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09/05/2006

Those who try to force us back 'in' criticize us for speaking 'out'

by Jeremy Hooper

As this "culture war" marches on, younger generations come in to more and more power, and the antiquated gay bias of yesteryear slowly takes a back seat to acceptance, those who oppose gay rights for a living have fewer and fewer legs to stand on. Just like with any groups' attempts to propagate bias against a population sect, the "pro-family" movement's "sanctity of marriage" and "protect children" rhetoric is starting to lose favor with more and more individuals, the likes of whom are wising up to the "whys" and "hows" behind such gay-demonizing sentiment. All it takes is a little exposure and an open mind to see the flaws in their logic, and all it takes is an acknowledgment of the form of truth that exists independent of religious or political conviction to understand the reality of homosexuality. Their "battle" has always been an uphill one, and the march of time only increases the steep of the peak.

This being the case, the "pro-family" kiddies have to come up with new strategies to keep their movement in business. They create groups to foster the illusion that "ex-gays" are themselves a minority sect deserving of protection. They present old studies from scientists in ways that go against the researcher's own wishes, hoping that nobody will take the time to do their own analysis of the study's actual findings. They threaten to boycott any and every company who so much as farts in a gay-friendly manner. And while their schemes are still effective in rallying some troops, it would certainly seem to those of us who follow these characters and organizations that their tactics have become less effective with every passing year. So needing to up the ante in creative new ways, the "pro-fams" have been latching on to the idea that it is truly us gays who are the intolerant ones, as we refuse to sit quietly and let them stem the rising tide of acceptance. This is the basis for a piece published today on Focus on the Family's CitizenLink site titled "Gay-Activist Intimidation Tactics Increasing," in which writer Pete Winn attempts to paint gay activists as using threats to push the "homosexual agenda."

In the piece, Winn includes a quote from professional "ex-gay" Alan Chambers that pretty much sums up the gist of the whole article. Chambers says:

"The truth is, tolerance has come to mean something very different for gay activists," ... "What tolerance means to them is that we need to go out of our way to not just accept them, but approve of what they do. But tolerance is not a two-way street for them -- they neither accept nor respect our views on these issues."

But here's the thing -- Their "views on these issues" are that gays are living in sin and that they can and should "change" who they are! Despite that this goes against the positions of every credible mental and medical health association, the vast majority of the scientific community, and virtually every gay and lesbian person [92%of the LGBT community rejects the idea according to a recent 'Advocate' poll (6/20/06)], they continue to present the idea that gays are flawed, changeable beings who are non-deserving of equal rights. So they're not encouraging "a two-way street" of debate, but rather a dead-end path of discourse that terminates at their own unwavering Biblical interpretation. For us to respect their views would mean to give credence to the idea that we are immoral beings hellbent on harming society and recruiting children into our "lifestyle." We have no choice but to speak out against these guys with relentless fervor!

Contributing another quote to Winn's piece, Americans For Truth's Peter LaBarbera attempts to clarify the difference between the type of gay activists who are launching extreme threats and traditional activists by saying:

"This is the fringe of the homosexual movement, of course," ... "But then you have the organized activists which try to intimidate anybody who says, for example, that homosexuals can leave the lifestyle."

And while we would oppose any gay proponent who says that "Somebody should put a gun to your head" or that they want to 'burn all your (expletive) churches down" (threats LaBarbera claims have been left on his answering machine or emailed to him), these are isolated incidents that in no way speak for the majority of gay activists. But those of us who refuse to tolerate the "pro-family" movement's undying push for gay bias will not, cannot, and should not apologize for steadfastly opposing their offensive attempts. Because while some disputes are the kinds where you can argue all day then "agree to disagree" and go share a brew at the bar that evening, a debate in which one side is threatening our lives and loves is not that type of situation.

We understand why the "pro-fams" are using this line of logic to paint themselves as victims. This line of thought plays right into their all-encompassing strategy of making gays look scary to America. It also seeks to make gays look like hypocrites who seek tolerance but who are really intolerant themselves. Nobody on either side should take their fight to an extremist, threatening level. However, in terms of reasoned debate, the truth is that this situation IS NOT A TWO-WAY STREET because Equality vs. Inequality are simply not positions deserving of equal backing! That's not us being "intimidating" or "threatening," but rather us refusing to give in to those who've persecuted us for far too long.

Gay-Activist Intimidation Tactics Increasing [FOF CitizenLink]

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