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05/19/2010
In which Jenny Tyree rejects notion of listening to actual gay people
Focus on the Family's Jenny Tyree was all kinds of upset when Laura Bush came out for simple civil equality being extended to same-sex couples. Now Tyree is turning her attention to another female conservative with a platform:
In the wake of Laura Bush’s recent statements in support of redefining marriage, Elizabeth Hasselback has stepped up her own campaign in support of same-sex marriage.
LifeSiteNews.com reports that Hasselback “recommended that conservatives stop ‘hating on’ same-sex ‘marriage.’”
That she places conservatives who believe in one-man, one-woman marriage in the “hate” camp is disconcerting. Does she truly believe that the people with whom she most often allies herself politically are motivated by hate on this one issue? And of course, it’s not just political conservatives who believe in marriage. Marriage would not have been defended at the ballot box in 31 states without the support of people with a variety of political and faith views.
Hasselback went on to say that she had Melissa Etheridge over for dinner and they talked about gay marriage. Apparently, that conversation was influential toward Hasselback changing her mind. I’m just guessing.
I’d like to recommend to Hasselback that she have someone else over for dinner—someone who believes in the beauty and uniqueness of one-man, one-woman marriage, and in the gift it is to children. It would be a pleasure to clear my calendar for a fellow conservative and for a subject as vital as marriage, and I believe others would clear their calendars as well.
Will Hasselback extend marriage talk to a real conservative? [FoTF CitizenLink (DriveThru)]
Okay, first off: Elisabeth (with an 's') Hasselbeck (with an 'e') probably also wishes social conservatives would stop "hating on" her name and the simple Google search that would verify the same. But I digress. (***UPDATE: After our post, FOtF corrected theirs)
The more important reality is that Elisabeth was 100% right on her point! Here, this is the actual transcript from that day's (5/13) episode:
ELISABETH HASSELBECK: It’s interesting, though, because some people are saying, well, this is a day late and a dollar short, where were you when you could have said something earlier? And in terms of gay marriage, I think there are a lot of, maybe, conservatives out there who are talking about gay marriage andnot necessarily with someone who wants to have gay marriage or has been in a gay marriage. You know, I had Melissa Etheridge over, we had dinner, we talked for hours about gay marriage, and I would really challenge people: Get out there. Instead of just talking about it and hating on it, actually talk to someone who’s loved someone else and have the conversation about what can be done, and I think that’s a-
BEHAR: That’s right.
GOLDBERG: So you’re saying: Know what you’re talking about.
HASSELBECK: Absolutely, I mean, there’s a lot of truth that comes out and misconception, and I wish, I really wish that people would stop going around it and go right to it
Elisabeth is right: Everyone, regardless of what they think they know, needs to get out and talk to AN ACTUAL GAY PERSON! Someone who is actually hurt by marriage bans. Someone directly involved. Who could argue with that?!
Well, Focus on the Family, that's who. Because this is a group that wants to tell everyone who LGBT people are, what they are all about, and why fair and equal rights will supposedly destroy the world. And they will do it as a monologue, not a fair conversation. Go ahead -- go click the link to Jenny's commentary and try to leave a comment. They won't approve it. They never do. The only time they allow comments on the blog is when they wanna turn said comment into a subsequent response post -- and only then AFTER they have written their response and posted a link to it as a followup comment to the initial one. Because again: They want to control this entire conversation, fingers firmly in ears, eyes blinded to the reality of LGBT existences.
So here with Elisabeth, Jenny wants to focus on the phrase "hating on," taking that benign modern colloquialism that's completely common to someone on Elisabeth's generation and honing in on it rather than on Lis' primary point: That social conservatives need to stop talking for a damn second so that maybe they will start to hear a thing or two. Maybe they will change their hearts and minds, maybe they won't -- but their stubbornness weakens us all. And as more people like Laura Bush, Cindy McCain, and Elisabeth Hasselbeck speak out in favor of GOP gay-friendliness, it is this aggressive close-mindedness that will ultimately push the anti-gay "pro-family" crowd into the annals of historical irrelevancy.
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**Oh, and by the way: This isn't all that much of a change for Lis Hasselbeck. While she has recited conservative talking points over the years (drawing ire from folks like Melissa Etheridge herself), the one at the far-right of the "View" table, both geographically and politically, has also spoken out against those hypocritical heterosexuals who play the "protect marriage" card against gays:
E.H. was also supportive of Rosie's family, and has always voiced some sense of support for our government's need to figure it all out. Her heart seemed to be in the right place -- but the thoughts drilled into her mind were creating an intellectual incongruity. Elisabeth clearly needed to get over what she had been told by those on her side and start to think about all of this in a human (and humane) way. It seems she's now getting there, if not fully there already. If every conservative would be as open to that, we could end this so-called "culture war."
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**UPDATE: Jenny has done EXACTLY what we said she would do. When we tried to comment on her initial post, this is what we get:
However, one other comment was approved...
...but only so that Jenny could turn it into a response post. A response that doesn't address our post at all (even though we know, certifiably, that she is aware of it): Response to Hasselbeck post [FotF]
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