Saint Bombs vs Google-bombs

I hold a relentless belief that undertaking positive actions will always come to better, more fruitful and constructive ends than negative actions.

Today I received two emails which struck me as perfect examples of negative and positive actions meant to counter a movement.

The first was a blog piece urging the google bombing of politicians to sway them away from the currently (and yes, flawed) proposed bill on illegal immigration. Writes John Hawkins:

This year, if this amnesty bill passes, I’m going to organize a group of bloggers to raise money for any viable primary challengers to pro-amnesty Republicans in the Senate…On top of that, I’m going to hunt down every single piece of dirt I can find from Republican sources on these pro-amnesty Republicans and I’m going to release it in the blogosphere. Put another way, if you’re a Republican senator up for reelection in 2008 and you vote for amnesty — and you face a viable primary challenger — I’ve got two words for you: Scorched Earth.
[...]
You know, I hope it doesn’t come to this, I really do. But, there comes a point where conservatives have got to say enough is enough and take our party back from these arrogant, unprincipled, elitist Country Club Republicans who dominate the Senate who think that they no longer have to pay attention to their constituents, their base, or the American people.

This time, they’re either going to pay attention, or we’re going to take 2 or 3 of their scalps and hang them on the wall come election time.

Well, there is no way I can like that. I can understand dissatisfaction with a bill but I have never loved this notion of scalp-hunting on the left or the right, and for heaven’s sake, at this point some on the right are sounding exactly like the hard-left they abhor. Funny how a tactic one disdains becomes a tactic one endorses when one feels the ends justify the means. St. Paul wrote about how easily one becomes all that one hates.

This “do as we (and only as we ) insist or we will destroy you” mentality has existed on Kos and DU and other left sites for a while. I deplore it on those sites. I find it nausea-inducing on these right-wing sites, too, and I won’t be part of it. This is just negativity upon negativity and I have never been able to see how negatives, compounded, create something good and positive.

All of this simply seems like further grease for the unstoppable tumble to which the hard right seems destined and determined. If this is all part of a move to create a “new” party, then I wish you folks would just get to it, already.

The “stay at home” and “lose in ‘06″ ideas some on the right promoted last November, by the way, contributed to this new horror that has you gnashing your teeth. I never did think it made sense to “take the GOP out of power to gain power,” (unless you were a Dem) but then I’m a simple gal.

After reading Hawkin’s email urging the Googlebomb drop, I opened another email to read this:

You might remember that The Insurgent student newspaper at the Univ of Oregon (in Eugene) printed pornographic drawing of Jesus Christ about a year ago.

…some friends of mine got the idea to “Saint bomb” campus. Using chalk, hundreds of Catholic Saint names were written all over campus last week. This was done during perhaps the busiest week of spring term. [...] The Relay for Life event happened at night on the quad, which meant hundreds of students were walking by Saint names nonstop all night long.

The Newman Center had a booth set up inside the Memorial Union building with a “Find your Saint” computer set up. Some non-Catholics came by to find their Saints. Other Catholics who haven’t been to Church for a while saw their confirmation Saint name on the ground. Other Catholics got a lot of joy to see the names and to see Christ’s presence in a tangible form on campus. And some others were annoyed at the audacity of these students…One more thing to note… we got permission from the Memorial Union (the student union on campus) as well as the Church before doing this.

Video of the Saint Bombing can be found here and here. Most interesting to see is the way the Christians responded to negative comments left by others. No death threats. No “we will destroy you” mentalities. Crosses. The word “Pax” written near a negative comment.

If I were a betting woman I would lay money on which sort of response - a Saint Bombing or a Google Bombing - would reap a better yield, would have a more positive and constructive effect. Which do you think I’d bet on? Which would you prefer to take part in? Which sort of response, in the end, conveys and confers upon others humanity, dignity and respect?

Do not allow yourself to become the thing you hate. Not in your personal life, not in your professional life, not within your political sphere. That’s my lectio for today. What’s yours?

