Last week, I came across an image that sparked a reflection on a lot of the trauma I experienced as a child. It’s trauma that lingers in my life, and it’s trauma that I discovered a whole lot of other people share.
Well, I posted about my trauma and how it affected my philosophy and life choices on my Facebook.
Here’s that post:.
This is, apparently, what the actual Jesus of Nazareth looked like, according to an artist and an algorithm and actual, historical, data (as opposed to a story that white people tell each other).
I am an atheist. I do not believe in god, or the devil, or heaven, or hell. But I like and respect this guy. He was a rebel, he was an antiauthoritarian, he dedicated his life to helping the poor, the sick, the indigent, the people who were discarded and rejected by society. He hung out with sex workers and lepers, and gave comfort to the sick and suffering, and he loudly and relentlessly called out the hypocrisy of the church and its leaders. As I understand it, he was like, “Hey, you’re a sinner. That’s a bummer. Let me help you be a better person. No, I don’t expect anything from you for that. I just want to be as loving as I can be.” He was a really cool guy.
This guy, in this picture, is not the Jesus I was introduced to in parochial school. The Jesus I was introduced to was soooooo white, like super super super white, and he was keeping an eye on you so he could snitch on you to his dad, who was SUPER PISSED AT EVERYTHING YOU DID all the time for some reason. The Jesus I knew was, like, maybe going to be okay with you, as long as you knew what a giant fuck up you were. And he was absolutely not accepting of anyone who didn’t do exactly what the authority figures at school told us we had to do. And Reagan was essentially his avatar sent to Earth. If we didn’t worship Reagan the same way we were supposed to worship white Jesus, we were going to have a REALLY bad time. Did I mention that I was, like, 8 when all of this was drilled into me?
I deeply resent American Christianity. It has brought nothing but pain into my life. I deeply resent and despise evangelical Christians who turned this guy in this picture, who was reportedly a cool, loving, gentle, dude, who was a legit rebel, into someone who hates all the same things they hate, and who LOVES authoritarians the same way they do. I despise the people who do all sorts of cruel, hurtful, hateful things in this guy’s name. And they are EVERYWHERE in America.
I don’t know what it’s like in the rest of the world. What I do know is that, in America, this person has been perverted into a weapon, a cudgel, to be used against the same people the actual Jesus loved and stood up for. It’s disgusting.
And, look, if someone professes to follow the teachings of this dude, whose WHOLE FUCKING THING was “love everyone. Period. No exceptions”, and they don’t, like, do that? They are as bad as the money changers in the temple. I know that this dude loves them, because that’s his whole thing, but I suspect that, if this dude exists, he is disappointed and maybe a little embarrassed by them.
As an afterthought: I can’t stop thinking about how this dude was an immigrant, and poor. I keep thinking that, if he showed up in … let’s say Texas, today, how badly he would be treated by the very same people who use his name and pervert his teachings to exert control over the very same people Jesus spent his entire life looking after.
And, honestly, none of this would even matter if the American Christian extremists would keep their white Jesus out of our laws and government.
The most unexpected, and ultimately healing result of this post were the literal thousands of comments (over 11K last time I looked) from people who shared my experience in their own way, who said “your experience is valid, I share it, and I am so sorry.” There were literally hundreds of comments, many from clergy, who said, “I do not share your experience, but it is still valid. I’m so sorry.” And then there were about a dozen or so angry, judgmental, proselytizing people who exemplified why I despise what I defined as American Christianity and the Evangelicals who use it to hurt and control others. I spent more time participating in comments and discussion on that post than I have on anything else I’ve ever written, and it was profound. It was healing. It was supportive. It was valuable. And, for the moment at least, it’s all gone, because Facebook has decided that post is hate speech.
What?
As far as I can tell, there’s nothing hateful there. I mean, after I was so abused by self-professed Christians, I am allowed to despise them. I am allowed to reject their world view, and I am allowed to talk about it. There’s nothing hateful or bigoted about that. I am allowed to draw a boundary, express why that boundary is there, and defend it.
And yet, as happens so frequently when I write something that right wing authoritarians get angry about, I’ve been locked out of my Facebook account, again, for what they claim is hate speech and bigotry. Clearly, someone or group of someones brigaded my post, and Facebook responded as it always does.
