Censorship on Demand

Source: https://sites.psu.edu/worldwidewomen/censorship-effects-on-society/

 

Censorship group: We have a list of 200 books we would like removed from the library's shelves immediately!

Library: Well, let's take a look here and...umm, actually we don't have any of those titles in our library.

Censorship group: We're going to go after your collection policy!

Library: But why? We don't have those titles here.

Censorship group: But according to your policy, you could! Someday! Maybe! Possibly!

The above dialogue is not an imagined scenario, it is my way of presenting something that really happened in the United States of 'Murica. Now that the Karens and Chads have lost the masking policies as a form of self-congratulatory faux activism, they're once more focusing on ideas. It's all in the name of the children, of course, because that's how they accomplish their agenda. Everybody who has a different way of thinking is "grooming" the poor innocent kids as if they don't groom them to become pro-censorship, anti-science wackjobs with blatant self-worth issues. 

There is an organization comprised of, surprise-surprise, conservative women who are aggressively trying to do everything they can to make censorship great again. Why do I say "again?" Well, there was a time when it was the norm in this country. In fact, the notion of unfettered access to ideas is relatively new on the United States timeline. The name of this group is, unironically, MomsforLiberty. And in case you're wondering, they have been largely successful in their attempts to keep kids away from scary concepts such as American's actual history and the fact that not everybody is straight.

Operating under the guise of advocating for parental rights, what they're really saying is they want to be able to be part of a society while at the same time not being in any way responsible to that society. It should come as no surprise that these privileged stay-at-homes (mostly) want to have their proverbial cake and eat it, too. They are, after all, used to getting their own way because of who they are. I know, I know. I'm indulging in supposed "identity politics" or whatever rightwing catchphrase is the hip one these days, but facts are still facts no matter how they are labeled.

Like their counterparts in other, similar movements, they proceed from a false premise (See image to the left). The idea that schools, libraries and society at large are somehow attempting to "co-parent" their precious kids is absurd and small-minded. The role of these entities is to provide access to materials to a broad demographic and, if there is teaching occurring, it is for the betterment of the society as a whole. If you don't agree with making your child a well-rounded citizen, homeschool them and keep them in your bubble.

That's not good enough for MomsforLiberty though. Their mission is to wash across the country and effect change in their wake. They see themselves as warriors in the cause of childhood purity and, frankly, they have just enough actual precedent to make themselves seem credible to the misinformed. That's how these groups with their dubious origins become forces to be reckoned with. And make no mistake, they are indeed that.

There is a reason glad-handing opportunists such as Ron DeSantis are so cozy with them. They are a large voting bloc and they vote for anybody who parrots their views. Florida has been their most successful battleground so far but they have chapters in nearly every state. And if the rumors are true and this organization actually requires loyalty oaths and photos of members, we are looking at a totalitarian attempt at policing ideas that will not end with school libraries.

For a list of MomsforLiberty's "accomplishments," click here

The Literal-Mindedness of Evangelicalism

 

"Why pay for movies when you can pay me?"

You would think someone who operates exclusively on faith would be able to grasp abstract concepts in lieu of being suffocatingly literal-minded. And while that is, perhaps, true of some true believers out there, it's not true of your typical Evangelical Christian. They don't view anything they believe as metaphorical or representative of some greater, impossible to define truth. They take it all at face value and, even worse, they project that mentality onto the rest of us.

Especially those of us who dare write fiction.

Recently, I saw a video clip of an Evangelical preacher admonishing people for watching horror movies. His bone of contention was that the films somehow convince us that the entities they feature are more powerful than they actually are when all one really needs is Christian faith to essentially stomp these beings into the ground for Jesus. This preacher went on to decry all horror films as an attempt to deceive people from the truth of the Gospel. That's all well and good. He can believe whatever he wants, but what he can't do is speak as an authority on something he clearly knows nothing about.

This certainly wasn't the first time a preacher arrogantly proclaimed his knowledge about the so-called "secular world" and it sadly isn't anywhere near to being the last. It's yet another in a long line of misconceptions uttered by someone who entire existence is informed by magical thinking. It's a fascinating contradiction to be both literal-minded and entirely lacking in logic, but when one's false sense of righteousness is backed up by the bubble they operate within, it is unavoidable. 

