Someone Didn't Understand The Concept of Figurative Speech?

I mentioned last week about Professor Paul Mirecki's announcement of a class about Intelligent Design that was really quite astonishing in its lack of objectivity:

"The fundies (fundamentalists) want it all taught in a science class," Mirecki wrote in the e-mail. "But this will be a nice slap in their big, fat face by teaching it as a religious studies class under the category `mythology.'''

It would appear that someone doesn't understand the concept that "slap in their big, fat face" was figurative in nature:

LAWRENCE, Kan. — A college professor whose planned course on creationism and intelligent design was canceled after he derided Christian conservatives said he was beaten by two men along a rural road early Monday.

University of Kansas religious studies professor Paul Mirecki said the men referred to the class when they beat him on the head, shoulders and back with their fists and possibly a metal object, the Lawrence Journal-World reported.

I would like to believe that anyone who claims to follow Jesus Christ would know better than to attack Professor Mirecki's for his nasty remarks. Of course, I would also like to believe that Professor Mirecki is accurately describing what happened, but there has been quite a number of "hate crimes" lately that turned out to be frauds by the victim. And like this one. And this one. Or this one.