Franklin Graham, Family Research Council embarrass themselves with weekend of anti-LGBTQ hypocrisy and lies

 

Franklin Graham's hypocritical support of DeSantis's attack on Disney only demonstrates his hatred for LGBTQ people.

For the first time a long time on this blog, we have a two for one when it comes to religious right hypocrisy, lies, and basic hatred for LGBTQ people.

First, leave it to Franklin Graham back up Florida and Governor Ron DeSantis in their war against Disney over the 'Don't Say Gay' law:

Whether or not Disney will suffer is a serious question. The popular opinion seems to be that neither DeSantis nor the Florida legislature thought their actions through when passing the bill to revoke Disney's status. And it looks like the company won't even suffer while Florida residents will see an increase in their taxes.

But this is about Graham's hypocrisy when it comes to governors and private companies. I can remember when he wasn't so congenial to elected officials, particularly in 2016:

The Rev. Franklin Graham has strongly condemned Mayor Bill de Blasio's call for a boycott of popular fast-food chain Chick-fil-A, which is opening a new location in the New York City borough of Queens, just because its Christian owners believe in the biblical definition of marriage. 

"Can you imagine a city where a popular, successful business is singled out and attacked by the mayor who calls for a boycott — all because the business owners let it be known that they operate by Christian principles and believe in God's definition of marriage?" Graham, the president of Samaritan's Purse and Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, wrote on his Facebook page.

 "That's exactly what just happened to one of America's most successful businesses. Chick-fil-A has almost 2000 restaurants and sales of more than $6 billion annually. You'd be hard-pressed to find anyone that doesn't like their chicken sandwiches — and their high quality service," Graham adds. 

 De Blasio is backing openly gay Councilman Danny Dromm who has jurisdiction over the area where the restaurant will be situated and is calling for an all-out boycott of the fast food joint, NY1 News reported.

The only thing sadder than Graham's blatant hypocrisy is the reason behind it. He supports DeSantis because the governor is acting against the LGBTQ community and he got angry at de Blasio because that mayor's actions was against Chick-fil-A's anti-LGBTQ record.

So the only consistency with Graham here is just how much he hates LGBTQ people. 

And not to be outdone by Graham's homophobia and hypocrisy, the Family Research Council decided to corner the market on blatant lying with the following tweet:

That lie is so easy to refute with the following links:

Trans Youth With Access to Early Medical Care Have Better Mental Health Outcomes

Gender-affirming care can improve mental health outcomes in transgender youth 

What does the scholarly research say about the effect of gender transition on transgender well-being?

Better mental health found among transgender people who started hormones as teens

These two situations with Franklin Graham and the Family Research Council merely underscore the simple fact that for all of their talk about being religious and pro-family, we are talking about people and entities who are power hungry and willing to stoop to any level and tell any lie to gain more advantage and clout. 

Christianity and morality is simply a props for them and as long as they can hide behind these identifiers, they will continue to play these games and harm LGBTQ people. Our job must be to expose them every time we have the opportunity. 

'Irony alert - Florida Lt Gov accuses Disney of grooming to journalist fired for sexual harassment' & other Fri midday news briefs

Florida Lt. Gov. accuses Disney of 'sexualizing children' in latest embrace of QAnon-style rhetoric​ - And the irony of the statement is who she said it to. Eric Bolling, the Newsmax 'journalist' who got fired from Fox News for sending pictures of his penis to women at the network.

Florida Legislature Exacts Revenge On Disney Over Anti-Gay Law - Meanwhile Florida in general has lost it's mind. They did not think this one through.

Two Becker school board members resign following anti-LGBTQ presentation - Bye. 

Oklahoma library ditches sex assault support group & romance bookclub after board bans LGBTQ display - Whoops. See what happens when you let ignorant people influence policy.

EXPLAINER: What medical treatments do transgender youth get? - This explainer should have been published a long time ago.

Family Research Council counting on people's Biblical ignorance in effort to dehumanize LGBTQ Americans

Taking advantage of this recent trend of smearing LGBTQ people as 'groomers of children,' hate group the Family Research Council has the following on its webpage:

A few things about this stands out to me. FRC yet again dehumanizes LGBTQ people. Apparently we aren't human beings. We are an 'ideology.' Worse than that, we are like those aliens in Invasion of the Body Snatchers in that FRC implies that we are trying to infect children to supposedly 'refreshen our ranks.'

It's a rude assertion and totally incorrect. If LGBTQ people could actually recruit, why bother with children when there are so many wealthy people in the world. Who needs kids. I want money.

Also, that part about 'advancing a worldview of marriage and sexuality grounded in Scripture.' What exactly does that mean anyway? We know what FRC wants people to think it means - some Leave It To Beaver fever dream of a family which probably includes the 2.5 kids and the pet dog.

Forget the reality of single parent homes, and definitely not LGBTQ homes.

Also, FRC's idea of a Scriptural foundation is highly confusing.

If we are to talk about a 'Scriptural' view of marriage, we could talk about Jesus, who was never married. Or we could talk about polygamy with such as examples as King David and his son Solomon (two Biblical heroes) who had more wives than they could count. Then there was Jacob who had two wives (they were sisters). And then there is the idea that marriage after divorce was considered to be adultery. And then there the certain passages in Bible which reputedly approved of child brides (Numbers 31:17-18).

And let's talk about sexuality. There was Onan who was reportedly punished by God for not impregnating the widow of his brother (historically the story had been used inaccurately to call masturbation a sin ),  Then there was Lot and his daughters (the less said about that, the better), and while so many people have interpreted the story of Sodom and Gomorrah as being a prohibition of homosexuality, no one talks about the story in Judges 19 - 21 in which the exact scenario of gang rape (but involving a woman instead of angels) enhances the theory that Sodom and Gomorrah was not a prohibition against homosexuality, but against mistreating guests in your country or city.

The Family Research Council's commitment to 'advancing a worldview of  marriage and sexuality grounded in Scripture' is not as admirable as one would think. It's a testament to FRC's exploitation of the fact that so many people have images of what's supposed to be Scriptural, but have absolutely no idea what's in the Bible.

And then there is the simple fact that not everyone is a Christian and not every Christian interprets Scripture in the same manner.

Seems to me that it would be easier and safer to stop undermining the lives and rights of LGBTQ people.

'Hypocrisy alert - Republican attacking high school drag show once took part in high school drag show' & other Thur midday news briefs

Tim James hates drag shows unless he's in one.

Republican vilifying high school over drag show was part of a high school drag show - Oh this is delicious!

Florida issues Texas-like guidance seeking to bar transition care for minors - Non-binding order so you KNOW what they can kiss. 

‘Political propaganda’: Top LGBTQ org blasts DeSantis’ latest ‘demonizing’ attack on transgender children​ - If DeSantis gets into the White House, we are in for it.

This Woman Turned a Antigay Street Preacher's Pulpit Into a Safe Space - Wonderful!

Video - 1961 film 'Boys Beware' pushed the 'gays are grooming children' lie years before Anita Bryant

The situation with Libs of TikTok accusing LGBTQ people and teachers of being pedophiles takes me back. There was an article which pointed out how Anita Bryant in the 1970s was probably the first person to harness the lie into political power.

But she certainly wasn't the first to exploit the lie. In 1961, there was an educational film shown to students called Boys Beware:

Shot in 1961 BOYS BEWARE was shot in the Los Angeles suburb of Inglewood, California and produced with the cooperation of the city's police department and the Inglewood Unified School District, is narrated by a police detective who is on his way to a school meeting to discuss the issue of sexual predators that attempt to lure young adolescent males. It not only shows basic misunderstandings about homosexuality but also attempts to prejudice the community against homosexuals who are portrayed as predatory at best, and basically as anti-social and evil.

It's a rather ridiculous film and can be seen as comedically ludicrous now. That is until you realize how the ideas it presents have been constantly recasted and believed by so many.

'Libs of TikTok falsely portrayed teachers and LGBTQ people as pedophiles' & other Wed midday news briefs

The real victims in the “Libs of TikTok” discourse are the teachers and LGBTQ people harassed because of the account - A certain Twitter address is getting what it deserves but conservatives are trying to make it the victim. Once again for the liars in the back, Libs of TikTok gained a massive following by reposting videos while falsely framing folks in the videos as groomers and pedophiles. The creator of the Twitter address has no right to anonymity.  

The most damaging myths about transgender kids​ - Easily one of the most important pieces you will ever read. 

Ohio University to Pay $400K to Professor Who Rejected Trans Student’s Pronouns - Only because the university chose to give in. It decided NOT to fight. Take a lesson and learn how not to behave.

DeSantis calls on Legislature to kill Disney's special self-governing status - Ronnie has his eyes on the White House and is set on using Disney and LGBTQ people to get there. He should be watching where his feet are headed.

NCAA gymnasts are using the hashtag #FlippingExhausted to protest anti-trans legislation - Good for them!

BUSTED! Online trolls caught making up false stories of parents 'forcing' their kids to be transgender

What a lovely day. First a far-right Twitter address which posted deceptive videos accusing LGBTQ people and our allies of being pedophiles got exposed.

Now this courtesy of  Reuters by way of  LGBTQNation:

A screenshot of a post on a Reddit channel is circulating online with comments purportedly from the parent of a transgender child who is forcibly giving their child hormones. However, the entire post is fabricated, and the channel has been shuttered by Reddit on the grounds it was aimed at promoting hatred of transgender people and spreading “hateful stereotypes.” 

 The fabricated screenshot shows a post on the subreddit “r/transparenttranskid”, allegedly from a transgender parent. The parent says they forcefully administered the female hormone estradiol to their child, who was purportedly transitioning, as their child did not want to take the drugs. 

 . . . However, there is no evidence that the post is an authentic account of events, and the “r/transparenttranskid” subreddit has since been removed. A conversation in an online forum on Aug. 6, 2021, revealed that users were planning to contribute false stories to the “r/transparenttranskid” subreddit here . 

 On the same forum, a user called “Funkyduffy” responded to a call to “snap up” the subreddit and fill it with fabricated stories by linking to the post about the forced administration of estradiol and pairing it with a GIF that reads: “I’m doing my part” here . 

 An archive of the subreddit shows the original poster of the alleged forced estradiol story was also called “Funkyduffy” (archive.ph/BojLr). The “r/transparenttranskid” subreddit was removed by Reddit for “generally violating the Reddit Rules”, a moderator on the platform said on Aug. 25, 2021 (here).  

“They were engaged in promoting hatred of transgender people, as well as targeted harassment,” they added.

LGBTQNation pointed how folks on the right not only believed these lies but also spread them online:

 . . .the stories still spread outside of Reddit to rightwingers who were all too willing to believe them. “This is fucking child abuse and I’ll die on this Hill,” wrote libertarian author Justin O’Donnell on Twitter, posting a picture of Funkyduffy’s fake story. He got almost 46,000 likes for it. Ian Miles Cheong – who has a history of posting misinformation about trans people online and even riling Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) up – shared the story with the words “Good parenting.”

That of course was the entire point of this madness - generating outrage even if you have to fake it.