"We're lookin' for the guy that called us weak and defeated."

First off, horror is so much more than movies featuring demonic entities of the Judeo-Christian variety. There are several sub-genres, some of which don't include the supernatural at all. Secondly, the preacher's assertion that demons are defeated beings living under our feet is a provincial one at best. Not everyone believes that and not every culture's demons are former uppity angels who got their comeuppance. In some belief systems, angels are indeed equal to their counterparts. Thirdly, the preacher's woeful ignorance of the genre and its history is on full display because he has no idea what traditions are being drawn from. You think he knows about Lovecraft's Ancient Ones or Clive Barker's pleasure/torture vision of Hell? 

Most importantly, he misunderstands (whether intentionally or unintentionally) the entire point of horror, which is to provide much-needed catharsis for the audience watching it. Fear is only a bad thing if it's given more power than it deserves. By proclaiming all fictional horror part of some greater conspiracy to perpetrate a lie about Christian-centric demons, he stands revealed as little more than a peddler of ignorance desperately trying to understand a word that makes little sense to him otherwise. The sad part is there are millions of Americans are not only willing but also happy to follow along.

I can't think of anything more horrifying that that.

CLOSING THE DOOR ON SHERRY SHRINER

 

On July 19, 2010 I posted what I thought was a humorous piece on a bizarre group of people on Facebook whose belief system was so far out there, I thought it was satire. That post, which you can read by clicking here, began a several years' long fascination on my part with this charisma-free individual and her increasingly demented claims. 

Her followers did not find me amusing, as evidenced by the post above, and soon the novelty wore off and I decided to look into their leader. What I found was a hodgepodge of conspiracy theories with roots stretching back to anti-Semitic beliefs, Hollywood-inspired tales of aliens, and astoundingly odd misreading of the Christian Bible. Despite what was already enough to convince me the woman was mentally unbalanced, it was when I heard her speak that I knew for sure she was dangerous.

I listened to several of her podcasts and even suffered through one of her rambling, schizophrenic "books" because I just couldn't believe there were other people taking her seriously. Eventually, I started writing about her and her cult of adherents. I published the articles on Suite101 with the intention of trying to figure out if Shriner was a con artist or a true lunatic. I reached the conclusion that she was somehow, paradoxically, both. There really is such a thing as believing one's own bullshit, and no one excelled at it the way Sherry Shriner did.

After a while, it stopped being fun. People enjoyed the articles well enough, but they seemed to fall into one of two camps: The Dismissives, who felt Shriner deserved no attention at all, and the Popcorn Munchers, who looked forward to a good laugh. I was neither. There was something dangerous about this mush-mouthed individual, something dark and horrifying. I had gone from intense amusement at the outset to fascination to finally wariness. 

While I looked in on Shriner's antics from time to time over the next decade, I didn't feel the need to write about her. Others were already doing that, some of whom were doing a good job. Still others were just out there as she, calling her a false prophet instead of dangerously mentally ill. Some even accused her of being the shapeshifting reptilian alien she labeled others as being. I was not the first person to write about her, but it seemed like most others were more concerned in proving she was wrong in favor of their own ideologies. Clearly a war was being waged between extremists in the world of self-righteous zealots. 

The years passed and more dangerous paranoids took the stage, most notably Alex Jones. The QAnon movement seemed to encompass all ludicrous theories in a similar way to Shriner but with even more frightening effectiveness. Shriner was becoming a dinosaur in an era where her teachings were little more than an Internet footnote. Her voice had receded into the background of a rising cacophony of illogical, truth-bending, reality-denying imbeciles all believing their uninformed opinions to be equal to proven fact. I almost longed for the "charm" of her silly claims and assertions. Then I found out somebody was killed because of her and everything changed.

Actually, let's take a step back to 2012, not long after I had stopped paying much attention to Shriner and her wacked out cadre of supposed Orgone Warriors. Somehow, a story did not catch my notice that year, perhaps because it was a pivotal year of change for me. Apparently, a young woman from my home state who actually didn't live all that far from me committed suicide in a nearby park so she could be reborn as a spirit warrior in Shriner's so-called cause. Her name was Kelly Pingilley and she was, by all accounts, most likely an undiagnosed delusional schizophrenic who desperately wanted to understand the voices and urges in her head. Shriner preyed on people like her.

