The disappointed followers of Harold Camping are (as far as the media have been able to determine) still around, and there are no explanations yet from the prophet of doom:
The California radio evangelist attracted the worldwide following proclaiming that the apocalypse would come Saturday.
Some of Camping’s followers gave away all their worldly possessions in anticipation of the biblical rapture.
In Oakland, California a group of onlookers poking fun at the predictions gathered outside Camping’s radio station to countdown to the deadline.
Camping predicted an apocalypse once before in 1994 and said it was a “miscalculation.”
In New York City, 60-year-old retiree Robert Fitzpatrick was also a believer of Camping’s prediction.
Fitzpatrick said he was expecting a natural disaster. “We’ll I expected the earth quake to begin, right around 6:00.”
“I don’t understand it. Obviously I haven’t understood it correctly because we are still here,” Fitzpatrick said to the Associated Press.
Fitzpatrick is the author of, “The Doomsday Code,” and spent more than $140,000 of his retirement savings on ads about the end of the world.
Still, you have to feel a bit sorry for them: who among us hasn’t had the disappointment of a cancelled Camping trip on the May Two-Four weekend?
Feeling sorry for them is exactly the reaction that one should take. It’s really not funny that these poor people are so deluded into believing this stuff, obviously something has gone seriously wrong in their lives to make them want to cling to this sort of foolishness. Free speech is free speech but this is really bordering on fraud…
Comment by Rob — May 22, 2011 @ 11:28
I would say it is fraud if the Rev asked for their money, but I don’t think he told them to sell everything off and send it to him. What is scary to me is that there have been “End of Days” predictions for thousands of years, and there are always those who believe it. Rational thought should prevail, but faith is a strong factor in this. I mean, how do you explain the Islamic martyrs who absolutely believe that they will be rewarded with the virgins promised in their holy book. To me, it sounds like a motivator written into fiction, but to them it is the truth.
Comment by Dwayne — May 22, 2011 @ 14:08
Feeling sorry for them is exactly the reaction that one should take. It’s really not funny that these poor people are so deluded into believing this stuff, obviously something has gone seriously wrong in their lives to make them want to cling to this sort of foolishness.
Who are we talking about here? The Rapture believers, or anthropogenic global climate change believers?
Comment by Lickmuffin — May 24, 2011 @ 11:44