12/02/2008
Another Round of Anti-Gay Attacks Coming Down the Pike?
Towleroad has learned that a religious group called the Becket Fund may be planning a second-round editorial assault on gays and the fight for marriage equality, condemning what they see as a "campaign of violence" following the passage of Proposition 8. What I've heard, from a fairly reliable source, is that they're calling around trying to get organizations to sign on to a full-page newspaper ad to run in major papers (more specifically, the New York Times), citing disruptions of worship and the singular isolated incident of white powder sent to churches (see last item) (the source of which has never been proven - it could have been the Mormons themselves). In any case, this type of slanderous attack has been known in the past to sway both our allies and folks undecided on the issue, so it's something to be wary of, and prepared for.
***
Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg writes a column in the L.A. Times today that bears all the hallmarks of this kind of attack, meant to make the victim look like the aggressor. He writes:
"At a pro-gay-marriage rally in Los Angeles after the vote, chants of 'Mormon scum!' were reported. Envelopes containing white powder have been sent to Mormon temples in California and Utah; vandals hit other temples. Lists of businesses to boycott -- essentially Mormon blacklists -- have sprung up on the Internet. The artistic director of the California Musical Theatre resigned because of pressure after it was revealed he gave $1,000 to a pro-Proposition 8 group.
"It's amazing. Hollywood liberals, who shout 'McCarthyism!' as a first resort, see nothing wrong with this. If Jews were attacked in this way for giving too much money to a political cause, Barbra Streisand would already have a French passport.
"Never mind that Proposition 8 carried nearly every demographic slice of voters. Put aside the fact that the Catholic Church and scores of other Christian churches supported it too. Discount the inconvenient truth that bans on gay marriage have now passed in 30 states. It's all the Mormons' fault.
"The argument is that Mormons used illegitimate power, in this case money, beyond their numerical standing in the population to secure victory for the measure. Golly, wealthy gay liberals would never do anything like that! I bet they're not giving a dime to the legal effort to overturn Proposition 8.
"No, it's just that Mormons are the most vulnerable of the culturally conservative religious denominations and therefore the easiest targets for an organized campaign against religious freedom of conscience."
***
Goldberg calls the gays 'the aggressors in the cultural war' while the Mormons funded Proposition 8 to the tune of more than $20 million. Millions of Californians lost their civil rights. Those are the spoils of a cultural war and the religious right fought tooth and nail to rip them from Americans, severing families and hurting children in the process.
Dan Savage, in a column published just before Thanksgiving, wrote, regarding the resignation of L.A. Film fest director Richard Raddon:
"Bill Condon, the gay guy who directed Dreamgirls, attempted to get Raddon's back: 'Someone has lost his job and possibly his livelihood because of privately held religious beliefs.' No. No. No. Raddon lost his job due to criticism of his public political actions, not his private religious beliefs, and his public political actions were a part of the public record. If Raddon wanted to go to church and pray his little heart out against same-sex marriage, or proselytize on street corners against gay marriage, or counsel gay men to leave their husbands and marry nice Mormon girls instead, that could be viewed as an expression of his 'privately held religious beliefs.' Instead he helped fund a political campaign to strip a vulnerable minority group of its civil rights."
And that is the real aggression in the cultural war. If the whispers I am hearing about the mounting campaign to smear gays publicly in major newspapers is true, we should be ready to defend it.
Sphere: Related ContentPosted 8:47 AM EST by Andy in California, Gay Marriage, Mormon, News, Proposition 8 | Permalink
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We should also buy an ad and list all abortion clinic bombings, radical church demonstrations at funerals, and list out all Gay people in the US killed in the name of "god".
