NPR is reporting that Christian student groups are organizing counter demonstrations against a "Day of Silence" intended to protest bullying and discrimination against Gay students. So if Gay Americans say what they think, Christians object. Now they object even to Gay Americans (and their friends and relatives) saying absolutely nothing.
LTG will rightly point out that not all self described Christians think this way. It would be really nice if his kind of Christians organized a counter-counter demonstration protesting the cooptation of spirituality in the name of bigotry and hate.
Wednesday, April 26, 2006
Christians Oppose Gay Silence
Posted by Raised By Republicans at 5:39 AM
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6 comments:
"cooptation" ?
This is the tenth year of the annual Day of Silence. The primary sponsoring group estimates half a million students will participate this year--about the same as last year.
The Christian Right claims about 1,100 students turned for their "Day of Truth" last year. That's about a quarter of a percent of what the Day of Silence got. It's a pitiful number. The only reason it gets any attention is because those groups are well-connected to the media. (All things being equal, shouldn't the Day of Silence receive 400 times the attention?)
One of the differences is that many schools officials and teachers around the country support the Day of Silence. Nice to see.
Don't put the entire burden of opposing right-wing Christians on liberal Christians. Everyone needs to speak up.
However, I am a bit more troubled, perhaps, than others on this blog, about prohibiting right-wing Christians from expressing their views. It is a continuing debate as to how much the tolerant must tolerate intolerance. My Law School dean liked to say that the answer to bad speech is more speech, not banning speech. I tend to agree, and am not sure where I stand on the right to organize counter-demonstrations.
// posted by LTG
I agree with LTG about not prohibiting right-wing Christians from expressing their views. If they want to expose their prejudice and hatred for all the world, let them--and let's be sure to videotape it and take plenty of pictures so the record is clear. Twenty years from now, when gays and lesbians are as welcome in society as anyone else and the homophobia is decried as universally as racism, none of those young right-wing activists will ever be able to get elected to public office.
I'm glad Dr. Strangelove pointed out the numbers involved. From the tone of the NPR report it sounds like the numbers are roughly equal. I think it is because journalists are bending over backwards to show "balance" even there isn't any. This to avoid being attacked by the Right.
I wouldn't want to restrict the right of the Right Wing Christians to speak. That's why I think the proper approach is to counter them with more speach. So who is best suited to engage them? I don't think an atheist/secular confrontation would do more than galvinize them. But a direct confrontation by the Religious moderates/left would demand attention and could force self reflection from a group of people generally unwilling to engage in it.
// posted by Raised By Republicans
I can't resist:
There is a counter-counter protest. But if it's all about the Silence, you can't be surprised if you don't hear about it. :)
>Twenty years from now, when gays and lesbians
>are as welcome in society as anyone else and
>the homophobia is decried as universally as
>racism, none of those young right-wing
>activists will ever be able to get elected to
>public office.
Oh how I wish I thought that were true. I thought no one associated with the Nixon administration would attain as high a post as say, VP. I thought the taint of Iran-Contra would at least put Poindexter (look at him! He's obviously evil!) out of work for good.
Nevertheless, at least the right-thinking people will vote against these antirational tribalists who have turned "Christian" into an epithet in the minds of so many.
// posted by Bob
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