They should at least be honest, and call it what it is: White Evangelical Fragility can’t handle someone like me expressing these feelings and beliefs. It threatens everything they hold dear, and we just can’t have that, not in White Jesus America.
I’ve appealed the action. It will take days to get a response, if I get any response at all. This, coupled with yesterday’s outage, is a good argument for breaking up Facebook, subjecting it to more rigorous and responsive oversight, and for having our own personal spaces online where an untouchable corporation can’t interfere with our communications.
UPDATE:
You don’t know me. I’m one of thousands of people who are fans of your work, both as an actor and a writer. But your last two posts have been very powerful, very positive messages.
Thank you for sharing, and yes, I hear you, I see you, and I was moved by these last two posts.
Thank you for sharing them.
Wow, I’m so sorry, but I’m not surprised (and also a big hug because my experiences are similar to yours). This is why I do everything I can to avoid social media.
“White Evangelical Fragility” is a good way to refer to it. I often remark that Evangelical Christianity is the biggest conspiracy theory ever and that they are “professional victims.” They seem to love running other people’s lives, but don’t you dare criticize them or you are somehow “infringing on their God-given Rights™” Don’t be afraid to call them out and expose them for what they are.
I was glad when Facebook was down for 6 hours or whatever it was. I think the whistle-blower is right about Facebook, it thrives on hate.
I have also noticed that Facebook cafeteria picks on what does or doesn’t go against Facebook guidelines/standards.
They allow Holocaust denial groups. But if a person calls someone a c**t they view it has hate speech/bullying. I am pretty sure denying the Holocaust had happened is hateful.
I hate that every religious being is white in America. Jesus is white. Santa Claus is white. All the saints are white and so on. When in reality they would have brown skin. I don’t believe in G-d. But, I think if s/he did exist they would have brown skin if they were in human form. Every person on the planet used to be brown skinned. It was when we moved away from the equator during the 1st and 2nd migration, some started to evolve into light skinned people.
Anyway, I try to avoid Facebook because it is bad for one’s mental health. It is full of toxic a-holes.
I hope after the whistle-blower coming forward there will be an investigation… which will help make changes to Facebook. I hope the whole platform is removed.
Take care, Wil. Don’t let stupid toxic Facebook upset you.
It is sooo sad that Facebook is so negative. Yesterday’s outage and the testimony given against the company show where the wrong is, and it isn’t in you or what you post! I am an atheist, and it all began with what I saw the White Jesus America stands for and does. I believe in John Lennon’s “Imagine”! I believe in Wil Wheaton!!!
Good post! I think this idea of a brown Jesus trying to enter the US was so wonderfully displayed in this Cheech & Chong skit:
I heartily Thank You for sharing that post with us. I have known SO many “Christians” who cannot even begin to fathom that Jesus was not white and did not stand for all of the bigotry, prejudice and hate that so many claim to do in his name. The artist’s portrait of Him gave me much more comfort than any other representation of Jesus ever had before.
Being blocked or banned from Facebook is a badge of honour. That illustrated their inadequacies. Fuck Zuck!
I’m so sorry for your experience, both in the church and in what Facebook decided to do with your post. (I had a similar experience in the catholic church, so I can relate somewhat.) I follow Jim Wright at Stonekettle Station and he got so tired of people swooping in and reporting him and getting his (mostly political) content taken down and getting put in FB jail that he’s started writing all his content on his own website (which he has control of) and then posts a link to “today’s recap” on social media to direct people. Might be something to consider in the future. In the meantime, please keep speaking your truth and using your platform for good. I so appreciate you!
I agree with everything you’ve said. It’s a damn shame That people use religion to condemn others. That’s why I am an atheist now too.
I’m sorry that all happened in your childhood, and that Fb had to be morons about it.
Thank you for continuing to be awesome!
It has been ever thus. Children thrust into a religion, brainwashed against their will. Organized religion has been the cause of most of human history’s horror and agony. The ignorant and evil use their so-called faith for wealth and browbeat the poor, and as you say, try to cudgel the rest of into submission. Look at what is happening in Texas. In the southern states, disenfranchising voters, so (they think) they can have their little fascist run states. Religion and state is supposed to be separate.
