The Agrinautica

   So today was like the worst day ever. Everything that could go wrong did go wrong. But at least once again there were crazy preachers on the quad with signs condemning everyone from Mormons to "computer freaks" and "people who speak to their pets more than God."

   Many people like to heap ridicule upon these preachers, however, I must say I think I might have more disdain for the people who ridicule them. Firstly, no one on either side is going to change their mind in these confrontations. Secondly, honestly worse behaviour is exhibited by the hecklers than the preachers. Trying to smother him in the LGBT banner? Not cool man. Michael Giardina's suggestion here? Exemplary of the mentality of bad behaviour I'm talking about.
   Moreover, the crazy preacher guys are professional arguers. They do this all day every day. I don't agree with them, but I find it very amusing to observe as they twist around the arguments lodged at them by aspiring hecklers. The fact that they do argue repugnant standpoint makes it even more amusing and highlights the fact that a skillful arguer can defend almost anything. Not that they are really arguing well in a pure argument form, rather, they make great use of logical fallacies and other illegitimate tricks, but its the failure of their opponents to catch these that is most amusing to observe

   But the greatest fallacy of all, upon which many of the arguments made against them rely, is the misunderstanding of social desirability and cosmic truth. Much of what was argued by the preacher-opponents was based on the social inadvisability of the preacher's ideas, for example that they hated too many people and/or shouldn't hate certain groups of people. The fact of the matter is that the theological nature of the universe isn't necessarily the most pleasant one imaginable -- it is simply the one that happens to exist. Don't get me wrong, every time someone says you should be Christian because Jesus died for your sins, they are arguing the same fallacy -- that because that SOUNDS awesome and may be a relief to you, it therefore might be true. Just because you want something to be true doesn't make it true. God could happen to be evil and twisted and we'd jsut have to deal. If you're going to argue theology therefore, your first point of reference should be the foundation of the theology itself - whether there is reason to believe it is true or not, NOT whether it sounds good and advisable.


   Anyway, now that I've offended both the religious people and a good portion of the non-religious people here, I'm going to bed. My pictures from todays events can be found here.

   Picking up where I left off, no less than ten minutes after making my addendum to last entry, I met with my roommate Adrian and some friends of his where they were sitting with their guitars on the quad. There, with a number of other bystanders, we were amused for about 40 minutes by the antics of a crazy religious man on the quad.

   Unlike other crazy religious men, this one actually referred to himself as a prophet or oracle. He alternated between shouting his sermon at the local student traffic, occasionally singing, and at one point suddenly adopting a conversational tone for five minutes. Adrian used his new tape-recorder & attached microphone to record most of it.

   At one point I hippie tried to offer him a cup of water but he pointedly refused to make eye contact with the hippie, turning his back to him continually and addressing the crowd in different directions.

   Eventually a someone from SPAC (Student Programs & Activities Center I believe), a girl who looked to be a student herself, came to tell him that he had to speak on the other corner of the quad, the "free speech corner" to which they always attempt to exile counterprotestors ("Yes, you CAN counterprotest, but over there in the appropriate designated location ::points to distant and forlorn corner of quad::") and other undesirables .
   To these attempts the crazy religious man responded "this is America, I preach whereever I want.. we have this thing called freedom of speech in America, I don't know how they do things in Somoa or whereever you're from" followed shortly by "you're not very pretty you know."
   I don't think Jesus would approve of those latter comments.