Controlling the semantics
While everyone seems to be talking about the gay porn star who spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference, I will ignore it.
I will also purposefully ignore the Ann Coulter/John Edwards controversy. Every time I see or hear Ann Coulter, a part of me tunes her out because I know that what comes out of her mouth is designed to shock, not progress dialogue.
I find her boring.
I would prefer to talk about something more important and vital to our community. Earlier today, I mentioned an upcoming anti-gay fest in Illinois. This is why that event is going to take place:
Several parents are claiming that mandatory freshman orientation class at Deerfield High School in Illinois which includes a segment where teens from the Straight and Gay Alliance, a school club, speak about there experiences as gay high school is encouraging homosexuality.
The classes are designed to help students adjust to high school; parents who object to the content can have their children excused.
However, a resident of Deerfield, Lora Sue Hauser, wants the panel discontinued. Hauser, the leader of a group called North Shore Student Advocacy, says that parents and trained counselors are better equipped to handle the issues brought up in the classes.
Gay issues is only one part of this orientation, but it is the only part that parents object to.
Hence our friend Peter LaBarbera will be paying a visit to the area to spin all of his conspiracy theories and lies about the lgbt community.
What is happening in Illinois is something that the anti-gay industry is attempting in various places in the country. If schools or any other entity don't approach discussions of gay people using their narrow-minded interpretations, then somehow the discussions are actually indoctrinations.
And please note the semantics here. In the mouths of the anti-gay industry (be they Concerned Women for American, Americans for Truth (in name only), the American Family Association, etc.), the use of words and phrases like "promoting homosexuality" or "indoctrinating children into the homosexual lifestyle" are designed to pull the emotional strings of people, and thereby motivate them through a combination of fear and their religious beliefs rather than truth.
To call this a skilled technique in huge plan to portray the lgbt community as angry alien outsiders is not paranoia on my part.
How is it when these folks try to define who we are based on their lies, they are telling the truth, but when we are explaining our lives, we are trying to "recruit."
I find it ironic that they spin tales of gay people trying to silence Christians because in this case, just who is trying to silence who?
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Old Tactic, New Method
or
The Ghost of Anita Bryant
Special Event!
Culture Campaign hosts God, Sex, and the Culture War
featuring Peter LaBarbera, Lora Sue Hauser, and Laurie Higgins
The Gay Agenda: No Child Left Behind…
Sunday, Mar 11, at 7:15 pm
at College Church in Wheaton, IL
Apparently our friend Peter LaBarbera is intent on taking Robert Knight's place when it comes to spouting anti-gay hysteria.
My guess is that Matt Barber is soon going to be overshadowed. Since getting Robert Knight's old job with Concerned Women for America, he has been extremely light weight.
Peter, on the other hand, has been trying to shoot out of the gate with his group Americans for Truth (in name only). as witnessed by the event that will take place in Illinois on March 11.
I see he is using the old "gays wants to recruit children" tactic that served Anita Bryant so well in the 70s and that other so-called "pro-family" groups continue to hint upon.
This is from the group aiding Americans for Truth (in name only) to put on the event:
Who is going to be there? A panel comprised of the following:A Christian teacher [from] a school district whose administration is peppered with gays and lesbians, so that the school very intensely promotes homosexual lifestyles… A parent who [will explain] how to find out exactly what is being taught [in your local school] and how to respectfully dissent… The leader of Americans for Truth who will inform you about legal issues and situations that have or will impact you, your family and your parental authority….
In other words, a bunch of hysterical adults and Peter LaBarbera, who will act as the puppet master, molding the ignorance and the fear of said hysterical adults to his liking. The idea of a secret gay cabal controlling interests in public schools is silly, but it will no doubt be the idea folks putting on this event will try to spin.
It may seem funny but don't be so quick to laugh. Ignorant people can do a lot of damage when they are manipulated. It's up to us to make sure that the truth comes out.
And let's not forget what exactly is the truth is: Gay students and parents of gay students are tired of getting pushed around and marginalized. They are educating each other and the population at large on their needs and interests. They are not allowing anyone to define them by ignorance and they are not taking a backseat to anyone's religious beliefs.
They are standing up for themselves and their God-given right to self-determination, in accordance to the spirit to which this country was founded upon.
Sorry Peter and the puppets. No conspiracy here. Just good old fashioned American values.
or
The Ghost of Anita Bryant
Special Event!
