You make a great point about how even most of the camouflage has fallen away. It does seem very blatant. I find it somewhat surprising that there hasn't been much more of a push-back against it. I figured it would bother many Christians too. Then again, Christianity seems to have morphed into something I'm having a harder time recognizing.
I agree. I'm sure they think they are advocating for their new chosen platform, but it does seem counterproductive. Had I not already been there for some time and gained familiarity with this part of the culture, I might have left. It reminded me that people like this aren't specific to X; they can be found anywhere. On balance, I will say that my experience has been much more positive.
Kind of. I've bridged my Mastodon account to Bluesky. While I did create a separate account on Bluesky to check out how it worked, I'm not sure how much I'll use it. I'm still considering Mastodon my main social media home for now.
I remember Fred Meyer from when I used to live out there. You are right about it being hard to know what every business is doing, especially the smaller ones with owners who are smart enough not to promote the worst of it. I suppose one could argue that the really small ones (< 10 employees) could be ignored due to their small scale. Then again, it is possible that it is easier to impact their behavior if what they are doing is unpopular to those who shop there. This gets much harder when they are larger or when what they are going is something few have a problem with. Sadly, promoting fundamentalist Christianity does fall into that category in this area. The other challenge we have is the lack of alternative options.
I had a feeling there wouldn't be much mic-muting, despite the claims that both sides had agreed to this. Yes, I forgot about the border security bill. That was another good one.
Excellent points! Having fewer irrational beliefs would be nice, and I would prioritize those that cause the most harm.
I'm not sure I realized how important it would be to connect with others when I first started writing. But it sure does matter!
Members of non-Christian religions have it pretty bad too. Because they are religious, they might face even more proselytizing. I'm sure Muslims and Hindus must tire of being told that their religions are "Satanic." From everything I've heard, Jewish people might get the worst of it. I wonder if that's because they are perceived as being "almost there." If they could just be helped to clear that Jesus hurdle, they'd be "one of us."
Absolutely! It is almost like religion has turned into an excuse to brag about how much better one is than others without having to face the social repercussions of doing so. I realize not every religious believer acts like this, but the ones who do seem to be everywhere.
The technology angle is interesting too. I could imagine a scenario where consciousness can be transferred from one entity to another or stored until reuse.
That's a great point about belief in an afterlife promoting obedience vs. morality. This makes me suspect that many religious believers confuse obedience to their preferred god(s) with morality. But since there isn't any evidence that any of these gods exist or that what they demand is moral, it does seem like it boils down to control by clergy or other agents who cloak themselves in religion. Religion seems to be one of those vulnerabilities through which those in power have learned to manipulate the masses.
Yes, I do wish that Portland was more typical than it is!
The self-perpetuating nature of poverty certainly is a factor here. I sometimes wonder whether that's part of why religion has such a hold on the area. The strong suspicion of people who haven't lived here their whole lives doesn't help either. At least, I know several people who have cited that as one of their reasons for leaving.
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Medley