My Half-Year of Hell With Christian Fundamentalists

[lectrobyte]

North Carolina makes Der Spiegel

http://www.spiegel.de/international/0,1518,448350,00.html

Excerpting a bit:

"When I got out of the plane in Greensboro in the US state of North Carolina, I would never have expected my host family to welcome me at the airport, wielding a Bible, and saying, 'Child, our Lord sent you half-way around the world to bring you to us.' At that moment I just wanted to turn round and run back to the plane.

Things began to go wrong as soon as I arrived in my new home in Winston-Salem, where I was to spend my year abroad. For example, every Monday my host family would gather around the kitchen table to talk about sex. My host parents hadn't had sex for the last 17 years because -- so they told me -- they were devoting their lives to God. They also wanted to know whether I drank alcohol. I admitted that I liked beer and wine. They told me I had the devil in my heart.

One day I was talking to my host parents about my mother, who is separated from my father. They were appalled -- my mother's heart was just as possessed by the devil as mine, they exclaimed. God wanted her to stay with her husband, they said.

[LiberalinNC]

1. I am so sorry you had to experience that in my home state.

I want you to know that not all of us in NC are like that. I wish you all the luck in the world!

[WillYourVoteBCounted]

2. Winston Salem? I Guess there are a few kooks here

but there would have to be kooks everywhere.

that is one reason not to be an exchange student that I hadn't thought about.

[young_at_heart]

3. Don't they screen the host parents?

It must have been pure hell for this boy!

[BelleCarolinaPeridot]

4. Oh dear -

damn ...

and I could imagine having to explain to everyone at school when I was in Germany that we are not all like that. Damn again.

[left of center]

5. Uh..yeh...they were crazy

That was bad even by right-wing Christian fundamentalist standards!

[Kenergy]

6. NC is a backwards state

There are pockets of good people, but for the most part, these people are still living in the dark ages.
i.e. they are dumb-asses. Very ignorant and mis-informed people.

[benEzra]

8. Painting with a broad brush, there...

are you originally from NC?

I would also point out that most of the state government is blue, not red.

[jarnocan]

7. on the other hand NC had more World Can't Wait rallies (pics)than any

stae in the USA except for California. Also heard there are more PHDs per capita in the triangle area than anywhere in the USA.
http://ncwcw.blogspot.com for more activst links in NC