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11/19/2007
LaBarbera's burden
It must be tough being Peter LaBarbera. Respect outside of the "pro-family" fringe just doesn't to be something that the American For Truth head can easily come by. Even when he goes to lengths to praise an organization, many of them still proceed to call him out for his rabid anti-gay words and actions.
Latest case that highlights this point: On Friday, Pete posted a mouth-foaming entry in which he tried to connect pedophilia with homosexuality by posting the profile of a gay activist who has been accused of, among other things, possessing child pornography. And in doing so, Pete linked to the gentleman's profile page on The Wikispsure Project, an offshoot of the pedophilia-thwarting Perverted Justice organization. Pete proceeded to applaud "the good people" of the Wikisposure Project for their "worthy effort," apparently feeling that in pointing out the specific transgressions of which the gentleman was accused, Wikisposure Project was also making a linkage between gay sex and that of the man-boy variety. And since he's desperately in need of allies in his socio-political goals, Pete went to lengths to heap praise on the organization and to encourage his readers to support their endeavors.
Only problem? Wikisposure Project is having NONE OF IT! The organization has redirected the profile page to which Pete had initially linked, and in its place has posted an all-out condemnation of Americans For Truth's anti-gay work. They say, in part:
The anti-homosexual hate group "Americans for Truth" recently attacked a Nelson Garcia who is profiled on our Wiki[1]. Nelson Garcia is, of course, a dangerous pedophile activist. He should be exposed to his community and his credibility attacked, of course. He is not, by any means, profiled here because he is attracted to males. He is profiled here because he is attracted to underage minors. The reason "Americans for Truth" are attacking him isn't because he's a pedophile, but rather that he is attracted to males. They then go on to compliment Wikisposure and Perverted-Justice.com in the same article. This shows that unfortunately for them, they didn't really do their research.
Perverted-Justice.com and our Wikisposure Project have many gay volunteers. We're proud to have reached out to the homosexual community and even prouder still of those in the homosexual community who step forward to address the issue of pedophiles in society.
First, obviously, homosexuality has nothing to do with pedophilia. Homosexuality is a sexual orientation involving two consenting adults. That, there is nothing wrong with, not one bit. However, pedophilia is a dangerous sexual fetish... it has more in common with other sexual fetishes such as those who are into beastiality, foot fetishes, asphyxiation, etc. Pedophilia is the most dangerous sexual fetish of any we can think of off the top of our head. Pedophilia and homosexuality have nothing to do with one another, not even on some remote out of this world scale. To slur homosexuals by comparing them to pedophiles is ignorant.
There are only two groups that will try to compare homosexuals to pedophiles. Pedophiles themselves, trying to gain sympathy... and right-wing religious organizations trying to demonize homosexuals. Not surprising, then, that so many leaders of such organizations that do so end up being pedophiles themselves. Why... oh why... would any organization appalled by homosexuals pass up attacking a pedophile over a homosexual? The answer is obvious to us.
...
If you're a person who supports Americans for Truth, thanks for coming by... but please don't stay long. Hopefully this message will reach a few of you who understands that same-sex relationships have absolutely nothing to do with pedophilia, a dangerous sexual fetish.
It's a downright verbal smack down. They nip his gay/pedo link right in the bud, as well as correctly and resoundingly pinpoint Pete's "truth" as bona fide gay hostility. So while Pete was clearly hoping for a coup and possibly a new friend with these efforts, what he has earned instead is a new crew of voices rising up to call out his unrighteous attempts. And it's even more refreshing considering that the Wikisposure Project/Perverted Justice is wholly dedicated to this topic, and have actually done their homework on matters related to pederasty/pedophilia. They would seem to be far better authorities regarding such matters than a man who wholly dedicates his own life to rendering gays unmarried, unequal, and ultimately, "changed."
It must be lonely on Pete's side of the culture war.
Americans For Truth Redirection - November 2007 [Wikisposure]
AFTAH Responds to Wikisposure on Nelson Garcia: Putting Politics above their Mission of Protecting Children [AFT]
**We're going to abstain from weighing in on the revelations and accusations that led to Pete's initial post. These are not the sorts of situations we cover, as alleged crimes of this nature have nothing to do with gay rights. But in the interest of equal representation, we have invited Mr. Garcia to say his piece about the allegations in the comments section.
