BJU didn't notice the discrepancy. It was a joke all over town. People joked that you could tell whose billboards they were from a half-mile down the road: the kids are all white, must be BJU.

They have changed that, at long last. They got the memo. (At least, in the billboards and advertising; I am doubtful the school itself has integrated in any real way.)

Next up, they sold their weird radio station (that once specialized in a strange fundie-android mix of 50s-muzak and KJV-only scripture). BJU also decided to get some SPORTS going on, which they hope will draw more students and sports fans:

[Bob Jones University] plans to become part of the National Christian College Athletic Association and have intercollegiate sports in place by the 2012-2013 school year.

"We really look at intercollegiate sports as rounding out the educational opportunities here for our students here at Bob Jones University," Brian Scoles, spokesman for the university, told WYFF. "Not only will it help them for developing Christ-like spirit on the athletic field, but it's also an opportunity for the community to come to campus to view one more program that we have here."

By next school year, Bob Jones plans to have men's and women's soccer and basketball programs. The athletic opportunities are expected to grow from there, starting in the fall of 2013.

So, they are tarting themselves up! They are getting their act together and taking it on the road.

Specifically, they are trying to pump up enrollment, which is currently dropping like a rock. Various reports (all fiercely disputed by BJU officials) claim that the school now has only a third of the enrollment it had during its pre-internet heyday.

And the fact that they can't even provide decent background-checks on their own employees, isn't going to help. Apparently, the students and food-service employees are subjected to stricter background checks than Bartosch was.

Stay tuned, sports fans.

~*~

*EDIT: 3/24 - Sometime in the last 10 - 14 days, BJU updated the front page of their website's link to the investigation page to read "G.R.A.C.E. Independent Investigation" instead of the completely dismissive and confusing "G.R.A.C.E. Initiates Review" that had been the previous link since January. (thanks to Jeffrey Hoffman for the correction!)

Boycott Chick-fil-A: "Guilty as charged"

As a vegetarian, I have no trouble avoiding Chick-fil-A. Around here, they get a lot of respect as a company that hires "nice Christian youths" to work in their restaurants. These kids are well-known for their uber-politeness and lack of tattoos. Chick-fil-A is also one of the only companies that actually refuses money and closes on the Sabbath. In addition, they help with school fund-raising and appear to be civic-minded.

These factors cause the local religious folks to respect them and consider them "serious" Christians, well worth patronizing.

I have just read Monica's blog, about Dan Cathy, Chick-fil-A president (photo at left), and his proud anti-gay crap. What particularly gripes me is the specific wording of his crap.

From the Baptist Press (and where did you expect it to come from?):

CARY, N.C. (BP) -- Dan Cathy oversees one of the country's most successful businesses. As president and chief operating officer of Chick-fil-A, Cathy leads a business with 1,608 restaurants that had sales of more than $4 billion dollars last year. They sell chicken and train employees to focus on values rooted in the Bible.

His father, S. Truett Cathy started the business in 1946, when he and his brother, Ben, opened an Atlanta diner known as The Dwarf Grill (later renamed The Dwarf House). In 1967, his father opened the first Chick-fil-A restaurant in Atlanta. Today, Chick-fil-A is the second largest quick-service chicken restaurant chain in the United States based on annual system-wide sales.

Dan Cathy's success has not erased the biblical values he learned as a child in a Baptist church. He is a warm, common man who is deeply committed to being a faithful Christian witness. And he is fully involved in New Hope Baptist Church in Fayetteville, Ga. He drives Chick-fil-A's efforts to provide genuine hospitality, ensuring that customers have an exceptional dining experience in a Chick-fil-A restaurant. Based on Matthew 5:41, Cathy is on a mission to provide customers with "second-mile" service -- exceeding even the highest expectations of a typical fast-food restaurant.

...

Some have opposed the company's support of the traditional family. "Well, guilty as charged," said Cathy when asked about the company's position.

"We are very much supportive of the family -- the biblical definition of the family unit. We are a family-owned business, a family-led business, and we are married to our first wives. We give God thanks for that.

"We operate as a family business ... our restaurants are typically led by families; some are single. We want to do anything we possibly can to strengthen families. We are very much committed to that," Cathy emphasized.

These comments have sparked a national controversy, of course, which has now spilled over into the Huffington Post and elsewhere.

Here is what pisses me off: Do they think gay people sprang from the forehead of Zeus or what?

GLBT people came from, you know, FAMILIES, like everyone else. The major implications of his bigoted remarks: gays are not part of their families-of-origin (I guess it's understood that their nice Christian parents all decided to throw them out?)... as well as denying the existence of families of GLBT people who are now grown and themselves parents. POOF, erased, in one fell swoop.

To Dan Cathy, these families simply DO NOT EXIST. In fact, GLBT people in traditional families, apparently do not exist either. Where does Cathy think they all came from, in that case?

The ignorance, it burns.

Boycott Chick-fil-A! I know, easy for me to say... however, I do like those fries as much as the next person. But I think I can do without. Fries are easy to come by. I hope the rest of you will consider the fact that a chicken sandwich is easy to obtain in a thousand other venues.

Go there instead.

Liberty University hypocrisy under spotlight

Graphic from fundamentalist Christian website The Relevant Pen. (you've been warned)






Those of us who have been repeatedly subjected to relentless Baptist proselytizing, already know the official fundamentalist/evangelical line on Mormons: No.

In fact, it has long been understood that even if Catholics are evil pagans at base, at least they believe in the Trinity. This is standard.

I have heard lots and lots of bad-mouthing of Latter Day Saints beliefs from by-the-book Protestants, much of it incorrect. I have my own Book of Mormon (you knew I did), which I hijacked long ago from a Utah motel room, and it has snazzy color pictures of Joseph Smith's tablets in it and everything. Thus, when they start all the "Mormons think this" and "Mormons believe that" business--I have gotten into the pesky habit of looking it up myself. WHERE is it, I ask them, and have even been known to plant the Book of Mormon right in front of their noses and order them to find it, please, so I can verify this information for the blog. (In the past five years, I have learned that blogging provides all kinds of handy-dandy excuses... and the offhand statement, "I'm blogging this!" can strike fear into the hearts of idiots who are blowing smoke up your ass, especially if you ask if you can quote them directly by name.)

Most fundamentalists seem afraid to touch the Book of Mormon, much less actually read it.

I have no great love for the Church of Latter Day Saints, you understand, I simply recognize bigots when I see them. And I see them all over upstate SC, Bob Jones University-land. In fact, that was the whole reason for the fuss during the 2008 election, when Bob Jones III unexpectedly endorsed Mitt Romney, angering both students and alumni. The Mormons, I have been informed many times, are not Christians.

Now of course the fundies say this about LOTS of other Christians, so it is somewhat amusing how their tone changes when it comes to Mormons: "No, REALLY, they aren't Christians!" Like that infamous boy who cried wolf, when you go around announcing nobody but you is a Christian, well... people do stop listening after awhile. If the Mormons are supposedly WORSE, it doesn't matter, does it? If you have trashed other Christian denominations endlessly, and continually give the impression that your strict sect is (they love to say this) THE REMNANT (this is usually a specific reference to Revelation 12:17) then people tune you out and assume your newest babble is simply more of the same. Since in one respect, it is.

And now, we have the fascinating spectacle of Liberty University (founded by Jerry Falwell as Lynchburg Baptist College) welcoming Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney (a Mormon in good standing, in case you didn't know) with open arms as the commencement speaker.

Wait, what? A heretic is now all cozy with the school founded by Falwell? It's as surprising as the Jones endorsement was, and just as hypocritical and obvious.

Predictably, this has upset everybody; deja vu all over again. The anger has spilled over onto (where else?) Facebook, as well as spreading like wildfire among the school's online students, who have wasted no time speaking up.

CNN reports:

After last week’s announcement, thousands of comments were registered under the announcement on Liberty’s Facebook page. While some were supportive of the decision to invite Romney, a number of respondents were angered and posted their frustration to Facebook.

As of Monday morning, the announcement was deleted from the page, along with all the comments.

“Complaints died down because they took the ability to complain down from the website,” said Janet Loeffler, a 53-year old freshman at Liberty who takes classes online. Loeffler was a frequent poster to the Facebook page.

If they don't like what you say, they just erase it.

Ah yes, the fundamentalist way.

