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With the premiere of the Witnesses movie--and the attendant reviews of that film--less than two weeks away, the proprietor of "Sic et Non" would appear to be feeling somewhat on edge:

(I've decided not to include the “posted from x” attributions anymore while I'm away from home in x; I have too many malevolent loons zealously scouring this blog every day for things that they can weaponize against me, and I wouldn't put invading my house or damaging my property altogether beyond at least a few of them. They're not overly scrupulous. For instance, one recently published a letter in a major Israeli newspaper under the name of a close friend of mine, in which my friend supposedly denounced me as a long-time anti-Semite and an enemy of Israel — thus positioning me, more or less, in the same league and moral class with Hamas and the Nazis. I consider that a very serious slander.)

That sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? I mean, Nazis? Of course, this is all coming on the heels of DCP banning a Persian activist from "SeN." (See here for the backstory on that.) So what was the comment that "positioned" Dr. Peterson "in the same league and moral class with Hamas and the Nazis"? See for yourself:

Louis Midgley wrote:I was saddened to see that Brigham Young University professor Daniel C. Peterson agreed to work with Mahallit. Throughout his career, Daniel Peterson’s actions and words have shown that he is no friend of Israel or the Jewish people.

Not exactly praiseworthy, and I assume someone is pretending to be Dr. Midgley, but the point can be backed up with some unfortunate facts: there was the time that Dr. Peterson showed up on a Jewish blog to tell Jews that they had no business complaining about proxy baptisms for Holocaust victims. And then there is Bill Hamblin's K-word-laced rant on the FAIR Mormon blog: something that was posted there when Dr. Peterson was still a highly influential member of FAIR's board. *And* let's not forget that, as a youth, Dr. Peterson mocked the Jewish wedding ceremony while he was on some kind of Church-sponsored trip. Rather than owning up to this youthful indiscretion, he has always opted instead to blame others for calling him out for his behavior. So, sure: there is reason why "Louis Midgley"--fake or not--might be "saddened" by this kind of behavior.

But the fact that "Midgley's" comment appeared in the Jerusalem Post has got the Mopologists stirred up into a frenzy. The actual Louis Midgley reacted with apprehension:

Louis Midgley wrote:I will not say much about Dan's comment about someone suddenly denouncing him who he previously thought was a friend, except to say that I have actually seen the fake letter in the newspaper in Jerusalem. I can assure everyone that genuinely evil people are intent and harming Dan and his friend. They are motivated by hatred for both Dan and his friend.

Well, at least they didn't compare him to Hamas or the Nazis, though, right? Kiwi, meanwhile, wants criminal charges filed against "Louis Midgley":

Kiwi57 wrote:Is it possible to get your friend to write to the Israeli newspaper with proof of his identity and set the record straight?

And then, perhaps, notify the authorities and suggest a possible line of inquiry for the identity theft?

Quite interesting. I wonder if they'll follow through?

Dr. Scratch,

It would be interesting to someday compile a list of all the individuals and organizations that DCP has slandered and libeled during his lackluster carreer. Just off the top of my head:

Robert Ritner (alleged improper sexual advances/relations with John Gee)
Brent Metcalf (alleged involvement with the Hoffman forgery)
Michael Quinn (alleged improper homosexual relations)
Michael Coe (disparaged his scholarship numerous times)
David Bokovoy (disparaged him and his scholarship)
Dr. Shades (has disparaged and allowed SeN posters to call him dishonest and evil)

The list goes on and on. DCP has slandered/libeled so many individuals and organizations that you might even be able to get the courts to certify a class action against DCP.

When I first read this, I read it as typical Midgley pronoun confusion:

I was saddened to see that Brigham Young University professor Daniel C. Peterson agreed to work with Mahallit. Throughout his career, Daniel Peterson’s actions and words have shown that [Mahallit] is no friend of Israel or the Jewish people.

But, "Midgley" referring to Dr. Peterson as "Brigham Young University professor..." makes it apparent that this is most likely a faker.