• 1972 Arson of the Upstairs Lounge killing 32 gay people
• Assasination of Harvey Milk - 1978
• Terry Knudsen - beaten to death
• Les Benscoter - beaten to death while the killer shouted "fags must die" 1979
• Decan Flynn - beaten to death in 1983
• Charlie Howard, 1984
• Rebecca Wight, 1988 - shot to death
• James Zappalorti, 1990, knifed to death
• Julio Rivera, 1990 beaten to death for being gay
• Brandon Teena, 1993 - beaten to death - Boys don't cry was a film about Brandon
• Scott Amedure, 1995 - killed after revealing his affections for a friend on a TV talk show - by that friend
• Mathew Shephard, 1998, dragged into a field, crucified, sodomized, and beaten to death - for being gay
• Gary Matson and Winfield Mowder - gay couple killed by White Supremacists
• Danny Overstreet - gunned down in a Roanoke Virginia Gay bar by Ronald Gay (claiming God told him to kill gay men and lesbians)
• Sakia Gunn 2003, stabbed to death after telling her attacker she was a lesbian
• Richie Philips, 2005 murdered and stuffed into a suitcase - family of the attacker said he did it because he hated gays
• Glen Kopitske, killed by a man he slept with who claimed insanity after announcing that murder was less offensive than gay sex
• Daniel Fetty, beaten to death with bricks and boards in Ohio by two men because he was gay
• Jason Gage, 2005, killed by a man for "coming on to him"
• Bar Patrons: An attacker asks in New Bedford Mass. if the establishment caters to gays - and when told yes - takes a machete to the patrons
• Six men: leaving San Diego gay pride were attacked - one beaten so severly he required facial reconstructive surgery
• Roberto Duncanson: Murdered in Brooklyn for flirting with a man in 2007
• Lawrence Larry King: 15 year old shot in Oxnard California by a 14 year old classmate for being gay
• Steven Parrish: Murdered by fellow gang members after they found "gay messages" on his cell - and worried having a gay friend would make them appear weak - May 2008
• Tony Randolf Hunter: Died after a severe beating for walking hand in hand with his partner. Sept. 7, 2008 Washington DC
• Lateisha Green: Transgendered man shot to death for being "gay" in Syracuse NY, Nov. 14 2008
Posted by: Tom | Dec 2, 2008 8:59:02 AM
I would call Jonah Goldberg scum, save for the fact that it casts a very bad light on scum.
Posted by: David | Dec 2, 2008 9:06:50 AM
Excellent idea, Tom!!!
Posted by: David Ehrenstein | Dec 2, 2008 9:08:05 AM
We can't deny that actions were taken, by gay people, in the name of our civil rights, that were not appropriate. I don't understand why there hasn't been more pressure on the "leaders" of our community whom I feel bear the majority of the onus for Prop 8 passing.
I also disagree with Dan Savage and maintain that the witch hunt and subsequent pressure against the director to resign over his political donation was reprehensible.
Posted by: Cameron | Dec 2, 2008 9:18:54 AM
This is such a scummy and propogandic op-ed piece. There is real violence against gays that is incited by commentary such as this.
Posted by: Scientitian | Dec 2, 2008 9:32:17 AM
Goldberg is a horrible human being with a long history of moronic, bigoted comments. He's become popular on the right because his mother is Lucianne Goldberg, arch conservative.
Unfortunately, even though the Mormon Church has very dirty hands, it's a church and the coalition that comprises the religious and political Right has been pushing the victimized Christian of faith meme for a while.
But the reality is that there has been too little focus on the puppet masters behind Prop 8, like Howard F. Ahmanson Jr. and other Evangelicals.
http://maxblumenthal.com/2008/11/the-mystery-man-behind-prop-8/
What's important to also understand is that the Right, the biggest whiners and professional victims of the last 100 years, started pushing the meme that "people of faith" were victims of intolerant liberals. This proposed ad simply continues what we've seen. Think about the ridiculous annual Fox News hysteria-fest known as "The War on Christmas!" that features every loon decrying the horrors beset upon Christmas by the heathens and (shh! the Jews) who say "happy Holidays" or recognize Hannukah.
This is how the Right operates. They portray themselves as victims of enemy du jour:
1) Terrible blacks, Latinos, etc. are taking our jobs via Affirmative Action.
2) Horrible Latinos are swarming our country and taking our jobs and committing terrible crimes, etc.
3) Evil liberals are unpatriotic traitors who are blah, blah, blah..
Get it? Now insert gays as the horrible victimizers/evil-doers of the moment.
Posted by: noah | Dec 2, 2008 9:34:24 AM
@CAMERON: the pressure put on L.A. Film Fest Director Richard Raddon to resign was not reprehensible...what was reprehensible was Raddon's aid in stripping a minority group of its civil rights by donating to Prop 8...as I've said to you once before on these pages, grow a set!
