Saturday, March 17, 2012

Does labeling homosexuality as Satanic make you a bigot?

Yesterday, blogger Jeremy Hooper posted a part of a conversation on ex-gay Randy Thomas's blog regarding GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project.

Focus on the Family's Glenn T. Stanton took part in the conversation to whine about GLAAD.

Now in the course of the part that Jeremy posted, Stanton - who has been portrayed as an expert by the media on the subject of lgbtq equality - admitted that he found homosexuality to be "a particularly evil lie of Satan."

In the part I am presenting,  this conversation about that label continues but Stanton is trying to play it both ways. He - and Thomas - are claiming that it's perfectly rational to label homosexuality as Satanic and also those who complain about this are in the wrong.

Take a look below at religious right hypocrisy presented live and in color The way I have noted the conversation isn't as sophisticated as Jeremy, but I assure you that no comments have been altered.:

 
Glenn T. Stanton · Sr. Elite Cone Dipper at Dairy Queen at the Mall
Nice commentary Randy. It is really remarkable.


  • Randy Thomas · · Orlando, Florida
    Thanks man. I actually thought about how awesome you are and include the story of how you forced me to try Sushi in Tallahassee but didn't. Not kidding, that was a true consideration for about five minutes. I should have. Good to see you.

  • Glenn T. Stanton · Sr. Elite Cone Dipper at Dairy Queen at the Mall
    That's hilarious. I am a sushi evangelist. that was a fun evening. Thanks for the very nice words about Jim Daly. Very true.

  • Jeremy Hooper · Editor/Publisher at Good As You
    Glenn, you have one of the most notorious quotes of anyone! You have, quite literally and proudly, called homosexuality "a particularly evil lie of Satan." You said this, on your own accord -- GLAAD simply noted it.

    And I know that people within your own movement are taken aback by this, the claim that you put on the record and that still exists on the Focus on the Family site. I'm sure that the next time you engage on mainstream media, others would like to hear it as well. And *that* is the sole point of this project: To inform. No one is trying to stop you, Jim, Randy, or anyone from obtaining a booking. That could've bee the project's ask: It's decidedly not!

  • Glenn T. Stanton · Sr. Elite Cone Dipper at Dairy Queen at the Mall
    Jeremy. Yes, I as a Christian believe homosexuality is a particularly evil lie of Satan. There are many. Abortion is one. Pornography is another. Sex trafficing is another. Adultery and divorce are some as well. Because they run contrary to what God created us for. If you have a problem with that, you have a problem with historic Christianity. And yes, I did it literally, but certainly not proudly. Please don't pretend to know my inner thoughts.

  • Glenn T. Stanton · Sr. Elite Cone Dipper at Dairy Queen at the Mall
    And our opponents throw the "bigot" and "homophobe" accusations around so loosely and casually, as to apply to anyone who disapproves of homosexuality. And they do so TO the person, not their ideas. You will never find me saying anything bad about particular individuals because they identify as homosexual. But I will speak about homosexuality. Our opponents are the ones who call people names and they do it liberally.

  • Scott Hutcheson · Top Commenter · Katella High
    Glenn T. Stanton If you stand by your quotes, why are you whining about GLAAD publishing them for all to see? This project is amplifying your work to people who may have missed some of your choice comments.

  • Glenn T. Stanton · Sr. Elite Cone Dipper at Dairy Queen at the Mall
    Honestly Scott, I could care less about them publishing quotes. I do stand by them without the slightest hesitation. And I don't believe they are out of the mainstream in the least. But I object to them using them to tell other people my thoughts are invalid and not to talk to me, which is exactly what GLAAD telling news outlets. They did the same thing when I was a guest on Dr. Phil. "Don't talk to him. He's not an authority." But they don't address what I said and why it's "wrong" only that i said it. Come on.

  • Scott Hutcheson · Top Commenter · Katella High
    Glenn T. Stanton Where in the world did they say that? They're making your quotes available. You *may* get challenged on them in future appearances. Focus representatives *may* get challenged in general for misinterpreting research to suit their own purposes (resulting in the researchers asking you to stop).

