Tuesday, June 21, 2005

More religious nuttery

City of God: Tom Monaghan's coming Catholic utopia

Tom Monaghan founded Domino's Pizza. He is also fucking insane. You see, he wants to build a simple college town centered on his Ave Maria University project:
Ave Maria won't be just a university, he continues. It will also be a new town, built from scratch, in which the wickedness of the world will be kept at bay. "We've already had about 3500 people inquire on our Web site about buying a home there--you know, they're all Catholic," Monaghan says excitedly. "We're going to control all the commercial real estate, so there's not going to be any pornography sold in this town. We're controlling the cable system. The pharmacies are not going to be able to sell condoms or dispense contraceptives." A private chapel will be located within walking distance of each home. At the stunning church in the center of town, Mass will be said hourly, seven days a week, from 6 a.m. on. "So," Monaghan concludes, with just a hint of understatement, "it'll be a unique town."
I think that since the planned town will be built on private land, it's entirely possible that it will be built and inhabited without legal interference. It might not technically be a "town" at all. The interesting question, briefly raised in the article, is what the consequences would be for any residents who break the ridiculous rules. Excommunication? Exile? Stoning in the public square? There's something ominous about how "they" will be controlling everything.

[via Pandagon]

4 comments:

  1. i bet you the kids that live there are gonna mate and breed like rabbits.

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  2. I give it about 2 years before they start hanging "witches." I mean, seriously people, they've tried the whole "new Jerusalem" thing. People need to read more Nathaniel Hawthorne.

    If I was going to do my grad work in Sociology, I'd devote my entire field of study to watching how screwed up this place is going to get. It seems like any town that would be so Puritanical in nature would inadvertantly create "an island of rejects" for any pregnant teen or Marilyn Manson listening pot head that "screws up" and goes against the established rules.

    I almost want to go move there to purposely fuck around with them. If I ever become rich, I'm going to buy a house there, and just always be blaring Metallica at all hours of the day and night, whether or not I'm physically there or not.

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  3. Ha! This confirms my theory about the people who have the most power in our society.

    "Ask me again sometime".

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  4. We went over Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" and "Young Goodman Brown" a couple of weeks ago in class. You know, we really haven't progressed much as a society. It's like we've gone completely back to Puritanical rule in this country. It's sad.

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