Culture Campaign hosts God, Sex, and the Culture War
featuring Peter LaBarbera, Lora Sue Hauser, and Laurie Higgins
The Gay Agenda: No Child Left Behind…
Sunday, Mar 11, at 7:15 pm
at College Church in Wheaton, IL
Apparently our friend Peter LaBarbera is intent on taking Robert Knight's place when it comes to spouting anti-gay hysteria.
My guess is that Matt Barber is soon going to be overshadowed. Since getting Robert Knight's old job with Concerned Women for America, he has been extremely light weight.
Peter, on the other hand, has been trying to shoot out of the gate with his group Americans for Truth (in name only). as witnessed by the event that will take place in Illinois on March 11.
I see he is using the old "gays wants to recruit children" tactic that served Anita Bryant so well in the 70s and that other so-called "pro-family" groups continue to hint upon.
This is from the group aiding Americans for Truth (in name only) to put on the event:
Who is going to be there? A panel comprised of the following:A Christian teacher [from] a school district whose administration is peppered with gays and lesbians, so that the school very intensely promotes homosexual lifestyles… A parent who [will explain] how to find out exactly what is being taught [in your local school] and how to respectfully dissent… The leader of Americans for Truth who will inform you about legal issues and situations that have or will impact you, your family and your parental authority….
In other words, a bunch of hysterical adults and Peter LaBarbera, who will act as the puppet master, molding the ignorance and the fear of said hysterical adults to his liking. The idea of a secret gay cabal controlling interests in public schools is silly, but it will no doubt be the idea folks putting on this event will try to spin.
It may seem funny but don't be so quick to laugh. Ignorant people can do a lot of damage when they are manipulated. It's up to us to make sure that the truth comes out.
And let's not forget what exactly is the truth is: Gay students and parents of gay students are tired of getting pushed around and marginalized. They are educating each other and the population at large on their needs and interests. They are not allowing anyone to define them by ignorance and they are not taking a backseat to anyone's religious beliefs.
They are standing up for themselves and their God-given right to self-determination, in accordance to the spirit to which this country was founded upon.
Sorry Peter and the puppets. No conspiracy here. Just good old fashioned American values.
Wednesday, March 07, 2007
You mean I can't disrespect gay people? That is an insult to my religion! I'm suing!!
Some members of the anti-gay industry are all up in arms over a court decision.
The city of Oakland won a lawsuit today against employees who was angry because their flyer advertising their Christian group was pulled down when it was posted.
They claim that flyers advertising a gay group did not get the same treatment.
Now the employees are correct but do not be fooled because their case is not so simple. The anti-gay industry will probably spin it as "another" case of Christians being persecuted for their beliefs. But here is the true story:
After other workers founded a Gay and Lesbian Employees Association in 2002, Regerford and Christy formed the Good News Employee Association and displayed a flier promoting the group as a "forum for people of faith" to express their views "with respect for the natural family, marriage and family values."
A supervisor removed the flier six weeks later after an employee complained it contained homophobic statements and violated the city's anti-harassment policy.
The flyer was not pulled because they were Christians, but because of the intent behind the words of the flyer.
The employees orginally lost the lawsuit in 2005 because the court ruled that they had other avenues to state their views and the city of Oakland had a right to protect gay and lesbian employees from harrassment.
The 9th Circuit Court reinforced this ruling.
This the headline from a so-called "pro-family" press release:
Ninth Circuit Declares Right of Government to Censor the Terms 'Natural Family,' 'Marriage' and 'Family Values'
Of course the press release misses the point. Their group was formed in response to the gay and lesbian group and this is okay. But the flyer they sent out can be considered as a degree of harrassment. When the employees included the part about "natural family" and the like, they were attacking the gay and lesbian employees. They can claim that they weren't but why then include that part? Who were they talking about?
Words are dangerous if used in an attacking manner. The case reminds me of the following recent incident:
A Catholic school principal has organized sensitivity training for students who shouted "We love Jesus" during a basketball game against a school with Jewish students.
The word "Jew" also was painted on a gym wall behind the seats of Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School students attending the Feb. 2 game at Norfolk Academy, said Dennis W. Price, principal of the Virginia Beach school.
Price who also watched the game, said the rivals exchanged chants, "Then, at some point, our students were chanting, 'We love Jesus.'""It was obviously in reference to the Jewish population of Norfolk Academy; that's the only way you can take that," he added.
"We love Jesus" is not a dirty or harmful phrase. But the way it was used was a clear slap in the face to Jewish students.
