Category Archives: Blog

The Useful Tool of Mockery

March 9, 2009 Normal Bob 6 Comments

street preacher — Street Preacher we call Nano-tech (because he also preaches about Nanotechnology)

Yesterday was the first good weather day to really hang at Union Square, and everyone knew it. They were all out. The crazies & college students waving “FREE HUGS” signs, skateboarders, musicians, junkies, drunks, and I even saw Richard Edson there. And of course the first beautiful day of the year wouldn’t be complete without a street preacher yelling about the damnation & insignificance of us all.

I’d seen him before, about 2 years ago appearing from the crowd, then absorbed by another group of loud mouth fundies. But this time it seems he worked up the courage to take on the crowd all by himself on this lovely afternoon.

As I’m sitting there watching him carry on, the crowd is slowly but surely turning against him. One group sitting on the steps starts heckling, then another group are dancing around him with “FREE HUGS” signs, teasing him with unlimited hug offers, while even another group who were sitting listening to hippies on guitars turn it into a “Praise Satan” circle. And the preacher just kept on preaching.

Bible in hand he preached about how because you have to teach children NOT to sin, that’s evidence we’re born evil, and how God wishes everyone could go to heaven but “would you invite someone to your home who didn’t love you?” and on and on and on and on while I videotaped.

Richard Edson photographing Street Preacher – Mar 8, 2009 — Nano-tech the street preacher being photographed by Richard Edson

Then this girl who’d been sitting next to me the whole time says to me, “I think it’s funny how all these people who are talking about ‘free hugs’ and ‘loving everyone’ are being so hateful to this guy.”

“Well, first of all,” I replied, “No one’s being hateful here. No one’s trying to take swings at him, or screaming ‘Get outta here you fucking fuck!!’ They’re all just making fun and bustin his balls.”

“No one’s being hateful here. No one’s trying to take swings at him, or screaming ‘Get outta here you fucking fuck!!’ They’re all just making fun and bustin his balls.”

“Yeah true, but you know what I mean. All these kids are all back there hugging everyone and saying how much we all need to love each other, and this is how they’re treating him. It’s just funny to see them say one thing and do another.”

Street Preacher mocked by NYU Students – Mar 8, 2009 — Street Preacher being mocked by NYU Students

“I don’t think I heard anyone back there saying ‘love everyone.’ They’re just giving away free hugs.” I couldn’t believe I was defending the “free hugs’ kids. “And what they’re doing isn’t hate. They’re just bustin’ his balls New York style. This is Union Square. It has a history for exactly what’s going on here.”

“I know. I’ve lived here all my life.” She retorted. “But aren’t all these people supposed to be about free speech? They’re not even letting him talk.”

“They’re doing exactly what people should be doing to someone who’s standing on the street corner yelling crazily. It’s no different than if he were standing there yelling how martians beamed him up into their ship and he’s warning us of their iminant attack. I’d even say that he’s the one who’s ideas are… I wouldn’t say ‘hateful’… but inhumane.”

I could tell she wasn’t into any of what I was saying. She didn’t respond to me, then a few minutes later she got up and left.

I understand where she was coming from, but I couldn’t help but imagine that after several more minutes of watching all that was going on she saw the “craziness” of his beliefs reflected in her own. Hell, that was one of the first dominos in my conversion to reason.

The Useful Tool of Mockery.

Art, Atheism, Blog, Hate Mail

The Rodney Dream

September 27, 2008 Normal Bob

I’d like to introduce you to Rebekah. A while back she sent me letters explaining how bothered she was about the things I’d done and said about Jesus. After a full back & forth (The Rebekah Knight Files) where I compared Jesus to a clay skull worshiped blindly by cults, I received another correspondence from her where she described a dream she’d just had about me, and Jesus, and God. Being the snarky cartoonist that I am, I could not help but illustrate that dream for her. This is how all of that went.

Hi Bob,
I wonder if you remember me, I am one of the people in your so called ‘hate mail’ section. (although there was no hate in me in my correspondence to you) ;0)

I wrote to you quite some time ago, and we had a few conversations. I felt then that God had spoken to me that you would have a saul experience, where by God came and showed himself to Saul, (who was at the time a man who persecuted christians) Made Saul blind for three days, and when he was restored, he was told to go and preach the gospel of Christ. He was renamed Paul.
Recently someone wrote to me and reminded me of our conversations, I often think of you from time to time, This morning I was in a spiritual vision with Jesus and he showed me you. For some reason he named you Rodney, which comes from the word Hroda, a Germanic name meaning “fame”.

