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Sinead O’Connor has died

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Re: Sinead O’Connor has died

#61
post #30

I remember being outraged at her tearing up John Paul II’s picture. The media in the U.S. did a great job of hiding why she did it. I was not outraged at her when I found out her justified reasons for doing so. That was the first time I became consciously aware that news is a business and that that business thrives when it generates outrage. I no longer fall victim to this. She’s far more the saint than that bastard…

Same.

As a child, I thought the Pope and the church helped poor people and practiced showing people how to be good to each other by following the ten commandments. When Sinead O Connor ripped up the picture of the Pope on SNL I remember asking why.

Someone said the reason was because she was crazy. They were lying to me.

Sinead O'Connor was drawing attention to child sexual abuse when nobody else was.

> She’s far more the saint than that bastard John Paul II.

I don't know about JP2's involvement in child sexual abuse (not doubting you, just saying I don't know *) but Ratzinger / Benedict absolutely deliberately prevented investigation into, and facilitated (by moving rapist priests into new parishes), child sexual abuse.

Years later I apologized to O'Connor on Twitter and she took it with grace.

* Update: some research showed the Vatican, under JP2, opposed extensions of the statutes of limitations in sex abuse cases.

Re: Sinead O’Connor has died

#62
post #30

I remember being outraged at her tearing up John Paul II’s picture. The media in the U.S. did a great job of hiding why she did it. I was not outraged at her when I found out her justified reasons for doing so. That was the first time I became consciously aware that news is a business and that that business thrives when it generates outrage. I no longer fall victim to this. She’s far more the saint than that bastard…

Do you not think your comment would have been better without the final sentence?

It was flamebait, but please let's not take the bait because a religious flamewar is not what we need here.

https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Re: Sinead O’Connor has died

#63

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looking back 30 years later, it’s really hard to understand. If it was today, it would barely be a blip.

I would even bet if it happened on an SNL today, it would have been met with applause.

That's just because the mores of society have changed.

I can think of dozens of true statements that if spoken on a show like Saturday Night Live would led to a performer being banned.

Re: Sinead O’Connor has died

#65
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not think your comment would have been better without the final sentence?

It was flamebait, but please let's not take the bait because a religious flamewar is not what we need here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

[flagged]

Re: Sinead O’Connor has died

#66
on Twitter in November 2018. She wrote: "What I'm about to say is something so racist I never thought my soul could ever feel it. But truly I never wanna spend time with white people again (if that's what non-muslims are called). Not for one moment, for any reason. They are disgusting."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sin%C3%A9ad_O%27Connor#Tweets_...

Re: Sinead O’Connor has died

#67
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not think your comment would have been better without the final sentence?

It was flamebait, but please let's not take the bait because a religious flamewar is not what we need here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

That’s the reason I called it out as respectfully as I could. I was hoping OP would edit the comment given the rest of it is valid and gets the same point across.

Re: Sinead O’Connor has died

#68
post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do you not think your comment would have been better without the final sentence?

It was flamebait, but please let's not take the bait because a religious flamewar is not what we need here. https://news.ycombinator.com/newsguidelines.html

Dan I don't think that comment was designed to be religious flamebait. It may seem like sectarianism if you're not Catholic so I understand feeling this way, but the people who are the most angry about Catholic priests raping children are people that grew up Catholic like myself.

Ie, this isn't attacking anyone on the basis of their religion.

I'd probably say the comment could be improved by adding a link to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criticism_of_Pope_John_Paul_II instead of 'that bastard' but criticism of people that facilitate child abuse is quite reasonable and very separate from attacking members of a particular religion.

Re: Sinead O’Connor has died

#70
post #22

She never deserved to be shunned.

Even if you strongly agree with her criticism of the pope, the way that she expressed that criticism -- by deceiving everyone on SNL to pull off her stunt -- certainly branded her as a loose cannon in the industry. Unpredictability might entertain audiences, but it's a huge liability from an entertainment industry perspective. And arguably, her antics greatly overshadowed the message she was trying to get across. How…

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