    All of this is fair game in the public square.

  • Randy Thomas · · Orlando, Florida
    Scott, you mischaracterize Glenn's response as "whining" earlier and now you come across very condescending in your statement "all of this is fair game in the public square." As if we didn't know this already? It is also fair to call out GLAAD's selective outrage and borderline bigotry in stigmatizing a group of 36 people, who run the entire length of the middle right to far right spectrum into one big ol' animus filled worthy of disdain group. I know Jeremy is pulling a CYA disclaimer by saying they are not trying to stop the media from booking these commentators but that is incredibly disingenuous. GLAAD can not honestly say that they would not be thoroughly pleased, and consider it a triumph, to effectively deter any media from ever speaking with these folks again as a result of this project.

  • Scott Hutcheson · Top Commenter · Katella High
    Randy Thomas Verbatim quotes are verbatim quotes. GLAAD is posting them and yes, I'm pretty sure that if MSNBC thinks twice about having somebody on there who said them, then it would elevate discourse. It's pretty well documented that many of the people on that list speak a certain way in front of one audience (i.e. "hundreds of thousands of ex-gays") and say something completely different when a cable news camera is on them. If they don't want their church time quotes put in the public square, then they probably should think twice before they say them because people are starting to pay attention.

    I've been following people like Peter LaBarbera, Ken Connor, Gary Bauer, etc. for many years and have a very good memory. The internet has a much better memory than I do.

  • Alvin McEwen · Top Commenter · Winthrop University
    Glenn T. Stanton Well Glenn, if you admit that you say that homosexuality is an evil lie of Satan then you have given suitable ammunition to those who characterize you as a bigot. That's a nasty thing to say. Do you feel the same way about folks who practice different religions?

  • Alvin McEwen · Top Commenter · Winthrop University
    Glenn T. Stanton One more thing, Glenn. You have presented yourself as an expert even though you have written pieces - Why Homosexuality Falls Short of the Ideal - with numerous errors (i.e. usage of the inaccurate term "gay bowel syndrome" and second hand citations of the discredited Paul Cameron). In addition, you were corrected for an error you made in 2008 by the American Anthropological Association. If GLAAD was calling Dr. Phil's attention to these errors you made, then the organization was totally in the right. I have a serious problem with weasel phrases such as "silencing Christians" or "silencing dissenting points of view." And the media should be presented with information which would lead them to question the motivations of someone presenting themselves as an expert on an issue not because they have done the work and have the degrees and expertise but because they have formed an opinion and have taken it upon themselves to cherry-pick legitimate work to prove that opinion. Don't get me wrong. That person should still be allowed to present his/her opinion on said interview or show but the media figure should ask questions about the person's motivations, statements, and expertise.

  • Scott Hutcheson · Top Commenter · Katella High
    I'd pretty much pay attention to Alvin. I've kept up on the rhetoric over the years but he's written a book about it.

  • Jeremy Hooper · Editor/Publisher at Good As You
    Let's all be clear about something. In Glenn's first response to me, he tries to act like he was simply lumping homosexuality into a mix of other things that he sees as "lies." But that is not what he said in the quote! To wit:

    "All sexual sin is wrong because it fails to mirror the Trinitarian image, but homosexuality does more than fail. It's a particularly evil lie of Satan because he knows that it overthrows the very image of the Trinitarian God in creation, revealed in the union of male and female.

    This is why this issue has become such a flashpoint. It will become even more contentious because nothing else challenges this image of the Triune God so profoundly and thoroughly as homosexuality. It's not what we were made for."

    -Glenn Stanton, director for Family Formation Studies at Focus on the Family

  • Jeremy Hooper · Editor/Publisher at Good As You
    It's also important to note that when I pointed out his comment once before, Glenn got really snarky with me on his own blog. Then, after I objectively (if proverbially) handed him a part of his lower body on a silver platter, he, in typical far-right fashion, deleted all traces of what he (and I) said. http://www.goodasyou.org/good_as_you/2011/07/glenn-stanton-responds-to-my-post-gives-me-another-opp-to-highlight-his-extreme-view.html

  • Glenn T. Stanton · Sr. Elite Cone Dipper at Dairy Queen at the Mall
    "handed him part of his lower body on a silver platter." Is that the kind of civility we are after?