Loeffler is royally pissed about the censorship and duplicity:

Loeffler provided CNN with a copy of the page in the freshman textbook “The Popular Encyclopedia of Apologetics” which includes a number of passages on the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, commonly called Mormons. “Mormon doctrine stands in stark contrast to Jewish and Christian monotheism,” reads the passage, “which teaches that there is only one true God and that every other ‘God’ is a false god.”

Liberty's handling of the situation "has very much altered my thinking of Liberty,” Loeffler said. “I haven’t registered for my fall classes yet because of it. I am offended that they would talk to us like that, telling us that we just don’t understand.”

Many of the anti-Liberty comments, including Loeffler’s, charged that Mormonism goes against the teachings of the school and claimed that the religion is a cult. The charge of Mormonism as a cult is not a new one for the church, however. In a 2011 column, Michael Otterson, head of public affairs for the LDS Church described the word as “a neat, shorthand and rather lazy way of putting a whole group into a box.”

The nation’s largest evangelical denomination, the Southern Baptist Conference, lists the LDS Church as a cult. They specifically cite differences in theology surrounding salvation, baptism, belief in the Trinity, and marriage. A major sticking point between other Christian traditions and Mormons is the Book of Mormon, which Mormons believe is divinely inspired scripture and on par with the Bible. Other Christians do not recognize the Book of Mormon as scripture.

And yet, Liberty has invited the most popular Mormon in the country to speak at Liberty's graduation. I guess we see that conservative POLITICS and not religion, are the important thing.

Some of us have always known this, but now, the students are getting it too.

And be advised, there are a parcel of them; they claim to be "the largest evangelical university in the world," with 82,500 students enrolled either on campus or online. Therefore a political lynch-pin of the Religious Right, a crucial whistle-stop for Romney, that he can't ignore.

This debate over Romney’s selection further tests the relationship between Mormons and evangelicals. With Romney as the presumptive nominee for the Republican Party, many political commentators are asking whether the evangelical base, an important voting bloc to the GOP, will come out for Romney.

Tony Perkins, a Liberty graduate and the president of the Family Research Council, said he sees the Romney speech as an opportunity.

"As Christians we can disagree strongly but we show respect and I think they will show respect for Mitt Romney," Perkins said on CNN's Starting Point Monday morning.

"They may not warmly applaud him and may continue to express differences and clearly there are differences theologically between Mormons and Christians, but here's an opportunity for Mitt Romney to talk about what he has in common with evangelicals and that is on the value issues," Perkins said.

But if the evangelical vote hinges on how evangelicals see Mormonism, Romney may need further outreach to the evangelical community. A recent Pew Research Center survey finds 47% of white evangelicals say that Mormonism is not a Christian religion, while 66% say Mormonism and their religion are “very or somewhat different.”

(Aside: I like how they stick that qualifier WHITE in there... they certainly understand that black Christians vote differently, but they aren't ready to go THERE just yet.)

66% ain't nothing to sneeze at. Romney has trouble. But with all the "Obama is a Muslim" nonsense, is it possible the two candidate's religious troubles will balance/cancel each other out?

Loeffler isn't having any:

“This is nothing more than a political rally, at a time when graduates are having their lives dedicated to the work they were trained to do at Liberty,” Loeffler said.

I assume it will all reach a fever-pitch right before the election. Then again, maybe they just don't care too awful much about Romney and intend to use him as a sort of GOP sacrifice.

Stay tuned. This election season might yet have a few unforeseen twists and turns.

Alyssa Clemens explains it all for you

We now turn our attention to one Alyssa Clemens, Bob Jones University graduate and Fox News Carolina photojournalist. Clemens was sent by our local Fox News affiliate, to cover Monday's demonstration at BJU. (Yes, this is what passes for objective journalism in upstate South Carolina: A BJU graduate is sent to cover an anti-BJU demonstration. Do you believe?!?) And since Clemens attended BJU's so-called "journalism school"--she sees nothing wrong with openly broadcasting her bias on Facebook.

Clemens posted the following, gloating and baiting the demonstrators:

Dear bju people: because of your personal vendettas, illogical thoughts and distorted views, I am forced to cover your silent protest. But I'm not going to paint you in the best light. Not exactly the coverage you hoped for? Tough luck. Love your local news photojournalist.

Punctuation hers, not mine. (Remember, she went to Bob Jones, so there is going to be a lack of commas and proper capitalization, etc.)

For those who think I overstate the case, this is what the upstate is like.

