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![]() It happens to be really late right now. I'm not sure why, but for some reason I was nostalgically pondering through Punksg. I realized that I really have never read any of Simon's stuff. If I have, I did not give it the attention that it deserved. This particular column deals with a subject that Simon tackled (apparently early in the school year) about a crazy religious fanatic that Simon refers to as "Rick." The statements that Simon made about this guy are true. I found it hard to believe the things that Simon was saying about him were true, but earlier this month, I saw for myself. For all of you who don't know this story, and that's probably a lot, earlier this year, the crazy guy spouted off about people going to hell in such a rude fashion that he was asked to leave by either the authorities or the administration of Western, I'm not completely sure. When I heard the news, I suspected that this would be the last anyone would ever hear of this crazy guy. Not true. On Feb. 4, I was in Knauss Hall, a building full of lecture halls, located in the heart of campus. I had just finished taking an Anthropology test, and went outside to wait for my friend, Micah, to finish the test. (I also wanted to smoke). I took a seat on the top of a cement wall, and immediately noticed that there was someone causing a ruckus very near to me. I scanned the area, noticing the infamous "Rick" standing beside the sidewalk, spouting the "Gospel." I chuckled to myself as I lit a Clove. At first, this guy was pretty amusing. He was giving a testimonial, it seemed, to himself. He was just going off about anything and everything. Everyone that walked by him was either forced to take a pamphlet from him, or be told that they were going straight to hell. I could only shake my head at this point. Soon after, "Rick" started blasting the Muslim religion. He somehow tied it to masturbation, homosexuality, "bedroom behavior," and ended the segment with an argument that everyone is going straight to hell. I was astounded. Something inside of me wanted to go talk to him…but I knew that if I did, it wouldn't do any good. Something else wanted to beat him to a bloody pulp, but I'd would've gotten arrested, and that wouldn't have been worth it. Still another part of me wished to go to the authorities to turn him in. Apparently, turning "Rick" in does no good. He was asked to leave campus just a few short days after Simon's encounter with him in August or September. But he was back in a not-so-big way. After my anger subsided, I realized that this guy really is an instrument of God. God uses him to show the people what not to believe in. Think about it for a minute. If you're stupid enough to believe some bible-quoting lunatic, how are you going to be intelligent enough to make a good decision concerning the afterlife? All this man really does is give those who are honestly religious a bad name. I'm not trying to push my own religious beliefs here, I'm just saying that there is a better way to get a point across besides bouncing up and down screaming things that may or may not be true…forcing your opinions on others. That's probably about all that I can possibly muster on this topic…thanks, guys. ![]() |