Crackpot fantasies? My Brief Experience Today in Hospital Waiting Room

[Emit]

My daughter had her tonsils taken out today, and while in the waiting room, I caught the tail-end of Bushco speaking to the NAACP and then some news about the Middle East. I was just about to ask the volunteer worker if I could change the channel (it was on Fox), as no one else there seemed interested, when a middle-aged man came over and stood next to me to watch.

The volunteer looked over at us and said sadly, "Such bad news in the Middle East -- I wish I knew where this is leading..." The man replied, "Oh, I know where it's going. All you have to do is read the Bible and you'll see what's going on and how it will end." He seemed almost jubilant and oh so very sure of himself. I sat dumbfounded. Then the volunteer left me there with him, saying something like, "Oh, I'm familiar with the Book of Revelation, but... " as she walked out the door.

And he turned to me then, I guess expecting confirmation. My only comment in return was to the effect of, "Well, I'm concerned that some are making it a self-fulfilling prophecy..." and before I could finish, he rambled on about how this was destined to be, how Hezbollah ruled Lebanon, etc. Just at that moment, the doc came out to tell me my daughter was in recovery and so I left abruptly, eager to avoid any further discussion with the man. Probably all for the better -- not a subject I really cared to venture into with a stranger under today's circumstances with my kid's surgery and all. (She's doing very well, btw, with only a minor reaction so far to the heat and anesthesia after the ride home.)

Anyway, it seems I encounter a lot of people who are willing to believe this end-time prophecy, and therefore, rationalize this conflict in the Middle East as 'destined to be.'

Contrast this thought with the fact that earlier in the day, I had read an article in Vanity Fair about the Loose Change laptop production, entitled, "Click Here for Conspiracy" which starts, "Most Americans dismiss 9/11 conspiracy theories as crackpot fantasies, but that didn't stop Dylan Avery, 22, and Korey Rowe, 23, from assailing the official version of events in their much-Googled documentary, Loose Change..."

Crackpot fantasies? Who are the crackpots with their fantasies?

[OrangeCountyDemocrat]

1. We're All Doomed....

Of course, that's just my opinion. Could be wrong.

:tinfoilhat:

[BOSSHOG]

4. You are right

I'm 52 years old and I have no doubt that I'll be dead within the next 100 years.

[RaleighNCDUer]

18. Gee, I'm sorry.

I'm 53 and expect to easily make another hundred years -- provided, of course, I hit the lottery and can afford a few prudent cloned organ transplants.

I'm working on it. Gonna buy another ticket tomorrow, when I get gas.

[kurth]

2. Not fantasies, they're religious beliefs

Got to have RAPTURE. Can't be left behind.

[dorkulon]

5. And the difference is? (nt)

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. None. nt

[arcane1]

9. fantasies are sometimes based on fact

and usually kept semi-private

[Emit]

23. Just picked up a book called 'Misquoting Jesus'

Which is about the "multitude of mistakes and intentional alterations that has been made by earlier translations..." in the Bible, and after looking it over, I'm not for sure that there is a difference.


OTOH, you bring up an interesting point. Many religions have their own version of the Rapture, Armageddon, etc. In fact, I've posted this before, because I find it so interesting, Michael Ledeen and his wife Barbara had written an article back in the 80's about the "highly orthodox (Jews), (who) firmly believe that the Messiah will soon arrive..." and their relationship to "American 'Christian Zionists.'"

Excerpt here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=364&topic_id=1651750#1652484

[BOSSHOG]

3. Why would someone who believes so strongly in the bible

(I guess he stones to death people who work on the sabbath) be in a hospital?

[Ron Green]

6. No crackpot fantasy . . . Aspergum.

That's what helped me most when I had my tonsils out at age 21. I think they still sell the stuff.

[Sal Minella]

11. I hope so!!! Aspergum got me through post-tonsillectomy pain in 1945!!!

[karlrschneider]

14. I used to chew that stuff 'cause I liked the taste!

no kidding...
;-)

[readmoreoften]

20. me too!

