Photo shows the dangers of brainwashing children

by John Plummer / Vancouver Sun

Letters to the editor page, Vancouver Sun newspaper

The front-page picture in Thursday's Sun sums up the root cause of much of the conflict and trouble in our world right now. A young Pakistani child is shown sitting on an American flag pointing a toy gun at the camera. The headline reads: "Child joins anti-U.S. protest."

But that child didn't join any protest. Neither is it accurate to describe him as a "Shiite Muslim boy." He is a child of Shiite Muslim parents/caregivers who are indoctrinating him in their irrational religious beliefs so that when he grows up he will be as brainwashed as they are now.

For our civilization to advance, for the sake of the security of all of us on this tiny planet, this abuse of children's minds must end. It is unrealistic to try to stop parents raising their children in their religion (their religions command that they do so), but what we can do is stop religious schools perpetuating this endless cycle of mental abuse. Through our school system let us strive to produce young adults who are free-thinking and who have a healthy skepticism of any institution that would attempt to brainwash them.

JOHN PLUMMER
New Westminster
www.smartsociety.org

Posted: Friday, October 20, 2006 | Permalink

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1. Comment #2281 by LWS on October 20, 2006 at 12:12 pm

Thanks John Plummer - that is the face of emotional child abuse but what is hidden is the physical one of ritual genital mutilation of defenseless children.

2. Comment #2308 by Youssef51 on October 20, 2006 at 1:43 pm

Take a good look, folks.

This is what True Belief looks like.

Prof. Dawkins has told us about Blind Faith and he knows what he's talking about.

If you think "Oh, religion is just a lot of quaint nonsense. Who cares.", take a good look and notice where the gun is pointing.

3. Comment #2309 by Andrew Brown on October 20, 2006 at 1:53 pm

And presumably he's already being told the greatest thing he can do is die in glorious battle against the enemies of Islam.

If you've got people who think this life is just a warm up, is it any wonder they don't place much value on it?

4. Comment #2329 by vega on October 20, 2006 at 3:25 pm

Or play 'Rapture' inspired video games...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WRT7E_XColA

5. Comment #2343 by Alan on October 20, 2006 at 4:27 pm

As much as I try to be optimistic about the future of our species, when I see something like this, I can't help but think "We're screwed".

I also can't help but realize that there are many Christian Fundamentalists whose only outrage, upon seeing this picture, will be because the kid has the audacity to sit on the American flag.

6. Comment #2363 by Fundamentally Flawed on October 20, 2006 at 10:14 pm

I believe this is a promotional poster for the upcoming documentary, "Mohammad Camp".

Of course, I jest... but this is an example of the type of behavior the youth pastor in "Jesus Camp" wished to emulate.

The extent to which religious extrtemists are willing to exploit children is sickening, to say the least.

7. Comment #2473 by Zaphod on October 21, 2006 at 11:59 am

As Richard has said "A form of mental child abuse".

8. Comment #2538 by Jo on October 21, 2006 at 6:21 pm

Keep in mind that parents who indoctrinate their children with such magical thinking, are themselves still psychologically children. Anyone who sees the world only in absolutes, as religious people often do, are still functioning at the level of 6 year old children, psychologically. That is, the wish for the perfect parent who will save them from the unpredictability of the world is a childish thought. And I'm very pessimistic about the majority of human beings ever attaining psychological adulthood. This is what we would need to happen, to rid ourselves of religion.

9. Comment #2567 by Anonymous on October 21, 2006 at 10:39 pm

10. Comment #2611 by Anonymous on October 22, 2006 at 6:02 am

For those who see spooking kids as a good thing there are Hell Houses: "A Hell House consists of a group of horrific scenes within a type of haunted house. The customer walks through a sequence of tableaus designed to create terror and revulsion. The last scene is different; it is typically a portrayal of heaven. The visitors are then asked to accept salvation by repenting of their sins and trusting Jesus as Lord and Savior."
http://www.religioustolerance.org/hallo_he.htm

Those who promote religion are essentially immoral and cruel.

11. Comment #14738 by jhb90277 on December 24, 2006 at 8:25 pm

Looking at that beautiful boy and knowing that he'll grow up completely screwed in the head is just depressing. How sad this child will be programmed to hate in the name of religion.

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12. Comment #16205 by GPROPERTY on January 5, 2007 at 2:12 pm

Every comment here sounds a little familiar doesnt it? One point of view, one system that all are judged by. Hello! Your a religion. Your going to teach it to your kids and your going to try and be disciples and spread your message. Its really sad to see. I am the kind of person that gives people options. You can choose to belive or you can choose not to. But all i see here is a drill seargent telling the ants to get in line. Is it not true that alot of you were raised in a christian household? Maybe that is the reason you fight it so much. Because you feel you were tricked and that you werent able to make your own decision. Well guess what history repeats itself, now your doing the same thing. DO i condone the image? Of course not. Its sad its terrible to see a child being raised like that, and your doing the same thing. What if your child wanted to sing along with a choir? There is something in us that drives us to fill a void in our lives. Some fill it with drugs, alcohol, science, and religion. But I fill it with truth. I know the truth because i chose to find it

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13. Comment #16830 by niacin on January 9, 2007 at 3:43 am

Well I was raised in a family of agnostics, am not mad at anyone for pressuring me and so on. But I do believe that religion, faith and especially fundamentalist faith is very scary and threatening indeed.

It's not as though these people are just gonna kill each other with spears. We're past that. Now they have bombs and nuclear weapons. And we're in the middle of all this!

Fundamentalists (of all different religions) raise their children to blindly believe in all kinds of outrageous lies and hate the other fandamentalists, maybe even psych them up to be "martyrs".

Even if you think the people who wrote before you belong to a "religion" and even if they try to convey their beliefs to their children and spread the message of science and truth, doing that would not cause anybody to die.

There is not one person who knows the truth of science and value their life who would "prepare" their kid to strap some bombs on its body and go "kill the infidels".

Don't get carried away please.

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14. Comment #17854 by Satan on January 17, 2007 at 3:45 am

It's really difficult to tell,as the photograph is blurry,however,does anyone else here notice the incredible similarities to a real firearm?
It looks like the slide is a seperate piece.The end of the barrel looks more like it would be able to expel a .45 round than a bb,pellet,or plastic projectile.Notice the small checkering on the front of the grip or the thickness of the wood side panels on the grip? Nice fit and finish.I can almost make out slide release,manual safety,and magazine release as well.
Just noticing...

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15. Comment #17858 by Logicel on January 17, 2007 at 4:22 am

GPROPERTY wrote: "Your a religion. Your going to teach it to your kids and your going to try and be disciples and spread your message. Its really sad to see."
_______

Then supporters of religious superstititions are sad? Because that is what supporters of religious superstitions do--teach it to their kids, become disciples and spread their message.

When supporters of religious superstititions do that, it's fine, but when non-theists do it, it is terrible. Just bonkers, not only because non-theists are not doing that, but you are essentially saying that what you do as a supporter of religious superstitions is wrong. You do not need an opponent, you are your own best opponent.

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16. Comment #17864 by Logicel on January 17, 2007 at 4:40 am

GPROPERTY wrote: "Is it not true that alot of you were raised in a christian household? Maybe that is the reason you fight it so much."
______

Another example of why supporters of religious superstitions are their own best opponent. Then being raised as atheists would be more receptive to becoming supporters of religious superstitions? Then in that case, you supporters of religious superstitions got it wrong--don't teach your religious superstitions to your kids, because if you do they will become atheists. Teach atheism instead, then they will become supporters of religious superstitions.

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