{"id":974,"date":"2010-04-19T11:36:34","date_gmt":"2010-04-19T16:36:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.dangeroustalk.net\/?p=974"},"modified":"2010-04-19T11:36:34","modified_gmt":"2010-04-19T16:36:34","slug":"selective-campaigning-and-cover-ups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.dangeroustalk.net\/?p=974","title":{"rendered":"Selective Campaigning and Cover-Ups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Over the weekend, I read an interesting article on Huffington Post by Roy Fitzgerald. The article was titled, \u201cShould Richard Dawkins be Arrested for Covering up Atheist Crimes?<\/a>\u201d While there are many problems with this article, there is one issue in particular I want to talk about.<\/p>\n

Fitzgerald\u2019s main focus is on Dawkins\u2019s \u201cselective campaigning\u201d against the crimes of the Pope and the Catholic Church. This argument has also been used by the Church itself when they attempted to deflect from their crimes by pointing out that guidance councilors, couches, and others also have sexually molest children.<\/p>\n

In Fitzgerald\u2019s article, his claim is that Dawkins is selectively focusing on the Catholic Church and not talking about the crimes of Hitler or Stalin. This Fitzgerald claims amounts to a cover-up. While Dawkins would obviously agree that Hitler and Stalin ought to also be arrested if they weren\u2019t of course DEAD, it should be pointed out that Fitzgerald himself is selectively campaigning for Dawkins\u2019s arrest while ignoring (according to Fitzgerald\u2019s own logic covering up) the crimes of so many other criminals in the world.<\/p>\n

The point I am trying to make is that everyone selectively focuses on issues and crimes that we feel particularly passionate about. That doesn\u2019t mean that we think other criminals should not be held accountable for their crimes. However, when the entire justice system as a whole ignores a particular crime because of the power of the person or people committing the crime, then there is a real problem.<\/p>\n

The fact is that it isn\u2019t that the Pope is selectively campaigning against other things like condom use, the Beatles, and gays that is the problem. It is that he has actively and deliberately attempted to cover up these crimes. As spiritual leader of about a billion people, he seems to think he is above the law.<\/p>\n

No one can focus on all crimes or all issues we disagree with and find immoral. We selectively focus on those issues which we feel passionate about. Just because Dawkins or someone else doesn\u2019t talk about a particular issue doesn\u2019t suggest or even imply that such an issue is morally acceptable.
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