Justice will be served?

He’s a Fundie, with a BADGE! That’s right folks, newly appointed Winnipeg police chief Devon Clunis is gonna clean up the streets….with prayer! Hallelujah Sweet Jebus, we gonna fill some murderous hearts with love tonight, just by whispering sweet nothings into the ear of our collective imaginary friend, AMEN!

You know, I spend a good deal of my time reading about how religion poisons and destroys lives all across the globe, all across history, but I admit I’ve always felt a little shielded here in Canada. Sure, Alberta sometimes seems like the ‘Texas of Canada’, but that ‘of Canada’ bit reigns in a substantial amount of theistic lunacy.
Sure, we have some obstacles to overcome to become a truly progressive society, but this is Canada, goddamit! We got that separation of church and state thing going strong! We aren’t like those backward United States! Faith isn’t paraded like a virtue by those in public office! Civil servants keep their faiths hidden where they belong and … and … who the fuck is this guy? A police chief promoting prayer? Really? REALLY? IN MY COUNTRY?

Ok, ok. Calm down. Let’s deal with this like cool collected intellectual people, and tear this guy a new one.

Rationally speaking, of course.

Let’s break it down.

Chief Fundie says “If you’re praying for your neighbour, I don’t think you’ll be out there hating your neighbour or fighting with your neighbour,”

Occupy yourself in your home and it isn’t possible to simultaneously do harm out of the home. You don’t say! You may as well publicly endorse Ouija Boards and smoking pot in the basement, cause if you’re doing either of those, you are also not out there hating/fighting your neighbour. Though, this analogy may not really be fair. Smoking pot could actually have a demonstrable effect on a person’s violent tendencies.

Chief Fundie says “I do believe that will make a difference in our city — backing it[prayer] up with action”

Oh well! If it’s prayer PLUS actually doing something about the problem, that’s ok, right? Oh wait, no. No it isn’t. It would be like saying ‘Say the magic words “Hocus Pocus!”, then follow the bread recipe, and magically, you’ll have bread!’ It’s absolutely ludicrous to attribute the success of an action to any “magic words” said before undertaking it.

This kind of thinking is what leads to the gross misattribution of credit and praise from many theists. When a theist has a successful surgery, who gets thanked? The surgeon? The hospital? The med schools? The long history of pioneering doctors that developed the surgery in question and the complex biological principals behind it? All too often the answer is ‘No’. All those people don’t count. Thanks be to jeebus and jeebus alone. It’s a disgusting affront to the great efforts of many great people. By the same token, if the crime rate actually does go down, credit is due to the dedicated people enacting the social measures taken, not your private conversations with nobody.

Chief Fundie says “I believe without a shadow of a doubt the only reason that I am in this position is because God is involved in it”

That’s the only reason, is it? That means either he has no actual police skills to speak of or he thinks they are irrelevant to his position as police chief. In either case, this statement is cause for great concern. I also sense a great deal of support from friends, family, and community being totally dismissed, as described in my last point. What an ingrate.

Not to mention that whole ‘divine right of authority’ mentality belongs back in the feudal age. Sorry, Chief Fundie. When you wear your badge, you answer to the people before any deity. If that’s a problem for you, I’m sure your HR department has a resignation letter you can fill out.

No, Chief Fundie, tainting the noble efforts of those trying to make a positive difference in our communities with your outrageous religiosity helps no one. If you insist on keeping such inane beliefs, then I must insist that you keep them to your damn self while representing my country in any official capacity.

Source News Articles:

CBC 1 & 2
The Sun