Respecting each other's beliefs is a two way street. We lgbts respect the fact that not everyone is going to love us and some people think we are going to hell. But there is a difference between respecting that opinion and some people thinking that their religion gives them carte blanche to disrespect us and our families.
Pride parades
Some people are trying to keep a charter school out of a gay pride parade in San Diego.
And strangely, none of these people have children attending the charter school:
A San Diego, California, school district has rebuffed efforts by 12 Christian men and women to prevent minor children from being exposed to the city's 33rd annual homosexual pride parade. This group, dubbed the "San Diego Twelve," is calling on the district school board to bar a K-8 charter school from once again marching its students under the school's banner in this summer's "San Diego LGBT Pride" parade.
Despite these objections, however, the San Diego School Board has chosen to take the side of the San Diego Cooperative Charter School and not intervene in the matter. The city's annual homosexual pride parade is scheduled to take place July 21 and is being touted as San Diego's largest civic event, with more than 200 floats and with participants from a diverse contingency of the community, including local political leaders, businesses, and even churches.
The charter school has participated in past parades and the parents seem not to have any problems with it.
So if that is the case, then why are these folks pushing the issue? I thought that many on the so-called "pro-family" side considered parents to be the final and official word as to right and wrong for their children.
I guess this is a special case.
The ringleader of this group, James Hartline, is a case by himself. He claims to be an ex-gay who was afflicted with HIV while he was "in the lifestyle."
I will not make any crass comments about his condition, but I will say that Hartline reminds me of a Washington pastor, Ken Hutcherson, in that he has never met a self aggrandizement that he didn't like:
James Hartline is the least likely man to change a city, but that is exactly what he is doing. From fighting illegal porn stores to exposing the corruption within the radical homosexual agenda, James is being used to confront the powers of darkness in San Diego, California.
Leaders of the leftist homosexual agenda named James Hartline as its San Diego Menace of the Year in 2005 for exposing the pedophile network within the San Diego Gay Pride organization.
Many Christian and secular media sources have taken note of the stand James Hartline has made for righteousness in southern California and have reported on his exploits. James is regularly interviewed on XETV Fox Channel 6, the Paul McGuire Show on KBRT 740am Radio, KUSI Channel 9, the San Diego Reader, San Diego NewsNotes, American Family Radio, and Night Lights Christian Talk TV with James L. Lambert.
Hartline omitted the part where he got the sun to stand still. He didn't want to seem pretentious.
He also seems to have E.S.P. because this is what he says about an event that hasn't even happened yet:
. . . Hartline says children should not be exposed to the kind of homosexual pornography that typically characterizes events like the San Diego LGBT Pride parade. "Many of these people in the parade are women who try to flash their breasts without any top on [and] men doing all kinds of filthy things," he contends. "There are men who dress up as Catholic nuns and do mock sexual acts."
I need to move because the pride parades in Columbia, SC definitely aren't like that. But really, Hartline is plugging into a stereotype that we have helped create.
Gay pride parades do have a negative image of bare-chested, bare-butted gays and lesbians losing all leave of their senses.
And this is not how it is
Personally, I like gay pride parades and festivals, but we need to emphasize a new dynamic. Gay pride is not about hedonism. It should be a time for self-love, self-celebration, spiritual growth, and education.
Don't get me wrong, however, because I love my drag queens and feel that they should be included just as they are. They are arguably the most popular and unfairly maligned part of our community. No caste systems are allowed in my vision of the gay and lesbian community. If we all can't get fairness, then none of us should get it.
All I am saying is that let's not get caught up with the cliques and staring at the "hotties' that we don't use the time of gay pride to plan and organize and to assess our individual selves.
Our lgbts identities are what we make of them, not what society or the anti-gay industry tells us they are.
So let's be more assertive in defining them.
Some members of the anti-gay industry are all up in arms over a court decision.
The city of Oakland won a lawsuit today against employees who was angry because their flyer advertising their Christian group was pulled down when it was posted.
They claim that flyers advertising a gay group did not get the same treatment.
Now the employees are correct but do not be fooled because their case is not so simple. The anti-gay industry will probably spin it as "another" case of Christians being persecuted for their beliefs. But here is the true story:
After other workers founded a Gay and Lesbian Employees Association in 2002, Regerford and Christy formed the Good News Employee Association and displayed a flier promoting the group as a "forum for people of faith" to express their views "with respect for the natural family, marriage and family values."
A supervisor removed the flier six weeks later after an employee complained it contained homophobic statements and violated the city's anti-harassment policy.
The flyer was not pulled because they were Christians, but because of the intent behind the words of the flyer.
