New Book Turns Hate-Mail Lemons To Lemonade
The state of siege the country has been in since Donald Trump took office is nothing new to the Military Religious Freedom Foundation, which has been on the receiving end of almost constant venomous attacks since its founding in 2005—in the press, in public attacks and private conversations, and in an unending flood of [mostly] electronic hatemail, much of it directed personally at MRFF’s leader Mikey Weinstein, an Air Force Academy graduate, whose fight to defend religious freedom in the military is not only rooted in his own experience, but in his family history of military service as well.
You don’t get into battles like this one—and certainly don’t last—without creativity and humor to keep you going, and thus we have the second book of hatemail, criticism and threats they’ve been subject to, along with responses: When Christians Break Bad: Letters from the Insane, Inane and Profane, edited by MRFF co-founder Bonnie Weinstein, Mikey’s wife.
“We respond to every single email, nice or nasty,” she explains in the book’s introduction, which, along with her chapter introductions, provides much-needed context to help make sense of the biblical flood of nonsense the letters contain. She also provides sparing back-up comments along with the full-length responses from MRFF staff, volunteers and board members, whose collective capacity to cope is an inspiration for all in dark times.