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08/11/2008
Because actual discussion might raise too many questions
We all know that organizations like Focus on the Family have waged an almost comical war on dissenting viewpoints. However, we didn't know that they're now coming right out and admitting as much!
Here is an email that has been forwarded to us by a reader. Our reader received this correspondence after she tried to leave a couple of comments on the blog of FOF president Jim Daly:
(Highlighting and name redaction our own)
So essentially they think that they should have the right to condemn a certain population sect with their own personal religious views, and use those same personal views to fight against us on a CIVIC level, yet they don't think our side should be free to offer any rebuttal. They want to tell impressionable people that we gays can be "changed," yet think pointing out the evidence to the contrary goes against their "purposes as an organization." What could be more thoroughly un-American than suppressing your opposition's thoughts?!
And lest ye think our reader was unfair or hostile, here are the comments she tried to leave on Daly's site:
August 5:
August 8:
Not hostile. Not volatile. These comments are nothing more than reasoned food for thought. Unfortunately, FOF wants only to serve the recipes that come from their own cooks and their own kitchen.
As our own test, we've left the following comment on a recent Planned Parenthood-decrying, "ex-gay"-encouraging post that Mr. Daly has written:
We'll have to wait and see if Focus on the Family thinks the opinions of actual gay people matter when it comes to TRYING TO 'CHANGE' ACTUAL GAY PEOPLE. We would try and contact Mr. Daly directly about this, but we're sure he'd just say, "No comment!"
**Daly's blog can be found here. Have at it, folks. Oh, and be sure to save a screen cap of your comment if you can: Jim Daly's blog [FOF]
**Wow, shockingly they have actually approved our comment.
**UPDATE, 8/13: So now, after first posting our comment, they have gone back and retroactively approved the prior comments. We can;t help but think we had something to do with that [::writer pats self on back::]
Your thoughts
There was an interesting discussion on "On the Media" on NPR this weekend about comment boards ("This American Life" pulled theirs after too much vitriolic flaming.) Seems to me that you moderate-out the most egregious or profanity-laden screeds but allow dissention in your comments, or don't have one at all. To have a "positive feedback only" board is nothing but propaganda and completely dishonest. Not something I would expect from FOF. Cough.
Posted by: Sykler | Aug 11, 2008 9:51:06 AM
Hey man, looks like they approved your comment on the planned parenthood story but still not mine. Maybe the dude just doesn't like me? Or maybe I'm coming off wrong and they think I'm being hateful?
Or maybe they know you've got a blog.
Posted by: Nancy | Aug 11, 2008 3:49:49 PM
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