Is that small comment really what Dr. Peterson is referring to though, as a "letter"? Or is it implying that Mr. Weinthal didn't actually author the JP piece that the fake Midgley commented on?



ETA: It is a special level of scumbaggary to imitate someone like this.

Doctor Steuss wrote: ↑

Mon May 24, 2021 6:23 pm

Is that small comment really what Dr. Peterson is referring to though, as a "letter"? Or is it implying that Mr. Weinthal didn't actually author the JP piece that the fake Midgley commented on?

You would think that at this point in his career as a professional blogger that DCP (and Midgley) would know the difference between a short, two sentence comment and a letter. That's why I'm thinking there might be an actual letter that DCP and Midgely are referring to? Who knows with those two.

Imagine my disappointment when I clicked on the #bearwitness link and learned there weren’t any bear witnesses in the movie. :/



- Doc

Will you be viewing the film if/when it comes to your city or is available on streaming platforms, @Doctor Scratch?

What will the world do if there are two Louis Midgley's at large? This could throw the entire pH of the world off if there are not enough salts around to buffer it.

I definitely intend to take a look at Witnesses, Sledge. On one level, I think the anticipation connected to the movie is every bit as significant as the anticipation for Denis Villenueve's Dune, or the new James Bond film. Barely a week to go before the debut!

Doctor Scratch wrote: ↑

Mon May 24, 2021 5:56 pm

[/url] So what was the comment that "positioned" Dr. Peterson "in the same league and moral class with Hamas and the Nazis"? See for yourself:

Louis Midgley wrote:I was saddened to see that Brigham Young University professor Daniel C. Peterson agreed to work with Mahallit. Throughout his career, Daniel Peterson’s actions and words have shown that he is no friend of Israel or the Jewish people.

Oh, man. No wonder he’s so hot under the collar. From the comments section:

Andrea Itzkowi to Louis Midgley, 15 May

BYU Professor Daniel C. Peterson has said many unfortunate things about Jewish people. “I hope that Jews, of all people, will be very careful not to entertain the kind of religious hatred and bigotry that some will undoubtedly attempt to inflame over this issue.” I would respond that we LDS do, quite unapologetically, insist that Jews 'are not worthy enough to receive God's eternal blessing on their own.” Daniel C. Peterson https://mormonquotes.com/Daniel_C._Peterson

12 Upvotes

Holy crap. And look at that. 12 upvotes! The commenter appears to be Dr. Andrea Itkowitz, an MD from Missouri. Yikes. That must sting a little that a medical professional outs your bigotry for the world to see. Worse, yet. She links to a trove of his own quotes regarding Jewish people! On the Jerusalem Post! Here it is:

https://mormonquotes.com/Daniel_C._Peterson

- I'm not sure why some Jews appear to be offended by Mormon temple service on behalf of Jews. Jews have precious few friends around the world. They should not be seeking to alienate Mormons, who are deeply philosemitic.

- I hope that Jews, of all people, will be very careful not to entertain the kind of religious hatred and bigotry that some will undoubtedly attempt to inflame over this issue.

- Many Jews in general are troubled by the notion of proselytizing. I remember speaking with a rabbi in Jerusalem, very nice guy, who said to me simply that to convert a Jew is the equivalent of killing a Jew, especially because Judaism has been so threatened, obviously particularly in the 20th century. I understand the sensitivities on that score. In terms of Holocaust victims in particular, there's the sense that they died ‑‑ whether they were religious or not ‑‑ they died for being Jewish. So to take people who are in effect martyred for their Jewishness and then be baptized as Christians posthumously really offends a lot of Jewish sensibilities. That I understand. I think the church has tried to be sensitive on this, but we are caught on this doctrine. And the doctrine is this: Ultimately anyone who is saved must be saved through Christ, and that means at some point explicitly acknowledging Christ and accepting baptism. And that goes for everybody who has ever lived. So in a sense we're not theologically free to say to anyone, including Jews, that we just won't do this, and in our viewpoint, in fact, at the end of time, people would say thank you for this.

Yeesh. I’m sure the cojcolds at the COB squirm every time he opens his mouth.

- Doc