The employees orginally lost the lawsuit in 2005 because the court ruled that they had other avenues to state their views and the city of Oakland had a right to protect gay and lesbian employees from harrassment.
The 9th Circuit Court reinforced this ruling.
This the headline from a so-called "pro-family" press release:
Ninth Circuit Declares Right of Government to Censor the Terms 'Natural Family,' 'Marriage' and 'Family Values'
Of course the press release misses the point. Their group was formed in response to the gay and lesbian group and this is okay. But the flyer they sent out can be considered as a degree of harrassment. When the employees included the part about "natural family" and the like, they were attacking the gay and lesbian employees. They can claim that they weren't but why then include that part? Who were they talking about?
Words are dangerous if used in an attacking manner. The case reminds me of the following recent incident:
A Catholic school principal has organized sensitivity training for students who shouted "We love Jesus" during a basketball game against a school with Jewish students.
The word "Jew" also was painted on a gym wall behind the seats of Bishop Sullivan Catholic High School students attending the Feb. 2 game at Norfolk Academy, said Dennis W. Price, principal of the Virginia Beach school.
Price who also watched the game, said the rivals exchanged chants, "Then, at some point, our students were chanting, 'We love Jesus.'""It was obviously in reference to the Jewish population of Norfolk Academy; that's the only way you can take that," he added.
"We love Jesus" is not a dirty or harmful phrase. But the way it was used was a clear slap in the face to Jewish students.
Respecting each other's beliefs is a two way street. We lgbts respect the fact that not everyone is going to love us and some people think we are going to hell. But there is a difference between respecting that opinion and some people thinking that their religion gives them carte blanche to disrespect us and our families.
Pride parades
Some people are trying to keep a charter school out of a gay pride parade in San Diego.
And strangely, none of these people have children attending the charter school:
A San Diego, California, school district has rebuffed efforts by 12 Christian men and women to prevent minor children from being exposed to the city's 33rd annual homosexual pride parade. This group, dubbed the "San Diego Twelve," is calling on the district school board to bar a K-8 charter school from once again marching its students under the school's banner in this summer's "San Diego LGBT Pride" parade.
Despite these objections, however, the San Diego School Board has chosen to take the side of the San Diego Cooperative Charter School and not intervene in the matter. The city's annual homosexual pride parade is scheduled to take place July 21 and is being touted as San Diego's largest civic event, with more than 200 floats and with participants from a diverse contingency of the community, including local political leaders, businesses, and even churches.
The charter school has participated in past parades and the parents seem not to have any problems with it.
So if that is the case, then why are these folks pushing the issue? I thought that many on the so-called "pro-family" side considered parents to be the final and official word as to right and wrong for their children.
I guess this is a special case.
The ringleader of this group, James Hartline, is a case by himself. He claims to be an ex-gay who was afflicted with HIV while he was "in the lifestyle."
I will not make any crass comments about his condition, but I will say that Hartline reminds me of a Washington pastor, Ken Hutcherson, in that he has never met a self aggrandizement that he didn't like:
James Hartline is the least likely man to change a city, but that is exactly what he is doing. From fighting illegal porn stores to exposing the corruption within the radical homosexual agenda, James is being used to confront the powers of darkness in San Diego, California.
Leaders of the leftist homosexual agenda named James Hartline as its San Diego Menace of the Year in 2005 for exposing the pedophile network within the San Diego Gay Pride organization.
Many Christian and secular media sources have taken note of the stand James Hartline has made for righteousness in southern California and have reported on his exploits. James is regularly interviewed on XETV Fox Channel 6, the Paul McGuire Show on KBRT 740am Radio, KUSI Channel 9, the San Diego Reader, San Diego NewsNotes, American Family Radio, and Night Lights Christian Talk TV with James L. Lambert.
Hartline omitted the part where he got the sun to stand still. He didn't want to seem pretentious.
He also seems to have E.S.P. because this is what he says about an event that hasn't even happened yet:
. . . Hartline says children should not be exposed to the kind of homosexual pornography that typically characterizes events like the San Diego LGBT Pride parade. "Many of these people in the parade are women who try to flash their breasts without any top on [and] men doing all kinds of filthy things," he contends. "There are men who dress up as Catholic nuns and do mock sexual acts."
I need to move because the pride parades in Columbia, SC definitely aren't like that. But really, Hartline is plugging into a stereotype that we have helped create.
Gay pride parades do have a negative image of bare-chested, bare-butted gays and lesbians losing all leave of their senses.