An event I did know about was the suicide and possible murder of former Shriner acolyte Steve Mineo in 2017. Mineo supposedly asked his girlfriend to shoot him in the head because he couldn't handle all of the online harassments from Shriner's followers coupled with his inability to expose her as a fraud. The details of the shooting are bizarre and covered in length on the Vice docu-series "The Devil You Know." But you can read a more detailed account here.

Shriner immediately went into self-preservation mode, blaming the girlfriend by branding her a vampire and a demon and shapeshifter and a clone and whatever else dropped out of her evil ass. She blamed NATO for Mineo's death, which she claimed was part of a psyop being waged against her because of her dangerous status as God's holy messenger.

First of all...NATO??? Secondly, how could Mineo's girlfriend be all of those things at the same time? She even used doctored photos to make it seem as if the woman had been replaced with an older-looking clone.

Who knows what other horrific things she caused during her time online? She was an unrepentant opportunist to whom human life clearly meant very little. Her "ministry" was her source of income and she milked it for all it was worth. 

Shriner died of a heart attack on January 28th, 2021, most likely caused by her reported chain-smoking problem. One would think a movement so strongly identified with its originator would die off with that person gone. One would be wrong. The Facebook page devoted to Shriner continues under her daughter's moderation and many claim Sherry wasn't killed at all. One person even wrote that she was "disappeared" by NATO and will re-emerge brainwashed,  refuting everything she taught. All I could write back was, "Now THAT'S how you keep a swindle going!"

That is most likely my final word on the subject of Sherry Shriner, warbley-voiced, poorly spoken, hostile and undeniably insane self-appointed Messenger of the Most High and purveyor of every batshit crazy conspiracy theory ever devised. May she fade into the background of collective memory until she is little more than footnote. 

You Can't Invent this Level of Horror!

 Writers of dark fiction love to plumb the depths of the human psyche and the spiritual realm in the hopes of either scaring the absolute crap out of their readers or, if they like to aim a little higher, making some type of hopefully meaningful comment on the human condition and the various masks we wear in our lives. This usually involves a well-developed imagination and a willingness to face our fears that not everyone possesses. We may not always succeed, but our aim is sincere and worthy. However, there are some terrors that defy our best attempts.

May I present to you one such example?

Gaze, dear readers, upon...

The creepiest couple ever!

Okay, she's not really all that creepy. She's more creepy by association. Mr. Cherwenka, however, is the kind of character I would mentally dismiss as too over-the-top, too absurd, and too off-putting to be effective in a work of fiction. It isn't enough that he is an artificial-lifeform real estate investor whose income seems to also involve getting people to pay him to tell them about how he does it. It isn't enough that the back cover of the book pictured above features both he and his spouse half-naked in workout clothes and that his pic looks seriously photo-shopped. 

See for yourselves:

You're probably thinking, "Okay, that's pretty disturbing. Surely that's the whole story and I may now go scrub my eyes and brain with a scouring pad." 

Well, hold on to your SOS pads, because we're just getting started!

You see, Cherwenka claims to be a Born Again Christian whose wealth and success are a direct result of pleasing Jesus. Apparently, all the Christian Messiah requires of his followers is a real estate license and killer abs. In his testimony entitled, "Stripped Bare by the Lord," Cherwenka reveals how he came to be a devout follower of Christ, and it starts with his days as a male exotic dancer. This came about, he says, when some female students at his college dared him to enter a contest where he wound up winning $500.00. He then became a dancer with a male revue at $100.00 per night. Big Money for a college student in the Eighties. 

Cherwenka went on to become rather well-known in the field, appearing on Phil Donahue and Jerry Springer and garnering equal parts admiration and envy, the latter from his fellow male revue dancers who didn't like all the publicity he was enjoying. Of course, he was able to establish a new male revue with dancers working for him, and it was one of them who started Cherwenka on the road to personal salvation. This dancer "gave his life to Christ in 1993" and set about doing what all Evangelical Christians feels they are commanded to do when encountering a non-believer. He actively began preaching the Word. 

