Jordan Michael Smith: Look Mom! No Brains!

Jordan Michael Smith believes that something along the lines of the gay equivalent of a race riot is in order because two homosexual men were murdered in Halifax recently.

It seems to me that Mr. Smith has only been able to work himself up into this lather of adolescent peek by completely ignoring three rather important and glaringly evident points.

1. In addition to Messrs. Knott and Brewster, Glen Douglas Race is also suspected in the murder of a third man, Darcy Manor. Darcy Manor, notably, was not gay. (Nowhere does his name appear in JMS's column.)
2. There has been absolutely nothing to suggest that Glen Douglas Race is not, himself, gay.
   
3. Two years ago Glen Douglas Race was clinically diagnosed as a psychotic!!!
   

Now, while it may well be that Mr. Race did not murder the indisputably straight Mr. Manor (unlikely), and while it may be proven that Mr. Race is not, himself, gay (as likely as not); that he is a psychotic immediately and conspicuously elevates his case well-beyond the garden variety of anti-gay violence. Indeed, it seems to me that the victims' sexual orientations are about as relevant to this matter as were the voices giving the orders in Mr. Race's addled head. So, quite relevant, yes, but in no way reflective of all the rest of us sane people, Jordan! As with all murders, these were tragic and terrible--but symptomatic only of one man's confirmed insanity. To suggest otherwise defies imagination, common sense, good judgement, tact ... everything!

But who hasn't come to expect this sort of dreck from your average Sun columnist?

What really bakes my biscuit is how, apropos of absolutely nothing, Jordan Michael Smith then proceeds to blame "religion" for Mr. Race's crimes. He says:

Some of it surely has to do with religion. Despite not being highly church-going, Canadians are uncomfortable with acts their faith leaders tell them are immoral.

That's so stupid, Jordan, I'm embarrassed printing it on my site. I mean, apart from its making no sense in and of itself, what, pray, is informing this idea of yours that non-churchgoing Canadians "are uncomfortable with acts their faith leaders tell them are immoral"? What study draws that laughably absurd conclusion? (And could you tell me please: what religion does Mr. Race profess again?)

Straw-men are useful things, Jordan--if totally unethical ones--but you'll notice that even straw has some substance to it. What you offer is gas, pure and simple. It's embarrassing.

I think religions will evolve with this. Religious tenants have been evoked to justify slavery, racism, sexism, and, um, suicide bombing.

Hmm. Religious tenants. I'll confess that this is a group I'm unfamiliar with. You didn't mean religious tenets, did you? Those generally are invoked, by the way. Still, "as anybody familiar with the history of the Catholic Church" will tell you, you don't need to be familiar with the history of the Catholic Church to have a basic understanding of the English language--so I assume I'm the one that's missing something here.

... It seems to me that the only way to explain the hiring of Jordan Michael Smith as a columnist is if that fateful act was carried out by the same person who edits his copy.