Sadly, the Islamic terrorists in the Middle East have driven our Christian brethen out of one major city, and are now doing graffiti art to Christian's homes, painting a symbol that looks like a "happy face" with one eye. It's called "Nun" and is used by the terrorists as a mark of shame.
Interestingly enough, a number of Catholic Traditionalist Bloggers, including the Trads Behaving Badly, have taken that symbol as their Facebook profile pictures, or their Twitter pics, and even made blog posts with the symbol, to show solidarity for their persecuted Christian brethen.
I, however, on Servimus Unum Deum, as well as on my Facebook, will absolutely NOT be doing this.
I will not be doing this for two main reasons.
1) Holocaust Reminder ... Offensive to my Jewish Background. To me, this symbol reminds me of the Jews who were persecuted and killed by the Nazi's, who were forced to be identified by wearing a Yellow Star of David. It reeks of being made to feel like a second class citizen, and a target to be killed. Further, having a Jewish father and relatives (yes that's true. Is that offensive to you, TBBs?) I am abhorred with the whole practice for what it is worth. You may want to argue that you are trying to turn this symbol into something positive, but to me, a mark of death, is a mark of death. So no, I am likewise, not going to practice in a different form to "reform it", as this act is the very thing that made the friends of, and possibly, some of my distant family members and predecessors back in World War II, marked targets for death. Just instead of German Nazis, it's Radical Islamic Terrorists marking me. And don't even get started on saying that it's a way to "identify" with the pains and sufferings of my family. We don't simulate practices that degrade the human of their dignity just to "identify" with them. In fact, if anything, it destroys the person even if it was simulated or similar. Don't believe me? I dare you to research the Dr. Zimbardo prison experiment that is well known in psychology.
2) (Mostly) Radical Traditionalists Trending This Practice. Hate Screeds and Desire to Fight Back ... Between the Lines or Directly. My second big reason for not doing this is because most of the people gung-ho to do so are the Radical Traditionalists, a.k.a. TBBs. Some of those I know or read are more saner in the Traditional Catholicism spehere who are doing it, but not everyone. For the TBBs, what is part of their posts accompanying the nun letter makes me sick to my stomach.
First example, everyone's favourite TBB blog, Rorate Caeli, devoted a posting to the Nun Letter, and here's a screen capture of the first part of the post:
If you notice what the "header" picture is accompanying the blog, (and all other posts as well), it's an artistic depiction of a knight in the red cross regalia in armor slaying the Ottoman Turkish Muslim radicals in the Crusades.
Further, here's what they have to say at the end of the post, before an interview with a Christian representative, with my emphasis bolded:
"They mean it as a mark of shame, we must then wear it as a mark of hope: Yes, we are in the army of the Resurrected Nazarene, the Master and Lord of the Universe, the Man who is God Almighty, the Second Person of the Most Holy Trinity. You may kill our brethren and expel them, but we Christians will never go away."
Another example, was one that offends me as a Catholic with Traditionalist leanings, and some participation in the Latin Mass. While I will not name the blog on purpose I am that disgusted with it, another TBB blog posted this symbol in solidarity with their Christian brethen. But in addition, the poster called the Muslim faith inspired by demons (in essence, Satan and Hell). Wow ... how anti-ecumenical, anti-Nostra Aetate/Vatican II, and anti-Catholic. It's one thing to hate the murder and violence, and to properly discuss what elements are true and not in other faiths, but to call the faith of a whole Mass of people, who express more devotion than many Catholics around the world, "demonic" serves once again to show the inner hatred and pride of the TBBs, and embarrasses the many good Latin Mass attending Catholic Traditionalists worldwide. I am sure that any Muslims reading that posts, SOOOOO BADLY wants to convert to Catholicism now, especially the Latin Mass, knowing their faith is inspired by Hell's demons and Satan. What a nice show of "ecumenism" to our monotheistic brothers.
Now, what about the rest of the Catholic blogosphere? Most bloggers, including the so-called "Neo-catholic" ones, are discussing this, but they are NOT posting that symbol on their Facebooks, or their actual blogs. If anything, they are advocating prayer and NOT subscribing to such hate screeds.
So, what can we do then, besides the symbol?
Well, in a nutshell, prayer, and acts of fasting and penance, are our greatest spiritual weapons. I'll leave the lovely Mrs. Anchoress, Elizabeth Scalia, to inform you how to properly do something productive about the crisis in the Middle East with our Christian Brethen, instead of participating in these symbol shenanigans. Please see her latest post here: http://www.patheos.com/blogs/theanchoress/2014/07/21/5-things-you-can-do-right-now-as-isis-threatens-iraqi-christians-and-shiites/.
And so, that is my 2 cents on this matter, and something off my chest. Again, I am deciding that comments are to be closed for this post, to deter combox harassment. Frustrated? Do it on your own soapbox, er, blog.
