While waiting at AAA, Automobile Club of Southern California, I ran into the restroom. Perched on the paper towel dispenser I spied a scary-looking booklet titled, “Who Murdered Clarice.” Curious, I picked it up and took it back to the lobby as I continued to wait for the AAA rep.
I began turning the pages, and a story unfolded: A murder took place at 6:30 am on a cold, Friday morning; today, too, was a cold, Friday morning at AAA. What made this even spookier was that it was an intensely rainy day with deep, gray skies and blankets of falling rain.
The story spoke of a butcher and poor Clarice - who died a terrible death at his hands.
I had no idea what this murderous tale could be about, so continued to read. The booklet was in a cartoon format and the pictures were graphic and disturbing. I read on, blindsided and sick to my stomach when I realized this tale of murder was really a piece of anti-abortion propaganda - done in the most disturbing way. It made me think of the anti-semitic and racist propaganda of other extreme groups, like the Nazis or Ku Klux Klan. It was another great representation of Christian ideals being twisted and tweaked for vulgar purposes.
Abortion is a highly personal issue, and using pictures of murder and hate to sway one’s opinion just reinforces the idea of a very scary segment of the religious right - the same segment that protests at Funerals of Gays and Soldiers, all to prove some sick “point”. In truth I would not even call them Christians, but rather hate-mongers who are defiling our world through ideas of murder, fear and hate distributed through literature.
I’ve included a few pieces of the pamphlet, which even has an assigned ISBN Number # 0-7589-0352-9. The literature states it’s provided “compliments" of TBN, the Trinity Broadcasting Network in Santa Ana, California, and published by Chick Publications in Ontario, California. I encourage you to email or call Tribune Broadcasting in the United States or Canada and/or Chick Publications in the United States if you are as disgusted as I am.
Trinity Broadcasting Network - United States
P. O. Box A
Santa Ana, CA 92711
Business Telephone U.S.: (714) 832-2950
E-Mail Trinity Broadcasting Network
Trinity Broadcasting Network - Canada
P. O. Box 768, Station B
Ottawa, Ontario K1P 5P8
Chick Publications
P.O. Box 3500
Ontario, CA 91761-1019
Business Telephone: (909) 987-0771