[bdbdbd]

This is making the rounds on the interwebs because its hilarious!

There's a church group (how often do good things follow that phrase?) promoting a new "ex-series" of shirts. Passion for Christ, and all that rot, turn your attention to him instead of being a "diva", "slave", "hypoctire" or "atheist". There's even ones for "ex-gay" (yeah...just, yeah) and "ex-rebel" which is almost the saddest thing I've ever seen. I'm so happy that I used to think for myself and be my own person but now have fallen in line! The popular one, though, and the one their pushing the hardest, is Ex-masturbator! Emblazon it upon your chest, you don't touch yourself anymore for god!

Already there are answer shirts, liberal masturbator, and just plain and simple Masturbator (and Masturbator (because only the priest can touch me there)!

[The Canadian Content]

As a very white person, I just can't tell. Is this hysterical or offensive?



Both?

[Lucky]

Must not expose prudish tendencies...

Must not rant about how little I think of anyone wearing one of those "slut" shirts...

Must not rant about how most anyone I've encountered who has ever advertised themselves a "rebel" was a pathetic self important douche riding fads...

Must not point out that there's nothing wrong with religious beliefs nor is there anything wrong with people who are proud of their beliefs...

Must not say that anyone who is ok with an "atheist" shirt but mocks these is an asshole...

Must not risk offending anyone...



These shirts are lame. And it always makes me squirm when stuff like "ex-gay" can be harmlessly tossed into otherwise ok Christian beliefs and reminds me how much so many Christians not only think homosexuality is evil but don't feel any sensitivity towards respecting homosexuals.

[Lucky]

Feb 5, 2009 14:35:17 GMT -5 The Canadian Content said:

As a very white person, I just can't tell. Is this hysterical or offensive?



Both?

That CAN NOT be accidental so I'm going with both.

[Ryan]

I can't stand the smug expressions on the faces of the people modelling the shirts.

And Lucky's right, the Ex-Homosexual one is infuriating.

[Matte]

I'm not a homosexual, so I wouldn't know the answer to this, but can you be an ex-homosexual? I've always been told that homosexuals are just that, homosexuals, and it isn't their choice, it's just how they are. But now the church is telling me that it is their choice to be homosexual, and that it's the wrong choice because God doesn't like or respect homosexuals.

I'm so confused.

[Lucky]

Yeah, its probably best I just ignore this thread, isn't it?

[bdbdbd]

There's this thing, it's called reparative therapy. It mostly involves people praying to god to no longer be gay or, failing that, trying to find the strength to not act on their gay urges. They then go on to build lives with members of the opposite sex (more often than not, also ex-gays) It's practitioners are almost all religious backed and certainly all use twisted, out of date, most screwed up "science". The phrase "pray out the gay" is an actual phrase in the...community? whatever you'd call it.

Unfortunately, statistics for its working, like all statistics, can be and have been twisted by both sides. What hasn't, though, is testimony (you can find as easily as google) from people who were "cured" and went on to live their happy hetero life while being dead inside and knowing their happy hetero partner was the same and being too afraid to go back to their gay self because hell awaited. The therapy simply fucked those people up.

[Demko]

Wow. This is the text hyping the 'Ex-Hustler' shirt.

"Although many of us may not have been hustlers on the streets slanging rocks, we all tried to hustle God. We really thought we was goin' hustle our way into heaven. We wanted to try to get God on board with our agenda instead of getting on board with His agenda. We now know: tryin' to play God- we'll get played.
We are Ex-hustlers."

That's just sad.

MTA: How does one 'slang rocks' anyway?

[salmonjunkie]

EX-Slave FTW.


Can I get one that says EX-Lax?

[Lucky]

thedemko said:

MTA: How does one 'slang rocks' anyway?

By dealing crack, most commonly.

I should note that I find these pretty sad... but you find the ACTUAL fad they're parodying sad and pathetic too, right guys? This isn't a deal where some douchebag who calls himself a "rebel" is cool but the crazy fuckers who believe in religion are, right?

[Ryan]

I think if I saw a guy wearing a shirt that explicitly said "Rebel" I would laugh even harder than if I saw something nonsensical like "Ex-hypocrite".

[columbo]

This is the one I want ex-pialidocious

[creepy]

Feb 5, 2009 16:05:49 GMT -5 Demko said:

Wow. This is the text hyping the 'Ex-Hustler' shirt.

"Although many of us may not have been hustlers on the streets slanging rocks, we all tried to hustle God. We really thought we was goin' hustle our way into heaven. We wanted to try to get God on board with our agenda instead of getting on board with His agenda. We now know: tryin' to play God- we'll get played.
We are Ex-hustlers."

That's just sad.

MTA: How does one 'slang rocks' anyway?

Sad? That's the dopest shizzleshizz on the streets, yo! Don't be dissin'. Seriously, that's freaking awesome.

[Andy]

Oh cool. I found one for me.