In what seems like a steady stream of subtext-filled odd word choices, Cherwenka writes that his former employee was, "going to witness to me hard and heavy." But he wasn't interested in what his friend was peddling, so Cherwenka went through the motions by saying The Sinner's Prayer without actually meaning it. That was when, he claims, God took major umbrage and came down on him like a bag of anvils landing on a bag of rabid cats. 

The male revue began suffering from infighting and a lack of focus, his wife wanted a divorce despite having given him a child, she wound up with pneumonia when she went back into touring as an exotic dancer, and they had a stolen vehicle situation. As far as he is concerned, this was God's way of showing how unamused He was by Cherwenka's insincere and flippant attitude. In his own words, "Times were getting so bad that God put the writing on the wall, 'Either give your life to me or I'm going to take it.'"

God was going to "take" his life if he didn't choose to follow Him.

Sometime later, Cherwenka writes that his religious friend encouraged him to go see a guy with the last name of "Schwartz." Again, I can't make this kind of stuff up! This individual convinced our hero that he was miserable because he was separated from his Creator, the God who had low-key threatened to murder him if he couldn't manage to become a follower. Cherwenka's account of his interaction with Schwartz includes how "unclean" he felt and how he wept like a child as he realized his desire to please his heavenly father.

That didn't stop him from being a male stripper though. At least not right away. There was still Big Money to be made after all. But he did tell his guys the Christmas show was to be the last one. He was Born Again. Saved. A self-described "brand new creation." But somehow one last stripping expo to celebrate Christ's birth was just what the reverend ordered! 

Wiggle it...just a lil' bit...

Hey, he was under contract! It's not as if true believers have been willing to be imprisoned for their faith throughout history. It's all about convenience. And one thing that isn't convenient is knowing where your money is going to come from when you've left your successful career...ahem...behind. 

Thankfully for him, Cherwenka took notice of a foreclosure seminar advertised in the newspaper in 1995. Realizing it's not profiting off of someone else's suffering if you buy the property with the intent of fixing it up, he went for it and failed spectacularly thanks to having been defrauded by a wholesaler. Our hero had expected God to cut him some slack now that he was a devoted Christian but it didn't seem to be working out that way. He was sleeping in the properties he was renovating with no utilities and showering at a truck stop.  Then he went and spoke to a pastor with the last name of, and remember I'm not making any of this up, "Cox."

He...slept in empty houses and showered at...truck stops and visited Pastor Cox...

😕

The pastor ministered to him and asked him how much money he needed. I'm sorry, I need a moment to separate myself from all this subtext!

Talk amongst yourselves...

Okay, I'm back! 

Cherwenka asked, umm, the pastor if God still intervenes in the lives of people in the 21st Century. He asked this in 1996, which makes him either incredibly forward-thinking or someone who forgot what century he was writing about. Either way, kudos. Naturally, Cox believed that God does indeed do that. So, our hero, who felt "compelled" to cut his shoulder-length hair (the last vestige of his dancin' daze, which he maintained because it was a...visual aid for his testimonials?) and then his narrative jumps to him having a nervous breakdown while a radio minister preached the word. Like all self-pitying Christians, he likened himself to Job. To be honest, his story mirrors Job's in some significant ways.

However, Cherwenka received a reprieve in what could very well be a miraculous event. In his own words:

"Tuesday morning I  woke  up  after  sleeping at the  property, and  two huge  trees  on  the side  of the  house  where  I  needed  to put a driveway were  split in  half by lighting (see pictures  below) and  there  is  no other  storm damage  in  the  county! Neither  tree  fell on  the  two houses  I  was  working on, nor  did  I  hear  a noise  in  my sleep. My spirits were  restored  and  GOD’S  greatness  was  in  my presence."

The picture provided does indeed show trees that have been struck by lightning and, if his account is to be believed, is is rather interesting that they were the only thing to be struck in the entire county. That's actually an impressive story.