And this is not how it is
Personally, I like gay pride parades and festivals, but we need to emphasize a new dynamic. Gay pride is not about hedonism. It should be a time for self-love, self-celebration, spiritual growth, and education.
Don't get me wrong, however, because I love my drag queens and feel that they should be included just as they are. They are arguably the most popular and unfairly maligned part of our community. No caste systems are allowed in my vision of the gay and lesbian community. If we all can't get fairness, then none of us should get it.
All I am saying is that let's not get caught up with the cliques and staring at the "hotties' that we don't use the time of gay pride to plan and organize and to assess our individual selves.
Our lgbts identities are what we make of them, not what society or the anti-gay industry tells us they are.
So let's be more assertive in defining them.
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Bombardment!
I thought I could take a day off and obviously I was wrong.
I've noticed that our friend Peter LaBarbera is engaging in a new tactic: listing new entries on his page in rapid succession. These entries are articles from so-called "pro-family" sites, which means they are biased, claiming that Christans are being persecuted.
Ususally the articles are about incidents that have not gotten much notice in the mainstream press, meaning that Peter and company can twist the articles around to suit their lies before the truth comes out.
Peter's latest entries are no different:
Sex Worker “Art” Show Hosted by College of William and Mary
UK Religious Schools Must Not Teach that Homosexuality Is Sinful or Morally Wrong
Deerfield High School Uses GLSEN’s “Lunchbox” Series — What’s in the Box?
Irish Boy, 14, Arranges Sex with Adult Men Using Gaydar
Peter received these articles from Lifesite, an anti-gay industry online publication from Canada. Other online sites are going to be repeating these articles verbatim from Lifesite and other so-called "pro-family" news sources, i.e. OneNewsNow and WorldNetDaily.
This is how lies and rumors are started. And these sites doing just like Peter, heaping all of these stories one after the other all at once so that it is almost impossible to respond.
An excellent communication tactic, but not very Christian.
I thought I could take a day off and obviously I was wrong.
I've noticed that our friend Peter LaBarbera is engaging in a new tactic: listing new entries on his page in rapid succession. These entries are articles from so-called "pro-family" sites, which means they are biased, claiming that Christans are being persecuted.
Ususally the articles are about incidents that have not gotten much notice in the mainstream press, meaning that Peter and company can twist the articles around to suit their lies before the truth comes out.
Peter's latest entries are no different:
Sex Worker “Art” Show Hosted by College of William and Mary
UK Religious Schools Must Not Teach that Homosexuality Is Sinful or Morally Wrong
Deerfield High School Uses GLSEN’s “Lunchbox” Series — What’s in the Box?
Irish Boy, 14, Arranges Sex with Adult Men Using Gaydar
Peter received these articles from Lifesite, an anti-gay industry online publication from Canada. Other online sites are going to be repeating these articles verbatim from Lifesite and other so-called "pro-family" news sources, i.e. OneNewsNow and WorldNetDaily.
This is how lies and rumors are started. And these sites doing just like Peter, heaping all of these stories one after the other all at once so that it is almost impossible to respond.
An excellent communication tactic, but not very Christian.
Monday, March 05, 2007
Frustration and Elation
Frustration
I took a break from doing work on my book Saturday and headed to the bookstore.
And got supremely pissed.
I didn't realize just how much the conservatives dominate the current events section of Barnes and Noble. It's as if every conservative commentator has three books each out.
What really pissed me off was a book entitled Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies.
I just knew that there was a section in it on the gay and lesbian community so I took a look. And it was as bad as I thought.
All of the cherry picked studies I cover in my book was included, but there was something else. The author freely cited Paul Cameron; in fact he cited about three of Cameron's discredited studies.
Why in 2007 are people still citing Cameron as a correct source? I have talked so many times about the stubborness of people citing headless monsters but now I am convinced that there is something else in play: the Dukakis factor.
In the 1989 election, George Bush played dirty politics, attacking Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis's character; calling him a card-carrying member of the ACLU and the like. Dukakis's inability to hit back fast and aggressively ended up costing him the election.
In that spirit, I have to ask just what are the gay rights organizations doing to attack the right's ability to demonize us. Why haven't those groups who are always calling me or sending me letters for donations taking more of an aggressive role in making the anti-gay industry explain themselves and their studies.
I have enjoyed writing this book and I hope to get people talking, but in all honesty, I should not have been in the situation to write it. I feel as if I am doing the work that HRC or the Gay and Lesbian Task Force should do.