[ALL CAPS]

Feb 5, 2009 14:12:25 GMT -5 bdbdbd said:

Masturbator

Rebecca Watson rules. That is all.

[ALL CAPS]

Feb 5, 2009 14:36:13 GMT -5 Lucky said:

Must not point out that there's nothing wrong with religious beliefs nor is there anything wrong with people who are proud of their beliefs...

Come on. Of course there's plenty wrong with religious belief and pride in said belief. There's also a lot of good that comes out of those things.

[bdbdbd]

Feb 5, 2009 16:25:43 GMT -5 Lucky said:

This isn't a deal where some douchebag who calls himself a "rebel" is cool but the crazy fuckers who believe in religion are, right?

Who wears a shirt that just says rebel? Anyone wearing either shirt should be beaten to death with their own shoes.

[Lucky]

Feb 6, 2009 11:38:08 GMT -5 ALL CAPS said:

Feb 5, 2009 14:36:13 GMT -5 Lucky said:

Must not point out that there's nothing wrong with religious beliefs nor is there anything wrong with people who are proud of their beliefs...

Come on. Of course there's plenty wrong with religious belief and pride in said belief. There's also a lot of good that comes out of those things.

There's certainly something wrong with the way SOME religious folks show their pride. And certainly SOME religious beliefs are in and of themselves bad just as some political and philosophical beliefs that aren't based in religion.

But selling silly Christian t-shirts to people isn't one of them.

[Jack Quinn]

selling the t-shirts? no

the messages you are selling on the t-shirts? yes

[Lucky]

Really, Moose? "Ex-Masturbator?" Who gives a good fuck?

I made a point to address the "Ex-Gay" thing as a different case. But the rest are just stupid, harmless, personal religious beliefs. And hell, "Ex-Gay" isn't even fucking insulting. Its someone's personal believe. The shirt doesn't say "Fuck you, you faggot, you're going to hell and I'm not because Jesus saved me." Its quite possible and even probable that these "reformed" gays are deluding themselves, but who gives a fuck? Its their choice as much as it would be their choice to have promiscuous ass sex.

So if you're telling me that a bunch of t-shirts revealing people's personal and harmless religious beliefs are bad? Then I was right. I should have stayed away from this thread because this is just the bullshit Christian Bashing that I always roll my eyes about when some self important Christian complains about it. And I hate that those douchebags are actually proven right every time one of my friends says something offensive and insulting to me about my religion and doesn't even care because really... who gives a fuck about Christians anyway, right? They all hate faggots anyway so fuck them, am I right?

[Jack Quinn]

good to see you aren't overreacting or anything.

They are silly cries for attention. Just like wearing a t-shirt that says Rebel or Rock Star. If those are your beliefs, any of them, fine, good for you. If you feel the need to advertise your beliefs, to me, you are an attention craving douchebag.

And who is bashing Christians? They could be Hindu shirts that says "Ex-Worm" or something, and while it would be slightly cooler, it is still kind of douchebaggish.

Oh, and if this was a Lopez joke that I missed, then I take everything back, well at least the overreacting part

[Ryan]

Ex-Gay and Ex-Atheist are pretty insulting, if they're accompanied by Ex-Hustler and Ex-Hypocrite shirts.

[Lucky]

You're going to have to go back and explain your first post, Moose. Because Angst and I had an exchange about the wrong things with religion. And when I said there was nothing wrong with the lame shirts you said the message was. But now you're saying you don't care about the message so I have no idea what your point was the first time.

I just find it hard to buy that if I posted a link about some douchebag covered in tats and piercings and mocked him for being a self important douchebag who should be beaten to death that Byrne might not rightfully call me on being a fucking asshole with a ridiculously narrow minded opinion.

We've oddly enough had this "craving attention" debate 3 times in the last week about completely different subjects and I still can't figure how you determine when someone's actions are cries for attention and when they're not. Because you got incredulous when other people labeled someone an attention seeker at the start of the week but you called someone else one last night in chat. So sure, I guess I'll agree with you that these people are self important little idiots craving attention. Then again why is the slogan on THEIR t-shirt worse than the slogan on damn near every t-shirt? That's all I ever said so if you agree with me I have no idea why you seemed to disagree with me up there.

Certainly you can understand how I read "the messages you are selling on the t-shirts? yes " as you... I don't know... having a problem with the message on the t-shirt? And considering these are just personal Christian messages meant to counter a host of other stupid messages on t-shirts I don't get why THESE are so hilarious unless its because those crazy religious are so silly.

[Lucky]

Feb 6, 2009 21:24:30 GMT -5 Ryan said:

Ex-Gay and Ex-Atheist are pretty insulting, if they're accompanied by Ex-Hustler and Ex-Hypocrite shirts.

I'll make sure to coordinate the stupid retarded messages on my t-shirts with those of my friends so as not to offend anyone by what you could allude from combining our mindless slogans together.