Kieffe & Sons: Sit Down & Shut Up

This appeared on my livejournal friends list originally, but its from The Consumrist. Apparently a Ford dealership in California – Kieffe & Sons – has been running this lovely ad for almost five months now.

Did you know that there are people in this country who want prayer out of schools, “Under God” out of the Pledge, and “In God We Trust” to be taken off our money?

But did you know that 86% of Americans say they believe in God? Now, since we all know that 86 out of every 100 of us are Christians who believe in God, we at Kieffe & Sons Ford wonder why we don’t just tell the other 14% to sit down and shut up. I guess maybe I just offended 14% of the people who are listening to this message. Well, if that is the case, then I say that’s tough, this is America folks, it’s called free speech. And none of us at Kieffe & Sons Ford are afraid to speak up. Kieffe & Sons Ford on Sierra Highway in Mojave and Rosamond: if we don’t see you today, by the grace of God, we’ll be here tomorrow.

I don’t even know how to respond to this one considering 21% of California is non-religious. I think that they are the second largest group as far as religious demographics go, actually. I’m sure that 21% of the consumers you just alienated can just take their business elsewhere? On top of just that spectacular trainwreck, you just assumed that the rest of 86% are Christians? What about the Jews? Muslims? Polytheistic religions even? Oh man, there’s a phrase on the part of the internet I hail from that best describes this: EPIC FAILURE.

There’s another saying I’m always told, “Just sit back and watch people sink themselves. Sometimes you wish you had popcorn!” Pretty accurate! Sadly frequent.

Moral of the story: If you want business, its not best to offended a huge potential customer base? Oh, and you probably shouldn’t group all them other religions in with the Christians. Might offended one of those pagan gods. 

In other news, I really dig this guy’s name, even if he was a crazy cult leader. Then again, he’d have to be to even want that name. Mmm, Sacrilegious.

I Love Anonymous vs. Scientology

The girl they had to voice this Anonymous video on the human rights in the Rehabilitation Project Force (another branch of Scientology), really hit the mark. And by hitting the mark, I mean hitting the mark of being ridiculously creepy. If you don’t agree with the content, I sure hope you can agree on that!

Speaking of Scientology, I found this amazing website through the Anonymous cause:

Its long, but read Kendra’s account at least. Her wit, combined with the Orwellian nature of the environment in which she grew, worked, and eventually escaped is really quite engaging. Also, sorry if this sounds rushed, by the by. I’m trying to get dressed and write at the same time. I need to get some gardening supplies. :)

Jonestown Massacre

Originally written around six this morning.

Sorry if this seems disjointed. Its six in the morning and watching Most Evil specials on this sort of thing makes me a bit cantankerous in the morning.

One thing that never ceases to bother me whenever I hear about it, is the massacre at Jonestown. What bothers me more, is that a good portion of my generation has no idea what it is. I simply cannot fathom how anyone my age can simply not know about the systematic murder of over nine-hundred people that Jim Jones essentially caused due to his paranoid delusions. That just seems beyond ignorant of history itself. Also, I’ve been told before that calling it outright murder is too judgemental, as it supposedly a mass suicide.

Why? What’s the point of dumbing it down? Yes, there were suicides, or as Jones himself put it, revolutionary acts, committed there. Still, these people wouldn’t have killed themselves on their own. It was Jones who pushed them to do it, and if they didn’t, according to most survivors’ accounts, they were injected against their will. Its sick. All of it is sick.

Although Jonestown contained no prison and no form of capital punishment, various forms of punishment were used against members considered to be serious disciplinary problems. Methods included imprisonment in a 6x4x3-foot (1.8 x 1.2 x 0.9 m) plywood box and forcing children to spend a night at the bottom of a well, sometimes upside-down. For some members who attempted to escape, drugs such as Thorazine, sodium pentathol, chloral hydrate, Demerol and Valium were administered until they “came to their senses,” with detailed records being kept of each person’s drug regimen; . Armed guards patrolled the area day and night to enforce Jonestown’s rules. Some local Guyanese, including a police official, related stories about harsh beatings and a “torture hole,” the well into which the children were placed when they were perceived to have misbehaved.

I have so, so much stuff about Jonestown on my iPod. I tend watch it when I feel apathetic about the world. It reminds me that I can’t stop caring, as when we do, stuff like this can and will happen again. That is unacceptable. Mass cult murder-suicides are some of the most tragic things I can think of.