Where is the big expose on Paul Cameron? Where is the truth to the lies that gay men have a short life span or gays molest children at a high rate?
While it is true that the religious right have been lying about our lives, we should ask just how much are we to blame for those lies being told over and over again?
Evil men prosper when good men do nothing.
And it is the same for organizations.
Elation
It's gone.
My manuscript is at the publisher's and and in a few months, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters will be in print. Thank you all for your support and I hope that you continue to support my efforts. In the coming weeks, I will be sending out press releases announcing the findings of my book. For now, like I promised, I am now going to reveal my chapter list. If anyone has any questions at all, please email me at CharleKenghis@aol.com
Introduction -Meeting Robert Knight
Chapter One - From Anita to James
Chapter Two - Paul Cameron
Chapter Three - If you can't prove a point, then generalize
Chapter Four - Then Repeat
Chapter Five - Conspiracy Theory
Chapter Six - Dire Consequences
Chapter Seven - Phony Experts
Chapter Eight - Dehumanizing Semantics
Chapter Nine - Lies About Sexual Health
Chapter Ten - What It All Means
Frustration
I took a break from doing work on my book Saturday and headed to the bookstore.
And got supremely pissed.
I didn't realize just how much the conservatives dominate the current events section of Barnes and Noble. It's as if every conservative commentator has three books each out.
What really pissed me off was a book entitled Conservative Comebacks to Liberal Lies.
I just knew that there was a section in it on the gay and lesbian community so I took a look. And it was as bad as I thought.
All of the cherry picked studies I cover in my book was included, but there was something else. The author freely cited Paul Cameron; in fact he cited about three of Cameron's discredited studies.
Why in 2007 are people still citing Cameron as a correct source? I have talked so many times about the stubborness of people citing headless monsters but now I am convinced that there is something else in play: the Dukakis factor.
In the 1989 election, George Bush played dirty politics, attacking Democratic candidate Michael Dukakis's character; calling him a card-carrying member of the ACLU and the like. Dukakis's inability to hit back fast and aggressively ended up costing him the election.
In that spirit, I have to ask just what are the gay rights organizations doing to attack the right's ability to demonize us. Why haven't those groups who are always calling me or sending me letters for donations taking more of an aggressive role in making the anti-gay industry explain themselves and their studies.
I have enjoyed writing this book and I hope to get people talking, but in all honesty, I should not have been in the situation to write it. I feel as if I am doing the work that HRC or the Gay and Lesbian Task Force should do.
Where is the big expose on Paul Cameron? Where is the truth to the lies that gay men have a short life span or gays molest children at a high rate?
While it is true that the religious right have been lying about our lives, we should ask just how much are we to blame for those lies being told over and over again?
Evil men prosper when good men do nothing.
And it is the same for organizations.
Elation
It's gone.
My manuscript is at the publisher's and and in a few months, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters will be in print. Thank you all for your support and I hope that you continue to support my efforts. In the coming weeks, I will be sending out press releases announcing the findings of my book. For now, like I promised, I am now going to reveal my chapter list. If anyone has any questions at all, please email me at CharleKenghis@aol.com
Introduction -Meeting Robert Knight
Chapter One - From Anita to James
Chapter Two - Paul Cameron
Chapter Three - If you can't prove a point, then generalize
Chapter Four - Then Repeat
Chapter Five - Conspiracy Theory
Chapter Six - Dire Consequences
Chapter Seven - Phony Experts
Chapter Eight - Dehumanizing Semantics
Chapter Nine - Lies About Sexual Health
Chapter Ten - What It All Means
Friday, March 02, 2007
Endgame
After over two years of research and work, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Exposing the Lies of the Anti-Gay Industry is finished.
(applause)
I will be sending the manuscript to my publisher Monday morning. Then the work really starts. I am going to promote this book to death.
My goal was to create a document that will accurately show how so-called "pro-family" groups lie about the gay and lesbian community. This purpose of this book is to give gays and lesbians a guide to go by when combatting anti-gay lies as well as provide a testament on what Dobson and company has done to us.
When it is all said and done, history will show that these phony moral groups engaged in tactics worthy of the Nazis in Germany to deny lgbts our right piece of the American pie.
For now, I am going to reveal what I have discovered to be the top lies of the anti-gay industry. My book will demonstrate why these claims are not true:
1. Homosexuality is a lifestyle more harmful than cigarette smoking.
2. Gay men have a short life span.
3. The gay and lesbian community have a high rate of domestic violence.
4. Unhealthy behaviors (i.e. substance abuse, promiscuous sexual behavior) is indicative of the gay or lesbian orientation.
