Petty controversy: Are USB devices satanic?

The petty controversy: The leader of a Brazilian evangelical Christian sect, Paz do Senhor Amado (Peace of the Beloved Lord), has reportedly forbidden his congregants from using USB devices because, he says, the symbol on the common computer cables looks like Satan's trident. The devil's pitchfork "is used to torture souls that go to hell," explains "Apostle" Welder Saldanha, and the USB symbol "shows that all users of that vile technology are actually worshipers of Satan." Instead, Saldanha's followers can use other connectors or, better still, Bluetooth, since "blue was the color of the eyes of our savior Jesus Christ."

The reaction: This must be something of an inconvenience to the cult members, says Peter Mason at Hexus, but I guess finding alternatives to USB thumb drives is "a small price to pay to bring your computer one step closer to the divine." Sure, but what's next? asks Robert Quigley in Geekosystem. There are plenty of ripe targets in the world of computers. It's a "good thing Welder Saldanha hasn't heard about SATA," a technology used with hard drives that's only one letter away from "Satan." This situation seems "rather strange," says Alex Vochin in Softpedia. But these Brazilians aren't hurting anybody, and "religious freedom" can also mean the right to transfer data however you please.

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