AW comment

[PetrChelcicky]

I have decided to pack my sporadic comments of AW ("Anabaptist World") articles into one regular topic, commenting articles I find particularly obnoxious, disturbing and absurd. (In former times I have written letters-to-the-editors, but in the meantime the editors have decided that they don't want to print uncomfortable letters.)
My choice for the beginning is:
"Jesus, divider-in-chief" by Conrad L. Kanagy | Anabaptist World, February 6, 2024

Kanagy starts with the correct observation that the Jesus of the gospels appears at the same time as a uniter and a divider My personal first reaction would be that the gospels are the voice of humans - the "Jesus movement" of that time - and the Jesus behind them remains an enigma Kanagy solves the problem by saying that Jesus divides on earth and unity is for the next world. But then how do we explain the present attempts of Anabaptists to solve conflicts and bring people together?

Kanagy starts with the Jan.6, 2021, event which divided him from his friends on the religious right. That's fine with me so far - if he is convinced that the election process was correct, he should certainly not act against his convictions.
The absurdity starts when Kanagy compares himself to "Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church for drawing a line in the sand at the Cross, refusing to be co-opted by power and the corruption power bring"s" (the apostroph here is Kanagy's.). The power-to-be is not Trump, but Biden and the governmental apparatus who brought hundreds of Trumpists to the jails If anyone here is "coopted by power" it is Kanagy himself, not the jailed persons. If anyone is comparable to Bonhoeffer at all, it is rather the jailed persons than the unjailed Kanagy.

MCC boasts about having "Compassion for people in prison" (Laura Pauls-Thomas, Mennonite Central Committee, February 5, 2024) and they take a strong stance against "mass incarceration". Could they perhaps extend that stance to the till then unheard incarceration of masses of people as "domestic terrorists" because of a riot which did not differ much from other riots?

[Ken]

I have decided to pack my sporadic comments of AW ("Anabaptist World") articles into one regular topic, commenting articles I find particularly obnoxious, disturbing and absurd. (In former times I have written letters-to-the-editors, but in the meantime the editors have decided that they don't want to print uncomfortable letters.)
My choice for the beginning is:
"Jesus, divider-in-chief" by Conrad L. Kanagy | Anabaptist World, February 6, 2024

Kanagy starts with the correct observation that the Jesus of the gospels appears at the same time as a uniter and a divider My personal first reaction would be that the gospels are the voice of humans - the "Jesus movement" of that time - and the Jesus behind them remains an enigma Kanagy solves the problem by saying that Jesus divides on earth and unity is for the next world. But then how do we explain the present attempts of Anabaptists to solve conflicts and bring people together?

Kanagy starts with the Jan.6, 2021, event which divided him from his friends on the religious right. That's fine with me so far - if he is convinced that the election process was correct, he should certainly not act against his convictions.
The absurdity starts when Kanagy compares himself to "Dietrich Bonhoeffer and the Confessing Church for drawing a line in the sand at the Cross, refusing to be co-opted by power and the corruption power bring"s" (the apostroph here is Kanagy's.). The power-to-be is not Trump, but Biden and the governmental apparatus who brought hundreds of Trumpists to the jails If anyone here is "coopted by power" it is Kanagy himself, not the jailed persons. If anyone is comparable to Bonhoeffer at all, it is rather the jailed persons than the unjailed Kanagy.

MCC boasts about having "Compassion for people in prison" (Laura Pauls-Thomas, Mennonite Central Committee, February 5, 2024) and they take a strong stance against "mass incarceration". Could they perhaps extend that stance to the till then unheard incarceration of masses of people as "domestic terrorists" because of a riot which did not differ much from other riots?

I'm not going to defend Kanagy.

But at least be accurate. First, not one of the 1/6 rioters were charged with domestic terrorism. They were convicted by juries (or in most cases pled guilty) to other charges. None are in prison for their political beliefs but rather their own actions. Second, plenty of people have been charged and jailed for other instances of rioting around the country. It is, in fact, common. For example, hundreds were arrested and many charged and convicted for the riots in Kenosha that led to the Kyle Rittenhouse shootings. Don't want to be charged with rioting and associated crimes? Don't riot. It's that simple.

[Josh]

I'm not going to defend Kanagy.

But at least be accurate. First, not one of the 1/6 rioters were charged with domestic terrorism. They were convicted by juries (or in most cases pled guilty) to other charges. None are in prison for their political beliefs but rather their own actions. Second, plenty of people have been charged and jailed for other instances of rioting around the country. It is, in fact, common. For example, hundreds were arrested and many charged and convicted for the riots in Kenosha that led to the Kyle Rittenhouse shootings. Don't want to be charged with rioting and associated crimes? Don't riot. It's that simple.

None of that is the substance of what PetrC was talking about, though. I think PetrC made a rather good point that it is somewhat absurd to compare yourself to Dietrich Bonhoeffer (who challenged the political powers in his country) because you are aligning yourself with the dominant power hierarchies in your country.

[Ken]

I'm not going to defend Kanagy.

But at least be accurate. First, not one of the 1/6 rioters were charged with domestic terrorism. They were convicted by juries (or in most cases pled guilty) to other charges. None are in prison for their political beliefs but rather their own actions. Second, plenty of people have been charged and jailed for other instances of rioting around the country. It is, in fact, common. For example, hundreds were arrested and many charged and convicted for the riots in Kenosha that led to the Kyle Rittenhouse shootings. Don't want to be charged with rioting and associated crimes? Don't riot. It's that simple.

None of that is the substance of what PetrC was talking about, though. I think PetrC made a rather good point that it is somewhat absurd to compare yourself to Dietrich Bonhoeffer (who challenged the political powers in his country) because you are aligning yourself with the dominant power hierarchies in your country.

I agree. I didn't read the article since no link was provided and it didn't sound like something interesting enough to chase down. But if some ordinary editorial writer is comparing himself to Bonhoeffer simply because some people in his church or wider circle disagree with him then that is absurd. We all have a right to our opinions and a right to express them. But there is no right here or anywhere else that requires OTHERS to AGREE with us. And disagreement is not persecution.

But this is also not Nazi Germany in that we don't have a single unitary political power in this country. Power is fairly evenly shared between two opposing groups: Democrats hold the White House and Senate. Republicans hold the House and Supreme Court and many lower courts. And the civil service operates in a nonpartisan manner for the most part. Despite the conspiracy theories of the right, there is no secret deep state doing the bidding of Democrats or some other cabal.

[temporal1]

OP:
I have decided to pack my sporadic comments of AW ("Anabaptist World") articles into one regular topic, commenting articles I find particularly obnoxious, disturbing and absurd. (In former times I have written letters-to-the-editors, but in the meantime the editors have decided that they don't want to print uncomfortable letters.) ..

Best wishes. i hope this works for you.

Your premise reminds of TNBaer, former active member who authored a thread pretty much featuring some publication he would be regularly annoyed with. TN had his own special style, a combination of satire, irony, impatience, and serious motivation.

It may have been AW. i’m unsure.

i don’t believe he’s registered on MN. i wish he would. he had a young family, moved from Albany, NY to Oregon, i think.
If he registered with a new username, i think some here would recognize him!

Best wishes for your topic!