MovieChat Forums > God Bless America (2012) Discussion > Was There somethng They Hated on That yo...

Was There somethng They Hated on That you do/believe in?


I enjoyed this movie. The cool thing they did, at times, was hate on actions/beliefs even they subscribed to.

For me it was when Frank and Roxy "hated" on people who identify themselves as "Spiritual". And that's obviously because I consider myself spiritual. Here's why:

If you believe in a god, you usually associate with a religion - often its Islam or Christianity. However, both religions splitter off into multiple sects... such as Catholicism, which is bogged down by rules and traditions which don't relate directly to what the Bible teaches...it creates traditions/rules that Jesus never signed off on.

So here's the thing, by calling yourself Christian AND spiritual, you only tie yourself to *specifically/exactly* what Jesus (or any religion) actually taught. Your not a Baptist just because Jesus said *this* and your not a Catholic because Jesus said "that." Your spiritual - because you believe in exactly what Jesus said.

Living by your own understanding - without sacrificing for an established splitter group. You observe this higher power without labeling yourself as anything, because doing so isn't important - "spiritual people" also often describe themselves as non-denominational... which is kind of the point

Soooo, what did they add that you personally relate to (whether you liked the movie or not). There is a good chance considering they touch on so many points.

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I have to say, when Roxy made the "spiritual" comment, I almost swallowed my tongue; not because I disagree, but because it struck me only a few hours earler just how much the term irritates me. Or rather, the way it's used.

Now, I'm not one of those gleefully hostile atheists who delight in highlighting the foibles of organized religion. Not at all.

But I happened to hear a radio program yesterday in which a woman claimed to be "a church-goer" and "very spiritual". What annoyed me was the way she said it -- dripping with oldster superiority. As if she had a university degree that the rest of us didn't, or could run the hundred under ten seconds.

Matters of the spirit...how do you quantify or qualify them? Am I "more spiritual" if I go to church twice a week instead of once? What if I never go, but set aside an hour a day to "be spiritual" (whatever that means)? How about if I never, ever think about religion or spirituality? Am I less entitled to my humanity than the people who say that they're "highly spiritual"? Do I have less understanding of what's meaningful in this life?

It's childish, and ultimately it means nothing to anyone except you. People who broadcast their "level" of spirituality, or even allude to it in such terms, need to spend a little more time in "silent reflection". A pissing contest is still a pissing contest.

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eh, I just felt like they were generic hippsters crying about how *beep* the world is, stuck in some false idealistic persona fueled by nostalgia in the case of Frank, and attention in the case of Roxy. Although they never mentioned qualities I posses, I'm sure they would have had hated on me too and thought that I deserve to die.

Good things its just a movie though.

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I give high-fives all the time.

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Although they never mentioned qualities I posses, I'm sure they would have had hated on me too and thought that I deserve to die.
Using the phrase "hated on" probably wouldn't help you any.

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I'm a grown woman calling my boobs "the girls" (but in my language in an ungrammatical way that could be translated as "the girlses") :D in the privacy of my own home.

Didn't bother me. We all have habits that annoy someone and the point is that we don't deserve to die for it. I see that scene as Frank and Roxy spinning out of control, shoehorning annoying habits into the "deserves to die" pile and the grievances get increasingly absurd. Annoying enough to vent about but nothing that makes you a bad person, deserving death. Kind of the movies explanation of the slippery slope problem. We cheer them on when they kill that horrible Super Sweet 16 girl and her lax parents and then we choke on that cheer when they increasingly circle us. I think that's the point.

There are few people who are not guilty of any of those enumerated annoying habits - or very similar ones - and should there be such a person, you can be sure they are uptight, unlikable, judgemental asses. So, still annoying. No one is safe, once you start thinking like that.

I can see how "the girls" can be an annoyance - it can be part of cutesifying and infantilizing grown women and that does bother me too. - Firstly, I don't understand why I would discuss my boobs in public and if I needed to, for some unfathomable reason, I would probably call them boobs. But at home, with my husband, they are the girlses and that's my privilege. Because he knows me and knows I'm neither cutesified nor infantile.

I, personally, get really annoyed with the "people who call themselves spiritual" thing but I don't want to kill them. It is a really annoying habit to go around labelling yourself as if you are expecting a medal for "living right".

And that's kind of the difference. There's a huge difference between seeing yourself as spiritual and calling yourself spiritual. I have yet to meet a person who do the ostentatious spirituality thing, who actually live as they learn. They tend to be envious, judgemental, impervious to logic and narrow minded. While people who do the non-ostentatious spirituality thing are fine. Just people with a different world view from mine, which is all good.

_Being_ spiritual and _calling_yourself_ spiritual are two very different things. Neither of which deserves a death sentence. But neither does parking like a pimhole or being a spoilt canute.

(If you are wondering which one you, personally, are: count your last 100 FB status updates. If more than 20 were about your spiritual journey, spiritual undertakings or your brand of spirituality. You may need to have a think.)

And while I'm not keen on those talent shows and their initial freak shows, I have noticed that while bad performances get youtubed a lot, the biggest breakouts are always when an underdog shuts the jury up by being really good. People go mad for sharing that stuff, to the point where a popculture-tard like me recognize the stories. (I was, due to living in radio shadow, without a teve for over six years.) It's now gotten to the point where every season needs its Susan Boyle, because people still root for the underdog.

Which is one of the reasons I'm never going on a killing spree. As long as more people care about sharing the unexpected breakout success than the flat weirdo with the spanner outfit, there's still no need to go on a killing spree. I don't believe in god but I have read the bible, as part of a literature degree, and god was willing to save Sodom and Gomorrah if there was a single just man to be found. As long as there is a single just person around, let's none of us go on killing sprees. Okay? I'd rather not that person got caught in the cross fire. And, for the record, you don't get unjust for never reading books, calling your bodyparts cutesy things or stick preening labels on yourself. It makes you annoying but not kill-worthy.

I do feel the same frustration, though. I really loved this film and yes, the shootings felt cathartic. But I think that even in this revenge fantasy extravaganza, there are responsible scenes that draw that attitude to its logical conclusion and one of them was this scene, where Frank and Roxy slowly hone in on everyone, including me.

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Yeah. I believe in freedom of speech- even angry, mean speech. If a person wants to pray to crystals and be at one with their perspective of the universe, so be it. you want to give high-fives or gall your tits "the girls" or "puppies" or whatever the hell, so be it. You want to call me a ni^^er or a splick or whatever racist term you can manufacture, so be it. Call me a liberal, a conservative, a vote-waster or an evil muslim woman-oppressor, that is your right.

You are a human being and your creator (whatever the hell the creator of you may be) endowed the human being with the power of speech and I welcome it. I choose to not oppress it. And i will never grant a permit to the government to oppress it either- through shame, guilt or an AK-47.

If you can't handle words, you are ill-equipped to handle your own humanity.

And now my soapbox is worn out. I'm outta here.




My "#3" key is broken so I'm putting one here so i can cut & paste with it.

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I use words like 'edgy' and 'extreme.' There's a Roxy somewhere with bullet with my name on it.

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I think a lot of the brainstorming they did wasn't serious...they weren't going to shoot someone that said they were spiritual, but they mused about it. Ultimately, Frank would always say..."just the one's that deserve to die"....and his bar was higher than their random musings.

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They hate people that drink energy drinks all day, which I do, but I guess that they hate "those people" because in their minds people that drink energy drinks all day are loud and aggressive *beep*

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