Some Thoughts on the Colorado Springs Fire and the Hypocrisy of Religion

Let me start by saying that the wildfires burning south of Denver are a horrible tragedy. Thankfully—as I understand it at this point in time—there has only been property damage and no loss of human life.

I still remember vividly the Oakland Hills fire in 1991 and the devastation left in its wake. While I was not personally affected by that fire, being a resident of the Bay Area I still felt an enormous sadness in seeing my neighbors across the bay lose so much.

However, as I watch the news and see the homes and businesses going up in flames in Colorado Springs, I feel none of that empathy this time.

And that brings me to the subject of religious—particularly Christian—hypocrisy.

Colorado Springs is home to Focus on the Family, one of the most well-funded, virulently anti-gay hate groups in the country. And as I've noted in previous posts, that pious, holier-than-thou, rah-rah-USA-we're-number-one, church-on-every-corner ostentatious display of wealth that permeates the city makes my skin crawl whenever I have to travel there to service our satellite office.

Let's be honest: if this tragedy struck San Francisco, or Los Angeles, or New York, or basically any location that supports acceptance of the gay community, the hate groups nationwide would be jumping up and down with glee, trumpeting it as "God's righteous judgment against the heathen sodomites." But since this tragedy has affected God's own supposedly chosen people, you won't hear a peep. If anything, they will say that "God is testing their faith."

Uh huh.

The same goes for hurricanes, tornadoes and a host of other natural disasters that strike the deep south and the so-called "Bible Belt." You'll never hear God's Gentle People even considering the possibility that their Magic Sky Fairy isn't testing their faith—that he's pissed as hell and raining down judgement on them for the amount of unmitigated hate they spew at their fellow human beings.

So while my lack of empathy this time is based in part because I'm not emotionally invested in this community the way I was in San Francisco, the majority of it stems from the fact that I—even though it probably labels me a heartless bastard and no better than the people I've just written about—can't help feeling some smug satisfaction in seeing karma in action and that indeed, she is a bitch.

So yeah, what's happening in Colorado Springs is a tragedy for the people who live there and I'm sorry for the tremendous material losses. But if AFA Headquarters, and even the Air Force Academy itself—another breeding ground for anti-gay Xtianist propaganda—happens to burn to the ground, you won't find me shedding a single tear.