As I have said a million times, Bob Jones University is running the joint, and they are proud of it. There is not even the pretense of fairness. I'm sure we could find just as many BJU-grads at the Greenville News and other local news outlets. Young Alyssa, drunk on arrogance and power, simply couldn't HOLD IT IN and had to brag and gloat... but I am sure there are many others who have been able to keep quiet and calmly write their biased news accounts, without anyone knowing where they went to school. Except those of us keeping track of the enormous pro-BJU bias, of course.

Alyssa's bragging got re-posted on an anti-BJU page (question: Is she so profoundly ignorant that she thought it wouldn't be? Or was this her intention all along, as I suspect?) and the shit promptly hit the fan. I called Fox News Carolina myself and asked them what was up. Are you serious?--I asked, amazed.

I got the following reply on Wednesday from Kelly Boan, News Director at Fox News Carolina. It is dated Monday, and was sent to all of the outraged emailers and callers:

The person you contacted us about does work for WHNS, but is not a reporter. She holds an entry-level position and does not have any control over the editorial decision-making. A biased version of the story was never actually in danger of making air.

A reporter could take the footage and create a very balanced story tonight, but because of the circumstances surrounding this, I will not air it in any form tonight. No matter how balanced a reporter can make it, I fully understand that many people will still believe the FOX Carolina version is tainted because of the comments on the employee’s Facebook page. Therefore, in the interest of journalistic integrity, the story will not air tonight. We may re-visit it with a different photographer and a reporter at a later date. But, because of the emotion that the comments have sparked on both sides, tonight does not seem appropriate.

The comments on Facebook do not reflect our staff’s view on unbiased reporting. My reporting and editorial staff know and fully believe that balance and objectivity in stories is required for us to maintain credibility and respect with our audience.

Sincerely,

Kelly Boan
News Director
WHNS-TV, FOX Carolina
Office: 864-213-2200
Fax: 864-987-1219
Email: kelly.boan@foxcarolina.com

Boan, who was very forthcoming, professional and polite on the phone with me, also added this private note addressed to me:

Thank you for calling and asking for a response, rather than making assumptions about our reporting and management staff, who are the ones who actually do the writing and make the editorial decisions. I appreciate that you reached out.

The problem is not simply WHNS, but the fact that anyone would HIRE a graduate of a Dominionist school and expect them to be able to cover news. Even Fox is far too liberal for the Dominionists. The problem is that people seem unaware of exactly what Bob Jones IS. It is not simply a religious school, it is a damaging CULT. These kids are not allowed to watch TV; you know that, right? Why on Earth would you hire them to WORK for TV?

They are not permitted to watch movies or read books of their own choosing. And they are spied on to make SURE they don't. They have no knowledge of popular culture, unbiased world news or political realities. And you hire them to work for a modern news organization? It's like MTV hiring the Amish or something.

What did you EXPECT to happen?

Unbelievable.

Perhaps Alyssa is smarter than we think, and she wrote her little Facebook missive to deliberately get the unflattering news account suspended/censored? If so, it worked.

WHNS, are you happy with that?

Future employees who might Google Alyssa need to know what kind of "journalism" she majored in: Dominionist crackpot cult journalism should not be confused with real journalism.

And I have a little message of my own:

Dear Alyssa, because of your fundamentalist idiocy, confused arrogance and profound ignorance, I am forced to cover the fact that a blundering "journalist" like yourself is allowed to work for a mainstream media outlet, which is an amazing fact all by itself. You shouldn't be anywhere near actual news coverage, as you have made abundantly clear. I am forced to cover you on my radio show tomorrow as an example of what a total disaster BJU-grads are. I'm not going to paint you in the best light. Not exactly the coverage you hoped for? Tough luck. Love, your local lefty blogger.

Note placement of comma in the last sentence.

Hope you will tune in! WFIS radio, 9-10am, tomorrow morning.

Rev Charles Phelps resigns from Bob Jones University board

As I mentioned on my radio show yesterday, Reverend Chuck Phelps has resigned from the board of Bob Jones University.

As usual, our local mainstream media initially said absolutely NOTHING about this situation and it was therefore left to the bloggers to take the lead. In fact, bloggers were actually singled out as Bad Boogeyman in BJU's original, official statement about the case, which has now been yanked from their website, and ceremoniously dropped down the infamous BJU memory hole. There is now a Revised Standard Version in its place (am I funny or what?). You will note the major edits in the second statement.

