carlgardner has adopted no words, looked up 0 words, created 1 list, listed 1 word, written 2 comments, added 0 tags, and loved 0 words.
carlgardner has adopted no words, looked up 0 words, created 1 list, listed 1 word, written 2 comments, added 0 tags, and loved 0 words.
Comments by carlgardner
carlgardner commented on the word religitigation
I’m not the only person to have noticed a sharp increase in the numbers of legal cases involving complaints by religious people that their rights have been infringed because their beliefs have been insufficiently respected – the recent acquittal of Ben and Sharon Vogelenzang, who were charged with using threatening, abusive or insulting words which were religiously aggravated against a Muslim convert, is another example. It may be worth mentioning that the Vogelenzangs were also supported by the Christian Institute.
To be fair, I like many others have sympathy for the Vogelenzangs and am glad they were acquitted. They were the victims of what I’m tempted to call the religitigation culture, and their case shows that religious believers themselves can be the victims of it just as much as anyone else.
But I’m concerned about religitigation and the role of activists like the Christian Institute in promoting it.
From Head of Legal
December 17, 2009
carlgardner commented on the word lorelei
It's important to say that Heinrich Heine wrote the famous poem, Die Lorelei, which, if perhaps not the actual origin of the legend (I don't know enough to say) is so famous that it has in effect become the legend. I think the Nazis tried to create a myth that it was an anonymous folk poem, in an attempt to expunge Heine's name.
April 7, 2009