You should see (well, you probably shouldn’t) what Scott Baio and his wife have been doing on Twitter to Richard Marx. Baio, this so-called Man of God (only in his mind) and his wife went after parents of murdered children at Sandy Hook, they harass Richard, make comments about his wife, then turn around and say they are the victims. The Deplorables always accuse others of what they themselves are guilty.
People like them, the evil politicians, wear religion like a costume to be trotted out at and for their convenience. They exhibit nothing of what the real Jesus preach and are probably guilty of each of the Seven Deadly Sins and breaking each of the Ten Commandments. I despise each and every one of them. Glad you were able to have that protracted conversation on Facebook before they did their White fragility thing.
Man of God Baio on the brilliant Anthony Fauci:
[Link removed by Wil. I don’t want to give that POS any views.]
Wow. This post was powerful, honest, and moving as so many of your posts are, Wil. Yah, I knew at about the same age as you, that the “Jesus and his Dad are watching you and IF and only IF you measure up, you horrid sinner, then MAYBE we will confer favor upon you and not strike you dead and btw, God loves you so much” religion was FUUUUCKED up. I may have only been 6 or 7, but I knew hypocrisy when I saw it, and became and STAYED suspicious of it. Fuck Facebook. They don’t get to decide what hate is or isn’t. You keep right on writing and speaking your truth, and we will gladly keep on reading it.
I am an atheist but I grew up in church and my father was a pastor when I was in high school. I was a die hard believer, eschewed all that was secular and got pumped full of “purity culture” and and all the other anti-science, humanity denying nonsense that church drills into you before you are old enough to formulate your own opinions. Anyway American Christianity destroyed my ability to have healthy relationships in my early adult years. It completely destroyed a budding romance with a woman I loved very much. I’m 46 years old now and I have since learned better how to be a healthy, balanced, and MORAL human being but I will dwell on the scars it left me for the rest of my life. A reminder to never let others brainwash me ever again.
I saw this post on FB, Wil, and the horrible posts from people with indefensible positions. I tried to reply to one of those horrors, since I know where you’re coming from. (Also went to Catholic school and was taught by nuns), except it was many years before you, when they really had open license to be torturers.
I wasn’t allowed to post my reply since your post was removed while I was in the middle of writing mine!
I even went to the guy’s FB page to post in your defense, but OMG, after looking at his page, I was afraid he would find me and sniper me from afar!
Never mind being in FB jail for the moment. Have you seen the news? Mark Zuckerberg may soon be in a jail of his own making. ;-D
Thanks, as always, for your honesty & transparency. If I had a DeLorean, I would go back in time and plant one in the middle of your mother’s face, foot sweep your father, stand on his neck and scare the shit out of both of them if they ever dared to bully you again.
I like this:
“having our own personal spaces online where an untouchable corporation can’t interfere with our communications.”
Like this space, it’s always a pleasure to see someone actually put forth some effort to share their thoughts.
That’s a powerful and enlightening post. I always couldn’t understand how Jesus was portrayed as having blond haired and light colored skin when he comes from a region whose people don’t look like that portrayal. I couldn’t agree with you more Wil.
I will say what many of my fellow Christians should be saying and that is: I’m sorry. I know I’m not directly involved in it, but I can’t ignore the hurt and pain my religion (whatever part of it) has inflicted on others. You are valuable, you are worthy, you are loved. Nothing can change that. Much love, Wil, and thanks for posting!
Jeremy, your religion is based on hoping people who disagree with you aka your god are eternally tortured. You should indeed be sorry, but not for the reasons you think.
Your god does NOTHING at all, and not one Christian can do what Jesus Christ himself supposedly promised. So there is no reason to think this nonsense is true.
Please don’t be unkind to someone who is being kind. This isn’t the place for that.
There is nothing about being kind in hoping everyone who disagrees with you is eternally tortured. As much as Christians might want to forget that, this is the core of their religion.
Thanks, Will. (Interpreted as… OMG HE REPLIED TO MY COMMENT).
Seriously, I know the disdain that Christianity in general has earned. Much love to you and yours.
Thank you Wil.
Even though most of us probably think you don’t have time to read all the comments on your blogs, you’re always right there, popping in to put someone in their place for being mean or unkind.
I love that !!
I think you have an intense strength under that outer layer of funny & accommodating, where you still feel you have to come to terms with the weakness you felt as a child.