  • Alvin McEwen · Top Commenter · Winthrop University
    Glenn T. Stanton well Glenn since YOU were the one who brought up Satan, you are the last person to talk about civility.

  • Randy Thomas · · Orlando, Florida
    Civility is a personally initiated courtesy ... not a reward extended to others who behave the way we want them to. The person who extends civility regardless of others behavior is operating in life-affirming relationship/communication. The person who only extends civility when another person earns it walks in life-draining self-righteousness.

  • Scott Hutcheson · Top Commenter · Katella High
    Randy Thomas I'm pretty sure "civility" ended when my friends and I were called an "evil lie of Satan". It also ended when several other people on the GLAAD list made their comments. It probably didn't help when Randy had his photo (proudly) taken with Karl Rove.

  • Randy Thomas · · Orlando, Florida
    Scott Hutcheson, Glenn was sharing his opinion on "homosexuality" as a spiritual issue, not you and your friends personally. As far as my picture with Karl ... really? I met him long enough to shake his hand, grin and take a picture. If that bothers you ... well... as civilly as I can say this ... tough. I will stop there and ask you to re-read my comment about civility. Civility, like tolerance and unconditional love are best expressed when extended toward those you obviously don't agree with or don't agree with you. If you can only show civility to those you accept ... there is merit in that but not the depth that a truly civil approach to dialog can bring.

  • Glenn T. Stanton · Sr. Elite Cone Dipper at Dairy Queen at the Mall
    Scott, Randy makes a very important point, which seems to get confuse very often in this debate. To say homosexuality is a particularly lie of Satan is not to say homosexuals themselves are an evil of Satan unless you define solely with your sexuality, just as saying abortion is a particularly evil lie of Satan, which I believe it is, is not to say that women who have aboritons are necessarily evil on themselves. Vegans think I am very, very wrong and inhumane for eating meat. I don't take personal offense at that. That is their conviction, which they have a right to...and to express. And I have mine. And Scott, can you read Randy's mind, that he "proudly" had his picture taken with Karl Rove. And is Karl Rove so evil that it is a social transgression to have your picture taken with him. Randy is about the most gracious, throughful, kind "opponent" you could have. Give him a break.

  • Alvin McEwen · Top Commenter · Winthrop University
    Glenn T. Stanton Both Glenn and Randy, I am sorry but you are hedging. When you say that homosexuality is a lie of Satan, you are in fact TALKING ABOUT GAY PEOPLE. And gays have justification to be offended by this just like Christians have justification to be offended if someone talked ugly about their religion. The problem as I see it is a lack of honesty, particularly on the part of Glenn. You can't have it both ways. You have every right to make all sorts of nasty and negative remarks about gays, homosexuality, whatever. But at the same time, you need to own those remarks and stop whining that you are unfairly being called a bigot or hater. Labeling a facet of someone's life as Satanic does nothing for civility. Rather, it in fact DOES make you sound like a bigot and a hater regardless of whether it's a religious belief or not. Furthermore, while you have every right to assume that homosexuality is simply about sexual behavior, you need to stop whining when those who know better than you about the subject - i.e. the gay community - lend their voices to correct your assumption. Do you really expect us to be quiet when you say such offensive things about us? Lastly on a personal level, I find it insulting that Glenn says those ugly things about gays and then whines about civility. You just threw civility out of the window. And Randy, please stop insulting people's intelligence by attempting to make sense out of Glenn's nonsense.

Oh and just in case you didn't notice, pay attention to the fact that Stanton - and Thomas - did not answer my earlier reply regarding Stanton's shoddy work.

It's just as many of us have been saying.  Some anti-gay pundits seem to think that they have the First Amendment right dehumanize us and disrespect our lives. However apparently to them, we shouldn't have the First Amendment right to respond.