**UPDATE: As Mr. Garcia has chosen to misrepresent what this writer has said to him and misconstrue my actions in wanting to give him a chance to weigh in on this (as well as attack the whole of the gay blogging community), there will be nothing further said from this site regarding this situation, and no further entertaining of any word that comes from Mr. Garcia's mouth. Call me sensitive, but I don't take kindly to being "no better off than the anti-gay activists they speak against on their blogs and dot.coms" because I have tried to be fair to someone.
In the sense of full disclosure, here are the email exchanges that I have shared with Mr. Garcia (please excuse the hasty typos). I honestly don't know how to be more fair or open-minded.
Your thoughts
That's too funny. I almost died laughing when I read this post.
Posted by: Sam | Nov 19, 2007 11:02:12 AM
I read those pieces yesterday, they mopped the floor with him.
At the bottom of the Wikisposure redirect page is a link to another excellent letter in response to a guy who wrote in defending AFTAH. He was promptly eviscerated.
Posted by: Emproph | Nov 19, 2007 12:32:45 PM
Joy and rapture! I will have to send To Catch a Predator and Wikisposure a cookie bouquet and a resume.
Posted by: beccar | Nov 19, 2007 1:38:00 PM
Labarbary uses the tired old excuse that hatred of homosexuality is not actually hate - but rather morality. He says that fundamentalist Christianity is not hate. I agree with that part. But I'll add this: Fundamentalist Christianity is one of the many cracks and crevices in which haters scurry and hide when challenged. They use religion as an excuse for their increasingly untolerated attitudes. "Don't get mad at me, I'm a conservative Christian!" When I hear that I picture a roach in a cheap butterfly suit, with a couple of ugly legs and an antenna sticking out.
P.S. I don't hate roaches, God made them too.
Posted by: Larry Seiferth Jr. | Nov 19, 2007 2:02:57 PM
"Homosexuality is a sexual orientation involving two consenting adults."
I think it's astonishing that you would re-post this definition of homosexuality without any comment. If you subscribe to this definition, there's no such thing as gay teenagers. I'm sure that there's no way Good As You would accept the claim that only consenting adults can be homosexual.
In your eagerness to re-print an obvious smackdown of a political opponent, it seems you've accepted the claims of the Wikisposure entry without even a cursory examination. Reflecting on the tone of the piece itself, as well as the activities of the Perverted Justice organization itself, you might have realized the marshalling the rhetoric of shame, perversion and illness never serves the cause of sexual liberation or civil liberties. Even as Wikisposure claims to separate pedophilia from homosexuality, it explicitly links it to foot fetishim. This is nonsense, but it's dangerous nonsense. Please think again about hitching your wagon to this clumsy attempt to provide a friendly face to a sex-based moral panic.
Posted by: parse | Nov 23, 2007 12:18:32 PM
Parse: I'm gonna ask that you curb your outrage on this. It's very annoying to write thousands of thousands of words defending LGBT people every single week, and then have an ally freak out because they feel you haven't done enough.
OF COURSE we think there's such thing as gay teenagers. And surely so does Wikisposure, the ones who wrote the above quoted line. It seems that Wikisposure was just factoring in the sex part, which typically does involve only two consenting post-pubescent individuals (young adults and adults). That doesn't in any way mean that they are denying that gay teens, gay toddlers, or even gay fetuses exist.
I find it offensive that because we didn't address or clarify this one line, we've "accepted the claims of the Wikisposure entry without even a cursory examination." We don't accept ANYTHING without much more than a cursory examination!!
And one more thing: Where in anything that PJ has written do you see a connection between homosexuality and foot fetishism? They said this to Peter in a separate correspondence:
"However, pedophilia is a dangerous sexual fetish… it has more in common with other sexual fetishes such as those who are into beastiality [sic], foot fetishes, asphyxiation, etc."
However, I've seen no connection between homosexuality and the same. Please direct.
Posted by: G-A-Y | Nov 24, 2007 8:53:21 AM
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