I’m betting that you feel, if you let that anger out, it could be volcanic & dangerous.
It wouldn’t. Don’t be afraid of that.
The person you are now wouldn’t allow it.
Trust yourself.
So, I don’t disagree that parts of the Christian religion are horrible. But no, my religion isn’t based on people “hoping people who disagree with you… are eternally tortured.” I mean, I don’t even believe in “Hell.” (Though, my theological concepts aren’t the point of my post.)
But, yes, I agree. I should be sorry, and I am.
Please, be well.
You are a Christian. Your only source for the story is in the bible. The bible is quite clear about how hell exists and what it is, eternal torture for not obeying this god.
Your version of Christianity is “kinder and gentler”; that is true. That Christians vary all over the place in their supposed ‘truth’ indicates that there is little reason to believe in it or to think that it gives anyone some right to declare that their god is “good” or responsible for morality.
I wouldn’t say it is the ONLY source, and I wouldn’t say that it is “quite clear” about hell. But I’ll leave it there.
If it is not the only source, do tell what other sources you have. And do explain how it is not clear about hell. You make claims and unsurprisingly, you have nothing to support them.
I would be more than happy to speak about it in more detail. I’m trying to be respectful to Wil’s post here and not turn it into a debate or try to offer a “defense” of Christianity. There is no defense for the actions the Wil describes.
Years before the Bible was “canonized” there were several writings that different communities employed. In fact, in early Christian churches, when they had no official “books”, there was just the oral stories and letters, some of which make up the Bible today.
Before Constantine, Christianity was “rebellious”in how they acted against the governments of Rome and to some extent, the religions and authorities in the Greek world.
When people were disconnected from their families because of plague or “honor”, the Christ communities would take them in and support them.
When Christianity became “official” and Constantine supported the religion, that’s when all of the issues started.
It is that source and the some of writings that came out of that time as well as the Bible that drives me this day.
So, to reiterate, I am sorry. There’s nothing I can do to change the past, but I’ll affect the future as much as I can.
Oh, and we can thank Dante’s Inferno and Paradise Lost for our understandings of hell and the like today. You bring that imagery and place it upon what Jesus says, you get a pretty “fire and brimstone” interpretation.
You’re more than welcome to find me on Facebook (irony much? Haha) or email me. To discuss more.
My apologies again, Wil.
Jeremy, your bible says that anyone who does not follow this god deserves death or worse. I’ve read it. You have invented a “kinder gentler” version. That is all. This is nothing new. You use your personal magic decoder ring to make up the Christianity you are comfortable with. Just like everyone else.
i know you have no other sources. If you care to try to present some, you may come to my blog, club schadenfreude It’ll pop up on google
On another note, I completely agree with your comments about Facebook. Something needs to be done. Elizabeth Warren correctly pointed this out in her presidential campaign. I’m too invested in it with work to do away with it completely or I would. Also, many pointed out, I do keep in contact with a lot people with it.
Facebook is a terrible place. The evidence now supports the theory that it is only good at spreading misinformation and hate. And since it allows people to “vote” on what they don’t like, it also is not a free platform of communications. As long as a group has the ability to rally their troops, posts like yours will get “voted” away instead of spreading honest dialog about complex subjects.
Yes, American Christianity is fragile and weak and lashes out at anyone who speaks against it. So is middle-east Islam. So is [place religion and location here]. I know of no religion that is strong enough to not try to beat down every criticism. Some support outright killing of critics so at least the American Christians are held on a shorter leash than others who do so much harm.
I don’t know if there is any evidence to support their ever being a real Jesus. If there was, we will never know what he was like in real life. I would be wary of idolizing the imagined real Jesus as much as I would frown on worshipping the fictitious version. The ideal of a good guy spreading hope is great but you should really not put the name “Jesus” on anything you write.