Instapundit has an alternative view on this idea of “punishing” the GOP.

Pajamas Media tracked back with Saint Bombs vs Google-Bombs:...
Pursuing Holiness pinged back with “Scorched Earth” Politics, Justice and Christianity
» Stink Bombs on the Right pinged back with MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy

by TheAnchoress @ 3:16 pm. Filed under America, Faith, Illegal Immigration

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11 Responses to “Saint Bombs vs Google-bombs”

kelleyb Says:
May 21st, 2007 at 4:23 pm
I have never understood not voting as a good way to protest anything. Unless of course, I was being forced by the point of a weapon to cast a ballot. My family, as well as others, have dedicated their lives to protect the Constitution of the United States. That Document gives me the privilege to cast a ballot. I will not betray the Men and Women whose blood has enabled our free elections by boycotting the ballot box. I am duty bound to vote in each and every election. Staying home does not punish a political party. Staying home diminishes all of us.
kelleyb
» Stink Bombs on the Right » MY Vast Right Wing Conspiracy Says:
May 21st, 2007 at 4:43 pm
[...] again, The Anchoress and I are seeing things the same way. I really have nothing to add to what she’s said, [...]
mgrannis Says:
May 21st, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Amen, Anchoress. I might go one step further, and say that if we had more practice in self-critical thought, refusing to become the things we hate, we might just find ourselves hating fewer things.
MaxedOutMama Says:
May 21st, 2007 at 5:32 pm
I so agree. Everyone’s just shooting themselves in the foot with this sort of stuff. We’re not going to accomplish ANYTHING. Maybe all the sane people will end up having to start a new party. I’m very, very frustrated. Having the right take an “unstoppable tumble” wouldn’t be so bad if the left weren’t trying to dive off their own cliff. When are we going to get down to dealing with life and politics pragmatically.

We are such a rich and varied country that we don’t have to be right all the time. We just have to keep a rational debate going, and sooner or later will improve matters a lot. Every human and every country screws up sometimes, and most of us manage to live successful lives regardless.
Terrye Says:
May 21st, 2007 at 8:03 pm
I did not think it was possible but these people are starting to make the Democrats look almost rational.
Noatak Says:
May 21st, 2007 at 10:51 pm
A great many of the voters that stay home do not do so out of spite or protest, but rather out of having lost faith that their opinions are respected and that promises will be kept.
jakewashere Says:
May 21st, 2007 at 11:37 pm
You know, it’s times like this I’m glad I was banned from Free Republic. They’re no longer the kind of people I care to associate with.
Pursuing Holiness » Blog Archive » “Scorched Earth” Politics, Justice and Christianity Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 10:13 am
[...] This Anchoress post is interesting, contrasting the scorched earth policy advocated by John Hawkins of Rightwing News against politicians who support the latest immigration legislation with Christians responding to blasphemy on a college campus. [...]
Pajamas Media Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:00 pm
Saint Bombs vs Google-Bombs:…

“I hold a relentless belief that undertaking positive actions will always come to better, more fruitful and constructive ends than negative actions. Today I received two emails which struck me as perfect examples of negative and positive actions meant…
fortysomething Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:34 pm
I think that the google-bomb IS a positive thing, and here’s why: In the world of politics, politicians today seem to work towards a single purpose, that of being re-elected. This purpose many times seems to be of a higher priority than what is good for the country and the politician’s substituents.

With this being the case, they will only react to something which will affect their job security. It is a GOOD thing for the lies and broken promises of politicians to be brought into the light of public awareness. It makes them remember, if only for a little while, that they are in Congress doing a job for US, not so they can get richer and more powerful.
TheAnchoress Says:
May 22nd, 2007 at 12:52 pm
Well, you could be right…but that reckoning was used when the right “let” the GOP lose in ‘06, and it hasn’t seemed to have made much difference. To my way of thinking, this sort of thing simply leads to fearful pandering…which is still not leadership.