They should call themselves the “300 Club.”

But it gets annoying listening to these people talk about how Christianity is a small persecuted group when they comprise about 75-80% of the country.  They have too much power as it is, the fact that they believe that it’s persecution when they don’t have even more power is scary.

Just two men, celebrating each other’s strength?  More like, just a man and a teenage boy, celebrating military discipline, and occasionally sneaking off to murder an uppity Helot.

I always thought that 300 sneakily pro gay, there were two guys that where pretty obviously banging, and for all they made fun of the Athenians, they died, and Athens where ultimately victorious.

I’ve never understoood how Jerry Boykin, the man who planned the attack at Waco and pressured an inexperienced, newly-appointed Attorney General into ordering it, became such a right wingnut hero.

“For all they made fun of the Athenians, they died, and Athens was ultimately victorious.”

Actually, it all ended up with Sparta, in alliance with the Persians, conquering Athens.  But that was the next war.

They want the gays to “come and get” their “weapons”. I tell you what, Freud’s methodology may have been less than rigourous, but when he’s right he’s right.

The irony, it burns…  Also, maybe when they say that “Christians” are being persecuted, what they really mean to say is that closed-minded homophobes are being persecuted, which, I would note, is EXACTLY THE WAY IT SHOULD BE!

But it gets annoying listening to these people talk about how Christianity is a small persecuted group when they comprise about 75-80% of the country.

The issue here is that they don’t count the vast majority of Christians as being Real True Christians (RTCs).  Obama is the most obvious example, where so many evangelicals believe he’s Muslim even though he identifies as Christian.  But they’re also willing to exclude most mainstream Christians.  And the truth is that a lot Christians either want marriage equality or simply don’t care about it either way, and that makes the RTCs very angry.

As far as the “Christians are a persecuted minority” thing goes, I think that’s just their “Burkha Logic” at work.

My favorite video montage coming out of this jingoist piece of shit movie is the one set to the song “It’s Raining Men.”  Homoeroticism, yay!

Just two men, celebrating each other’s strength?

“Blood and thunder!” “Victory at sea!”

(We’ll see just how many perverts here actually get that)

“Finally, Joyner announced that Christians have more than enough people to take control, but they need to bind together and, as such, would soon be unveiling coalition called “300”.”

If the One and Only True God is on their side, why do they need more than 300 Brave Christian Men to establish their Christian Republic of Gilead, if that was enough pagan Spartans to stop the whole pagan Persian army?

Are they admitting that a bunch of gay pagans are stronger than 100%-Pure Heterosexual God-Fearing Real True Christian American Men?

The Rapture (which will be more like Heaven’s Gate or Waco than Left Behind) can’t come soon enough…

Also, the whole fucking point of the Battle of Thermopylae was that it was just a holding action and everybody involved knew they were doomed from the start. They didn’t expect to win, they expected to die honourably.

The issue here is that they don’t count the vast majority of Christians as being Real True Christians (RTCs).

Which is the only way that their comment about getting Christians into ‘all levels of government’ makes any sense at all.  We’re still living in a country where people bring up their religious affiliation as a reason to vote for them.  There are days I’m ashamed to live here.

Don’t any of these asswipes own a suit?

Perhaps even more notorious than the Spartan army was the Theban Sacred Band. It comprised 150 pairs of lovers fighting side by side and was one of the most respected elite infantry units of the Hellenistic era.

It’s always weird when right-wingers try to appropriate ancient Greek practices to their cause. You’d think that the medieval period would be more to their liking, but outing yourself as a “medievalist” is pretty damning, so I guess you gotta go way, way back. Next step: we should be more like the Babylonians. Or maybe the Hittites.

Also, the whole fucking point of the Battle of Thermopylae was that it was just a holding action and everybody involved knew they were doomed from the start. They didn’t expect to win, they expected to die honourably.

Thank you, 13. But perhaps they believe that if they “die” (in this case become horribly humiliated) that then others will take up their cause and bring an even bigger fight, like in the movie. And then their songs will be sung throughout history.

And coming from people who pretty much have no idea what’s really in the bible I’m not surprised they pick a movie because it’s got BATTLES! and VIOLENCE against an enemy that’s not only feminine and gay, but brown and foreign! 300 gives them all the ingredients in their bigot stew in once nicely abbed package. And they can sit back oogling and cheering the hot man action without feeling queer.

