To hear religious right groups (i.e. the Family Research Council, the National Organization for Marriage, the American Family Association, etc.), they are unfairly attacked because they are standing up for the so-called Biblical view that homosexuality is a sin.
Of course this is a lie and I have used their words to demonstrate this time and time again.
So how about a different tactic.
I have it narrowed down to three reasons why religious right groups are bigoted and rather than use their words, I am going to use graphics, specifically their own graphics which they created to visualize and scare up opposition of the lgbtq community.
1. Stigmatization
As visualized by this awful doctored picture of openly gay Congressman Barney Frank as a leering TSA agent (courtesy of Peter LaBarbera from Americans for Truth), religious right groups have this need to define lgbtqs solely by sex acts.
Whether it be pathological or deliberately planned, to religious right groups such as the Americans for Truth or the Family Research Council, our lives are consumed with sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Never mind that we form long-lasting relationships and have thriving families because those facts don't fit in the mindset they want to push on American about us.
2. Lies
And as these two flyers demonstrate, religious right groups aren't above lying about the legislation which would benefit the lgbtq community. Both of these flyers claim that lgbtq-inclusive hate crimes legislation would lead to pastors being arrested for calling homosexuality a sin.
President Obama signed lgbtq-inclusive hate crimes legislation into law in 2009. Since that time, not one pastor - or anyone else for that matter - claiming that homosexuality is a sin has been brought up on charges of committing hate crimes. Not one.
3. Fear tactics
Now comes the fear. Religious right groups channel actor Kevin McCarthy at the end of the motion picture Invasion of the Body Snatchers. For those not familiar with that scene, that's when McCarthy runs out in the middle of busy traffic screaming at the top of his voice that the aliens are here and "You're Next!" if you ignore his warning.
But rather than telling adults that they are next, religious right groups tell adults that their children are "next," i.e. that they are being "targeted" by the lgbtq community. The implication is that gays need the young to freshen up our ranks, so to speak. It's a tactic which has worked repeatedly whether done by Anita Bryant in the 70s, or in its more sophisticated form now by Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown, and the folks at the National Organization for Marriage as well as other groups such as the Traditional Values Coalition and Concerned Women for America. It's really no different than when racists said that integration would lead to black men "rutting" on white women.
So there you go. Three simple reasons why religious right groups are bigoted.
Any questions?
Of course this is a lie and I have used their words to demonstrate this time and time again.
So how about a different tactic.
I have it narrowed down to three reasons why religious right groups are bigoted and rather than use their words, I am going to use graphics, specifically their own graphics which they created to visualize and scare up opposition of the lgbtq community.
1. Stigmatization
As visualized by this awful doctored picture of openly gay Congressman Barney Frank as a leering TSA agent (courtesy of Peter LaBarbera from Americans for Truth), religious right groups have this need to define lgbtqs solely by sex acts.
Whether it be pathological or deliberately planned, to religious right groups such as the Americans for Truth or the Family Research Council, our lives are consumed with sex. Sex. Sex. Sex. Never mind that we form long-lasting relationships and have thriving families because those facts don't fit in the mindset they want to push on American about us.
2. Lies
And as these two flyers demonstrate, religious right groups aren't above lying about the legislation which would benefit the lgbtq community. Both of these flyers claim that lgbtq-inclusive hate crimes legislation would lead to pastors being arrested for calling homosexuality a sin.
President Obama signed lgbtq-inclusive hate crimes legislation into law in 2009. Since that time, not one pastor - or anyone else for that matter - claiming that homosexuality is a sin has been brought up on charges of committing hate crimes. Not one.
3. Fear tactics
Now comes the fear. Religious right groups channel actor Kevin McCarthy at the end of the motion picture Invasion of the Body Snatchers. For those not familiar with that scene, that's when McCarthy runs out in the middle of busy traffic screaming at the top of his voice that the aliens are here and "You're Next!" if you ignore his warning.
But rather than telling adults that they are next, religious right groups tell adults that their children are "next," i.e. that they are being "targeted" by the lgbtq community. The implication is that gays need the young to freshen up our ranks, so to speak. It's a tactic which has worked repeatedly whether done by Anita Bryant in the 70s, or in its more sophisticated form now by Maggie Gallagher, Brian Brown, and the folks at the National Organization for Marriage as well as other groups such as the Traditional Values Coalition and Concerned Women for America. It's really no different than when racists said that integration would lead to black men "rutting" on white women.
So there you go. Three simple reasons why religious right groups are bigoted.
Any questions?
Interesting post. As a gay Christian, I see this a LOT. You think you hear a lot of crap from outside the Christian community, imagine what you hear from the inside! I would say that a majority of Christians act as they do towards homosexuals simply because they do not know any, allowing stereotypes of 'them homosexuals' to thrive and flourish.
ReplyDeleteI actually attend a Christian college and cannot be open about my sexuality without risking getting kicked out (that's a whole other discussion there!) but I am surprised to see the openness of many young, college-age Christians. They man have a gay friend or two, or perhaps even a gay cousin who they still have contact with, and THAT changes them so much. From the Christian perspective, I see a clear shift taking place, one that may believe homosexuality is a sin, but renounces the condemnation and is welcome, equal, and fair to the homosexual community. The more conservative older generations see this and feel as if their church is being dismantled, thus they use such desperate tactics.
I firmly believe that the best way to reach out and change the minds of many Christians is not from debate or sensationalism, but mere conversation. We have to show them we are not 'the others' but are just like them, that we do not fit all the stereotypes. If that can continue to happen, America in 20 years will look drastically different.
that is very true Anonymous and thats one of the reasons why I left religion. the other reason is I found the bible (i purposely don't cap bible, jesus, god and so on) to be false in every sense of its word. there is no archeological evidence for christianity, the contradictions in the bible, the god of the bible is like a lot of christians i know very incested in their values and through out christianity all the different demonanations have different values...that is just crazy. I could go on and write a book but thats enough, oh yeah there are many books out there.
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