Monday musings

A sad result of Mayor Jim Naugle’s campaign of lies against Florida’s gay community is that it is dividing the area’s African-American community:

. . . the debate over gay rights threatens to drive a wedge between members of South Florida's black community. Despite the support that many black ministers showed for Naugle, the local NAACP took a public stand against the mayor, calling his crusade a ``hate campaign.''

''I'm not here to condone or condemn gay sex,'' Marsha Ellison, head of the Broward NAACP, told The Miami Herald. ``This is a hate campaign against gays launched by the mayor.''
She said the branch's position -- adopted after a unanimous vote of its 22-member executive committee as well as branch members -- echoes the national NAACP's position. ''Anytime any group is discriminated against it becomes a civil rights issue,'' she said.

Of course the entire situation is sad. Naugle's silly stance was not about the supposed sinfulness of lgbts but whether or not a large group of us were committing the crime of sex in public places.

It has been proven that this is not the case, but some folks have taken advantage of the situation to throw out condemnations of lgbts.

Talk about deviating from the subject.

But then again, maybe the division isn’t so bad.

In fact, I think it brings attention to an unfortunate proliferation of prosperity gospel, megachurches, and demagogues perpetrating as ministers willing to use the word of God to stand in a spotlight rather than bring solutions to the complex problems the black community faces:

(Head of Broward NAACP Marsha) Ellison and others argue the clergy is ignoring Naugle's questionable track record with blacks.

The mayor drew harsh criticism last April from the city's predominantly black Northwest section when he rallied against an economic revitalization plan along Sistrunk Boulevard spearheaded by Commissioner Carlton Moore. Naugle sparked further anger after siding with police after the November 2006 shooting death of Troy Eddines, 21, -- the fourth police slaying that year.

''It's baffling that those ministers have chosen to stand with Naugle,'' said Ellison. ``He's attacking gays now . . . it'll be blacks next.''

It also shows that while there are some in the African-American community who will stand against their lgbt brothers and sisters, there are plenty more who will stand in our defense.

Thanks guys.

Now for a little comedy, courtesy of Mr Robert Knight:

"If there's only less than 2-3% of the population that are gay, how are they so powerful?” Knight’s answer: “Because they are like a little kid, with a big brother and a baseball bat behind them—the American media."

According to Knight, the "gay media" is making bizarre, unfounded claims. Gay and lesbian journalists' organizations, he argued, should be courted by The Weekly World News and the Globe instead of reputable news providers; "The truth about those gay aliens" should be exposed, he joked.

Mr. Knight gives truth to the old adage: you can lead a homophobe to water but you can’t make him think.