I was a transgendered (in that era we used she-males)teenage runaway M2F in the 80s…funny how many of the white christian men hired me for services…doctors, lawyers, a local televangalist, a judge, cops (in fact only guy who ever assaulted me like w fist and raped me was a decorated detective in a police car….yep white…Ill never forget what he called…”a faggot freak” .yeah Im the freak) and I remember years later being homeless cause life after all that was tough…tough to finally get in order I sat down next to a grizzly old white whino on a bench as the Battle of Seattle was raging. He said…”ever notice…its always white people. Savings and Loan, Massive World Wars, this coming Y2K disaster. White folks complain and gripe about everything and maybe you had 1 or 2 token black folks involved in stuff but who is always found in the end such event, who is always on TV apologizing, who really works, owns, controls most of money, business, and everything in between it white people.” He continued ” And in all my years of sitting on benches here in the NorthWest…the worst things ever said and done to me, 10 to 1, white folks”…He paused and said” I know why, they are nosey…no really…oh lets sail across this ocean and see whats there and then destroy it….hey stinky do have any ID you must carry ID so I can identify you…would you like homeless assitance well we have to drug test you and background and credit checks..and I know why they hate black people…when black people make statement or mess up, they own it…yeah, i did what of it and when white people get caught, its always who me?? They dont understand each other”
He is totally right…explained by on bench by homeless white guy downtown Seattle 1999.
My reaction to christianity was the same but also different. Up until 7th grade I was super religious even wanted to become a nun. I wasn’t hateful towards anyone though. I constantly was in a state of anxiety because i was convinced I was gonna go to hell no matter what i did and could never be good enough for heaven. Now I don’t know what I believe and I can’t think about it too much without stressing myself out. These days I figure just be a kind and honest person. Also help people when I can. I don’t need religion to do those things. I remember feeling my heart turning black with sin and that scared me. Another time I saw the virgin mary but I knew it was the devil so I ran, that may have been a hallucination I’ll never know for sure. I was raised orthodox so perhaps that explains the differences
It is hate speech, cause they hate it. And you cannot even have a decent discussion with them because all they want to do is argue and attack
Come back to counter.social Wil. I think you will like it there
I totally agree with your post! The only bad part is that you still use Facebook (and Instagram).. 😛 My wife and I decided to completely drop Facebook from our lives back when the whole Cambridge Analytica thing broke and we saw the damage they were doing to our society.. all so they could make a buck off of misery (proven yet again with the recent whistleblower testimony).
As for religion.. it has the power to do good but is often used for evil. Just today I read about how in France alone, an estimated 330,000 French children were sexually abused by Catholic Church personnel.. that’s France only.. yet nobody seems to care because it’s a religious organization. Imagine what would happen to any non-religious organization which had such rampant pedophilia being conducted by its staff, which it knew of and covered up for decades. It would be shut down and the the executives all thrown into prison. But hey, it’s a religion so we can’t do anything about it.. Same thing with the American Christians with their hate, misogyny. racism and systemic financial abuse of their followers. Can’t do anything about it.. oh and let’s give them tax free status while we’re at it! Same with Mormons, Scientologists etc.. Imagine if these organizations actually were run by good people out to do good things..
white evangelical Christians are cultists. They are terrified of anyone not agreeing with them and being happy and healthy whilst doing that.
One single atheist is enough to show them that no one needs their god or THEM.
I’m constantly booted off FB because I dare to call out conservative Christians for exactly what they are, willfully ignorant bigoted cultists. I wear that as a badge of honor.
Facebook is, sadly, evil, and we shouldn’t be using it. (And it needs to be broken up into it’s constituent parts, and maybe today’s Congress hearings will lead to that…) Your post completely on point.
Thank you for sharing this. One of my favorite quotes is, “I like your Christ, I do not like your Christians. Your Christians are so unlike your Christ.” – Gandhi
Pretty much sums it up, I think. If you haven’t heard of them, you may like the band Five Iron Frenzy. They started out in the late 90s as Christian ska band. Now a couple of the members are atheists, one is a pastor, a couple are nurses and other random people. They’re all still friends who love one another and still write incredible and relevant music. Their latest album, Until This Shakes Apart has several songs ripping American Christians apart on it. I love it. The best is In Through the Out Door. Check it out!
I’m way late to the friggin’ party on this one. Facebook is bullshit. I participate because I have to, but won’t after that period of my life is done in about 6 months.