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Friday, March 16, 2012

Know Your LGBT History - Bayard Rustin



From the National Black Justice Coalition:

Saturday, March 17, 2012, will mark the 100th birthday of the late civil rights activist Bayard Rustin. Rustin was a proud Black gay man who was an indispensable architect of the Civil Rights Movement. His most noteworthy achievements include serving as chief organizer of the historic 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom, mentoring the late Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., and helping to form the Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC). As an effective bridge builder across a broad range of demographics, he spent more than 60 years involved in social, racial, economic, class, labor, anti-war and other justice movements, both domestically and internationally.

However, the story of this visionary strategist and activist, who dared to live as an openly gay man during the violently homophobic 1940s, 50s, and 60s, has rarely been told in mainstream or Black media.

“Every year, during the Martin Luther King, Jr. holiday we hear the iconic ‘I Have a Dream’ speech, which was delivered at the 1963 March on Washington,” says Mandy Carter, one of the founders of the National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) and a current NBJC Leadership Advisory Council member. “Yet, most people do not know that Bayard Rustin, an out Black gay man, was the key organizer for that groundbreaking event. America needs to know that Bayard existed. Black lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and same-gender-loving people need to know that Rustin stood firm in his identity and, by his very presence, challenged others in the Civil Rights Movement to overcome homophobia.”

Carter adds, “As a young Black lesbian coming out in the mid-60s, there were no representations of out Black lesbians and gay men in the media. It would have had a profound impact on me to have had Bayard Rustin as a role model and to have known that I too could live authentically and be respected as an out Black lesbian social justice activist.”

To honor Rustin’s courage and his invaluable legacy, NBJC will spend this year celebrating the beloved “unsung hero” through its commissioned Bayard Rustin Centennial Project and in ongoing collaborations with Walter Naegle, Bayard’s surviving partner and Executor/Archivist of the Estate of Bayard Rustin. NBJC is also working with Nancy Kates and Bennett Singer, co-producers and co-directors of Brother Outsider: The Life of Bayard Rustin, a biographical documentary that asserts Rustin’s significance in American history.The recipient of more than 25 awards, Brother Outsider has been screened at The United Nations, The Kennedy Center, and for Members of Congress.

To celebrate this occasion, I thought it would be appropriate to feature videos of Mr. Rustin so we can gain inspiration by this simply awesome American hero:








Past Know Your LGBT History posts:

'Anti-gay pundit grilled over his homophobia' and other Friday midday news briefs

Glenn Stanton twists, stands by 'particularly evil lie of Satan' quote; justifies #glaadcap - Oh you are going to love reading this. TRUST ME. It's the back-and-forth dialogue I mentioned in this morning's post with Focus on the Family's Glenn T. Stanton. Jeremy Hooper - who took part in it - has a screen shot saved of the entire encounter. For those familiar with old-school professional wrestling, it was akin to an Arn Anderson/Tully Blanchard blitz.

BREAKING: Jury convicts Dharun Ravi of hate crime against Tyler Clementi - This just came over the wire.

Focus On The Family Pushing ‘License To Discriminate’ Initiative In Colorado - Please tell us again how lgbtgs are the supposed "real haters."
  
Hundreds Protest Marriage Inequality Amendment In Raleigh - Meanwhile in NC, the lgbtq community and their allies are GALVANIZED against an awful amendment.

‘It’s not about race’ photo of the day: “Don’t ‘re-nig’ in 2012″ - This makes me ill. I dare anyone to tell me that racism won't play a huge part in the 2012 presidential election.

GLSEN Greater Cincinnati's 'Stories Project: NOW' Aims To Reduce Anti-Gay Bullying In Schools (VIDEO) - I fully support GLSEN. It is one of the best lgbtq organizations out there.




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Right-wing freak out over GLAAD's project continues

Glenn T. Stanton admits anti-gay animus.
The religious right freak out over GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project continues. I gathered a few comments from anti-pundits on the list:

Michael Brown - "I am honored! Jesus told us that people would speak falsely against us because of the truth. GLAAD continues to expose itself as an intolerant group devoting to censoring dissenting views. As I have often pointed out, it should be called The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Disagreement."

