Another famous old white man has said something racist or sexist or homophobic and we all clutch our pearls and wait for his PR department to write up an insincere apology to be issued by press release. Why?
He isn't "sorry" for being racist or sexist or homophobic. He's "sorry" that his antiquated, narrow-minded view of the world is no longer socially acceptable. He's "sorry" that he is being vilified in the media instead of being shown the deference he is "entitled" to as white, heterosexual men. He is "sorry if anyone was offended." (If?)
We should really stop asking for old, bigoted white men's apologies and more importantly, we should stop pretending that the apologies mean anything. When they accidentally let their true views show, I'm relieved to know which douche-bag to cease doing business with because I prefer to spend my money at companies whose principals think black people, gay people, and women are, you know, people.
No, old bigoted white men, it's too late to apologize. And it's also too unconvincing. You think you're better than women, homosexuals, and people of color because you cannot get Above Your Raisin. But you'll be dead soon. And then all the amazing people whom you bizarrely see as being beneath you will live on and will not even remember your name.
In the post-Michael Sam "coming out" story, the sports world is abuzz with talk of "the gays." As I do many days, I listened to the Paul Finebaum Radio Show today. I'm kinda sorry I did.
There were some very progressive, wonderful calls from LGBT advocates, but the majority were people who expressed one or more of the following views, all in the name if their Christian faith.
It's not natural. Animals are not homosexual.
Homosexuality is a mental illness or disorder.
There is therapy and/or faith to cure homosexuality.
You don't have men and women sharing showers, so straight men and gay men shouldn't share showers.
Maybe we should consider gays a different species, said with "all due respect."
We're not bigots because we are just expressing our religious beliefs.
Why do people hate Christians who stand up for what the Bible says?
Being gay is a choice.
Michael Sam's announcement is part of advancing the "Gay Agenda."
He should have just stayed in the closet.
I actually did call in and made a couple of points. But not all of my thoughts made it on air, so, this is my catharsis.
It's not natural. Animals are not homosexual. Uh, yeah, they are. This is just one FAMOUS example.
You don't have men and women sharing showers, so straight men and gay men shouldn't share showers. Guess what, homophobes! You're already are sharing locker rooms and showers with gay people. 10% or more of the human population is gay. You just don't know they're gay. Gay men are not predators. Unless straight men are, this should not be a concern.
Maybe we should consider gays a different species, said with "all due respect." This guy was actually tearful in his sincere sadness over the poor, put-upon Christians who can't express their contempt for the gays without being called bigots. Boo hoo. You are a bigot. A sincere bigot. But a bigot. You actually suggested gays be considered a different specie "with all due respect." So, you mean, NO respect is due to gay people, then.
We're not bigots because we are just expressing our religious beliefs. Yes, you are. You do not have the "right as Christians" to judge or condemn anyone. Yet you do. You DO have the right as Americans in a free society to be as bigoted as you want. Bigot away, Bigots! But please, for the sake of actual Christians who love God, love their neighbor, and refrain from judging as Christianity teaches, stop saying you're showing contempt and condemnation for gays because you're a Christian.
Why do people hate Christians who stand up for what the Bible says? I don't know anyone who hates Christians. I do know of people who HATE the hypocrisy of choosing the parts of the Bible you want to rely on and ignoring others. Are you joining political campaigns to force widows to marry their brothers in law? Are you signing petitions to prohibit divorced people from re-marrying? Do you eat shrimp? Picking and choosing arcane Biblical provisions to marginalize your fellow citizens is not Christianity. At least, it's not any form of Christianity that I would be a part of.
Being gay is a choice.No it isn't.Even the Mormon church acknowledges this. But if you insist, let me ask, when did you "choose" to be heterosexual? But I'm liberal enough to say this: so what if it is? We live in a free society where we choose with whom we associate. Just mind your own business.
Michael Sam's announcement is part of advancing the "Gay Agenda." Ooooo I hope he gets a new toaster! Come on! The only "agenda" is to be treated with equal respect, equal dignity, and equal legal rights. Is that a threat to you?
He should have just stayed in the closet. This is like the racist who likes "colored folks" just fine so long as they stay on their side of town. Bullshit. It's bigotry. Sickening.
It's not like Utah is a bastion of gay rights (though we do have at least one good federal judge) but the level of ignorance, misinformation, and outright superstition coming from these callers was a little shocking to me. I have no hope that they will get Above Their Raisin'. I'm afraid time and attrition is required to rid our society of this cultural cancer. When faced with this type of hatred, ignorance, and bigotry, I find it comforting to consider what Jesus of Nazareth said about homosexuality.
Any amount of study of statistics teaches that correlation is not causation, but lets consider what we have observed in our lives and exercise some common sense. I don't see astrologists, reincarnationists, and atheists with tea bags dangling from straw hats. Do you? Creationists, though....
On the health issues, I think we can agree that's a wash: some will support a government shutdown and some won't. There's not enough information to infer anything here. Though I'm guessing sex addicts probably fall on the more liberal side and support President Obama.
As to the liking lawyers, I'd say that depends on whether (1) you have ever needed one and (2) how it turned out. Not much to do with politics. Though, contempt for lawyers is a tell-tale sign of someone who seeks power through corruption. (The famous Shakespeare quote, "First thing we do, let's kill all the lawyers!" is actually the beginning of a plot to do just that. It is taken out of context almost 100% of the time.) And to me, this sounds consistent with sabotaging one's own country to defy election results.
Not recycling is definitely RWNJ (Right Wing Nut Job) territory. We lefties LOVE to recycle.
So now we get to it: Do we think there is a correlation between the quarter of America that thinks Obama may be the Antichrist and the quarter of America that supports the government shutdown? Does it make sense to you that the 1 in 4 Americans who is a Birther would also support a shutdown of the illegitimate Kenyan's gubmint? Plus, I don't think it's a stretch to lump in the "God helped my team win the game" and the "I don't know my history" crays with them. (This is a blog, not a scientific paper. I can "lump" whomever I want.)
But more to the point, it would not be a surprise if the same people who think President Obama was born in Kenya -- and will herald the Tribulation and End of Days -- ALSO favor blackmail and extortion of our entire nation to thwart of the policies he enacted and his last election? Majority rule be damned! And here we sit, angry and frustrated, because our government has been taken hostage by a strange, crazy quarter of the population.
I don't hold any hope that these wackadoos will Get Above Their Raisin'. But I do hope that calmer, saner heads will prevail in the GOP and end this circus sideshow. The
Senate passed a budget in the Spring, 2013, and has asked the House repeatedly for
a Budget Conference to put an actual budget in the place. The GOP House
refused a conference (18 times) until the shutdown, essentially putting a gun to the Democrats' heads. The Democrats are right not to engage in these terror tactics.
The solution is easy: Pass a clean Continuing Resolution so the government can run again, then go to conference and negotiate like big boys and girls. Put a budget in place, just like Congress has done for over 200 years. It's the sacred trust of every Congressperson to do this, even the ones who think the President is the Kenyan Antichrist.