The Dream

You were dressed as Satan with red face paint on and horns and you stood before Jesus feeling a little silly, as he gently washed off the paint. He was very kind and gentle with you. Then he started to do a work on you, I saw him replace your heart and breathe new life into you.

He kept pounding you with waves of his power, 3 times, he got you to stand but you fell, again he lifted you, but you fell, then he shouted into your inner most being “ARISE!!!! I AM ALIVE!!!!!!” it was as if all power in heaven and earth shook when he shouted those words.

You arose, strong and tall then you flopped into a throne like chair.

Jesus walked over to a skull that was placed on a rock, he brought it to you, he put it in your face and said to you, “I am not this, am I?”

You shook your head. “This”, he said throwing the skull down, “is YOU!” At these words the skull crumbled and turned to dust.

…at which he said “Ashes to ashes, dust to dust… I am not dead am I? I am very much alive!”

You sat in silence as he spoke. You knew the truth of which he spoke, but your pride did not want to acknowledge the truth.. You said to him, “But what about my powers? What about my Fame? I cant just let go of all that!”

O.K” said Jesus in reply, then he threw you on the floor… you appeared to be having a fight.

I stood in shock as I had not seen this side of Jesus before, I asked Jesus what he was doing to you? Why were you fighting?

He replied, “His heart is far from me…” With these words a cross appeared on the floor and God himself came and lay you on it… He had tied your hands and your feet and he drew his arms as if to strike you, you cried out, O.K!

With that Jesus stood between you and God and prevented the judgement of God from killing you, (Jesus has taken your place on that cross) Only if we believe in him, that he is the son of God, that he died and rose again, will we be saved.

I then saw a reluctant you, lie down and then something happened, you went back in time as you just lay, to a time as a little boy…. Jesus was by your side and he was in the chair next to your bed, he was watching over you as a little boy and you felt safe, he leaned forward, filled with paternal love for you and kissed your cheek.

At this you reached out your hand and hugged him, he embraced you and I saw you become one in love, like a loving parent and child.
I believe that Jesus still wants and is constantly trying to get your attention, he is a loving God, and will stop at nothing to regain you as his child. Your heart has grown cold and hardened toward his love, but he will eventually seek you and find you. I believe this with all my heart.

Hope this letter finds you well, Love and blessings. Rebekah. myspace.com/ beddyboodles
* * * * * *
The next day after viewing my illustrations I heard back from Rebekah:

“I love it!! funny how you seemed to capture it so well..same perspective as I saw it almost every time!
much love
xxxxxRebekah Knight”

Amazing Strangers, Blog, Hate Mail, Peepers, Union Square

Hate mail, from Peepers!

June 22, 2008 Normal Bob 3 Comments

This week’s hate mail is dedicated to the peepers and peeper defenders, and accusers who seem to just hate me! Never fear. There’ll be more Christian hate mail on the next pages, but for now a refreshing dose of Peeper hate mail!

I make contact with a Peeper!!

So it finally happened! The unbelievable has come true, and I didn’t waste the opportunity to say what had to be said. On Sunday the 6th of July the same peeper who approached me a week earlier sat down, shook my hand and started a conversation with yours truly!

“No, but you see, this is what I do! I take pictures of peepers, which is what you are. Aren’t you? You like to stand and stare up girls’ skirts at their panties, right?”

The Bravest Peeper sat down next to me on the steps with his squinty, fake-confidence smile and attempted to come off as a someone not to reckon with, but willing to reason this thing out with me. Let me say that I was so excited when he sat down! And I let him start the discussion, which he did.

“I.. want you to… no post my picture on the internets…”

Now mind you, when he spoke it was quiet, always with that nervous smile, exactly like a weakling pretending to be a threat.

“I want you to not take my pictures no more… to not post me… and what I do…. and you don’t post… ok?”

My enthusiastic response was, “No, but you see, this is what I do! I take pictures of peepers, which is what you are. Aren’t you? You like to stand and stare up girls’ skirts at their panties, right?”

It was so obvious that he was completely overwhelmed by my willingness to take part in an extensive discussion on the topic. I’m sure more than 50% of what I said was completely over his head, but he definitely knew where I was coming from.