Since then, Cherwenka got back on his feet and became a successful wholesale real estate guy. According to a quick online search, he and wife Tolla (pictured on the book) married in 2014. His first wife, despite becoming Born Again in 1996, did not stay with him. He views his business as his ministry, mentioning how he finds deals for people as if it has holy significance. But what's really fascinating is how Cherwenka attributes horrible moments in his life to the perfect God he follows in a way that is akin to an abused child excusing his parent's horrible behavior.

For example, one day in 1998 while on his knees playing with his child, he began wondering why he no longer got on his knees to pray. His infant son started choking and the frightened dad had to call 911. The child was eventually fine, but as far his father was concerned, this was God telling him not to "get too comfortable." A year prior, he hired his brother-in-law to do some painting on a property he owned and spoke harshly to him for not getting the job done on time, a move he describes as Un-Christ-like. Never mind that Jesus was reproachful of people not doing what they were supposed to do on at least four occasions. Never mind that nonsense. Cherwenka wound up placing too much gas on a trash fire and burning down an acre of forest. His conclusion? 

"God was telling me to keep my cool to avoid the heat."

No remorse for the burned land or the animals that might have died as a result. The whole thing was just about him.

His child nearly chokes to death and it's God communicating with him. He burns down a section of forest and God is using that to tell him to cool it.

Sadly, a lot of performers are narcissists. This is especially true when those performers are known for what they look like. A person like that who discovers religion would naturally gear it towards his own benefit. And part of that would look like a person trying to help people. This isn't to say that Mike Cherwenka is some sort of freewheelin' sociopath. He may be a lovely human being who truly cares about others. I mean, don't most real estate moguls want you to see what their bodies look like with fewer clothes on?

Source

Hobby Lobby lets Employees go Without Pay and Defies Orders to Stay Closed

In a move that was surely designed to display Hobby Lobby CEO David Green's obvious belief that God appreciates pure evil, a mentality in direct contradiction to all accepted views on Christian theology, the arts and craft superstore has both fired people without benefits due to the Covid-19 pandemic and reopened stores in defiance of it.

Green and his non-essential business have been a study in contradictions since anyone can remember, but this pandemic has really thrown a blacklight on just what a lowlife he is and how his company reflects that. Initially, Hobby Lobby chose to stand firm on not closing no matter what. Why did they do that? Simple. Green's "prayer warrior" wife had a vision from God that arrived in a convenient, three-word catch-phrase that sounded suspiciously like a sales seminar. This inspired Green to send off a memo telling everybody who worked for him that they weren't closing.

Then reality set in and he changed his tune...temporarily. The resultant backlash to Hobby Lobby's decision to resist CDC and WHO guidelines left Green unfazed. In Oklahoma, for example, the company simply redefined "essential" by claiming their corporate office fell under the "cyber security and infrastructure agency" category, which at least one employee annonymously said they do not. 

As far as the stores were concerned, emails such as the one pictured below tell a rather bleak story:

\The language used here is almost fascinating: "This layoff is permanent," stands out in particular. The final sentence is also telling, as it essentially closes the door to the possibility of bringing the person back while wishing them all the best. Thankfully, the entire thing is peppered with standard issue "this hurts me more than it does you" rhetoric to make the (former) employee feel that wondrous combination of dejection and despair.

Yet the story doesn't end there. Being the true-to-life Bentley Little novel that it is, Hobby Lobby, in its serpent-like way, slithered out of the light of reason and compassion to reopen stores in at least two states. Talking points have been given to the managers for when law officers arrive questioning just what the hell they think they're doing and one store was actually boarded up by police in Wisconsin after reopening two on March 30th.

And still the passive-aggressive defiance continues. In Indiana, police forced a store to close after it reopened. The information employees say they're receiving from on high is contradictory, first agreeing that Hobby Lobby is not essential and later saying they are essential as a pretext for reopening. They're also cutting hours, meaning the necessary sanitizing is not getting done. 

One employee put it best when they said:

"There is absolutely nothing in Hobby Lobby worth spreading this illness. I'm honestly appalled at this company and the way it doesn't care for its employees and only about making their money."

Lowlives such as David Green are what American society tells us to admire. Why we should admire someone who couldn't care less about human beings who might  die horribly is as baffling as his claims that a kind and loving god would want people to keep being exposed to a deadly virus in order to sell arts and crafts. 

