Today’s Jesus and Mo strip, called “harbour”, came with the author’s comment “Seems a bit extreme!”
My interpretation of the last frame is that they’re being hyperwoke and the artist and barmaid are antiwoke, but I’m not sure. What do readers think?
Jesus ‘n’ Mo ‘n’ a duet
December 15, 2021 • 8:45 am
anti-woke? au contraire – hyperwoke.
What I meant is that the artist is making fun of the woke. I’ll make this clearer in the text, thanks.
It’s not always about the PC (‘woke’). I think the artist is pointing out a tendency of hyper-defensiveness amongst the religious as a reaction to increasing secularization and better education. I have seen it firsthand for the past several decades. Look at the ‘War on Christmas’ crowd.
First thing I thought of was trans rights, where anyone not fully left is labeled transphobic.
I think it can apply to religion or the woke ideology. The religious may say you don’t believe because you just hate God or you just want to sin, etc…
Wokism isn’t a (god-free) religion?
Well, colour me surprised and sell me a sausage!
(Yes, I am am ordained minister in the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster (may Sauce be upon her Mighty Meaty Balls). As our anti-hero Elron said, “why lumber a religion with a god who might interfere with the taking of profit?”
“Author” is indeed generally “woke critical”.
This strip could well be about the woke responses to the latest JK Rowling Tweet.
Hyperbolic reframing would also seem to be an accurate description of Alex Jones’ shtick.
MO’s final comment is clearly woke to the extreme. Satirically so, to say the least. Certainly hyperbolically reframed to claim evil intentions.
Attacking a misrepresentation of an argument is very common. When I talk to people, I try to avoid it by focusing on asking them questions, so I can get them to clarify their position. Often that is sufficient because I have found that many people find it hard to clarify positions that they have not carefully examined. The comic struck me as a general criticism. But then I am not at one with current US culture (not entirely a bad thing), so I see it from a different perspective.
I find asking questions doesn’t help:
“What evidence do you have that your God exists?”
“Ha! So you believe the Universe created itself”
There’s also the rule of so. If somebody begins their response to something you say with the word “so”, what follows will almost certainly be a strawmanned attempt at restating your position.
I find that I keep beginning my online lectures with “So”. I’ve tried to stop since hearing John Finnemore point out this tic, but its a hard habit to kick.
Right. It is not easy, and I am not talking specifically about religion. But for me, it is better to make sure the person clarifies exactly what it is they are saying, otherwise the whole thing is vacuous. So I persist. And after persisting, I persist some more. Then, when I am done persisting, I begin to persist.
I thought this strip was more a poke at the right side of the political spectrum. After all, they tend to frame anyone on the left as evil communists, and eschew any discussion of ideas.
The article doesn’t recognize that some people seem to have a deep religious bent that arises no matter what their circumstances. Certainly, I and my childhood friend T.B. are examples of that. My parents didn’t practice any religion, yet in my late teens and early twenties I was seeking religious answers — as was my friend T.B. We both lived in Scarsdale, NY, and neither of us was poor. T.B. was a born-again Christian from the time he was in puberty, and I sought out metaphysical sources, eventually settling on the Seth Material as the most reliable source of information about God and the universe. T.B. became a minister and is now well known among Christians for pushing the idea that the Bible is the literal word of God, and that the creation described in Genesis must be interpreted literally — while I have sporadically promoted the Seth Material all my life (which delves into science heavily). T.B. believes that his parents are in hell because they weren’t sufficiently religious, and he believes that I am going there also. The God that I believe in is a good deal more generous than his God is. Unlike my friend, I believe in science also.
By ‘article’ do you mean the post above? I am only asking because it did not strike me that the article was intended to do anything more than just introduce the comic and ask a question about the readers’ interpretation of it.
Thanks for the Seth Material. It is completely new to me.
What exactly do you mean by ‘God’? What convinced you that God exists? And why do you think that Seth Material is the most reliable source of information about God and the universe? What kind of information is it? Would you give a few examples?
Is this the Seth who allegedly spoke through a medium?
I have a friend who, a long time ago, was really into esoteric stuff (for a while now he‘s been a born-again Christian; he went through several phases). He convinced me to watch a film showing Seth speaking through a medium. After the film, about half a dozen people, some of whom already knew each other from similar outings, introduced themselves. One woman followed her introduction with “I’m a cow”. At first I didn’t get it at all. Then I realized that she believed in astrology and was a feminist.
Perhaps. According to the Wikipedia page, a woman, Jane Roberts, claimed that the words were spoken by a ‘discarnate entity’, Seth. Maybe that qualifies for talking through a medium. I foresee unforeseeable issues with expressing oneself when one has lost one’s body, and that’s why I always take my body with me where ever I go. In any case, this is absolutely the first time I heard about this new religion. Fascinating stuff!