5. Gay men molest children at a high rate.
6. Gays and lesbians want to silence Christians.
7. Gays and lesbians recruit people, particularly children, to their "lifestyle."
8. Gays and lesbians are following a six-point plan to take over America.
9. Any judge who rules in favor of the gay and lesbian community in a case is an "activist judge."
10. Anal sex is "homosexual behavior."
11. Robert Spitzer’s study confirms that gays and lesbians can change their orientation.
12. Gays and lesbians want to force acceptance.
13. Gay bowel syndrome is a legitimate medical term.
After over two years of research and work, Holy Bullies and Headless Monsters: Exposing the Lies of the Anti-Gay Industry is finished.
(applause)
I will be sending the manuscript to my publisher Monday morning. Then the work really starts. I am going to promote this book to death.
My goal was to create a document that will accurately show how so-called "pro-family" groups lie about the gay and lesbian community. This purpose of this book is to give gays and lesbians a guide to go by when combatting anti-gay lies as well as provide a testament on what Dobson and company has done to us.
When it is all said and done, history will show that these phony moral groups engaged in tactics worthy of the Nazis in Germany to deny lgbts our right piece of the American pie.
For now, I am going to reveal what I have discovered to be the top lies of the anti-gay industry. My book will demonstrate why these claims are not true:
Top Anti-Gay Industry Lies
1. Homosexuality is a lifestyle more harmful than cigarette smoking.
2. Gay men have a short life span.
3. The gay and lesbian community have a high rate of domestic violence.
4. Unhealthy behaviors (i.e. substance abuse, promiscuous sexual behavior) is indicative of the gay or lesbian orientation.
5. Gay men molest children at a high rate.
6. Gays and lesbians want to silence Christians.
7. Gays and lesbians recruit people, particularly children, to their "lifestyle."
8. Gays and lesbians are following a six-point plan to take over America.
9. Any judge who rules in favor of the gay and lesbian community in a case is an "activist judge."
10. Anal sex is "homosexual behavior."
11. Robert Spitzer’s study confirms that gays and lesbians can change their orientation.
12. Gays and lesbians want to force acceptance.
13. Gay bowel syndrome is a legitimate medical term.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Hate Crimes Act Distortions
The anti-gay industry is spooked by the possibility of a federal hate crimes law that will include the gay and lesbian community.
They have already began telling lies and I am sure that their efforts will culminate in a huge effort to either kill the legislation in Congress or get President Bush to veto it should it get to his desk.
The anti-gay industry is going to repeat their lies about how lgbts want to put Christians in jail for speaking out against homosexuality and how we also want to "recruit" children.
To combat these distortions, we must know and expose their tactics as quickly and as frequently as possible.
In that spirit, I am going to post something I found online. The following has to do with how the Family Research Council lied in its attempts to kill the 1999 Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Trust me when I say that the following tactics will be used again by the anti-gay industry. That is if they aren't already being used:
The Family Research Council, in an effort to shift public focus away from the tragedy of hate crimes in America, has issued an "action alert" to its members in which it fabricates six myths about the Hate Crimes PreventionAct of 1999. These myths -- and a short refutation -- are as follows:
FRC lie 1: "Hate crimes legislation could severely restrict Americans' freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. This legislation would give the government the power to interpret and classify certain speech, thought, theology, and moral belief as unlawful or contributing to crime. Will pastors, priests, rabbis, and other religious leaders who preach and teach against homosexual conduct be prosecuted for inciting a hate crime?"
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would only prohibit acts of violence, not speech. The Act would notinfringe upon anyone's First Amendment rights. In this manner, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act would operate justlike the current hate crimes statute, which does not punish protected speech because it requires that any coveredincident include criminal acts involving force. The changes to the statute proposed by the Hate Crimes Prevention Act would only apply to cases involving death or bodily injury; in other words, they would only come into play when violent crimes have been committed -- not in matters involving speech protected by the First Amendment.
FRC lie 2: "President Clinton stated that he would include words perceived as inciting an act of violence - without proof of direct correlation - as evidence of a hate crime."
The truth: Again, the legislation does not target speech.Organizations such as the FRC would remain free to condemn homosexuality. Only when a crime victim is targetedfor a violent act because of his or her sexual orientation, gender or disability status could the law be applied.