High-fives all round to the other bloggers, especially intrepid Camille Lewis, for doggedly staying on the case. It is true that many bloggers have piled on, and in reply, we say, SOMEBODY HAD TO COVER THE STORY.

There has been more coverage in New Hampshire than here in South Carolina, which is just shameful.

To recap, rape-apologist Phelps was appointed to the BJU board, causing a firestorm of controversy among BJU students, alumni, and fellow-travelers, as well as long-time critics of the institution.

And now, a day late and a dollar short, the Greenville News has at last deigned to cover the controversy. I am printing this story in its entirety, since the Greenville News is not accessible to everyone.

Italics mine.

BJU trustee resigns, denies allegations
By Ron Barnett, Staff Writer

A member of Bob Jones University’s Cooperating Board of Trustees resigned Friday amid an online campaign seeking his removal over allegations about how he responded to a 1997 rape case involving two members of a church he then headed in New Hampshire — allegations that he said are untrue.

The online petition alleged that the Rev. Chuck Phelps required the rape victim, 16 at the time, to apologize to the church and linked to an ABC 20/20 report earlier this year on the case. Phelps told GreenvilleOnline.com that the accusation is false.

“I totally deny that ever happening. That did not happen,” Phelps said. “She came before the congregation and asked for the congregation’s help in a time of need, and her specific words that she wrote herself were that she had been in a compromising relationship. Those were her words.”

Phelps told GreenvilleOnline.com that he talked with the perpetrator at the time and recognized that a crime had been committed, and he reported it to the police. He referred to his website, www.drchuckphelps.com, for details and said he wouldn’t allow a teenager now to present such personal issues to the congregation.

ABC reported that Tina Anderson became pregnant after being raped twice in the summer of 1997 when she was 15 and was a babysitter for church member Ernest Willis. Records show Willis was then 38.

Attempts by GreenvilleOnline.com to reach Anderson were unsuccessful.

Anderson told the network that she was forced to confess her “sin” — that she was pregnant — in front of her Independent Fundamental Baptist congregation. At the same meeting, Willis confessed that he had been unfaithful to his wife, ABC reported.

Phelps said he is offended by the statement that he “made” Anderson stand before the church for what critics have called a “shaming.” Although she was 15 when she was raped, she was 16 at the time she made her public statement, which made her “a young adult, basically” at the time, Phelps said.

Anderson said Willis had forced himself on her in the back seat of a car while giving her driving lessons, and later at her home, 20/20 reported. Willis was convicted in May of three counts of forcible rape and a count of felonious sexual assault, ABC reported.

Phelps says he believes it was his testimony in Willis’ trial that “put him away.”

The university announced Phelps’ resignation Friday at a board meeting.

“Board Chairman, Dr. Bob Jones III, read a letter from Dr. Chuck Phelps in which Dr. Phelps voluntarily tendered his resignation from the Cooperating Board effective immediately,” the university said in a statement. “In submitting his resignation, Dr. Phelps expressed that he did not want anything to distract BJU from its mission.”

“We are grateful to Dr. Phelps for his many years of loyal service to his alma mater as a member of the board of trustees,” Jones said in the statement.

Phelps, who had been on the BJU board previously and left it when he became president of another Christian college, rejoined the board in 2009 after leaving the college job and going back to the ministry at a church in Indiana, BJU spokesman Brian Scoles said.

Phelps says he reported the crime to police but “never received any follow-up communication” from them. A spokesman for the Concord (N.H.) Police Department couldn’t be reached for comment.

The Concord Monitor reported that police said their investigation stalled because they couldn’t find the victim after she moved to Colorado to live with a family Phelps was friends with a few weeks after realizing that she was pregnant.

Phelps said the move was Anderson’s mother’s choice and that the police knew how to get in touch with her while she was there, as well as before she left New Hampshire, and on return visits.

“It is regrettable that the law enforcement community failed to follow up in a timely fashion on reports filed by me and by Tina’s mother,” Phelps wrote on his website. “Had the law enforcement community worked to provide justice for Tina in 1997 there would be no story or confusion in 2011.”