Posted by: peterparker | Dec 2, 2008 9:35:16 AM
I agree, we should have ads in the same papers on the same day(s).
Posted by: Matt2 | Dec 2, 2008 9:43:14 AM
Mormons have mental problems.
Posted by: KFLO | Dec 2, 2008 10:00:09 AM
@Cameron.
Firstly, "reprehensible" is a strong word which applies only to the proponents of Prop 8, not the backlash administered by the glbt community and its supporters. Every glbt person needs to realize that all of the hard work fought, all of the lives lost as a result of hate crimes, all of the jobs and housing discrimination levied against the glbt community is now coming to its crucial head. Either stand up and fight, or cower, whine and crumble (which is exactly what they want you to).
The resignation of Richard Raddon is not my concern when he takes it upon himself to publicly support to strip away a groups' constitutional rights. His religious or personal beliefs, as well as his vote are private, but his action and many others like him have crossed into the public realm. The Prop 8 campaign spread lies and gross distortions in order to take away a right granted and indeed provided by the constitution. Unacceptable!
If every glbt citizen is truly proud of their identity and wants to live a life openly where we are able to fulfill the American promise, then we must fight back and fight back hard.
Thankfully, we are finally starting to do so. The persons who have supported a lying and shameless campaign to suppress a group's rights must now face the price for doing so. People must know that if they choose to discriminate then there will be consequences.
Otherwise, every hard victory won was in vain and I'll be the first to say "Welcome back to the closet!"
-Cameron, you let us know how that feels.
Posted by: Ed | Dec 2, 2008 10:17:59 AM
how about a full page advert in the N.Y. Times simply outlining Mormon religious beliefs.
Posted by: hangten | Dec 2, 2008 10:21:28 AM
how about a full page advert in the N.Y. Times simply outlining Mormon religious beliefs.
Posted by: hangten | Dec 2, 2008 10:22:40 AM
We should be prepared for such a campaign by not giving them the ammunition. Stop hounding and harassing conservative religious people for exercising their freedom of speech and assembly, while at the same time get progressive religious people to publicly proclaim their support for same-sex marriage.
The videos of gays hounding people and gathering around churches with pitchforks and torches is shameful, and Goldberg is entirely correct.
Posted by: LightningLord | Dec 2, 2008 10:29:49 AM
I think that Dan Savage was right on target. I'm frankly sick and tired of giving the wingnuts a pass to try to force us back into the closet (which I truly believe is their ultimate goal) - and then hide behind the religious freedom cloak. That is complete bullshit and everyone knows it. It was an excellent point that no one is feeling bad for the millions of gay Californian who had their civil rights ripped away... when people participate in the political process, the religious rights argument goes out the window!
Posted by: Mike | Dec 2, 2008 10:35:10 AM
I think it is fine to picket a church if their members are actively trying to take away my civil rights...and in the case of the Mormon church about 20 Million can be traced either directly or indirectly back to their front door... I'd say that would be an indication of their desire to participate politically to take away my rights. I don't think there is anything inherently "religious" about bigotry and discrimination.
Posted by: Mike | Dec 2, 2008 10:40:40 AM
Prop. 8 IS a religious freedom issue. I fully support religious freedom. Such as the United Church of Christ and the MCC who will perform same sex weddings. Religion should be free to perform whatever marriages they want. Mine - and yours. Unless you feel your God is bigger than my god and will beat him up in a dark alley?
As for Cameron, I agree the gentlemen should not have been fired. It would have simply been better to let him try to lead a group of people who refused to do anything he said - then he would have been let go for being a poor leader. Which - btw - as a manager in a firm - I'm also not allowed to take public positions on any number of issues as they may reflect poorly on my firm. It comes with the territory. All fortune 500 firms have such policies in place. No reason why firms serving the gay community should have anything different.
Posted by: Tom | Dec 2, 2008 12:28:48 PM
I would like to point out that Mr. Goldberg's photos is obviously Photoshopped -- he is never without a bag of Cheetos® in hand.
I could fix it for you if like, Andy.
Posted by: TikiHead | Dec 2, 2008 12:39:57 PM
The ultimate goal of the religious right is to overturn Lawrence v Texas and recriminalize sodomy. They've said it repeatedly. It is as important to them as the abortion issue. These aren't nice people we're dealing with here. And those who continue to appease them are, quite frankly, fools.
