Wednesday, December 10, 2014

Exposing the mind of a 'paid-in-full' homophobe

LaBarbera doesn't like to be asked about his tactics.
First of all, I should let you all know that this post is a rehash of one from my early days of this blog. I am reposting it because I think it's highly important,

In 2008, before I was "well-known" enough for Peter LaBarbera of Americans for Truth to block me on twitter and avoid my email questions, he and I had an interesting email debate.

If you ask me, this debate is probably the singular reason why LaBarbera bends over backwards to avoid me.  The email debate, at the time served as a blueprint of a basic belief I have when it comes to anti-gay spokespeople, groups, and propaganda. For too long, lgbts have been put on the defensive about our lives and our families. In spite of the fact that the courts, science, and the arena of public opinion are on our side, we constantly take the bait when anti-gay groups and spokespeople begin questioning our lives, as if we constantly need to refute them or justify our existence.

And all of this happens in front of a backdrop of distortions, lies, junk science, and cherry-picked science disguised as Christian beliefs. This decades-old backdrop has been, for the most part, unquestioned by the mainstream media and even our media. I say it's time for lgbts to stop being on the defensive because we have proven ourselves continuously. It's time for anti-gay groups and their spokespeople to explain themselves, explain their claims, and most of all explain their most un-Christian tactics to deny our equality.

That was the subject of the debate between LaBarbera and I.  And as you can see, LaBarbera wasn't used to being questioned

Beginning of  2008 post :

On his webpage, our friend Peter publishes his "response" to an email allegedly sent to him from a person from Michigan regarding his recent publishing of x-rated pictures from a San Francisco street fair.

Peter does not publish the person's letter but says the following:

The following is adapted from my response to a letter from a Michigan pro-homosexual activist who wrote AFTAH, making the usual obnoxious charges: that I am a “pornographer” (for exposing San Francisco’s government-tolerated public street depravities) — and, of course, that I am a secret homosexual (”You are gay and part of you knows it and HATES it”). It’s all par for the course when you cover the loving and tolerant GLBT community.
By not showing the alleged "obnoxious" letter but publishing his response, Peter tries to make himself look intelligent and noble.

Don't be fooled.

You see, Peter and I had an email exchange last week and based on that exchange, Peter does not come across as an intelligent or noble person. Nor does he come across as a particularly moral person.

Judge for yourself as I reveal a snippet of our email conversation. In it, I was able to question Peter point blank about his tactics as well as the tactics of other members of the anti-gay industry:

From: Peter L.
To: CharleKenghis@aol.com
Sent: Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:42 am

Spare me. Talk about consumed? You are beholden to your "gay" ideology, so much so that you are actually comparing ex-gays to that? Skin color is immutable. MANY people have left homosexuality behind. Just because YOU don't believe that -- or you explain it away thru your various arguments doesn't make it not so.



Sent: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 11:29 AM
To: PeterLaBarbera@comcast.net

well you can always ask wade richards or michael johnston. to me though sexual orienation is fluid. science may never find the reasons behind sexual orientation. but it leans to it not being able to be chosen.

but you miss the point, peter.

Your beliefs about homosexuality is on what you call a solid foundation (i.e. the Bible). Every time you and those on your side distort legitimate studies, every time you all use bad studies (i.e. Paul Cameron, John R. Diggs), every time you go to one of those subcultural events and attack lgbts there without saying a word about the heterosexuals who attend the events, you weaken that foundation.

The house you seem to think you are building on a rock will start to have a foundation of sand. And that house will crumble.

Look around you. It's crumbling now.

'Religious right 'Christians' defend acts of torture' & other Wednesday midday news briefs

Christian right’s vile PR sham: Why their bizarre films are backfiring on them - Well it could be that they are pretentious trash. But this explanation goes into good detail.

Accurate representation isn't 'indoctrination' - Bar none, the best thing Jeremy Hooper has ever written (and his daughter is soooo cute!):

 . . .that's what these anti-LGBT activists fail to acknowledge. They refuse to see that we exist, now and already. They won't even give the slightest credence to the fact that we do have kids and they too attend school. Instead they act like our families are some sort of a collective theory whose very existence is up for debate. They pretend that our lives are rumors that will only exist if people with agendas (i.e. LGBT humans) tell our supposed lies (i.e. our literal truths) long enough. That's why they so easily play the "indoctrination" card when it comes to the fair and accurate depictions of our existences: because it's easy to dismiss that which you don't want to and don't care to—and in fact refuse to—see. And since they know that their exclusionary agenda is one that is most likely to take hold if it starts young and goes on unchallenged, they are most threatened when we talk to children about childishly simply notions like love and family.  

Fischer: Release Of Torture Report Shows That Democrats Are 'Juvenile Delinquents'

Sandy Rios Defends CIA Torture: 'It's Not Like We Beheaded Them'  - Isn't this lovely. When they are not whining about being "persecuted" by gays for their supposed Christian beliefs, religious right spokespeople are defending acts of torture. What would Jesus do indeed? I can tell you what he wouldn't do. He wouldn't defend acts like sleep deprivation and other acts I just cannot mention here.  

Jamaican priest washes the feet of lesbians and calls for ‘respect’ for human rights - In contradiction to the briefs above . . .

 ‘No Homo’ Personalized License Plate Issued By Alabama - When do we get the "HOT MESS" license plates issued next?

Arkansas victory exposes hypocritical nature of the Duggar family's version of Christianity

Yesterday, the lgbt community suffered a nasty defeat in Fayetteville, Arkansas. According to LGBTQNation:

Voters in Fayetteville, Ark., on Tuesday repealed a controversial LGBT-inclusive non-discrimination ordinance approved by the city council in August.

KFSM-TV reports that 52 percent of voters cast ballots to repeal the ordinance, compared to 48 percent who voted to retain the measure — a difference of fewer than 500 votes, with turnout less than 30 percent of registered voters.The ordinance, approved by the city council in a 6-2 vote on August 20, prohibited discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity in the areas of housing, employment and public accommodations.

LGBTQNation points out how this vote got nationwide attention due to the inclusion of the reality television stars, the Duggar family:

Opposition to the ordinance gained national attention due in part to the efforts of the Duggar family of TLC’s reality series “19 Kids and Counting.” In August, Duggar matriarch Michelle Duggar recorded a robocall urging residents to pressure council members to oppose the measure, claiming it would lead to women going topless at public swimming pools, men using women’s restrooms, and allow pedophiles and sexual predators to abuse people. As of October 31, the Duggars had donated $10,000 toward the city council campaigns of the ordinance’s three most outspoken critics, two of whom were listed as contacts on a press release for the repeal effort.

In fact, when vote was announced, Josh Duggar, who spoke against the ordinance and is also employed by the anti-gay Family Research Council, sent out the following mindboggling tweet:



One good thing about this setback - however minor - is that it exposes the hypocritical nature of the Duggar family.

Folks who were angry at how the Duggars were spreading inaccurate information about the ordinance signed a petition demanding that their show be canceled. Other lgbt activists used the controversy to raise a large amount of money for an Arkansas charity, Lucie's Place, devoted to helping homeless lgbt youth.

The Duggars themselves and their allies claimed that they were under a so-called "malicious attack" by "radical homosexual activists" who attacked them because of their faith and sought to deny them their "religious liberty."

However, this victory in Fayetteville contradicts the "religious liberty" card played by the Duggars.

You can't exploit your fame as reality tv stars to bear false witness against the lgbt community and deny us equality while simultaneously claiming victimhood status when we react to your actions.

The sad thing is that I think the Duggars family actually think they can get away with this subterfuge.

The good thing is that in reality, they can't. And they won't.