Republicans do well playing semantic games. I suppose the most recent is defining those who move their factories offshore, spent millions to destroy labor unions, decry minimum wages, halt unemployment compensation and buy robots to automate human workers as JOB CREATORS. And they get away with it.
This past week Republicans in their celebration of bigotry have but the bigotry they are fully guilty of upon those who suffer it or fight against it. They do so under the false cry of Free Speech. Even the mayors who have decried that mindless religious bigotry have not deprived, or tried to deprive anyone of free speech. All they did was initiate their own free speech to tell the bigots to hit the road.
I have over the years spent quite a bit of time banging my head against the wall over this Republican semantic trip that intolerance of intolerance is more intolerant than the intolerance suffered. Here is another point of view from a Gay man that puts the same argument in a different light. Who are the bullies? Who are the ones out to hurt others. Who are the ones picking on others? Who is denying equal rights under the law to others? Who is initiating the hate. Who is causing the pain? Who are celebrating bigotry in the name of Christ?
Chick Fellatio: Stuck in the Craw by Wayne Self – Check out the whole article
– In 29 states in America today, my partner of 18 years, Cody, or I could be fired for being gay. Period. No questions asked. One of those states is Louisiana, our home state. We live in self-imposed exile from beloved homeland, family, and friends, in part, because of this legal restriction on our ability to live our lives together.
– In 75 countries in the world, being gay is illegal. In many, the penalty is life in prison. These are countries we can’t openly visit. In 9 countries, being gay is punishable by death. In many others, violence against gays is tacitly accepted by the authorities. These are countries where we would be killed. Killed.
– Two organizations that work very hard to maintain this status quo and roll back any protections that we may have are the Family Research Council and the Marriage & Family Foundation. For example, the Family Research council leadership has officially stated that same-gender-loving behavior should be criminalized in this country. They draw their pay, in part, from the donations of companies like Chick-Fil-A. Both groups have also done “missionary” work abroad that served to strengthen and promote criminalization of same-sex relations.
– Chick-Fil-A has given roughly $5M to these organizations to support their work.
– Chick-Fil-A’s money comes from the profits they make when you purchase their products.
2. This isn’t about mutual tolerance because there’s nothing mutual about it. If we agree to disagree on this issue, you walk away a full member of this society and I don’t. There is no “live and let live” on this issue because Dan Cathy is spending millions to very specifically NOT let me live. I’m not trying to do that to him.
Asking for “mutual tolerance” on this like running up to a bully beating a kid to death on the playground and scolding them both for not getting along. I’m not trying to dissolve Mr. Cathy’s marriage or make his sex illegal. I’m not trying to make him a second-class citizen, or get him killed. He’s doing that to me, folks; I’m just fighting back.
All your life, you’re told to stand up to bullies, but when WE do it, we’re told WE are the ones being intolerant? Well, okay. Yes. I refuse to tolerate getting my ass kicked. “Guilty as charged.”
But what are you guilty of? When you see a bully beating up a smaller kid and you don’t take a side, then you ARE taking a side. You’re siding with the bully. And when you cheer him on, you’re revealing something about your own character that really is a shame.
Bigotry in the name of God is still bigotry.