Once they've rolled back on marriage and partnership rights, they'll go after adoption rights. And then they'll put measures on the ballot to repeal anti-discrimination laws. And then they'll sign petitions to recall pro-gay politicians. And then they'll get one of the states to pass a new law outlawing homosexuality to test the resolve of the Supreme Court.
Wake up, surrender monkeys! You're not going to 'satisfy' them by conceding ground on same-sex marriage. The fundamentalists only care about same-sex marriage because they think homosexuality is evil. Period.
Posted by: John in CA | Dec 2, 2008 1:18:38 PM
1. The LA Film Festival fascist was NOT fired. He resigned. Twice, in fact, and the additional shame is that the festival board initially refused to accept it, totally attached their lips to the asshole of bigotry that says that demonizing gays, legally denying their rights, is not the same as doing the same to blacks, Jews, etc. And, it CANNOT be repeated too often that we ALL know damn well if he'd have given money to pass a proposition to deny others their equality the board WOULD have demanded his resignation = fired him.
2. Three HUGE cheers for Tom! Someone who both has some facts and the idea of how to best use them—something our "leaders" have failed to do for the past 30 years. I have NEVER seen a progay ad in a mainstream newspaper except during the Anita Bryant campaign in the "Miami Herald."
February, 2004, FOUR YEARS AGO, when the moving pictures of Phyllis Lyon & Del Martin marriage after 50 years together came out [almost exclusively in the gay press as a part of news stories], I thought, FINALLY, our "leaders" surely get what an iconic, totally nonthreatening image this is. Can't wait to see the NY Times, Wash Post, USA Today, Wall Street Journal, etc., full page ads our "leaders" will use some of the millions of dollars we send them to publish.
NEVER HAPPENED.
May 2008, and they were finally, totally legally married, and more iconic images appeared in places most Americans never look. And, by then, Del was in a wheelchair, pushed by her grown daughter. LOOK AMERICA: THIS IS WHAT YOU'RE TOLD TO BE AFRAID OF; THAT WILL 'DESTROY' STRAIGHT MARRIAGE!
Again, NO ads in mainstream media.
Prop H8TE is approved for the CA November election and May went by, and June and July and August and September and October and they began to obviously beat the hell out of us with their lies and STILL NO newspaper or TV ads with images of Phyl & Del. Del died in August which could have been positively used for an even MORE moving ad: Phyllis thumbing through a photo album of their half century + together and calmly telling viewers how long they had to wait for legal recognition and benefits, that her beloved partner only had four months to enjoy it before being laid to rest. And that now YOU are being asked to deny that same equality to millions of others.
NEVER HAPPENED.
Or they could have used the example of gay black civil rights icon Bayard Rustin whose partner of 10 years, Walter Neagle, had to argue for hours to convince the hospital to let him see Rustin again before he died, even with the help of Neagle's sister, a well-respected nurse. And, then, two years ago the organizers of a dedication of a school named after him in Rustin's Pennsylvania hometown asked Neagle for suggestions of whom to invite, which he gave them, and then WASN'T INVITE HIMSELF!!!
Might mailers, newpaper ads, TV ads about THOSE experiences have opened the minds and hearts of at least a few homophobic black voters in CA?
As to their exploitation of new lies and extreme images, this should be our highly financed, broadly published, reported in MAINSTREAM media response:
1. The issue is CIVIL marriage which imposes no requirements on religious institutions.
2. Prop H8TE was an abuse of a CIVIL referenda procedure to inappropriately and unethically impose CHURCH upon State.
3. NO ONE is saying they do not have the right to THINK/BELIEVE what they wish. Demonstrations at religious sites are only intended to identify those beliefs to others as HATE—which is OUR "freedom of expression" right, and denounce their abuse of the CIVIL process to impose THEIR religious beliefs on others. Their denial that their actions AREN'T about bigotry [as in denying others rights they have themselves] is an insult both to the public's intelligence and at least one of the Commandments they claim to believe in.
4. Their FEELINGS are not our problem.
Posted by: Michael Bedwell | Dec 2, 2008 1:34:50 PM
Here's an idea, rather that wait to be attacked, why not take out ads and start writing letters to editors of newspapers first? It's time to stop playing defense.
