What does it mean to say a person has no soul?

[rumguy]

What does it mean in a Christian sense? I thought everyone had souls, even those who do great evil?

Is Bush talking about demons here, or what?

""We will never show weakness in the face of these people who have no soul."
President Bush April 19, 2004

It's in the second to last paragraph....

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/04/20040419-4.html

[Archae]

1. In Bush's case...

He must be talking about those who don't like James Brown.
Bush is too stupid to have any true metaphysical thoughts.

If I hear it, I think of people who have shoes that are wearing out. :-)

[BlueJazz]

3. Bush might be talking about .....

..people who don't have that type of fish (sole) :)

[xray s]

2. hhhmmm....I saw a Simpson's once where Bart sold his soul to Milhouse

Snowball the cat hissed at him and the automatic doors at the Kwiki Mart wouldn't open when he walked up to them.

So keep your eye open at the mall, and let John Ashcroft know if you see any suspicious automatic door activity.

[checks-n-balances]

4. I think it means that person is acting like Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, etc.

I sort of mean that.

How dare he talk about entire groups of human beings like that? What the hell does he know about it?

The only situation I can imagine that applying to is when a person is a psychopath or sociopath. So he's saying that there are nations of people who are psychopaths, sociopaths, or less than human (therefore, we should treat them as such).

That's the classic verbal way to help people mobilize in war - demonize the enemy. Maybe that's what the prison torturers were told, that it's OK to do those horrible things to the prisoners since "they have no soul."

I've never heard anybody, publicly or personally, use that kind of language, but I suspect he's heard it from some fundamentalist preacher or speechwriter.

There's a lot of contempt underneath the rhetoric. And as far as religious connotations, it's horrible theology. With his black-and-white mindset, he implies that we're the good ones with "souls" and those who aren't "like us" are the evil ones who lack them. He's taking on the role of God, pronouncing some people to be redeemable (I guess the ones who may eventually end up in heaven) and others hopeless (bound for hell, of course). How simplistic.

We've never sunk so low as a nation, and we'd better start going upwards real soon. Besides everything I've already said, all there is left to say is that 9 times out of 10, whatever * & Co. say about other people is just stuff that's true about themselves that gets projected onto others. It's a case for the psychiatric profession.

[rumguy]

7. The thing is Bush is a big-time Christian

A real Christian would never say that about someone. Nor would a real Christian try to "rid the world of evil". Evil will as be with us, as humans are imperfect.

Someone needs to call him on this.

[neebob]

19. I know!

Every time I hear Bush speak I think shit, man, turn off the projector. The man continually amazes me with his condemnation of himself. Now he's confessed that he has no soul.

[Mattforclark]

5. It means

the opposite of whatever it means to say that a person has a soul.

:shrug:

[markomalley]

6. I think it is just an autobiographical description...n/t

[maggrwaggr]

16. Yes, the Bushco folks are always guilty of what they accuse others

this is no exception.

If there's anybody whose soul is so miniscule it cannot be detected, it's GWB.

[Must_B_Free]

8. Its a justification for murder

"They are animals, they have no soul.

Feel free to treat them like farm animals and slaughter them."

That's exactly what he means.

[maggrwaggr]

9. well it's certainly OK to torture people who don't have souls

their souls can't tell on you.

It doesn't count. You can still go to heaven.

[maggrwaggr]

10. furthermore, doesn't that make them "soulless heathen?"

Isn't that where that is leading? And isn't it your christian duty to conquer and subdue the "soulless heathen?"

[rumguy]

11. it's dehumanization of the worst sort

for a Christian to declare that another person has no soul, is to essentialy say thay are un-redeemable...like demons or something...

It's truly a bizzare statement.

[Rowdyboy]

12. Soul=conscience

Thats what he means, however ridiculously inappropriate his statement is.

[Mattforclark]

13. Conscience as in

consciousness (awareness) or "I feel bad that I did a bad thing."

In other words, is he saying that the eeeevildewers are zombies, or a psychopaths?

[rumguy]

14. To a Christian the word "soul" has a clear meaning

It has a specific meaning, it's something you pray about, think about all the time. It's not a word you invoke lightly.

For Bush to say such a thing in a public setting is wrong. I believe it is essentially heresay as well.

Further, to declare we will "rid the world of evil" is also heresy. Man is imperfect and will always commit evil. We're supposed to be humble before our own imperfection. To rise up and declare you will end all evil - as Bush and his neocon counterparts have done - is pure heresy.

on edit: I believe the word heresy may only apply to Catholics, but the meaning is clear

[SanFranciscoDemocrat]

15. Hey kids

It's FUN to demonize and depersonalize the enemy! That way you can sodomize them with broomsticks and not feel guilty because God made you SUPERIOR to them!

(PS: it's a known fact that 99% of the residents of Arab countries have no souls. If they have a copy of the Koran on them, that's 100% confirmation. Fire at will!)

[neebob]

17. It means our fake president is an even bigger idiot than anyone thought

He basically said the people "we" are fighting aren't human, and he couldn't even get it right. God, he's so embarrassing and abominable at the same time.

[rumguy]

18. it is dehumanization - it's de-souling them

it's wierd, and totally wrong

[neebob]

20. Everything he says and does is weird and totally wrong

What's even weirder and also totally wrong is that he gets away with it.

[Solly Mack]

21. Speaking of dehumanization-and thats what it is (this will sicken people)

..as it sickens me


While my husband was in Iraq, he wrote that some of his new recruits, fresh out of basic/ait, where speaking of the Iraqis in terms he found to be very offensive. While my husband checked his anger, he nonetheless "tore them a new a-hole"...because my husband just doesn't think in those terms and doesn't "get it" when people do.

He wrote that the new recruits went on to tell him they did bayonet training with the dummies dressed in "head gear"...

My husband said he about lost it after that...and went to his superiors with this information just to be scoffed at...seems it was OK with others that new recruits were training with targets dressed to resemble Iraqis.

bayonet dummies are stuffed human shaped dummies that are normally unadorned in any way. While bayonet training is disturbing to begin with.. to my thinking, anyway....for them to dress them up as Iraqis is downright scary and sickening

My husband rocked the boat in many ways during his year in Iraq...which might explain our orders to Germany 4 days after his return. Oh, I'm not crying, I want to live in Germany..but still..considering the other mess he's gone through with his command over his reporting soldiers for abuses he witnessed...the new assignment orders aren't exactly a surprise. My husband was up for promotion which can now be delayed until after his new assignment-and new duty stations tend to promote those who were already there and then get to the new people who are promotable.

[rumguy]

22. thanks for sharing that

that is really scary...wow...that should be a media story!

[MadProphetMargin]

23. He means that they're NOT REALLY PEOPLE, so it's okay to

slaughter them.

Ugh.