Strangely, I feel sorry for this man. All I can see here is someone who was deeply indoctrinated into a religion as a child (according to his Wikipedia page, Folau was raised a Mormon before...
Strangely, I feel sorry for this man. All I can see here is someone who was deeply indoctrinated into a religion as a child (according to his Wikipedia page, Folau was raised a Mormon before switching to the Assemblies of God church), and is now so blinded by that indoctrination that he thinks the psychological bars locking him into his religious cage are a good thing.
As far as he's concerned, he's doing the right thing - which is what makes this so tragic to me.
Don't feel too sorry for him. He's an extremely well off-person, who has great employment prospects and enough money to continue doing what he loves irrespective of whether he's employed or not....
Don't feel too sorry for him. He's an extremely well off-person, who has great employment prospects and enough money to continue doing what he loves irrespective of whether he's employed or not. Now if this was someone who's views would cause them to go hungry at night, or without shelter; I could agree.
But yes I agree in principle that religious indoctrination does almost appear to be a shackle that is incredibly tough to be freed from.
I didn't say I felt sorry for him with regard to his career or his money or his fame. Even if he is trapped by his religion, he can still make the decision to not post about his religion on social...
I didn't say I felt sorry for him with regard to his career or his money or his fame. Even if he is trapped by his religion, he can still make the decision to not post about his religion on social media when his employer tells him that his multi-million dollar contract is on the line. He decided to post his views on social media after being told what the consequences would be, so I feel no sympathy for him in that way.
But I can still feel sorry for him being subjected to the indoctrination which led him to make that decision.
I'm indifferent to this notion. It feels equivalent to saying he didn't have the ability to know better. If you were saying you feel sorry for a kid for being subjected to the indoctrination,...
But I can still feel sorry for him being subjected to the indoctrination which led him to make that decision.
I'm indifferent to this notion. It feels equivalent to saying he didn't have the ability to know better. If you were saying you feel sorry for a kid for being subjected to the indoctrination, sure, I'd absolutely agree.
But Folau is an adult, and is therefore capable of his own individual, critical thought. He's had time to consider his actions from the first time he spoke out, but now he's gone ahead and spoken out again. Failing to sum up one's own shortcomings and doubling down in hateful speech should garner zero empathy, whatsoever. Continuing to feel sorry in this situation therefore feeds into the paradox of tolerance.
No matter the upbringing, he's an adult that has had the time and ability to change, and has proven though multiple actions that he will not do so.
... based on the indoctrination he received as a child. It's very hard to break free of childhood indoctrination. Most people don't manage it (and I'm not talking about just religion, I'm also...
But Folau is an adult, and is therefore capable of his own individual, critical thought.
... based on the indoctrination he received as a child. It's very hard to break free of childhood indoctrination. Most people don't manage it (and I'm not talking about just religion, I'm also referring to a lot of different cultural ideas).
Sure, he changed religion as an adult, but all he did was switch from one brand of Christianity to another. That central belief in the Christian God is very hard for people to break free of.
Yes, he can decide not to publicly post about his religious views on social media, but I believe it would be extremely difficult for him to decide not to have those religious views.
At least now we know the previous Instagram post wasn't just a misguided mistake that he regrets. Good luck with the contract termination appeal and Fair Works case now, ya bigoted idiot.
At least now we know the previous Instagram post wasn't just a misguided mistake that he regrets. Good luck with the contract termination appeal and Fair Works case now, ya bigoted idiot.
Definitely not. Folau has consistently spoken out against homosexuality. During our postal survey about same-sex marriage, back in late 2017, he was one of the people pushing the "no" case. He was...
At least now we know the previous Instagram post wasn't just a misguided mistake that he regrets.
Definitely not. Folau has consistently spoken out against homosexuality. During our postal survey about same-sex marriage, back in late 2017, he was one of the people pushing the "no" case. He was irritated by his rugby team speaking out in favour of same-sex marriage, so he felt the need to express his personal disagreement. And he has repeated his view occasionally since then.
His recent social media posts are just part of a larger pattern. That's what originally prompted Rugby Australia to tell him to pull his head in. But he didn't. He repeated his views on social media after being told not to. So they had to sack him.
Strangely, I feel sorry for this man. All I can see here is someone who was deeply indoctrinated into a religion as a child (according to his Wikipedia page, Folau was raised a Mormon before switching to the Assemblies of God church), and is now so blinded by that indoctrination that he thinks the psychological bars locking him into his religious cage are a good thing.
As far as he's concerned, he's doing the right thing - which is what makes this so tragic to me.
Don't feel too sorry for him. He's an extremely well off-person, who has great employment prospects and enough money to continue doing what he loves irrespective of whether he's employed or not. Now if this was someone who's views would cause them to go hungry at night, or without shelter; I could agree.
But yes I agree in principle that religious indoctrination does almost appear to be a shackle that is incredibly tough to be freed from.
I didn't say I felt sorry for him with regard to his career or his money or his fame. Even if he is trapped by his religion, he can still make the decision to not post about his religion on social media when his employer tells him that his multi-million dollar contract is on the line. He decided to post his views on social media after being told what the consequences would be, so I feel no sympathy for him in that way.
But I can still feel sorry for him being subjected to the indoctrination which led him to make that decision.
I'm indifferent to this notion. It feels equivalent to saying he didn't have the ability to know better. If you were saying you feel sorry for a kid for being subjected to the indoctrination, sure, I'd absolutely agree.
But Folau is an adult, and is therefore capable of his own individual, critical thought. He's had time to consider his actions from the first time he spoke out, but now he's gone ahead and spoken out again. Failing to sum up one's own shortcomings and doubling down in hateful speech should garner zero empathy, whatsoever. Continuing to feel sorry in this situation therefore feeds into the paradox of tolerance.
No matter the upbringing, he's an adult that has had the time and ability to change, and has proven though multiple actions that he will not do so.
... based on the indoctrination he received as a child. It's very hard to break free of childhood indoctrination. Most people don't manage it (and I'm not talking about just religion, I'm also referring to a lot of different cultural ideas).
Sure, he changed religion as an adult, but all he did was switch from one brand of Christianity to another. That central belief in the Christian God is very hard for people to break free of.
Yes, he can decide not to publicly post about his religious views on social media, but I believe it would be extremely difficult for him to decide not to have those religious views.
At least now we know the previous Instagram post wasn't just a misguided mistake that he regrets. Good luck with the contract termination appeal and Fair Works case now, ya bigoted idiot.
Definitely not. Folau has consistently spoken out against homosexuality. During our postal survey about same-sex marriage, back in late 2017, he was one of the people pushing the "no" case. He was irritated by his rugby team speaking out in favour of same-sex marriage, so he felt the need to express his personal disagreement. And he has repeated his view occasionally since then.
His recent social media posts are just part of a larger pattern. That's what originally prompted Rugby Australia to tell him to pull his head in. But he didn't. He repeated his views on social media after being told not to. So they had to sack him.