FRC lie 3: "Talk radio, religious broadcasting and television programs could be subject to censorship."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would not restrict the media. Again, it would come into play only whensomeone commits a violent crime on the basis of someone else's race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
FRC lie 4: "Hate crimes legislation could give priority to homosexuals as being more protected victims than other victims of crime."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act does not create a category of "more protected victims." It simply addresses the fact that state and local authorities sometimes cannot or will not prosecute violent crimes committed against gays and lesbians. Under current law, the federal government is often unable to intervene in these cases. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would permit federal authorities to bring the perpetrators of these horrible crimes to justice.
FRC lie 5: "Hate crimes legislation, accompanied by the President's 'tolerance education' crusade, will hinder parents who seek to protect their children from a lifestyle that is unhealthy and which they recognize to be morally and spiritually wrong."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would not interfere with the rights of parents to teach their children according to their own sets of values. The Act would merely prohibit acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability. It would not preclude parents from teaching their own values to their children.
FRC lie 6: "Students could be forced to learn homosexual diversity training in public schools."
The truth: This legislation has nothing to do with school curriculum.
The anti-gay industry is spooked by the possibility of a federal hate crimes law that will include the gay and lesbian community.
They have already began telling lies and I am sure that their efforts will culminate in a huge effort to either kill the legislation in Congress or get President Bush to veto it should it get to his desk.
The anti-gay industry is going to repeat their lies about how lgbts want to put Christians in jail for speaking out against homosexuality and how we also want to "recruit" children.
To combat these distortions, we must know and expose their tactics as quickly and as frequently as possible.
In that spirit, I am going to post something I found online. The following has to do with how the Family Research Council lied in its attempts to kill the 1999 Hate Crimes Prevention Act. Trust me when I say that the following tactics will be used again by the anti-gay industry. That is if they aren't already being used:
BEARING FALSE WITNESS: THE FRC'S SIX BIG LIES ABOUT THE HATE CRIMES PREVENTION ACT
The Family Research Council, in an effort to shift public focus away from the tragedy of hate crimes in America, has issued an "action alert" to its members in which it fabricates six myths about the Hate Crimes PreventionAct of 1999. These myths -- and a short refutation -- are as follows:
FRC lie 1: "Hate crimes legislation could severely restrict Americans' freedom of speech, freedom of thought and freedom of religion. This legislation would give the government the power to interpret and classify certain speech, thought, theology, and moral belief as unlawful or contributing to crime. Will pastors, priests, rabbis, and other religious leaders who preach and teach against homosexual conduct be prosecuted for inciting a hate crime?"
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would only prohibit acts of violence, not speech. The Act would notinfringe upon anyone's First Amendment rights. In this manner, the Hate Crimes Prevention Act would operate justlike the current hate crimes statute, which does not punish protected speech because it requires that any coveredincident include criminal acts involving force. The changes to the statute proposed by the Hate Crimes Prevention Act would only apply to cases involving death or bodily injury; in other words, they would only come into play when violent crimes have been committed -- not in matters involving speech protected by the First Amendment.
FRC lie 2: "President Clinton stated that he would include words perceived as inciting an act of violence - without proof of direct correlation - as evidence of a hate crime."
The truth: Again, the legislation does not target speech.Organizations such as the FRC would remain free to condemn homosexuality. Only when a crime victim is targetedfor a violent act because of his or her sexual orientation, gender or disability status could the law be applied.
FRC lie 3: "Talk radio, religious broadcasting and television programs could be subject to censorship."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would not restrict the media. Again, it would come into play only whensomeone commits a violent crime on the basis of someone else's race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability.
FRC lie 4: "Hate crimes legislation could give priority to homosexuals as being more protected victims than other victims of crime."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act does not create a category of "more protected victims." It simply addresses the fact that state and local authorities sometimes cannot or will not prosecute violent crimes committed against gays and lesbians. Under current law, the federal government is often unable to intervene in these cases. The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would permit federal authorities to bring the perpetrators of these horrible crimes to justice.
FRC lie 5: "Hate crimes legislation, accompanied by the President's 'tolerance education' crusade, will hinder parents who seek to protect their children from a lifestyle that is unhealthy and which they recognize to be morally and spiritually wrong."
The truth: The Hate Crimes Prevention Act would not interfere with the rights of parents to teach their children according to their own sets of values. The Act would merely prohibit acts of violence against individuals on the basis of race, religion, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation or disability. It would not preclude parents from teaching their own values to their children.
FRC lie 6: "Students could be forced to learn homosexual diversity training in public schools."
The truth: This legislation has nothing to do with school curriculum.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)