BT <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
Greetings fellow revolutionary alchemists!
The question I have is, How do we help separate the good-hearted followers from their devious leaders?
For example:
I often forward news and interesting articles (much of which I find on this list, thanks to you all) to a few friends and family. I never get any responses. One of my friends I know is a 700 Club 'member' and his church preaches along the same political lines. After forwarding the news about Robertson's comments, I received this reply from my friend:
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"He is a passionate man who speaks from his heart and who has said some stupid stuff in the past and probably will say some stupid things in the future but he apologized and that's good in my book. Heck, it's alot more than most political or public figures would do.""Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologize for that statement," Robertson said. "I spoke in frustration that we should accommodate the man who thinks the U.S. is out to kill him."
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To which I responded with a more complete quote from Robertson's "apology", a page of links relating to Robertson's money-making operations in Africa (included at the bottom of this long email, in case anyone is interested) and a comment:
"Obviously Pat Robertson does not have any business interests in common with Hugo Chavez, otherwise Robertson would be defending Chavez instead of condemning him."
My friend's reply:
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"I heard from a story on NPR the other day regarding a current State Governor that when in the political spotlight and "riding a white horse" the dirt shows up easier. Too many resources have been wasted on putting Pat Roberts[on] on public "trial". Everyone knows that he is a religous man but the primary word in that description is "man". He is not God. Man makes mistakes. When shadey politicians make mistakes it's OK because nobody expects them to be perfect. I wish the world would focus on solutions to problems instead of dwelling on the faults of man.Spread that comment around the Internet and see where it gets you."
------Ok, so it's spreading. :-)
My friend is no fool. He is perfectly capable of thinking logically and rationally. But from this irrational reply, I think we have clearly reached the point where my friend is not really defending Robertson but is actually defending himself since he sees himself associated with Robertson.
If anyone has ever had the opportunity to watch a 700 Club broadcast, you will notice how softly and pleasantly they speak about helping the poor around the world and healing people. They give the impression of being 'good Christians' and that is how they get the cash from their listeners, who see their donation as doing something good to help others.
So I can see how it would be easy to get sucked into their influence.
For us on the 'outside', it is easy to view Robertson as a crazy demagogue on one hand and an astute, greedy business man on the other.
But what does it take for those on the 'inside' to look at Robertson (or Bush or whoever) and say, "I've been deceived. That is not what I support."; to separate themselves from the object of criticism?
I think that does happen in some cases. Or maybe, in other cases the people haven't been deceived, but they just don't care which means that they really aren't any different than the 'leader'.
I hope I'm not delving into some social-psychology mumbo-jumbo that no-one is interested in?
BT
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Obviously Pat Robertson does not have any business interests in common with Hugo Chavez, otherwise Robertson would be defending Chavez instead of condemning him.
On the August 24 edition of The 700 Club, Robertson attempted to clarify that he hadn't actually calling for Chávez's assassination, but that there were other ways of "taking him out", such as having special forces carry out a kidnapping. Robertson flatly denied using the word "assassination", despite video tape evidence that he did.[11]
Later that day, he issued a written statement in which he said, "Is it right to call for assassination? No, and I apologize for that statement." However, he continued to justify his original stance and called Chávez "a dangerous enemy to our south, controlling a huge pool of oil that could hurt us very badly".[12]
He went on in the written statement to accuse Chávez of involvement with terrorism: "Col. Chavez [sic] has found common cause with terrorists such as the noted assassin Carlos the Jackal, has visited Iran reportedly to gain access to nuclear technology, and has referred to Saddam Hussein and Fidel Castro as his comrades. Col. Chavez also intends to fund the violent overthrow of democratically elected governments throughout South America, beginning with neighboring Colombia." [13]
Again in the statement, Robertson then indirectly compared Chávez with Adolf Hitler by remembering German evangelical pastor Dietrich Bonhoeffer's opposition to the Nazi regime and support for the assassination of Hitler.
