Prejudice

Texas legislator Jason Vilalba has recently introduced legislation to permit businesses to refuse service to those whose ideas and behaviors violate the religious beliefs of the proprietors.  While it is clear that Vilalba had in mind discrimination toward gays, etc. (I can never manage to remember all the initials of that acronym), I feel that were I still employed as a professor I would make every effort to use the new law to protect myself in my classes from a variety of religious beliefs that when enunciated by various of my students are so disruptive of serious thought and contemplation, not to mention violating every canon of intellectual good taste.  I mean try explaining to some of those Christians out there that Zeus is the father of the gods, and renowned for his sexual athletics whereby he demonstrates the essential fecundity of Nature which in the Greek view of things is an absolute Good.  Try explaining the fundamental role an erect penis plays in Dionysian spring festival parades contrasting it with a corpse on a cross, and talk about the death of the year god, and the birth of spring, and so on and so forth.  I mean I have no objection to students entertaining any idea they choose or into which they have been indoctrinated by their local mind police, but, hey, keep the shrill outrage and vituperation to themselves,  okay?  We are trying to talk seriously about alternative cultures; we are not out waving our banners and carrying our shields and swords against the infidels.  Knee jerk religious believers, because they have taken on the baggage of belief so mindlessly, are like pack mules always swaying dangerously as their load slides perilously from one side to the other, always about to fall off.  My heart goes out to them but their ängst is none of my concern nor the rest of the class.  And then we get to the Credo, i.e., "I believe in one God Almighty, Maker of Heaven and Earth and in Jesus Christ, his only son, begotten not made, conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary, who for our sins and our salvation"   ... . ... .... and so on and so forth, well, just having them get their minds around it's being something imposed by a Roman emperor, tired of all the squabbling Christian believers who would split the strength of the empire asunder with their tiresome squabbling whether Jesus was son of god, flesh of god, a human being like a god,  and on and on, sounds like our own Muslims, Catholics, evangelical Christians, Mormons, not to mention Jews who won't even go near the damn notion.  The emperor was right.  This is the belief; put up or shut up, ot's the only only guarantee of citizenship.  We've sort of gone the other way around here, believe what you like, but not in public, and don't shoot the school children,  save your energies for the Great God Mammon and go shopping.