The Crowhill Irony

When I first came across the CW (the Crowhill Weblog) in a Google search, I was amazed at the irony I found. Here was a man proudly displaying his family crest and using the “crow hill” translation of Krähenbühl in his domain name. At first glance, I thought it was pretty cool.

But then I read his staunch Roman Catholic views. I recalled the history of the Krähenbühls. The Krähenbühls figured prominently in the origins of the Anabaptist movement in the 16th and 17th centuries. (The Anabaptists begat today’s Mennonites and Amish.) Early on, they were deemed a threat and driven out of Switzerland, tortured, and even killed for their beliefs by-you guessed it-the Roman Catholic Church (and Protestants, too, if you want to be picky about it).

Now I’m not saying I’m gung-ho for Mennonite-ism. Far from it. But to me, “Krehbiel” is a name synonomous with taking a stand against an intolerable belief system. To me, it means “we’re fed up with what you’re telling us, it doesn’t make any sense, and we’re not going to take it anymore.”

I suppose one could argue that, from the CW’s point of view, he’s doing just that. But from my point of view, what he’s saying doesn’t make any sense, and I’m not going to take it anymore.