Off topic but while Inglorious Basterds brought him to prominence, Michael Fassbender got his first American break in 300 as one half of the “obviously banging” dudes. While everything else about that movie is crap I’m grateful for Fassbender in eyeliner :D

I’m not sure whether I should laugh or cry…
If I were an modern Spartan I would probaly be offended by this video.
I mean they compare themselves to elite soldiers but I bet most of them wouldn’t even have made it through arctic survival training I took part in two weeks ago.
Also the violence machinery of an state should be an humble servant and stay mostly out of politics.

OT:  Google’s logo today celebrates the 100th anniversary of the International Woman’s Day.

I’m not sure where The Encyclopedia of Homosexuality (which Burnett cites) got it’s information, but that describes ONLY the Theban Sacred Band, not the Spartan military.  The Athenians encouraged sexual relations within military troops, but didn’t require it.  There is very little writing from Spartan sources, most of what we have is from Athenians like Xenophon, who says the Spartans thought of romantic entanglement within the military group as distractions and discouraged them.  That’s not to say they were against homosexual relationships, they just didn’t like them within the syssitia.  (The movie, on the other hand, is totally homoerotic.)

On the other hand, I can’t quite decide which is stranger about choosing to associate their movement with the 300.  Is it the fact, mentioned above, that the 300 went into battle knowing beyond a shadow of a doubt that they were doomed?  Or that the ‘principles’ they were fighting for were the right of wealthy, absentee landlords to continue exploiting an entire race of slave peoples?  How are either of those, in their minds, is a good match for the fight for “Christian” values in America?

Hope you don’t mind if I comment on that clip in my own space.

Oops - that’s an entire nation of slave peoples, not race.  Sorry.

“Also the violence machinery of an state should be an humble servant and stay mostly out of politics.”

Oh, no it’s not!  When is comes to the One True Christian Nation of America, the business of bringing souls to Jesus is far too important to put on the back burner.  All American military and quasi-military forces must brought to bear to ensure we’re doing what God told us to do: Wipe out everyone else.

Arrest and torture as many godless terraists as we can, invade as many mooslim countries as we can, borrow the last dollar the Chinese have to buy the last bullet to put through the brain of the last mooslim in the service of God.  It’s what Jesus wants.  I know, ‘cause He told me…

Anybody got some hungry lions?

300 was probably the most fascist Hollywood movie of the 00’s so I’m not surprised the right-wing is trying to appropriate it.

Fascists and Crypto-Fascists love Sparta.  It’s the perfect example of a totalitarian society.

Also Spartan supremacy in Greece came to an end when they were defeated at Leuctra by the Thebans, they of the Sacred Band. 

Perhaps when these guys float their “300” group someone ought to set up a “Sacred Band.”  It would piss them off no end (not least because of the use of the word “sacred”).  Also since it’s a band, might as well have awesome music, perhaps some dancing and general fabulousness…

There’s an ad for ‘Master of Arts, Military History’ at Norwich University.

I know several guys with that degree, and every single one is unemployed.  Nothing against them, they’re good workers, but there’s only so many history positions available in the US, and they’re usually contract-only (no tenure!) and the first to be cut when budgets creak.

“All American military and quasi-military forces must brought to bear to ensure we’re doing what God told us to do: Wipe out everyone else.”

Well I’m glad that our Finnish military culture is slightly different.
Like for example:
- Sisters in arms are appointed to combat units like everyone else.
- The military disapproves of rape and sexual harassment and is actively dealing with the problem.
- Units involving homosexuals are considered combat proof due to their good performance in WWII.

Heck we even have an feminist as our current Commander-in-chief.

“The issue here is that they don’t count the vast majority of Christians as being Real True Christians (RTCs).”

But they try to have it both ways also.  Whenever it’s convenient they cite that most Americans are Christian to spread their narrow ideology.  Like when they try to shove “merry Christmas” down our throats, they cite that most people celebrate Christmas (or at least the season) to force people to stop saying “happy holidays.”

I remember thinking 300 was so awesome because it’s basically a display of what the Greeks saw themselves as (according to some scholarly opinion) as opposed to what they really were. I don’t know if that’s what Miller had in mind when he wrote it but that really only ads to the meta. So much of the bluster about freedom, manhood, honor, and the proper place of foreigners and women-folk can be traced back to the Greeks.  Did the Spartans actually think/feel xyz or was that just what the Athenian upper class who emulated them wanted them to be like? or the Romans? or the Victorians? Sparta is basically the ancient version of the good old days. When men were noble, and women devoted, and freedom actually meant something.

