American Family Association's 'bigotry map' is a ridiculously unoriginal fraud

A while back, the American Family Association claimed that it had a huge project in the works. I have a feeling that the following is the project:

 

According to the AFA:

The American Family Association has identified over 200 groups and organizations that openly display bigotry toward the Christian faith.

The website www.afa.net/bigotrymap includes an interactive map that identifies groups whose actions are deeply intolerant of the Christian religion. Their actions have endorsed efforts to silence Christians and to remove all public displays of Christian heritage and faith in America.

A common practice of these groups is threatening our nation’s schools, cities and states. By threat of lawsuit, they demand that prayer be removed from schools and city council meetings, Ten Commandments monuments stricken from courthouses and memorial crosses purged from cemeteries and parks.

Because of anti-Christian bigotry, private business owners have been sued and forced to close their businesses. Families and businesses that express a Christian worldview on social issues often face vicious retaliation from anti-Christian zealots.

Some members or supporters of these groups have committed violent crimes against Christians and faith-based groups. Physical and profane verbal assaults against Christians are methods frequently exercised in their angry methods of intimidation.

The AFA is copying, or rather stealing, the idea of the Southern Poverty Law Center's Hate Map.


But while SPLC's map identifies white supremacy groups, anti-immigrant groups, black separatist groups, anti-gay groups, etc  AND includes very detailed definitions of how these groups encompass negative and dangerous ideas,  AFA's map identifies the following type as bigoted groups and its definitions of why these types encompass negative ideas is extremely vague:

HOMOSEXUAL AGENDA
Advocates for the legalization and promotion of same-sex marriage and viciously attacks Christians who exercise their First Amendment right to voice support for God’s plan for marriage as between one man and one woman.

ATHEIST
Does not believe in God and is critical of those who express their faith in public.

 ANTI-CHRISTIAN
 Actively engages in the complete eradication of the Christian faith from society, government and private commerce. These groups file lawsuits and use intimidation to silence any reference to Christianity from the public square. 

HUMANIST
Believes critical thinking and physical evidence are the sole basis for beliefs. Humanists believe science triumphs faith in issues of morality and decision-making. 

Apparently to the AFA, being an atheist, a humanist, or an lgbt is as bad as being a white supremacist or an anti-immigrant activist, even if the organization provides absolutely no proof as to why.

AFA's 'bigotry map' provides a better view of the AFA instead of the groups the organization attempts to denigrate.

And that view is ignorant, deliberately inaccurate, insipidly vague, and worst of all, totally unoriginal.

UPDATE  - The reviews are in on AFA's 'bigotry map' and they are brutal. James Croft from the blog  Temple of the Future said:

The decisions as to which organizations to include on the map – and the descriptions given to the included organizations – are predictably bizarre. Chapters of the civil rights organization the American Civil Liberties Union are counted as “anti-Christian” groups – despite their long record of supporting the rights of religious people, including Christians. So too are branches of Americans United for Separation of Church and State, an organization headed by an ordained Minister of the United Church of Christ.

The Human Rights Campaign- an LGBTQ advocacy organization often criticized by LGBTQ people for being too conservative – is charged with “bullying American corporations to embrace sexual perversion”. Were they in fact to do this, they may gain some cred among more fiery queer activists. If an organization doesn’t yet exist with that mission statement, it should by tomorrow. Apparently, the Gay, Lesbian, and Straight Education Network – a heroic organization which seeks to promote inclusion and respect for all students in the education system – “Infiltrates public schools with pro-homosexual indoctrination tactics, confusing many young people and misleading them into making dangerous and unhealthy lifestyle choices that will negatively affect their entire lives.” The mind boggles.

Meanwhile, the Human Rights Campaign, and a prominent organization on AFA's 'bigotry map' had this to say:

Oddly enough, the so-called “Bigotry Map” actually included leading social justice organizations, including HRC, the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), the Southern Poverty Law Center and People for the American Way.

And now, with special thanks to the discriminatory AFA, HRC, as well as the rest of the LGBT community, will be able to find each other and unite as “advocates for the legalization and promotion of same-sex marriage.” Hurrah!

Unfortunately, however, we will be not be able to meet at HRC’s offices in North Dakota, Dallas and Austin that are included on the AFA’s map, because they don’t exist. Gosh darn.