Archive for Hate Crimes category
Tim Tebow’s Deal with the Devil
Posted by Matt in Christianity, DOMA, ENDA, Hate Crimes, Maine, Marriage on February 5th, 2010
Much interweb ink has been spilled over Tim Tebow’s anti-abortion commercial scheduled to air during the Super Bowl. To be honest, I don’t have too much of a problem with it, even though CBS rejected a completely innocuous gay-inclusive United Church of Christ commercial six years ago. The real test will be next time a credible gay-positive ad is presented. Until they show us differently, I’m inclined to accept CBS’s statement that their standards have changed with the times.
As I see it, the real problem is that millions of people will be tuned in on Sunday not knowing that Tim Tebow is lending his credibility (such as it is) to Focus on the Family (FoF), a dangerous, homophobic organization built on a doctrine of prejudice and fear.
Here is a short, incomplete list of positions that Tim Tebow supports through his association with FoF and by extension FoF’s sister organization Family Research Council (FRC). (FoF and FRC were split in 1992 solely for tax reasons.)
- In February 2009, FoF official affiliate Family Policy Council of West Virginia ran a commercial that said that same sex marriage was “attacking” marriage while showing a heterosexual family in crosshairs.
- In March 2009, FRC President Tony Perkins said that the United States should sign an anti-gay rights statement offered in the United Nations, thereby joining with GWB’s “Axis of Evil”.
- In May 2009, FoF founder James Dobson claimed that the Matthew Shepard Act (now Law) protects pedophiles because the law doesn’t define “sexual orientation”. Of course, current law already defines the term, so there was no need for a new definition. This was explained in committee before an amendment ordering definition was rejected as unnecessary.
- In July 2009, FoF celebrated the “findings” in a “study” by NARTH that said that Ex-Gay treatments are “beneficial”, a statement that every credible source rejects outright.
- In September 2009, FoF organized a rally in support of Maine’s anti-gay civil rights campaign. They were so frightened of having their words on the record, they barred the press from the event.
- Not only that, they refused tickets to people who didn’t fall in lock-step with their agenda.
- In February 2010, five days before the Tebow commercial was set to air, FRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Peter Sprigg told Chris Matthews’ audience that gays should be thrown in jail. Two years earlier, Sprigg told a reporter that he wanted gays “exported”.
- In February 2010, three days before the Tebow commercial was set to air, FRC Senior Vice President for Policy and Government Affairs Peter Sprigg unambiguously advocated kidnapping if a non-custodial parent doesn’t like the judge’s order.
These positions and more (I’ve barely scratched the surface) are supported by Heisman Trophy-winning Florida Gators quarterback Tim Tebow through his association with FoF. And don’t give me any guff on the harshness; we’d say the same thing if he did a commercial for any other supremacist group.
Hopefully next time Tebow’s on the field he’ll put Matthew 23:23-28 under his eyes. He (and they) could use the reminder.
P.S. Another reason I’m in favor of CBS running the commercial: That’s $2.8 million they won’t have to spread more vitriol against the LGBT community.
The Very Real Fears of a Gay Ugandan
Posted by Matt in Christianity, HIV/AIDS, Hate Crimes, News, Politics on February 4th, 2010
This morning, virulently anti-gay quasi-religious group “The Family” sponsored the National Prayer Breakfast, a long-standing tradition in Washington D.C. National Media paid special attention to the Prayer Breakfast this year because The Family has also been credibly linked to the proposed law in Uganda that would demand the killing of gay Ugandans.
In response to the Prayer Breakfast, a coalition of civil rights groups has begun the American Prayer Hour, which had its first press conference yesterday. The Human Rights Campaign (HRC) has released video from the press conference.
Speaking were Rev. Elder Darlene Garner of the Metropolitan Community Church, Bishop Gene Robinson of the Episcopal Church, and Harry Knox, Director of Religion and Faith for HRC.
But most importantly, a gay Ugandan identified as “Moses” spoke before the cameras. Fearing for his life, Moses concealed his identity in front of the cameras. He talked about his fears and what life is like for a gay Ugandan.
It’s the most frightful speech I’ve seen in a very long time.
Hopefully this explains why the LGBT community goes to red alert when American conservatives spread fear and call for the criminalization of homosexuality. It’s only one step away.
FRC’s Peter Sprigg: We should outlaw “gay behavior”
Posted by Matt in California, DADT, Hate Crimes, Marriage, News, Politics on February 2nd, 2010
Today saw the first hearings on Don’t Ask Don’t Tell (DADT) in over a decade. It was a fun-filled day that I’ll probably talk about in some depth later in the week, but this video needed to be posted immediately.
Peter Sprigg of the Family Research Council (a sister company to Focus on the Family) was on Hardball with Chris Matthews tonight alongside SLDN’s Aubrey Sarvis to talk about DADT. This video should be set to the last thirty seconds of the segment when Sprigg let the cat out of the bag. See transcript below.
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Matthews: Do you think we should outlaw gay behavior?
Sprigg: Well, I think certainly it’s defensible.
Matthews: No, I’m just asking you, should we outlaw gay behavior?
Sprigg: I think that the Supreme Court decision in Lawrence v Texas, which overturned the sodomy laws in this country, was wrongly decided. I think there would be a place for criminal sanctions against homosexual behavior.
Matthews: So we should outlaw gay behavior.
Sprigg: Yes. [laughs]
Keep in mind that a year ago, Peter Sprigg said that gays should face more taxes than straight people, and a year before that he went on television to suggest that gays be rounded up and “exported”.