Yet one more example of the right-wing appropriating a historical group or term without doing the slightest bit of research.  It’s “Wait!  We didn’t know ‘teabagger’ meant THAT” all over again.  Pointing and laughing while armed with historically accurate facts is one of my favorite recent pastimes.

I just googled “spartans looked down on athenians” and got entries about how the Spartans thought the Athenians weak because of their pederasty. It seems the Spartans were not into “man-boy” love.

I thought I had read in some historical tract decades ago that the Spartans were the exception to the Greek custom of man boy relationships. It’s somehow in line with the fact that the Spartans valued women and actively sought their opinion, while the rest of pederast Greece considered the male-male relationships the primary relationship, while women were nothing but baby-making machines.

Please, if those who know more about this provide academic links, that would be helpful. As for the Thebans they were a completely different city-state, and it’s interesting that the Encyclopedia would conflate Spartan and Theban warriors and their customs—if that’s actually what’s been done.

@Gumiman: Arctic Survival Training? I doubt most of these guys could make it through a Boy Scout camping trip without having to have a helicopter called in to fly them out.

At this point, I’m simply not surprised by any gay imagery the Teabaggers come up with.  I used to think “every homophobe in the closet” was at least an exaggeration.

Or that the ‘principles’ they were fighting for were the right of wealthy, absentee landlords to continue exploiting an entire race of slave peoples?

If you haven’t figured it out yet, the goal of the people giving wingnuts their direction is the replacement of the middle class by helots.  Much more profitable, you see.

I never watched more than 10 minutes of “300” but I thought it was considered good watching for gay men because of all the eye candy and imagery.  I remember someone like Kathy Griffith joking that 300 was the film’s gay rating on a scale of 1-10.  Also see this list of 10 reasons why “300” is gay : http://www.wired.com/table_of_malcontents/2007/03/10_reasons_why_/

“The 300” Lost at Thermopylae
The Nazis, the Confederates, now the Spartans - wingers sure love losers.  “birds of a feather” I guess

ps
“It will be just like the Alamo!”
“We lost at the Alamo, Juan”
“Speak for your self, gringo”

Well, this is a tangent, but the discussion of Sparta and how it differed from Athens, esp at
#31, put me in mind of the “bacha bazi” or “boy play”/“dancing boys” among the Pashtuns in Afghanistan and Pakistan.  Men use the young boys, teach them dancing, treat them as lovers, probably in part because women are sooo restricted and the Pashtun variant of Islam is soooo conservative (the Taliban in essence institutionalized Pashtun norms in Afghanistan).  Pashtuns are a very patriarchal and “warrior” based society.  The intersection of “warriorhood” and male-male sex turns up here as well.

I remember thinking 300 was so awesome because it’s basically a display of what the Greeks saw themselves as (according to some scholarly opinion) as opposed to what they really were.

This is a good observation—the entire movie is basically a story told by an unreliable narrator.

Spartan civilization left very little archaeological, artistic, or literary legacy. They practiced infanticide. They are basically everything that the right claims to be against but in practice favor, because ultimately they admire militaristic strength.

Man, those are some doughy, doughy douchebags slavering over hot Spartan men. Do these people even look in mirrors, literally or metaphorically? I mean, Freud is really very easy to read and understand.

pfft! come on, history is for losers. the movie is totally reality.

i mean honestly, for these tools to understand their error would require them to actually educate themselves on something. anything. that’s their most hated thing in the world, knowledge.

Just two men, celebrating each other’s strength?

“Blood and thunder!” “Victory at sea!”

(We’ll see just how many perverts here actually get that)

She… is truly my son.

Hehe. Sorry, here is your thread back.

I remember thinking 300 was so awesome because it’s basically a display of what the Greeks saw themselves as (according to some scholarly opinion) as opposed to what they really were.

This is a good observation—the entire movie is basically a story told by an unreliable narrator.

The original graphic novel was too. Frank Miller has said that for ages, and the director of the film, Snyder, called the primary narrator, Dilios, someone who knew how not to ruin a good story with the truth. Both comic and movie is Dilios standing around the campfire on the eve of battle pumping up the troops with an epic yarn that included an incredible bunch of bullshit.  “Yeah, there’s a big army over there but, they’re ordinary looking men: Leonidas and his people faced down demonic faceless ninjas and giants. You think that bunch of pansies over there is equal to that?”