Marine Professor Punch

The above image has passed around emails, Facebook, and Twitter for probably close to a decade in one form or another, and likely for longer than even that.

I feel the need to blog about it for multiple reasons, the most glaring is that it is obviously 100% bullshit. If you repost shit like this, I almost universally would love to punch you in the throat. It takes five fucking seconds to check shit out on Google to see if it's real, don't be a fucking retard.

Anyway, on towards my true beef. The message that this shit sends is about as anti-American as a person can get. People tend to see the buzz words and just assume it is meant to be a patriotic flag-waving which is exactly what this is not.

There are a couple of significant buzz words: (not counting Marine, Iraq and Afghanistan) atheist and ACLU.

These two terms are meant to grab you and separate you. They are used in a way to say that being a patriot and supporting the military means that you must be against atheists and the ACLU.

First, the second buzz word: the ACLU. I agree with you, they are douchebags of the highest order, however, they in their own way are looking out for American's best interest. Past that I can't defend them without puking a little in my mouth. (I admit my bias here).

Atheist is the first buzz word mentioned. It is meant to grab you in the same way. Many of us were raised to believe that Russia was full of "godless commies" and this is no different. Here is where I will ask you to think for a second. What is wrong with this statement?

What is wrong is that it is saying that theism is right, atheism is wrong - period. It leaves you no other choice. It gives you the classic "you are with us, or against us" problem. When you add all world religions together, regardless of their disagreements, they outnumber nonbelievers. The term is used very intentionally to grab the largest number of people.

The next few paragraphs reemphasize the previous statement of grouping believers of "something" against all others. During this reemphasization, it forces patriotism in to the mix making theists and patriots make a choice. They are either with the believer Marine who fought for their freedom, or against the evil, non believing professor. The choice is barely there because 90% of people don't even see a choice given to them. It is worded in such a way that disagreement is bad in the absolute worst way.

I however, am here to give you that choice.

Think again for a second, what you are agreeing with. You are saying that America is for assault and battery on people who believe different than you.

Again, it is saying: America is FOR assault and battery on people who believe different than you.

I ask you, how different does that sound from the dogma spewed to suicide bombers before they blow up in a crowd of civilians? Seriously, what is the difference? The only difference is death. You don't want a suicide bomber coming up to you and blowing up, but would you accept them coming up to you and knocking you out? Because that is what you are agreeing to with the above propaganda.

The end part is just as ludicrous. If you think God exists and he is busy protecting troops fighting the good fight, why are there thousands of new graves in Arlington cemetery? Why are there tens and tens of thousands of new amputees from the wars? Heck, why did "God" make all these theists kill other theists (and atheists) in the first place?

It's just blatantly patronizing to the masses and I, as an honest asshole, am officially calling you people on it. I don't care if you are deeply religious and/or deeply patriotic, punching a man because he believes differently than you is putting yourself on the same fucking level as the savages in the Middle East who are killing these same Marines you claim to love.

I am not proposing you must be tolerant of all belief systems, but violence because of someone not believing the same as you do is exactly what is getting the aforementioned Marines and Soldiers killed and I ask that you pull your head out of your ass and at least pretend you can think for yourself.