The Faithful Pronouns of Christ (a rant against bullies)
Professors have freedom to bully their students (because Christianity requires it)
When Jesus spoke in Greek,
He used His pronouns just like we do
And capitalized them in Latin, for Jesus most definitely knew
a “he” was a he (and a “she” was evil).
When Jesus spoke in Latin
He waved American flags
When Jesus spoke in English,
He used His whips to drive out f — s.
Deny that sacred pronoun, do you deny His ministry?
Only if pronoun compliance is a sacred truth of Christianity,
(Or when faith sells out to bullies and to bigotry.)
My brain was spinning learning about the strange case of Meriwether v. Hartop (2021), and from reading about ‘Christian Nationalism.’
In this case, a professor refused to call a student by that student’s preferred pronouns, claiming that would be against his religion. The university told him to use the pronouns the student requested. Professor decided he was being persecuted and called in the lawyers.
The opinion by the 6th Circuit Court of Appeals is remarkable. Since when is “Mister” or “he/she” First Amendment protected speech? Oh, someone started using the terminology in order to make a point that someone else shouldn’t exist?
A university can’t even put a stop to that sort of bullying?
Then I looked up the appellate judges: McKeague (appointed by George W. Bush), Thapar, and Larsen (both Trump appointees).
Suddenly, it makes sense.
Professor Meriwether is not the creator of the “Church of the Holy Pronouns,” so hard to believe that the use of “he” or “she” is a sincerely held religious belief. But what about “free speech”? The Court of Appeals reversed the district court by discovering that a professor saying words like “Mister” or “Miss” is uttering words of extreme public importance.
Fair enough: pronouns do matter. However, in this case, the specific choices of pronouns mean that the professor’s “speech” amounts to, “In my religious beliefs, YOU SHOULD NOT EXIST.” Which the university properly sanctioned, because no professor should ever communicate that to any student.
Except these judges think that’s an important message. One should have freedom to deny the right of another to exist. And if one exercises that freedom in a university, the university must pay to give you a platform in which you bully students.
Asinine.
There’s more to be said. But probably better to just refer to an organization that looks to me to be “doing God’s work” in Ohio — Equality Ohio. They’ve got their hands full trying to protect as many people from the bullies.
BTW, in case the joke isn’t obvious, Jesus spoke Aramaic, not Greek or Latin.