Posted by: Matt | Dec 2, 2008 1:37:12 PM
"Stop hounding and harassing conservative religious people for exercising their freedom of speech and assembly, while at the same time get progressive religious people to publicly proclaim their support for same-sex marriage."
I agree that we should encourage progressive religious people to proclaim their support (many are already), but why is what the conservative religious people are doing (funding anti-gay propositions and voting to strip away our rights, rights that have no effect on their lives) "freedom of speech and assembly" and what we are doing (reacting to their public actions to deprive us of equality) "hounding and harassing"? Whose side are you on? (I think your comment history answers that question.)
"Prop. 8 IS a religious freedom issue."
No, it isn't. Prop 8 is a discrimination issue, period. Churches are free to perform or not perform marriage ceremonies as they see fit. If Prop 8 had been defeated, this would not have changed, despite right wing lies to the contrary. Civil marriage equality--what Prop 8 addressed--has no impact on people's individual religious beliefs or on religious freedom.
As for Richard Raddon, he resigned. It was a consequence of his taking a public action to discriminate against gay people (people he would naturally have associations with in his job). As many of us, including Dan Savage, have pointed out: there is a distinct difference between holding private bigoted beliefs and acting publicly on those beliefs to help deprive others of a right the bigot enjoys. We're the ones being witch hunted, not the likes of Richard Raddon, whose marriage remains quite legal.
Posted by: Ernie | Dec 2, 2008 1:52:20 PM
Still blaming people who put up money for ads rather than the people who actually pulled the lever on voting day?
Are the voters relieved of responsibility?
The people who voted made their own decisions, yet all blame for those decisions is being placed upon third parties who ran commercials.
No amount of advertising would make you vote for prop 8 unless that is the way you were already overwhelmingly inclined to vote.
The people who voted and the root of their inclinations is what should be being addressed first and foremost.
But attacking Mormons is easier, albeit backasswards. This campaign is cowardly and nonsensical.
Posted by: paul c | Dec 2, 2008 2:20:58 PM
We must go on the offense to successfully battle this dangerous frame-job. We must never allow ourselves to be painted by our sworn enemies as uniquely unworthy of the rights we just had taken away from us.
Whether in Sacramento or Albany (or anywhere in between), protest is about the only tool we have left. If that can be taken away from us by the oppressor, then we have nothing.
By painting the rare gay protest for equality as nothing but violence, as a wholly wrongful action, we lose the power of our voice. And that leaves us with what? That leaves us not with nothing--it leaves us vulnerable to having even more of our rights taken away from us.
Who will take on the enemy's treacherous propaganda while there is still time to neutralize it?
Not a lot of the community, or its supposed leaders and orgnization, apparently. Many seem only too eager to coddle our oppressor, to become surrender-dorothies who advise fearful, timid, reactionary and de-gayed responses to the assaults from our enemies.
Not getting uppity didn't help stop the expansion of official anti-gay discrimination in 30 states, including California. Yet the surrender-dorothies STILL think we shouldn't get uppity? Think we shouldn't confront the oppressor head-on?
Unite, organize, confront, struggle, win.
Posted by: leschuck | Dec 2, 2008 3:42:57 PM
I for one think Tom is prepared -- or is it just me?
Also I am sure the estimable David Ehrenstein would step up.
As for Jonah -- well Dan White ate twinkies, maybe the cheetos or the orange coloring are having a deleterious effect on his brain assuming there is a brain there.
Religious discrimination caused the Puritans to leave England -- without it there would be no America!
OK, Let's get into the God pissing game in this country or the world and World War 3 is around the corner. I'm just saying!
Posted by: David B. | Dec 2, 2008 7:17:26 PM
"Still blaming people who put up money for ads rather than the people who actually pulled the lever on voting day?
Are the voters relieved of responsibility?"
No one's relieving voters of responsibility. Everyone who voted Yes on 8 will be on the wrong side of history. But if you think that the huge Mormon power, money, and lies had no impact on Prop 8's passage then you're extremely naive. Protesting the Mormon church's heavy-handed tactics to deprive us of equality is one strategy, and it makes perfect sense. Obviously, it shouldn't be and isn't the only strategy, as the ongoing repeal efforts demonstrate, and as we learn from the outreach mistakes of the No on 8 campaign.
Posted by: Ernie | Dec 2, 2008 7:38:57 PM