This is what happens when vulture capitalism and religious fantacism encounter tragedy.

Hobby Lobby Remaining Open Because "God"

 God-fearin' and exploitin' Hobby Lobby CEO David Green's "prayer warrior" wife Barbara prayed so hard about this Covid-19 epidemic bugaboo that she was rewarded with a vision in the form of three easily memorized and repeated words: "Guide, Guard and Groom." And since God apparently talks like a sales seminar, that phrase is somehow meant to comfort the thousands of Hobby Lobby employees who are being made to continue working at the arts and crafts superstore.
As you can see from the memo to the left, Hobby Lobby has no intention of modifying its hours, let alone closing during a global pendemic; not when there are sales and money to be made.
You don't have to take this blog's word for it, however. The email pictured below gives pretty clear indication of the extent to which the Hobby Lobby corporation will go to profit off of tragedy.

At this point, if you still don't want to accept the evidence as presented by awesome Twitter user "Towanda the Avenger," maybe this actual notice from the Hobby Lobby website will convince you. Pay especial attention to the sentence where they say any employees who exhibit signs of Covid-19 will be sent home to self-isolate but nothing about immediately closing down right after. Clearly the CDC guidelines are not a concern for Green because his wife's conveniently catchy God-provided vision will save the day.

None of this should come as a surprise to anyone who has followed the Hobby Lobby saga over the years. Providing meager sick pay and violating the Family Medical Leave Act at least once, Green's fundamentalist hypocrisy has been on full display for years. Many would consider this a new low, however. A non-essential business remaining open based on dubious claims of Godly protection that is clearly exploiting a global pandemic for sales reasons isn't just affecting individuals or even the company's employees. Keeping their stores open when the World Health Organization, The CDC and your local veterinarian all agree you should not is irresponsible and the very hallmark of profit over people.

Hypocrisy Under the Microscope: Bob Dutko

As I was driving in to work this afternoon, I decided to inflict torture upon myself by letting the radio's scan feature land on 103.5 FM WMUZ, a local Christian station. That time of day during the week is dedicated to the Bob Dutko Show, a politically oriented program designed to give the so-called Christian perspective on the issues of the day. Mostly he just calls anyone he labels as liberals hypocrites and sings Donald Trump's praises no matter what he has done or said or, for that matter, not done or said.

In his own way, Dutko is a bigger mouthpiece than Sean Hannity which is no small feat. And this wasn't my first time hearing or even enduring Dutko's diatribes (that would make a much better name for his show, I think) so I am well-acquainted with his approach. He basically delivers the conservative talking points of the day in a nauseatingly matter-of-fact-we're-just-folks-talkin' tone that appeals to an audience that despises formal speech from so-called elitists.

I have never felt the need to write about him until today.

Dutko was in rare form today. With a sob in his voice that sounded like it belonged to a grieving mother whose child was slain on the fields of battle, he went on and on about three "beloved children's' classics" that were being released in China sans all references to Christianity. That's right. His mighty heart was breaking over a Communist country that has outlawed all religion removing references to religion in foreign literature. And as if this wasn't bone-chillingly idiotic enough, he launched into a rant about the New Testament being (GASP!) rewritten to more readily reflect Chinese culture.

I can certainly understand his outrage; this has never happened before...except when it was translated into Greek...oh, and Latin...and English, French, German...you get the idea. This is a brand new thing!

Dutko's biggest butthurt was the fact that they are including Buddhist teachings in the New Testament. I won't even get into how much of Jesus' teachings sound suspiciously like they were ripped out of Buddha's mouth. What prompted this post was the arrogance from which Dutko operates, where he can actually express outrage over the supposed co-opting of his belief system when things like this exist.

Guess what? If there can be no Bible with Chinese cultural leanings, there can also be no Karate with Christian dogma planted inside it like a weed. You don't get to rip off another culture's identity, re-brand it with the Jesus seal, and then act like somebody else doing the opposite is a monster. That's not how reality works. Then again, if his listeners understand reality, they wouldn't be his listeners.

Well, I'm glad we settled that one!