Empathy Vs. Hate: Religion’s Dilemma

orlando_massacre

I would like to offer a moment of silence to the 50 people who were lost in the Orlando Shooting which occurred at 2 a.m. on a Sunday Morning. I also wish a quick and safe recovery for the 53 people who were injured in the tragedy and that the people responsible for this massacre be brought to justice as soon as possible so that they may not be allowed to victimize any more innocent people. Many are now calling this America’s worst tragedy since 9/11 and, indeed, it is just another testimony of how brutal and inhumane we human beings can be towards one another and it is a loss not only for those who lost loved ones there but for all of us because it means that, once again, hate seems to be a lot stronger and a lot more natural to humans than empathy and acceptance.

Yes, I’m well aware of the fact that the venue was a gay bar and yes, many of the victims were homosexuals which some of our misguided brothers and sisters tend to look down on. I have always been supportive of the LGBT community but I will also admit that I have never really been all that fond of gays, especially here in the Philippines wherein they have their own language and their humor is more annoying than anything else, but to hate them is something else altogether. And even then, why must we go so far? Why must we hate them and condemn them as less than human? Why must we hate them and rejoice when tragedies like the Orlando Shooting befalls them?

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The Orlando Shooting was planned and executed by a Muslim extremist who claimed to have allegiance with the terrorist group ISIS. A man named Omar Mateen, he was considered by his own wife to be mentally unstable and thus separated from him in 2011. All things considered, Omar Mateen was just another fool who perhaps thought he’d be famous for hurting and killing many innocent people. More likely than not, he also probably thought that people would think of him as a “hero” since gays are all too often the people targeted by hate groups similar to the one he belonged to. All too bad for the deranged terrorist when the police, who were armed with real weapons and trained to actually fight (unlike like the defenseless gays Omar was killing) came into the scene and shot him down like a bag of bricks. A life of violence can only end with a violent death after all.

However, what I cannot understand is why there are actually people out there who are even rejoicing over this terrible massacre? Just because the victims were gay, does it mean that they deserve what happened to them? Just because the attack was directed at a gay bar, does it mean that the victims were somehow less than human? And no, this isn’t just about Islamic extremism. Some of the people out there celebrating this horror are fundamental Christians who seem to be forgetting that they could just as soon be the victims of this incident and that their enthusiasm for this kind of violence makes them no better than terrorists themselves.

31 Replies to “Empathy Vs. Hate: Religion’s Dilemma”

  1. I have not seen any celebration of this terrorist attack by fundamental Christians. The celebration has been by many muslims.

    The left has turned this blame on Christians and blamed gun control.

    1. Couldn’t find the post again, but there was a collection of those tweets and status posts by people who approved of the murder of gays.

      I’m with those who say this can’t be blamed on religion only. The killer has been showing signs of instability and his intentions. Sadly, the FBI never thought of picking him up.

      1. Indeed Chino, the problem is, more often than not, we all play a part in the evils of the world through irresponsibility. Sure, religion did have something to do on the whole thing but so does the rest of society. I mean, why didn’t some of his more righteous fellow Muslims stop him?

  2. The shooting in Orlando, Florida, U.S.A., was a tragedy. It is where the EPCOT DisneyLand is just nearby. People cannot understand homosexuality. Religions condemns homosexuality. This homosexuality is an aberration of nature. It occurs on: humans; on animals; and on plants. We cannot understand this aberration of nature.

    It is plain hate and madness, that this tragedy had happened. The gunman is alleged to be mentally ill; and he swore allegiance to ISIS and Al Queda. Is the Islam religion going Crazy?

    1. U mean is the religion of peace not ” as advertised” lol.

      All religion is based around hate and fear.
      Religion has always been used to single out people of either race, gender and also belief.
      In this day and age how anyone with a functioning frontal cortex can even consider a single word from any religious text as anywhere other then a work of fiction and best left to mythology where it belongs is quite beyond my understanding.

      People massacring innocent people in the name of the so called “religion of peace” is now the new norm.
      Islam has not just recently gone crazy. For a filipino to say that with the history it has with the muslims in Mindanao, the bombings, incursions, kidnappings and executions and to ask is ” Islam going crazy” well that makes me wonder if u follow the news or your own countries history at all.

      All religion is a joke.
      Regardless but if your religion needs u to kill people for it, then start witht yourself.
      For an all powerful God that these people worship…its funny with all this power their God has that men have to do all his wars for him.
      People do have the right to believe in the friggin tooth fairy if they want, but if u have to kill for your tooth fairy then maybe its time to find a new GOD.

