:: "Why should such a man be?"

Why should such a man be?

The question is a crucial turning point in the great novel "The Brothers Karamazov." The four brothers each consider it in reference to their father, a man so vile, so bereft of redeeming qualities, and so prolific in malevolant and destructive activity that it drives even the devout to question God's wisdom in making such a creature.

It sprung to mind today when I read Media Matters Daily (aka the Misery Missive). Today's edition noted a press release by the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights, a hate group that has yet to be disowned by Catholic institutions. Yes, the bishops will threaten to excommunicate your sorry heathen ass if you vote pro-choice, but those who spread hatred far and wide have naught to fear.

The press release concerns the Foley Follies; it notes Foley's lawyer's claim that the ex-Congressman/current pervert was molested as a 15 year-old by a priest. This is the Catholic League's contribution to the fray:

“As for the alleged abuse, it’s time to ask some tough questions. First, there is a huge difference between being groped and being raped, so which was it Mr. Foley? Second, why didn’t you just smack the clergyman in the face? After all, most 15-year-old teenage boys wouldn’t allow themselves to be molested. So why did you?”

This is such utterly disgusting trash that there's hardly any reason to look behind it, other than to take note of another man who combines intense anger and a baseless perception that he is being persecuted with a rigid religious sensibility. But maybe its worthwhile to make this point:

Donohue suggests that a teenage male who is molested has allowed this to happen, insinuating that not physically fighting back can be taken as a "come-on" (in other words, he was asking for it.) This is a sensibility shared by many sex predators, who sometimes inhabit "fantasy worlds" in which the children (or teens) they target, through subtle "signals" perceptible only to the predator himself, invite sexual activity. The creation of the fantasy world shields the predator from appreciating the true nature of his acts.

Funny how bleak, twisted minds can think alike.