Kevin McCullough - "I got to tell you, when you get targeted by the Enemy, and I mean the Evil One, I don’t mean human beings but I mean by His forces, it can be rather earthshaking and then it can be rather deliberatively motivating."

Peter LaBarbera - “This is all about silencing, discrediting and demonizing pro-family voices. I guess GLAAD is so afraid that the truth about homosexuality will be heard that it will go to the extreme of creating a ‘blacklist’ against moral leaders — for a media already disinclined to be fair on this politically correct issue.”

 From the Denver Post : Focus on the Family spokesman Gary Schneeberger called GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project an attempt "to stifle freedom of speech and freedom of religion by trying to intimidate the media."

The irony is that none of these folks addressed the statements that they made regarding the lgbtq community; statements which they don't repeat in front of the media, which is the reason why GLAAD set up this project.

That is except for one person. Glenn T. Stanton of Focus on the Family, during a back-and-forth  on a blog, said the following:

Yes, I as a Christian believe homosexuality is a particularly evil lie of Satan. There are many. Abortion is one. Pornography is another. Sex trafficing is another. Adultery and divorce are some as well. Because they run contrary to what God created us for. If you have a problem with that, you have a problem with historic Christianity. And yes, I did it literally, but certainly not proudly.

Stanton's statement is why GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project is needed. Stanton just admitted that he has a personal animus against homosexuality on a blog, which is something he probably wouldn't admit on national television when interviewed by someone like Dr. Phil when that show is focusing on a gay issue. He would be presented as an "expert" and his personal bias against homosexuality would not be mentioned.

And that is the gist of  the problem.

"Silencing Christians" or "silencing dissenting points of view" are merely weasel phrases. The media should be presented with information which would lead them to question the motivations of someone presenting him or herself as an expert, particularly if said person has not done the work and does not have the degrees but instead has already formed an opinion and has cherry-picked legitimate work to prove that opinion.

Don't get me wrong. That person should still be allowed to present his/her opinion on said interview or show but the media figure should ask questions about the person's motivations, statements, and expertise.

That is what GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project is all about.


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Thursday, March 15, 2012

Anti-gay pundit - 'GLAAD is in league with Satan and wants me dead'

Poor Kevin McCullough.

GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project has really gotten to him. Earlier today, he was caught telling a lie in terms of the statements he had made about same-sex relationships.

But now, he has gone full Captain Queeg. For the uninitiated, Captain Queeg was a character from the book and motion picture The Caine Mutiny. He was the captain of a submarine who, when faced with the pressures of war, became completely unstable and was reduced to rambling paranoid theories about locks and strawberries.

McCullough has done Captain Queeg one better. When confronted with being held accountable for statements he has made against the lgbtq community, his conspiracy theories involve Satan and murder:



Transcript:

I got to tell you, when you get targeted by the Enemy, and I mean the Evil One, I don’t mean human beings but I mean by His forces, it can be rather earthshaking and then it can be rather deliberatively motivating. And so I would ask friends as you have just heard, I just told you about this list that GLAAD has put out, Tim Wildmon, Bryan Fischer, both on the list, Kevin McCullough is on the list, Tony Perkins is on the list, David Barton, brother Don [Wildmon] is also listed, Gary Bauer, Tony Perkins, Jim Daly, the head of Focus on the Family, all on this list, about thirty people that have been targeted by the most radical of activists that are seeking to basically blackball our voice from being allowed to be put into the public arena.

GLAAD doesn't want McCullough dead. Right now he is the organization's best justification of its project.

His statements speak to  the point that GLAAD is trying to make - if McCullough is ever interviewed by the mainstream media, he is not going to repeat that paranoid theory. He is going to make his homophobia sound reasonable and religious-based.

And he is not the only anti-pundit playing this game.

