Article: "Respect." by Damien Lee Thorr

Respect.

Article by Damien Lee Thorr

Respect is something that must be earned and not something that, out of social convention, should be freely given just because.

Preachers, priests, pastors, chaplains, rabbis and all other types of religious leaders are charlatans who prey upon the gullibility of those who are lazy/weak-minded and cannot think for themselves that never question the things they are told.

I also include "psychics" or fortune tellers in the bunch of charlatans.

These charlatans depend on the gullibility of the people in order for their scam to be successful because in order to be successful, someone must be willing to believe their bullshit.

Look at what they sell:

That the world is only about six thousand years old in spite of scientific evidence that proves the planet is much, much older.

That man was created from dirt when science proves our biological system could not have been sculpted from dirt.

That a woman became pregnant without a man's sperm when it is a physiological impossibility.

That the world is flat when there is scientific and photographic evidence that the planet is a spherical shape.

That a man can walk on water when the laws of physics prove it cannot be done.

That a man was swallowed alive by a whale or fish for 3 days when that is not possible.

That a woman can transform into a pillar of salt.

That when you die you are rewarded with seventy-two virgins.

That a corpse rotting for three days can come back to life.

That a snake can talk when no reptile has ever been able to speak due to the fact that they do not have vocal capabilities.

.... among other nonsense that repudiates our observations of science, nature and physics.....

Religious belief is a cruel means of control born of fear when early tribes of man did not have scientific research developed to observe things for valid and truthful answers.

No claim based on religious belief has ever had any observations, research or palpable evidence to support them.

To be willing to believe any of those claims where magic must be possible, is to open the doors for charlatans to seize the opportunity to profit from them.

With that said, none of those charlatans deserve ANY respect.

I was recently shopping at a store and I was approached by a woman who handed me her business card telling me she was a psychic. I refused the card and told her I didn't believe in bullshit fakes such as herself. She responded with: "oh no... I am for real!” to which I responded: "No, all of you are con artists." to which she responded: "That's not nice," to which I responded: "Is it nice when you take people's money for lying to them? You are bullshit!"

I was actually very offended that she looked at me and tried handing me her card thinking I was stupid.

People will believe everything they are willing to believe for a multitude of reasons: grief, depression, anger but mostly fear and uncertainty. It would help society very much if the US population had an advanced education but the reality is that, with less than 20% of the population that does advance to having college degrees, the vast majority are arrogant and dumb enough to believe in psychics and religious beliefs as if they were based on reality.

All of these charlatans and con artists must be disrespected at all times. They do not deserve the courtesy of a "good morning, sir" or anything.

All they do is mislead people with falsehoods and misrepresentations of the facts even when science debunks what they sell.

People must adapt to living with more common sense and get educated.

Common sense:

If prayer worked, we would have an overpopulation of billionaires, eradicate illnesses, save all lives, save rape victims, save people from prison sentences for crimes they did not commit.... if prayer worked, people would not put on their seat belts, locked their doors or buy so many guns....

If psychics were real and true, there would be an overpopulation of billionaires, accidents would be prevented, bad choices would be prevented, etc....

Again, respect is to be earned and not freely given out of social courtesy when there are charlatans who prey upon the weaknesses of others.

So all you psychics, priests, pastors, rabbis, spiritual gurus of whatever scam you are conducting:

FUCK ALL OF YOU!!!

Damien Lee Thorr is the composer and lead guitarist for the popular, classically influenced and openly atheist/political activist metal band Predator, has authored many essays and editorials for Asphyxium Zine and written he horror-erotica novel “The Vampire Journals”. Check out Predator’s 2011 full length "Born in Blood" at Youtube and visit their official site at http://www.predatortheband.com/.