My guess is that the inundation of comments means you probably won’t read this (I wouldn’t, because reading all of those comments takes up a lot of bandwidth) and that’s ok. I feel the need to say it anyway. I’m a Christian, I’m about your age (a few years older) and went to a parochial school too in the 70s and 80’s. There was plenty of Judgment at the school I went to, and yes, Jesus was depicted as a blue eyed white dude in the same paintings and pictures you saw, I suspect. But there was love too, and a lot of focus on John 3:16 where I went to school. The teachers could be tough, but there were hugs and tears and encouragement too. I’ll fully admit that it wasn’t until later that I came to realize there was more judgment and less love than I’d originally thought. I knew kids at other parochial schools whose experience was closer to yours.
More importantly I think your observation of how Christianity has been weaponized is spot on. I won’t go into why because you’ve already done so.
But I’m still a Christian. That confuses some of my friends who know I see the hypocrisy in institutional Christianity and in Christians who use their faith as an excuse to judge, hate and harm others. I just manage to separate my awareness of the love of Christ and my faith from those institutions. It’s not always easy. Sometimes it’s downright painful. But it’s the choice I made long ago and keep making now.
But I get those who make the other choice or who never felt moved to faith in the first place.
I’m sorry all of this happened to you, both for your experience as a child and now.
Level headed, compassionate comment, Mark. A Christian must lift up Christ to this mean ol world. Keep on keeping on brother.
Arnold I feel for you. I was blessed with great parents but not all people are. Please remember that Father God is still here when you need Him. Is you need a friend, Jesus is the name. Both are patiently waiting for you to come to them.
Thank you, I do walk with him.
i was raised in the church. separate schools and everything. what i remember most is, on the day that i realized that i didn’t believe any of it, was a paralyzing fear. not something existential or spiritual. i was terrified to be found out. afraid of what they would do to me if they found out. organized religion is a comfort to many, but to many more it is just as you said. a weapon, a whip to compel others. personally i believe it is the biggest thing holding back humanity.
First off let me just say, “I love Will & Wesley Crusher. I think Will did a great job there & gets & has got way too much undeserved shit for what was solid work. Second: Will was my first childhood same sex crush.
3rd: (topic at hand); I myself was raised White Evangelical & grew up & served in the Ministery there of. Unlike others I was very much a damn near Hippie & taught this exact sort of Jesus that Will mentions & shows.
I didn’t hold to, nor stand for the White Savior complex or ideology. I left because of several reasons but one was how wrong people got & get Jesus, both where he was a pretty chill dude in the best versions (in the Gospels), and a down right asshole of an extortionary badtard found in scripture, who’s entire moto is “love me, love God, serve us, worship us/me, above all others … be my slave & let me in to rule over you & save you. From what? From what I’m going to do to you if you don’t.” A character whom seems not far removed from the Old Testimate God & whom seems to be just as bipolar & fickle & hypocritical as his acclaimed true self & Godhood as the God & Creator found in the Old Testimate.
There are several Jesus’s just in scripture of the Gospels & then more to be found in the New Testimate … where Jesus is still very much the Old Testimate Character of YahWeh/Jahovah.
But – point either of these out & you’re bound to offend somebody.
I would really like to re-post this in its entirety on every website that will allow it (with full attributions, of course), and would pass it along to certain pastors in my life; but I would do so only with Wil’s expressed permission. Everything he said before the Reddit reference was spot-on, and resonates deeply with my personal experiences — everything afterward just miffs me off. Best wishes, Wil!
Permission granted. Please provide a link and attribution. And thank you.
Yup yup yup. I am Catholic, but I really struggle with this performative Christianity I see everywhere. It breaks my heart. Peace to you and yours, Wil, and thanks for being so open about your struggles.
Wow. First let me say I agree with everything you said. I am so sorry you experienced this vile side of Christianity. I did not go to parochial school, and am not Catholic, but I do have friends who did and shared their experiences with me. One thing I had that you didn’t was two loving parents who raised me to make up my own mind about everything. Including God. Daddy was a Methodist, Mom a Mormon. Neither followed “the rules” of those groups.
I am now a Baptist by choice. Evangelistic, Jesus following, and still question everything. I accept everyone, attend a bilingual multi-ethnic church, and am pretty liberal with my Democratic politics. All Christians are not like those nasty people that post such vile things on social media.
I wish you could meet my Jesus. He looks like the Jewish guy in the picture above. The sweetest, kindest man to ever walk the Earth.