“The girls…. they like to be…” and he’d motion at his own crotch insinuating that what they did was on purpose. “They like it. heh heh”

There were two girls sitting on the other side of me listening in , and I was making it easy for them to do so by speaking loudly to him and using complete sentences that included his own words and point of view.

“So you think girls like being peeped? Like even when they’re pushing their skirt between their legs and then getting up and leaving the park? You think the girls are turned on by your creep stare?” And the girls next to me shouted “Oh no we don’t!”

One of his general responses was a simple shrug of the shoulders and half smile.

Another interesting thing that happened is one of the baby scenesters saw what was going on and ran over and brought two girl baby scenesters over to witness what was happening. They sat down too, and pretty soon there was a tiny audience there watching this priceless exchange.

Bravest Peeper also suggested to me as he did in our previous exchange that “maybe… you enjoy taking pictures of boys at the park” motioning his arm around and giggling a little like he had me, and the accusation was his trump card.

“maybe… you enjoy taking pictures of boys at the park”

“Haha! So you think someone’s gotta be gay if they’re not spending all their free time at the park staring up skirts for 20, 30, 40 minutes at a time?”

He shrugged with that smile again.

“Oh, I have a question! Had you ever thought that maybe guys who don’t rape girls against their will might also be homosexuals?” I looked around the park suspiciously at all the closeted gays.

He shrugged with a smile again, and the girls next to me were riveted.

He also said to me “iss my problem if I get caught, or if police catch me… thas my pro-blem.. not yourss.. not yourss business…”

“Oh, I don’t think you’ll get arrested. It’s not against the law what you’re doing!” I stated all this quite loudly. “What you’re doing, peeping up girls’ skirts at the park, isn’t illegal. What you’re doing is just deviant behavior, and it’s societles responsibility to manage you people. And that’s where I come in!”

I knew he was barely following anything I was saying, but he definitely understood that I was gonna be a complete jackass about this situation, and his hopes and dreams of free peeping were slowly being pulled out from under him.

He held out his had to stop me and said again “I wants you to stop taking my pictures… thas all. Just stop…Okays?”

I sat there and seriously tried to picture me stopping. I replied “I have to be honest. I do not see me stopping taking pictures of you peepers in the park at all. In fact, I think the only hope you have of getting me to stop is coming up to me one of these days, putting up your fists” I gave him a visual of what I was speaking of by putting up my fists much like those old vintage boxers posed with their arms at right angles putting up their dukes, “and saying to me ‘You’re still putting my pictures on the internets, now I’m gonna fight you.’ and fighting me to see he wins, and then seeing what happens from there. I think that’s your only hope to keep me from what I’m doing here with you peepers. You know?”

Then I started calling over people who were strolling by and poling them on whether or not they thought girls like being peeped, while pointing out that he was a peeper and thought it was something girls get off .. a while of my smart-alekness and gathering a crowd around to partake in the discussion he finally just got up, said “goodbye” and walked quickly away.

Twice since then when I’ve come to Union Square he’s turned and left the park immediately.

And that’s how it went down.

Fun huh??)

Blog, Peepers

I make contact with a Peeper!!

June 22, 2008 Normal Bob

“I.. want you to… no post my picture on the internets…”

Creepy man squinting — Peeper who confronted me at Union Square

“I.. want you to… no post my picture on the internets…”

Now mind you, when he spoke it was quiet, always with that nervous smile, exactly like a weakling pretending to be a threat.

“I want you to not take my pictures no more… to not post me… and what I do…. and you don’t post… ok?”

“The girls…. they like to be…” and he’d motion at his own crotch insinuating that what they did was on purpose. “They like it. heh heh”

One of his general responses was a simple shrug of the shoulders and half smile.

“Haha! So you think someone’s gotta be gay if they’re not spending all their free time at the park staring up skirts for 20, 30, 40 minutes at a time?”

He shrugged with that smile again.

“Oh, I have a question! Had you ever thought that maybe guys who don’t rape girls against their will might also be homosexuals?” I looked around the park suspiciously at all the closeted gays.

He shrugged with a smile again, and the girls next to me were riveted.

He also said to me “iss my problem if I get caught, or if police catch me… thas my pro-blem.. not yourss.. not yourss business…”

He held out his had to stop me and said again “I wants you to stop taking my pictures… thas all. Just stop…Okays?”

Twice since then when I’ve come to Union Square he’s turned and left the park immediately.

And that’s how it went down.

Fun huh??