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http://www.dkosopedia.com/index.php/Pat_Robertson
Robertson's net worth is between $200 million and $1 billion dollars according to the 2002 book The Best Democracy Money Can Buy by Greg Palast.In various episodes of his 700 Club program during the United States' involvement in the Liberian Civil War in June and July of 2003, Robertson repeatedly supported Liberian President Charles Taylor. Robertson accuses the U.S. State Department of giving President Bush bad advice in supporting Taylor's ouster as president, and of trying "as hard as they can to destabilize Liberia."
Robertson failed to mention however in his broadcasts his $8 million investment in a Liberian gold mine. Taylor had been at the time of Robertson's support indicted by the United Nations for war crimes.
(http://www.ethicalatheist.com/docs/robertson_bin_laden.html
In 1998, Robertson formed Freedom Gold Limited, an offshore company registered in the Cayman Islands but based at CBN headquarters in Virginia Beach. It's a gold-mining venture in Liberia in partnership with Charles Taylor. The U.S. and U.N. have condemned Taylor's ties with terrorism. The U.S. imposed economic sanctions on Taylor's Liberian government.
Charles Taylor, a person the Washington Post calls "one of the most ruthless, greedy and terror-producing heads of state in all of sub-Saharan Africa".)
Pat Robertson's Gold
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http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn?pagename=article&node=&contentId=A7124-2001Sep21
Pat Robertson-- Humanitarian
http://www.patrobertson.com/humanitarian/
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Through his ostensibly charitable organization, Operation Blessing International, Robertson claims to have spent $1.2 million bringing aid to refugees in Rwanda. His critics, such as Palast, claim the money was actually spent to bring heavy equipment for Robertson's African Development Corporation, a diamond mining operation.
(http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=49&row=1
There was also, says Volder, the $7m he gave to 'Operation Blessing' to alleviate the woes of refugees fleeing genocide in Rwanda. Robertson's press operation puts the sum at only $1.2m. More interesting is the way the Operation Blessing funds were used in Africa. Through an emotional fundraising drive on his TV station, Robertson raised several million dollars for the tax-free charitable trust. Operation Blessing bought planes to shuttle medical supplies in and out of the refugee camp in Goma, Congo (then Zaire).
But investigative reporter Bill Sizemore of the Virginian Pilot discovered that over a six-month period - except for one medical flight - the planes were used to haul equipment for something called African Development Corporation, a diamond mining operation a long way from Goma. African Development is owned by Pat Robertson.
Did Robertson know about the diversion of the relief planes? According to pilots' records, he actually flew on one plane ferrying equipment to his mines.
One of Robertson's former business partners recalled that, although he often travelled in the minister's jet, he never saw Robertson crack open a Bible. 'Everywhere we were flying he had the Wall Street Journal and Investors' Daily.')(http://www.skeptictank.org/robem2.htm
In April, 1997 two pilots who worked for Operation Blessing charged that planes linked to Robertson and his ministry flew mostly to haul equipment for ADC's private diamond operation. Robert Hinkle, the chief pilot told reporter Bill Sizemore that of about 40 flights within Zaire during the half-year period he was there, "Only one or at most two" were related to the humanitarian mission of Operation Blessing. The rest were "mining-related.""We got over there and we had 'Operation Blessing' painted on the tails of the airplanes, Hinkle told the Virginian-Pilot, "but we were doing no humanitarian relief at all. We were just supplying the miners and flying the dredges from Kinshasa out to Tdshikapa.")
Has purchased thoroughbred race horses, although has stated on many occasions he is opposed to gambling. Robertson claims he bought the horses because he is "amazed by their athleticism".
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Pat Robertson and Liberian Gold
http://www.theperspective.org/liberiangold.html
Pat Robertson Engages in Illegal Mining Operation in Liberia
http://www.theperspective.org/patrobertson_taylor.html
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