Oh, I did repost your blocked Facebook comment to the Texas assholes. Got in trouble with a few at church over that for the f word, but not the subject. My pastor told them if I posted it then I must have had a good reason. That is support.
Be happy, Wil.
Colleen
I suspect my opinion will be unpopular, but I don’t think the problem is with Facebook. I think it’s with people.
We should not depend on any corporation to police speech. Nor should we trust any corporation to be our primary source of information – because it will ALWAYS be skewed by corporate priorities.
People need to take personal responsibility, both for what they take in and for what they put out. Use critical thinking when reading news on the web, and use good judgement when posting information.
But no… somehow people have it in their heads that stuff should be spoon fed to them (news feeds), and it should somehow magically be trustworthy. Overlooking the long history of how news agencies developed, and how journalistic standards developed. And how difficult an accomplishment those things were. And how quickly we’re losing them.
As for Facebook… well, somehow, people are thinking that by regulating or breaking up Facebook, things will get better. But this is a case in point: Wil’s post, which is clearly just a “personal experience” post, is being flagged for inappropriate content. Why? Because Facebook has set certain rules about what can be communicated and what can’t.
But Facebook is just a collection of people who are trying to make money. Expecting them to actually care about curating content in a responsible manner is… well, ridiculous on the face of it. Pretty much by law, corporations are only responsible for one thing – making money. (And note I said “pretty much”. I’m fully aware of the debates around responsibilities to shareholders and how far the law actually goes with that.)
So why are we expecting Facebook to be responsible? We don’t expect the same thing from gun manufacturers, or drug companies, or any other corporate entity. Further, why would would we ever trust them to have that responsibility?
Sadly, people want easy. But life ain’t easy.
And yeah.. I never joined Facebook. I actually type URLs into my browser to go to news sources I’m interested in.
Well.. your opinion might be unpopular.. but it’s all true. I am on FB. For the reasons that FB claimed it was for. To keep in contact with my friends and family. News from FB? Heck.. news from my friends and family? NO. News is news. Social media is social media. And all social media cares about is making money. I can’t believe how many people don’t realize that if it’s ‘free’ then YOU are the product. They sell our names, our words and our images. And that doesn’t even count the scammers who work social media to get the information they can’t legally just buy from Zuckerberg.
Just for giggles the other night my husband wandered down some slightly darker areas of the web.. you can buy the information for 1.5 BILLION FB users for $5K. Why so cheap? Because they gathered it all legally… every time someone plays a game, takes a quiz, connects to a 3rd party in any way. Everyone just clicks that little blue “allow” button without paying any attention to what they are granting access too. Name, address, locations, IP addresses, birthdates, friends lists… “Oh sure.. I need to know what my Disney Princess name would be”
So keep preaching. People need to wake the heck up. The Zuck may or may not be evil. I haven’t decided yet. But for sure.. he will exploit you to the fullest extent of the law in order to make an extra penny.
I hate the phrase “God-given Rights” because I don’t think He did give us Rights. What Rights do they think He gave us? I’d like to see an enumerated list.
I think he gave us Obligations, to each other, to be compassionate. I think anyone that starts pissing themselves over “my God-given Rights” needs to be reminded of that.
I’ve said for a long, long time that there is absolutely nothing Christ-like in modern “Christians”. There ain’t no fucking compassion there. American Christians are THE most judgmental and scornfully opinionated people in all of human existence, willing to exercise any authority they can grab to enforce their views.
Wait, why the fuck am I capitalizing god words? I’m an atheist! I believe creationism is the ultimate and purest form of arrogance. God is depicted as a “Being of Immense Power and Infinite Knowledge.” Believing that we were created for a very specific purpose by an all-knowing all-powerful infallible being, in his image, exactly as we are today, gives rise to the worst form of self-righteous arrogance, judgmental authoritarianism. People with these beliefs use these “teachings” of their god as a weapon against those they disagree with.
I came up, spiritually speaking, with a group that had traditions of “dissenting” in matters of faith. They moved from one country to another in Europe until they came to America. They had no expectation that the government or the mainstream culture would reflect their views. The result is that very little, if any, of what happened to you happened to me.
AND, what happened to you is still completely valid. Even back then, probably before you were born, we heard about such things and shook our heads. Humans are flawed, frail things, and that frailness sometimes frightens people into very strong-looking domineering behavior. Nothing’s ok with it, but it does exist. And it sucked, I am sure.
