There’s an interesting article about us at Psychology Today.
Some of this may have been due to timing — first there was the news about Lindsay Miller’s successful efforts in wearing a Colander in her Massachusetts license photo, and then shortly after, the terrible news of the Paris terrorist attacks.
Mr. Noise in his article is looking at our light-hearted activities and thinking about what, if any, relevance our antics have in more serious matters, in particular the secular world’s struggle against religious extremism.
[The full article can be found here. It’s a good read.]Which brings us back to Miller and her colander. Talking to a television reporter with her spaghetti strainer proudly placed upon her head, she may not come across to casual observers as reason personified. But first impressions can be deceiving. Pastafarianism is indeed a weapon in the arsenal of reason, a rebuke of religions that rationalize violence, treat women as property, and promise eternal rewards to those who take innocent lives. The FSM apparently disapproves of such things.
Of course, fundamentalist religion would disapprove of Miller and Pastafarianism as well, and the most extreme of fundamentalists would treat Pastafarians pretty much as they treated the staff of Charlie Hedbo in January and other residents of Paris on Friday night.
Interesting analysis, but I’m not sure that any Pastafarian activities have such clear (and noble) motivations, and it is alarming to think what extreme fundamentalists may like to do to us for any perceived mockery.
I feel it is a basic human right to poke at any institution/ideology, and any institution/ideology that holds itself above criticism is one at odds with the modern world.
That said, I think Pastafarianism is at its best when it’s good-humored, and at its worst when it becomes hateful. (This will not be a venue for inflammatory anti-Islam sentiment).
I’m not sure anyone has a great idea of what is the solution to violent extremism. It may need more than “weapons of Reason” to defeat it.
What do you think?