Sticks Don't Kill People, Nuts Do

Every time I argue against the banning or restriction of martial arts training and weaponry, I get my foot shoved in my mouth by idiots like this.

This is from an old friend from Fight Club. He's on a mailing list which he describes as...

...unfortunately half filled with Irish Catholic religious zealots who view western fighting arts as the physical component to their faith (similarly to shotguns in the Bible belt I suppose). anyway, after a lengthy discussion about christianity and a few of us asserting that a WMA group is not the place...one wrote:

"Unless Christ was a stick fighter, can we end this thread?"

Which is pretty funny, until a response came:

"Actually the only account I recall indicated he was proficient with the use of a cat-o-nine-tails. . . . However many of his followers were/are proficient in many arts."

I know, you're thinking, "Sure, rip on the Irish Catholics. What about anting-antings?" Hey, that's one thing. But most people just don't believe, as some Filipino FMA practicioners, that the Santo Niño de Cebu is holding an escrima stick. Or that the "angle one" strike, known in some systems as the strike of San Miguel was actually taught directly by St. Michael.

And, what the hell is "were/are proficient" supposed to mean?