I received this email in my inbox recently and I thought i’d share. It was pretty funny. It was written to me in response to a comment I made several years ago on a public forum that was an exercise in hyperbole. I was taking a shot at people arguing that it was acceptable to kill small human beings and cut them up for their body parts because they lacked “personhood”. So I argued a similar case but using a different arbitrary criteria for personhood. Apparently Barry, failed to grasp any of this and wrote the following email to me. I edited it for language because Barry curses like a sailor.
In response to: http://www.theologyweb.com/campus/showthread.php?t=41180
For the record I consider violent, hateful people like you to be scum, so I will make this brief.
You harm me or my friends or my loved ones and I will kill you on the basis of self defense. This is not a threat. It is a warning to stay the &*%$ away from my city, you worthless piece of &*%$.
Having read your post on theology web, I couldn’t sleep last night, knowing people like you really exist. What gives you the right to decide who is and isn’t “fully human?” Some people call me paranoid. If you’re located anywhere on my continent, I think paranoia is absolutely justified. I hope that by now the FBI has already locked you up in some place where you can’t do any more harm.
I am an atheist and I really do hope one day you do come for my &*%$&*$ organs so that I can slit your &*%$&*$ throat, because you are worse than HItler, you mother&*%$&*$. I hope you track me down so I can sick the &*%$&*$ FBI on your ass. Come post your Nazi-like beliefs on Rational Response Squad. I’ll be waiting for you, &*%$&*$.
To all the atheists that listen I have a question for you. Are you embarrassed by this sort of behavior from your co-religionists ?
I mean Christians say some goofy things from time to time, but the Christians that say goofy things and demonstrate questionable levels of reading comprehension skill at least pride themselves in their anti-intellectualism typically. Barry here seems to have utterly missed the point and yet still associates himself with a group using the word “rational” in its title.
I guess the real irony is that it is Barry’s co-religionists like Peter Singer that I had in mind when I made the original post. But clearly that part went over Barry’s head.