“Baby-killer!”
April 10th, 2010
Has everyone else seen this amazing blog with the Tea-Party Jesus? It features real-life quotes from Tea Party figureheads steeped in Google-image Christ tableaux, including Glenn Beck, Ann Coulter, Rush Limbaugh, etc. The sweetener is how clicking on each image takes you to the webpage documenting the quote.
It’s especially timely in the “waik” of Teabonics and the bloodthirsty Hutaree round-up. After scrolling through these clever collages, I contacted the author, and here is what he said:
“I’m a Christian, although I kind of wish there was a word that meant ‘follower of Jesus’ that didn’t carry the connotation of ‘unhinged right-wing asshole.’ I know a lot of Christians who honestly are good, kind people, but still listen to Rush Limbaugh and read Ann Coulter and vote for war and torture and oppressing the poor. I want to try to make that disconnect as crystal clear as possible.”
“The blog is just something I came up with on a whim a couple of days ago. I downloaded some Jesus pictures from Google Images, slapped some speech balloons on in Photoshop, and put them up on Tumblr.”
“I’m hoping to highlight the discrepancy between the actual teachings of Jesus and the people who’ve co-opted him into something like a mascot for the Republican Party. To me, there’s a real gut-punch feeling with seeing those words in Jesus’s mouth, and I’m hoping that the sheer visceral reaction gets through to at least a few people in a way that a more intellectual argument wouldn’t. The reaction’s been just extraordinary, and far beyond anything I imagined I’d get–I put it up on Thursday, then added a hit counter yesterday morning. Since then, I’ve gotten about 65,000 pageviews. Clearly, it’s hit a nerve.”
“I’m a 30-year-old man from North Carolina, [but] I’m actually planning to keep my identity private. I’ve got a family and while there’s probably nothing to worry about, there’s a lot of crazy, angry people out there and I don’t want to take any risks I don’t have to.”
That’s 65,000 pageviews in just 48 hours! It’s a box-office hit. And the fact that he feels safer concealing his identity is further testament to the craziness of the crazies.
On a lighter note, the simple formula of this Proper-ganda is a lot of fun, and as easy to pick up as a cardboard sign. Here are my entries, submitted for your approval:
