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When Bigots Attack |
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By John Aravosis The List
"One of the primary goals of the homosexual rights movement is to abolish all age of consent laws and to eventually recognize pedophiles as the 'prophets' of a new sexual order." --the religious right's Family Research Council. (At the end I'm asking folks to make a donation to PFLAG, and provide the following Web link to do just that: www.pflag.org/Secure-Content/joinform.html)
Why bring this up now? Because fundamentalist extremists--this time with former Klansman David Duke at the lead-- have latched on to the murder of a young boy in Arkansas, and are promoting the hell out of it, in an effort to paint gays and lesbians as pedophiles who murder small children. You see, the murderers in question might have been gay--I say "might" because according to the police affidavit they also fantasized about killing young girls--but to the Christian right, if you can find one gay criminal, that's enough to paint an entire class of citizens as child-killers. Tellingly, the far-right's tactic has been to link the Arkansas killing to the death of Matthew Shepard. Shepard's death got lots of publicity, the Arkansas killing did not. Shepard was a gay man killed by straight guys. The Arkansas murder was a straight boy killed by gay guys. Thus, in the twisted mind of a fundamentalist bigot, the stories are akin, deserve equal publicity, and teach equal lessons. Now, forget for a moment that according to the FBI there are 300 rapes and murders EACH DAY in America, making it impossible for the media to cover each story to the degree it did the Shepard case. Forget also that there was no spontaneous international outpouring of emotion over the Arkansas killing as there was over the Shepard case. And forget that in the Shepard case it is Mrs. Shepard, Matt's mom, who herself is leading the charge to use Matt's memory for good in the battle against anti-gay hate, while with the Arkansas murder the charge is being led by white supremacists and well-moneyed "family-values" groups with extensive records of painting all gays as pedophiles. You also might want to forget that every day there are horrible crimes that don't get Shepard-style coverage. Just this past week, the Italian papers reported a near epidemic of Catholic priests sexually abusing nuns. Didn't see a national outcry about that story.
But when a single crime occurs that might have been committed by a gay perpetrator, then all of a sudden the lack of national news coverage is a sign of a vast left-wing conspiracy to hide the sordid truth that all gays are pedophile/murderers? I think not. What's really going on here, and the religious right and white supremacist community know it quite well, is that a story came along that had the potential to defame millions of gay people, and extremist groups took advantage of it. They don't care about supposed media bias, nor do they care about a small boy dead in Arkansas. Their only concern is to do whatever they can to smear America's gay community and hopefully convince the public that were are a public danger. In some ways, gays and lesbians should take this latest attack as a compliment. The religious right has become terribly marginalized in American society. They may have a place at the table of national politics, but they are more often than not asked to be seen and not heard, like a troubled child or a crazy aunt. Their extremism turns off voters, and as a result, even their friends in the Republican party have refused to echo their intolerant rhetoric over the last few years (when's the last time you heard Bush or Cheney really say anything anti-gay?) And that is why their message is getting louder and more vitriolic. Like a spoiled child who doesn't get his way, the whining and crying always gets louder in a last-ditch effort to get attention. But until their prejudice finally withers away, we must remain vigilant. The religious right is intent on linking this crime to the Shepard murder. And in one way they're right. The two crimes are linked --but only because in each case the religious right's extreme intolerance may very well be responsible for violence. In the Shepard case, by feeding a culture of hate (they held an "ex-gay" press conference at the National Press Club while Matt lay near- dead in the hospital), and in the Arkansas case, by exploiting a child's death to convince the country that gays are after their children. And don't be fooled into thinking this latest attack against gays has happened in a vacuum. The top religious right groups like the Family Research Council (FRC), American Family Association (AFA), and the Coral Ridge Ministries routinely try to paint gays as as child molesters: From FRC: "...one of the primary goals of the homosexual rights movement is to abolish all age of consent laws and to eventually recognize pedophiles as the 'prophets' of a new sexual order." - "Homosexual Activists Work to Normalize Sex With Boys," by FRC, July 1999. Also from FRC: "Homosexuals say they don't want the children, but boy they put a lot of energy into going after them." - Robert Knight of FRC writing in a Focus on the Family newsletter, quoted by People for the American Way, "Hostile Climate," 1997, p.15. From AFA: "Prominent homosexual leaders and publications have voiced support for pedophilia, incest, sadomasochism, and even bestiality." - Homosexuality in America: Exposing the Myths, by AFA. Also from AFA: "For the sake of our children and society, we must OPPOSE the spread of homosexual activity! Just as we must oppose murder, stealing, and adultery! Since homosexuals cannot reproduce, the only way for them to 'breed' is to RECRUIT! And who are their targets for recruitment? Children!" - A direct mail letter from Don Wildmon of the American Family Association included this emotional appeal. Source: People for the American Way Web site, www.pfaw.org/issues/right/rtvw.antigay.shtml From the Coral Ridge Ministries: "James Kennedy's Coral Ridge Ministries featured a photograph of very young children under the headline 'SEX WITH CHILDREN? HOMOSEXUALS SAY YES!' The newsletter asserts 'Adult sex with children has been a crucial component of the homosexual movement all along..." - source, People for the American Way Web site, www.pfaw.org/issues/right/rtvw.antigay.shtml They claim they aren't responsible for Matt's death, yet continue to tell the world that we sexually abuse small children for sport, then act surprised when someone kills one of those dirty faggot child molesters. How should we respond to this bigotry? Rather than arguing with the homophobes, who simply hope to create a bigger story anyway by getting us into a public debate as to whether or note we rape small children, why not call the religious right on their own bluff. They say we don't care about kids, let's show them we do. Please join me in making a donation to PFLAG to prove you really do care about the well-being of our country's youth. It's quite easy to make a donation online, and when it comes down to it, I can't think of a better way to piss off a fundamentalist extremist than to retaliate against their homophobia by giving money to a great organization like Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, PFLAG :-) I just used the link below to make a $50 donation, won't you? And please share this email with a friend, urging them to give to PFLAG too. Simply click the link below to go to PFLAG's online donor page: www.pflag.org/Secure-Content/joinform.html |
Victim of Hate: Matthew Shepard 