The trial judge ordered Phelps to testify about his conversations with Willis in the aftermath of Anderson’s revelation that he had impregnated her, saying they didn’t qualify as confidential communication with a pastor because Willis hadn’t come to Phelps to confess or seek counseling, The Monitor reported.

Willis has filed notice of intent to appeal the guilty verdict to the New Hampshire Supreme Court, with one of the grounds being that pastoral confidence was broken, the newspaper reported.

Phelps said the police violated his confidence in identifying him as the person who reported the rape. They “were informed by my attorney that they were potentially liable for a defamation suit and they have not said a word since, and very wisely,” Phelps said.

Several Facebook groups with hundreds of members, including some who identified themselves as part of the BJU community, sprang up when word got out that Phelps was back on the board.

BJU students who opposed Phelps being on the board created a Facebook group called Do Right BJU and said they had planned to protest by wearing red during chapel service on Dec. 12, at the end of the semester.

“A sea of red during chapel and on Facebook could help change everything!” the moderator wrote.

Phelps didn’t attend Friday’s board meeting, and no replacement for him on the board has been named, according to [Brian] Scoles, the BJU spokesman.

Phelps was one of about 100 members of BJU’s Cooperating Board, according to Scoles.

He wasn’t a member of the board’s executive committee, which makes recommendations on who sits on the larger board, Scoles said, but as a member of the cooperating board, he had a vote in setting BJU policy.

Aside: Where is resident BJU media-flunky Jonathan Pait? Anybody know? Why is this second-stringer, Scoles, being called in to deal with this shitstorm?

Hm, peculiar.

And the saga continues.

Local media blackout about Bob Jones University board scandal continues

Consider all the fuss over the Penn State scandal.

Now, imagine if one of the primary players in the cover-up was re-appointed to the board of Penn State? WHAT?--you exclaim, shocked. That could never happen.

Well, it has, here in Bob Jonesland. And there has been a total media blackout about this, locally. At least Penn State is big enough that they couldn't keep it a secret, or perhaps they would still be attempting to do that.

As many bloggers have written, our fingers numb from typing, slimy Reverend Chuck Phelps, the man ABC's 20/20 informed us made a 15-year-old rape victim stand up in church and apologize for being pregnant, has been re-appointed to the board of fundamentalist Bob Jones University. Oh, and did I mention the rapist who impregnated her had ALREADY CONFESSED to the good Reverend when this happened?

Tina Anderson's story has been covered exhaustively in many different places, and there are lots of angry alumni and petitions circulating, even as we speak. The matter of "what did Chuck Phelps know and when did he know it" -- is now going to the New Hampshire Supreme Court. And still, absolutely no word from local newspapers Greenville News, Anderson Independent Mail or Spartanburg Herald Journal. Silence. Total. And as I have written before, it has been ever thus. The Greenville News, in particular, genuflects at BJU and always has. It is nearly impossible even to get letters-to-the-editor published, if they dare to criticize Bob Jones University. So, don't expect a mere rape scandal to get covered.

And they have the gall to publish stories about Penn State? They should be ashamed of themselves. What about the scandal in their own backyard?

It isn't that the media doesn't care about covering BJU anymore; of course they do. Camille Lewis shares with us how National Journal (co-sponsors of Saturday night's Republican debate at Wofford College in Spartanburg) takes the time to tell us what Bob Jones III is thinking about the election. (Rapists? Who cares about rapists?) I notice they didn't ask BJ3 about the ongoing scandal, but then, they also sponsored a Republican debate that gave a platform to proud misogynist/serial sexual-harasser Herman Cain. I guess we really shouldn't be surprised.

Likewise, this past weekend, the Greenville News gushes about Bob Jones University doing Shakespeare's "Comedy of Errors" like it was set in the 1920s. How creative! How wonderful! (Rape-apologists on the board? What rape-apologists?) Not a single word about the scandal they are currently embroiled in, and the fact that one of their board member's actions are fodder for a state supreme court hearing about condoning the actions of a criminal.

And they wonder why some of us don't believe there is any such thing as "objective journalism"?

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The graphic for this post, comes from this post, from Debunking Christianity, which quotes at length from Bob Jones' famous defense of segregation as Biblically based. (I am told that this is one of the reasons Billy Graham didn't last at BJU and transferred out, among other reasons.)

I used this graphic since BJU's openly-racist history has also been routinely ignored by the local media.