Your statement about what happened to you is far more generous than material I can read every day. Facebook attempts to be all things to all people and hopes to keep everyone sullen and hooked on the platform. I’m not sure that, as an entertainer, you can afford to turn your back on it, but as a human, it might be better if you did.
Much love.
Wil… a really excellent post. SPOT ON. Jesus was an amazing dude. The church? Freaking Evil. Especially American Evangelical Christians.
Wait… Jesus was a cast member on The Blacklist! AWESOME! Also, I feel you, Wil. I was raised by the abusive, alcoholic daughter of an abusive preacher. If I were bad, I was punished, and the Bible was brought into it. If I was good, I was… Well, sometimes I was punished at first, like if I wouldn’t help my mother steal, but later, when she realized what she had done was wrong, I would still get a lecture from the Bible, pointing out how I was right. Which still felt like a punishment. And that was just my mother. The religion contains too many seeds of abuse. I refused to raise my child as part of it, and she turned out a lot less messed up than I am.
I actually thought I saw your post on FB this morning-but I think it was reposted on Twitter. If it weren’t for the fact that most of my friends don’t do Twitter, I’d be gone. It’s the only way I have of keeping in touch with some members of my family and I’m now doing most of my posting on Twitter. You only told the truth; and I thank you not only for that post, but for refusing to be quiet about the damage some organized religions have done to our lives!
Amen! I was drilled as a child about the same Jesus this guy and yourself mentioned in a catholic household. Thank you Wil Wheaton God bless you.
You’re on the right track. How about titling your essay, “Get Over People?” Because Jesus’s message is “Come unto me,” even though he knows we’d rather not.
I find it pretty telling that Wil posts this article and makes a point of highlighting all the positivity which came out of it….and some of the people in the comments section can’t even control themselves to the point that WIL feels the need to interject and remind them to be kind…and they still keep going! Can’t just say “Yep, we support you Wil!” …..has to add a bunch of ad-hominem attacks. UGH
Yeah, drives home the important point of having your own website, free from the fickle whims of Zuckerberg.
I did not share your experiences but that does not make them real or less valid. You have every right to express your beliefs and experiences. Presuming you believed in God (which,I am undecided on and I know, you have said that you do not). Little r religion (as opposed to Big R Religion) is super easy as I can sum it up for you in two statements. 1) God loves you, even when you mess up, 2) Be nice to other people.
I see you, I hear you. You are enough just as you are.
Your experiences march along side mine (though out of step in time as I’m much older). It is powerfully cathartic to hear these thoughts expressed so eloquently and with the VOLUME or reach I do not yet have. You make a difference. Thank you.
I totally agree with this. Jesus sounds like a sensible hippie who does magic, which I am down with. But I can’t fucking stand “Christians” and I don’t want to be around the hateful versions of them.
Thanks for that post, Wil.
I really appreciate your description of Jesus. The Jesus you envision. That’s the guy I try to emulate, though I do a poor job so often. I’m glad he loves me anyway. And he loves you, too!
You have articulated perfectly how I have been feeling about American Christianity, especially the last 5 years. The worst examples of Christ are the Christians screaming viciously about all the people that they hate. The fact that they’ve embraced such a heinous, morally bankrupt, hateful liar as their new idol to worship shows how deep their depravity and hypocrisy goes. You’re dead on, sir, and to hell with Facebook for censoring you. Keep up the good trouble, Wil.
Thank you for the breath of fresh air, Wil. As an outsider to religion entirely but with prior time spent as a (agnostic, Norwegian-American) kibbutz volunteer (at Kibbutz Ramot Menashe, 1980), I’ve always been amused at, and nonplussed by, church-wall paintings of Jesus of Nazareth that make the itinerant Galilean carpenter guy more look like Baron Fritz of Regensburg, and thought “Really? Not so much, I rather think.”
But your larger point is far more important: Any white evangelical subculture that punishes (and, more to the point, vanishes) truth-telling like yours, particularly under a pretence of it being hate speech, is deeply ill and should be treated as the toxic element it is.
I’m not sure I’ve ever read a more apt writing than this one about the way I feel. Raised in Christianity… a word so profoundly abused in our culture as to render it meaningless.