The not-entirely-whitebread urban sophisticates gathered round the turkey (?) on the homepage of ConservativeMatch.com look suspiciously like chardonnay-swillers to me, certainly not homespun heartland types, although the fellow second from the left has a hard and slightly menacing stare - he looks like he's going to buttonhole you any minute and start ranting about black helicopters. But really, it's a strange business, this red-state sectarianism, isn't it? The ads are equally odd, though fascinating. Women have to be particularly careful not to appear too strident (surrendered wife, everybody!) - "I am a very old-fashioned type woman but I also like to have fun. I love a good conversation, but I am not one for arguing"; "I am feisty (not to be confused with "aggressive""). Others suggest an intriguing backstory that isn't quite explained: "I from Russia and I live in Kirov city. To me of 27 years. Children are not present. When it was not married. I seeking a male for serious relation. I hope to have found my love in the internet." Children aside, something that is also frequently not present is flexibility: "I am seeking a non smoking serious practicing Catholic between the age of 22 and 27 years old. You must believe that abortion is wrong, euthanasia is wrong, using contraception of ANY kind is wrong. I don't like guns, so if you own one, please don't ..." (the ad cuts off there, but I expect "...worry about it" isn't what follows.)
(And yes, before anyone says it, I'm sure there are liberal sites just like this, and that they're every bit as daft.)
Posted by Alan Allport at December 9, 2004 01:52 PMI think you’re right about that one fella about to go on a rant (he’s also wondering how best to contest that speeding ticket he just got); the black guy is still bitter how affirmative action forced him into a tier one law school where he couldn’t make muster; the young lady in the center clearly has a gay sister she’s uncomfortable hugging; the lad on the right is calculating how much more he’d make if he could invest on his own all the money the government steals from him for Social Security; and the blonde woman (is that a rum and coke in her hand?) often finds herself perplexed over poor people having babies they can’t afford.
Of course, the people in the picture are all models and so the bogus meter is running; but that’s not the special turf of conservatives. Two women in the room and they both oppose reproductive rights. It’s a world full of wonder.
I do think this sort of site can be useful. Consider James Carville and Mary Matlin. I’ve seen them several times on Meet the Press and they may be in love but they don’t look happy.
This is a concept we should broaden. CathatersMatch.com might actually save my marriage. I find that many women who own cats fall for men who hate them and insist they have to go. Coincidentally, these are exactly the women my wife is friends with, so the cats come to my house. It’s not working out for me.
This is a concept we should broaden. CathatersMatch.com might actually save my marriage.
When I first read this, I thought you said CathetersMatch.com, which would have been Too Much Information for my taste, but which is probably an even more urgent requirement than CathatersMatch.com.
The other possibility might be CatharsMatch.com; compatibility here is pretty much a must (who needs a crusade to break out on a first date?), but enrollment has probably been a bit slim for a few centuries.
Posted by: Alan Allport at December 9, 2004 03:41 PMThat 'all begetting of children is evil' ruling probably keeps the congregation from growing much (the Prefect is happy to report we won't be needing an annex this year - again). Then again,the family that renunciates together consolamentumates together.
Posted by: Bobby Farouk at December 9, 2004 04:23 PMThey were the debris of an early Christianity...
God, that's so...1911.
Posted by: Alan Hogue at December 10, 2004 10:04 AMAfraid what CatharsMatch might mean. Weren't they the original victims of the slogan, "kill 'em all and let God sort 'em out"?
I believe that was specifically the Albigensians, which were Cathars who lived in Languedoc.
Posted by: Alan Hogue at December 10, 2004 11:54 AMDidn't know Cathars lived elsewhere. Where else did they live?
Posted by: Martha Bridegam at December 11, 2004 04:50 PMI went to check this and see I've stumbled into a semantic problem which I don't understand well enough to resolve. I was thinking that the Cathars were basically western Manichaeans, but it appears I may have been wrong about that, although there are definitely similarities between them.
Near as I can tell, Catharism appeared here and there in the west at various times (not much is really known about this), but the term Albigensian was a name (coined by outsiders and perhaps not used by the Cathars themselves) to refer specifically to the large and powerful community in southern France which was the object of the "Albigensian Crusade" in the 13th century.
Posted by: Alan Hogue at December 11, 2004 05:51 PMGreetings! CatharsMatch.com? LOL. Many found this delightfully funny and we thank you for this! Sadly, we would have to charge an unseemly high sign-up fee due to the small number of interested or available parties.
Kind regards,
Brad Hoffstetter
Communications
General Conference Cathar Church