      1. “Whatever evil comes from you;whatever good comes from God”…it is from the Islamic Koran…

  3. Like what I have been saying, if I had my way, I would round every religious extremist in the world into one large area and have them do a battle royale, and the one whose group has the most surviving members will receive the honor and title of “Most Superior and One True Religion in the World”……

    Of course, the hidden catch is there will be no survivors. At least it not only diminished, if not totally eradicate, the number of idiots in the world, but it also served as an effective population control method as well….. >:)

  4. However, what I cannot understand is why there are actually people out there who are even rejoicing over this terrible massacre? Just because the victims were gay, does it mean that they deserve what happened to them? Just because the attack was directed at a gay bar, does it mean that the victims were somehow less than human? And no, this isn’t just about Islamic extremism. Some of the people out there celebrating this horror are fundamental Christians who seem to be forgetting that they could just as soon be the victims of this incident and that their enthusiasm for this kind of violence makes them no better than terrorists themselves.

    Simple answer: EVIL

    A more complicated answer: Extremely incompatible cultures being forced to coexist with one another.

    Why do they happen? Because there are simply do-gooders out there who insist that they know more than the rest of us on how society should be. So they experiment with lots of peoples lives.

  5. We think we’ve come so far. Torture of heretics, burning of witches, is all ancient history. Then, before you can blink an eye, suddenly, it threatens to start all over again.

    Villains who twirl their moustaches are easy to spot. Those who clothe themselves in good deeds are well-camouflaged.

    But he/she, or someone like him/her, will always be with us. Waiting for the right climate in which to flourish, spreading fear in the name of righteousness.

    Vigilance, my friends. That is the price we must continually pay.

      1. Grimwald, it is a stereotype in movies (especially in fiction) wherein the Villain twirls his mustache

  6. Hate is more common in organized religion than empathy. Once you start preaching your congregation is the only one that’ll be saved, that’s basically it. Might as well hold initition rites like your average thug fraternity once you join a religious congregation. Nuff said.

  7. It is like the one of the local catholic priest preaching about the president elect as evil so everyone should be wary.

    And all the pinoy fliptards say amen!

  8. Omar Mateen, the Orlando Islamic radical murderer, was himself, have some Gay tendencies. His former wife, told reporters, he was a closet homosexual. Other patrons of the Pulse Gay Bar, told reporters; they saw, Omar Mateen, sometimes come frequently to the Pulse Gay Bar.

    Omar Mateen, was laughing as he killed those innocent people. And was shouting: “God is great”…I am glad that I do not attach myself to any Organized Religion. If this is the way, we worship and satisfy God; by murdering innocent people. I rather not belong to any Organize religion, at all.

  9. There is really no dilemma here. Hate is prerequisite of every ideology and culture.

    The quest to eradicate hate is a fool’s errand.

  10. We should not tolerate the intolerant who break the moral imperative of the Golden Rule in its negative form which is not to do on others what we do not want others done on us.

    Those who do not believe and do not practice the moral imperative of the negative form of the Golden Rule should be meted the Putin Recipe regardless how sacred their religious belief to them.

    For those who kill people and themselves for a chance of waiting dozen of virgins in the afterlife as a reward for their belief, chopping their penises like “sisig” should be most appropriate deterrent act of every reasonable person. No Mercy to the unreasonable !!!

  11. I’m Eastern European. We were conquered and colonized by an Islamic Empire for hundreds of years. It gave us a lesson about the teachings of the Qur’an and what it means to be infidel dogs. We learned that Islam along with Communism and Nazism is as evil as it gets. We build fences on our borders to keep the Muslim invaders out. Seeing what’s going on in Western Europe and the USA we are confident that once again we are the bastion of traditional Christian European culture.

    1. @Atilla:

      I thought Atilla the Hun, kept invaders away, by putting spiked heads of slain enemies, on his borders….

      Hungary was part of the Ottoman Empire. Then, came the German Nazis. Lastly, Joseff Stalin, with his Gulags…what is next? ISIS?

    2. I’m Filipino but I grew up around Eastern Europeans. They were by far the friendliest people and most genuine Christians I have ever met. I have to agree they are really the only ones keeping the faith and staying true to it. There are Christian revivals taking place in Poland, Hungary, Croatia, Serbia, Romania, Albania, Russia, etc. and I have heard talks of the return of the Christian monarchies in these countries. This is a good thing in order to stand up against the ills of Jihadism, Zionism, and Atheism that are slowly disintegrating Europe. I hope this catches on with the rest of Western civilization.

      1. staser,

        “They were by far the friendliest people and most genuine Christians I have ever met.”

        Then you haven’t met enough “genuine” Fliptards who are too aristocratic (arrogant) and self-serving (selfish) for their own good. Spend about a year in the Failippines and you’ll see what a “genuine” Fliptard really is.

        Aeta

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