First allow me to say how saddened I was to learn that a security guard was injured at the Family Research Council (FRC). I, for one, am not a proponent of violence, regardless of the fact that FRC and the ironically named National Organization for Marriage (NOM) — along with their sponsored elected officials — are pushing violence as part of their “Christian” agenda.
There is a very good and very real reason why the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) has acknowledged FRC and NOM as hate groups. Now closet case Tony Perkins and our ball of crazy Maggie (I can’t stop thinking about gay sex) Gallagher are trying to play the victim card. They say the “hate group” label caused the shooting. Good ol’ Maggie is even helping another hate group, LivePrayer, mount a $100 million lawsuit against the SPLC.
Let us have a bit of a history lesson before we proceed. The FRC is rooted in White Supremacy and has ties to the KKK — big shock there. Both NOM and the FRC have decades of blood on their hands for pushing their homophobic hate. Violence against the LGBT community has gone up by 13%, as have gay teen suicides. Where is the apology from the FRC and NOM? Let us also be reminded of the extraordinary misogyny of these hate groups. James Dobson, the founder of the FRC (secret lover of Tony Perkins) was quoted as saying: “The biggest Holocaust in world history came out of the Supreme Court with the Roe v. Wade decision.”
What’s sad is that many in the media are buying Perkins’ poor li’l me sob story. The same twisted rationale that has him appear on news programs to provide a “balanced view” has them saying the “hate group” label is too harsh for a “policy organization.” If any of those so-called journalists had done a bit of research, they would know that the SPLC addressed that issue, highlighting the aggressively hostile language that Perkins and the FRC use about the LGBT community. (GLAAD has a good overview as part of their commentator accountability project. Maggie is on the list there as well.) The crowning irony is that Perkins has repeatedly accused the LGBT community of exploiting bullied gay teens (many of whom committed suicide) to gain sympathy; now he’s hiding behind his employee and “friend.” How christian…
P.S. FRC hosts a big conference each September, the horrifically titled Values Voters Summit. They just confirmed a new speaker for this year’s event…Rep. Paul Ryan. That should be all anyone really needs to know about Romney/Ryan 2012. Yes, Paul Ryan represents the values or the lack of values of registered Hate Groups!
The Southern Poverty Law Center is a fantastic organization that has dedicated their mission to helping people understand the role of hate-groups in society. They deserve our accolades for their courage. There’s a special place in church-lady-land for groups like FRC that play on both the American public’s ignorance and their lack of tolerance for non-secular civic organizations. The FRC needs to be prevented from damaging this organization that has done so much to improve American society and educate children about groups they should have no contact with.
Beautifully said! This is one of the reasons why I have been donating money to the SPLC for decades now. I wish more people knew the history of the SPLC and their dedication to enfranchising African-Americans and now their work to enfranchise all marginalized populations. Thank you for commenting.
Here’s even more irony (and I just love irony). These hate groups and their leaders that are so good at playing the victim card, love to say that they are being labeled as hate groups. Yet, they have no trouble at all labeling the gay community with many, many derogatory words, phrases and various amounts of hatred.
Exactly, Tom! What kind of “Christians” are these people? They make Dick Cheney look like angelic.
There are too many words to cover the level of hypocrisy involved in this. I just shake my fists and walk away.
Bonnie,
You are probably far wiser than I. I tried to walk away, but when I learned that Paul Ryan is a part of this hate group, I felt compelled to expose him.
I feel I am simply throwing in the towel until the election is over. If I cannot convince my own family not to vote for them or to understand what they are truly doing, what chance do I have of convincing anyone else.
Families are certainly complicated! I suspect your compassionate voice will reach people and help guide them to the right side of history.
Seriously….the reference the Holocaust!!! Don’t even go there!
There have been many policies in the past and present that have promoted hate and inequality! They can’t hide behind policy, making it something that gives them a right to spew garbage.
I knew you would be as upset as I! As social workers, we have our work cut out for ourselves.
I hope I can get to everything by the time I leave this world! I think the next generation of social workers are going to be more on top of these issues because they’ve seen so much of the damage and know that it is wrong.
Collectively, we will make a difference.