But that paranoid ramble, that sheer lunacy in regards to the lgbtq community is what he really thinks. And the question is just how many of those anti-gay pundits are disguising such nauseating, paranoid homophobia behind religious beliefs.

 That's the question the media needs to ask.

Hat tip to Right-Wing Watch.



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'Anti-gay pundits freak out over GLAAD's media accountability project' and other Thursday midday news briefs

Kevin McCullough proves GLAAD's point
Conservative Responses Demonstrate The Importance Of GLAAD’s ‘Commentator Accountability Project’ - Awwwww poor religious right pundits! When called on their homophobic rhetoric, they have been running to the media and playing the victim.

I especially like the whine of Kevin McCullough, who said this in the Huffington Post:

I've never appeared as someone who claimed to even represent much less serve as an 'expert' on the private lives of the LGBT community.

Of course GLAAD refutes McCullough's claim but for my money, I find it ironic that McCullough forgets that he said the following in 2004:

The "alphas" in homosexual relationships, be they men or women, are many times recruiting younger partners. A vast percentage of those who enter the homosexual life do so after having been sexually initiated by an older person of their sex – be it consensual or not – it usually has the feel of enticement or seduction. - The 'gay' truth 

It's clear that GLAAD has not only struck gold with this new project, but also blood and more power to them!

In other news:

Just Left the Closet: A Much-Needed Community for LGBT Teens
- A definitely needed resource.

NOM finally admitting its largely Catholic motivator?
- More proof of NOM's affiliation with the Catholic Church.

POLL: Same-Sex Adoption Rights Don’t Infringe On ‘Religious Liberty’
- This poll just came in.

NC: Durham City Council Unanimously Passes Resolution Opposing Amendment One - Sweeeet!

Folly Beach Passes Non-discrimination Ordinance - Last but least, a HUGE Bronx cheer to those who call my state of South Carolina backwards!


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Anti-gay pundit thinks 'God's truth in love' includes slander and lies

Say what you will about GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project, it's definitely keeping some members of the religious right up at nights.

Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel - and a person named on the list of anti-gay pundits highlighted by GLAAD - had this to say in a biased One News Now article:

Matt Barber, vice president of Liberty Counsel Action, is one of the three dozen activists accused of using "extreme rhetoric" against the LGBT community.

Since they cannot win the debate on the merits, he says the only thing left for these activists to do is try to silence those who disagree with them. But he asserts that that will never happen.

"They need to understand -- liberals and secularists -- that as Christ followers, we will never, ever stop speaking God's truth in love," Barber comments. "We appreciate when they reveal who they really are here and reveal the weakness inherent within their own arguments by attempting to silence those who would dare to dissent with their radical secular socialism."

First of all, GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project has nothing to do with silencing anyone. It's a project designed to educate the media on religious right pundits and the comments they make when not in front of the cameras.

But let's look at Barber's words. Speaking God's truth in love, he says. I want you to remember that because here is where GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project is going to do its work.

Since Barber is listed in the project, let's peruse some of the other comments he has made while supposedly "speaking the God's truth in love:"

According to GLAAD's Commentator Accountability Project, Barber

- Has said that gay male relationships constitute "one man violently cramming his penis into another man’s lower intestine and calling it ‘love’”

- Has called President Barack Obama an anti-American enemy who is "determined to destroy America"

- Of a lesbian couple's parental decisions for their transgender child, said: "We shouldn't be surprised that we see this kind of child abuse and brainwashing when we allow children to be placed intentionally in motherless or fatherless homes that model disordered sexual behavior and push the false notion that human sexuality is somehow androgynous," adding that the kid is "the poster child against the unconscionable practice of legalized so-called 'gay adoption.'"

- Routinely uses words like "purveyors of evil" or  "satanic" to refer to his political opponents

- Said Ellen DeGeneres "guides her many adoring housewife fans into rebellion against God's divine and explicit natural order"

- Claims that by supporting LGBT viewers, media outlets are trying "to make the absurd appear reasonable and normal" (0:46 - 0:51)

Seems to me that GLAAD has struck gold.


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