Make no mistake: Peter Sprigg is one of the few anti-gay leaders who actually speaks his mind, and the rest of them are thinking exactly what he says. I shudder to think what he keeps to himself.
Incidentally, I hope someone thinks to enter this video into evidence in Perry v Schwarzenegger, the Prop 8 trial. If ever we had evidence of anti-gay animus being whipped up, this is it.
(Hat tip to Alvin McEwen.)
Funky Winkerbean’s Not-So-Hilarious Anti-Gay Bullying
Posted by Matt in Hate Crimes, News, Safe Schools on January 26th, 2010
It’s No Name Calling Week, an annual event sponsored by GLSEN to promote acceptance and safer environments in schools.
In honor of this, I decided it’s time to talk about Tom Batiuk’s Bullies Are Funny week in the comic strip Funky Winkerbean. These six consecutive strips appeared from December 14-19, 2009. I’ve been waiting for follow-up on the situation, but it’s been a month, and any follow-up wouldn’t undo the damage.
Cody, a newer character in the strip, seems to be a Les Moore stand-in when it comes to bullying. His first appearance last September, in another series about bullies, was more generalized than December’s, but I don’t think I’ve seen him in a strip that didn’t feature him as a victim.
Of course Batiuk doesn’t use the word fag, or even the barely-code sissy, but the implication is clear. Knowing a show tune is wrong, all the characters know it’s wrong, and Cody has gone from happy in the first strip to ashamed and afraid when someone hears him in the second.
Not only is Cody afraid, his fears seem to be justified. He’s been taunted by Seniors, and now his best friend Cory has joined in the fun by threatening the loss of his friendship.
(Incidentally, kudos to Batiuk for naming the characters Cory and Cody. It’s not confusing at all.)
Joking or not, loss of friendship is a fear shared by every young gay boy and lesbian, and even the straight kids who are just perceived as gay. The last panel below speaks volumes as Cody does his level best to hide his true self.
I had hoped Batiuk would redeem Bullies Are Funny week with an “I Learned Something” moment. Something as simple as Cory joining in on the song as the bullies walked by would have been enough; it wouldn’t even have been out of place in the world of Funky Winkerbean, where cancer and death mingle with laugh-free punch lines all the time.
But alas, it was not to be. The final strip in the series is below. This strip, in which Cody tries to decide whether to go back into hiding or embrace his new reputation as a fag by joining the drama club, which is apparently where all the sissies and fags hang out.
The message, if that’s what Batiuk was going for, is that fags should either try to run from their selves or hang out with other fags so they can be abused and alienated more effectively.
If Batiuk was going for funny, that fag sure does know a lot of faggy stuff about fag music and fag mythology. Ha ha. Fuckin’ fag.
I guess.
Thanks to GLSEN for continuing their marvelous work to keep gay kids safe in our schools. With their help, we’ll have fewer suicide victims to bury.
Do Gays Really Have Anything To Fear?
Posted by Matt in California, Hate Crimes, Marriage, News, Politics, Safe Schools on January 18th, 2010
One of the themes coming from the defense last week in the Prop 8 trial was fear of LGBT people. Four of the six defense witnesses have backed out saying that they were afraid for their lives if their testimony was taped. (None have agreed to testify now that the court decided not to broadcast the testimony.) One of the Defendant-Intervenors attempted to withdraw for the same reason.
In both cases, defense attorneys have cited youtube comments and verbal reaction to Prop 8’s passage as evidence of impending doom. And in both cases, I cite my tiny violin.
It’s not that I want violence to happen against our opponents. On the contrary, I think our case is better served if they’re left alone. It’s just that the Violent Homosexuals charge is so commonly played, and with no real evidence to back it up.
But hey, it’s not like LGBT people have anything to be afraid of, right?
Unfortunately we know better, and not just from ancient or even recent history. I came across both of these stories Friday morning, even as Prop 8 attorneys were painting us as attackers. The first is from Chelmsford, Massachusetts:
Chelmsford police say they have identified a 15-year-old boy as the person who posted a threatening message on the social networking site Facebook.com.
“At this time, it appears to be the senseless act by an individual who failed to recognized the serious consequences that may result from such a post,” said Deputy Police Chief Scott Ubele in an e-mail.
The page, which has since been taken down, is titled “kill all gay people yea,” and has Chelmsford High School students listed as guests. The event was listed as a group trip on Jan. 19 from 6:55 a.m. – 9:55 a.m. and lists “do you hate people that are gay and have a green car?” as a host.
Note that this was obviously aimed at a specific person. While you think about that one, let’s look at this comic strip from Notre Dame University’s The Observer:
Frame 1: 'What is the easiest way to turn a fruit into a vegetable?' Frame 2: 'No idea.' Frame 3: 'A baseball bat.'
By the way, the original punchline was ‘AIDS’, but the editors thought that was going too far. Beating with a baseball bat is hilarious, though.
To be fair, both cases have resulted in real consequences. At Chelmsford High School, the administration acted quickly, the police were involved, and Guidance staff were made available to those students who were threatened.
At Notre Dame, the paper gave an (mealy-mouthed, hey-look-over-there) apology, the paper discontinued “The Mobile Party” by Colin Hofman, Jay Wade and Lauren Rosemeyer, and Managing Editor Kara King, who approved the comic strip, has resigned. (For some reason the Editors think this means she has “courage”.)
But in both cases, the damage is done.
Making sure people are fired or punished for this crap should not be an end unto itself. It should be a means of getting the Straight Majority to finally understand that attacks like these have consequences, even when the attacks are “just” words.
(Big hat tips to Alvin McEwen of Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters and Autumn Sandeen of Pam’s House Blend.)
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