People are always asking me why we chose the title Get Off The Cross! for this zine, and exactly what the title means. Contrary to some guesses, it has nothing to do with religion, nor with racism - although I can certainly see how someone might think so. Instead, we chose this title because it uniquely describes the entire tone and purpose of this zine.
Allow me to be blunt: there are a lot of really pathetic people walking around. I'm not talking about people who are handicapped or disabled in a genuine fashion, but rather those who would be fine if they stopped wallowing in their own misery. You've seen these people; we all have. They're the bread and butter of modern talk shows, the psychological equivalent of the freak show or the geek act. Let's not kid ourselves; these are the people that we watch to make us feel better about ourselves. Flip on the tube, catch a couple of talk shows, and you can at least say that no matter how bad off you are, at least you're doing better than those schmucks.
This is hardly a new phenomenon, but the disturbing factor lies in the unholy marriage of the intensely personal freak show with the incredibly desensitizing effects of mass media overload. This union has resulted in an unexpected (but perhaps inevitable) offspring: a society of victims, in which responsibility can be abandoned by simply pointing the finger of blame at some external factor. It's never a killer's fault that he went on a five-state killing spree; instead, society drove him to kill by not catering to his special needs, which are no doubt a direct result of some combination of Bad Things that happened to him along the way. Maybe he was abused as a child, or maybe he blamed pornography, but either way it's Not His Fault.
THIS MUST CEASE.
Everybody has problems; I certainly can't deny that. However, these problems can be dealt with in several different ways - and that's what keeps getting lost in this society of victimization. After all, why should you take responsibility for your own actions when you can just nail yourself to your own personal cross and gain not only forgiveness for your misdeeds, but even sympathy for your Sad Condition?
The way to fix this society of victims is to simply step outside of it. Political correctness must be abandoned; by its very nature, it coddles and nurtures the victim mentality. (I'm not saying to abandon the use of tact, though - that's an entirely different topic.) Instead, people must deal honestly with one another. In short, we need to make it clear to these self-pitying sots that they can't just writhe about on their self-erected crosses and expect free rides through life. No, it's time to Get Off The Cross and start doing something useful. If we all just sit around and moan about the plight of society, nothing will change - but if we get off our asses and put the lumber from these crosses to good use, we can do anything. The only thing that holds us back is our own reluctance to take that bold step into a better world.
I suppose it's fair to say that Get Off The Cross! is a unique creature. In one sense, it's a humor zine; some of the stories you'll see about idiocy incarnate are genuinely funny. In another way, this is a form of catharsis; by speaking of the frustration we experience daily, we lessen its power over us, and thus we get a little bit healthier. Then again, this is kind of a self-help guide; however, instead of delivering a warm, fuzzy, PC attitude that everything's okay and there's nothing wrong with anyone, we shine the cold, harsh light of reality on these topics and expose the truth behind them. Ultimately, though, I created this forum for one simple reason: some things desperately need to be expressed, but I know of no existing place to say them - least of all polite society.
Anyway, there you have it. In these pages, you will find all kinds of articles. Some will amuse you, others will shock you (especially when you realize that some of the events detailed here are only lightly fictionalized versions of real events that we've actually witnessed), and maybe some will even enrage and offend you. So be it. That's our goal, and I will not apologize for it. All we ask is that you ponder some of the points that these columns will raise, no matter how uncomfortable you may find them. In fact, the odds are that the more offended you are by a topic, the closer it has struck to your own personal cross, and therefore you have more to gain by examining it.
Come down from that cross of yours; we could use your help down here. Besides, that wood could help build some houses for people that need them.
| - Rev. Robert L. Hood Publisher and editor |