I thought I was the only one! :hi:

[Emit]

15. They need to make a Tylenol-Codeine gum...

They have her on Tylenol with Codeine (Hydrocod/APAP). They said no aspirin because it's a blood thinner and they want to avoid bleeding.

[arcane1]

7. those stuporstitious idiots will do NOTHING to stop it, either

Fuck them AND their sadistic demon-god. End-timers should be required to LIVE in the hell-holes they praise so much, if it's so god-damned special :grr:

[SeattleGirl]

10. What really gets me about these people is that they think they can

bring on "end times", that they can manipulate God. Excuse me, but the God I learned about was not exactly the type to be manipulated by a bunch of crazy humans.

You know, sometimes when you try to "make" something happen, it backfires bigtime, and blows up in your face. And that's what's going to happen here. I keep thinking of Ned Beatty in Network: "You have meddled with the primal forces of nature, and you. will. atone." Hey, crazy people -- payback's a bitch. Just remember that.

[cornermouse]

12. What I would have told him.

1. If you really believe in the bible, then you have to know that it never works out when man tries to force prophecy into existence as is happening now.

2. If what's going on now is pursuing pleasure, then its been grossly exaggerated because everyone I know is just trying to survive.

[sam sarrha]

13. Revelation was NOT written by John the Disciple, it it a DEATH cult

it was written 80AD by a christian ranting in code about the Roman Government.. he wrote a lot of stuff.. code to keep from being fed to the lions

[Shallah Kali]

16. We're supposed to fear Islamic terrorists acting on fanatical beliefs

but it's A-OK for fanatics with a veneer of Christianity who can't wait for Armageddon be in charge of WMDs? I learned the hard way long ago to stop thinking that just because someone is a Christian (or anything else) 'like me' and nice people I know actually means they ARE nice people too. I am all for letting people think and live however they wish to live except when it means dragging the rest of us along as they do things like try to trigger WWIII thinking it will bring on the rapture. I know otherwise folks who are all excited about things like hurricanes including Katrina and the tsunami because to them it means Jesus is coming and they are going home. it is frightening like jekyll and hyde to see them turn and show their inner face.

[treestar]

21. Exactly, compared to the this the fanatical Muslims are just flies.

They're talking about suicide of the whole planet. More like the family annihilator, the one who wants to die but shoots up his whole family first.

They want to give up on life but take the entire PLANET with them.

[Shallah Kali]

24. Yep. They aren't content to do themselves in - they want to take us all

with them. The scope is far beyond the worst muslim terrorist's fanatasy and it isn't even considered terrorism.

[survivor999]

17. Well, haven't you seen how many

shows on FOX and other networks are about the coming end of the world? They're everywhere. It only weakens whatever little brain cells these religious nuts have left.

[leesa]

19. You should have asked him how many virgins he will get when the prophesy

is fulfilled.

[Cleita]

22. Whatever happened to the days when public TV was

tuned to soap operas? Maybe no one was getting information but they weren't getting a pile of lies with their news either.

[Shallah Kali]

26. That's another thing that changed after 9/11

We all need to see what fresh hell has been created on earth in order to keep as many people as possible in a state of unthinking terror. I remember taking my Gram to wal-mart at her request the day of the Iraq invasion and instead of the usual product promotions was fox news with bombs exploding and the volume three times higer than usual. I almost lost my lunch. People stopped and watched even with little kids. It was only later I could see the irony of walmart banning music because of sexual content or violence yet blasting the ultimate perversion from every tv and speaker in the store.

[Nevernose]

25. It IS destined to be

As long as people in either country are bound and determined to shot at each other, this conflict is destined to be. Now if we can get both sides of the conflict to surrender at the same time, we just may have a chance. It's only been going on for 60 years, right, why wouldn't everybody strop tomorrow?

*sigh*