Yesterday, I posted a video of portion of a speech delivered by Dan Savage to a conference of high school journalists. Dan's speech was to be about bullying, and anti-gay bullying in particular, and Dan didn't bother being PC: He acknowledged up front that a lot of anti-gay sentiment comes from a literal reading of the Bible, and suggested that it is possible for Christians to learn to ignore that book's seemingly anti-gay sentiment, just as they ignore its prohibitions on the eating of shellfish and repeated endorsements of slavery.
This isn't an anti-Christian message. It's an anti-Biblical literalism message. But GOProud, just like the rightist media reporting on Dan's speech, seems to have missed that point. They released this statement yesterday:
Today, GOProud, a national organization of gay and straight Americans seeking to promote freedom by supporting free markets, limited government, and a respect for individual rights, condemned a speech given by left wing gay activist Dan Savage. "Dan Savage¹s outrageous anti-Christian tirade hurts, not helps, the fight for gay rights in this country," said Jimmy LaSalvia, GOProud Executive Director. "There is nothing incompatible between being a Christian and believing that all people should be treated equally, and Dan Savage¹s attacks on Christianity only fuel those on the extremist fringe who oppose gay rights.
"Dan Savage should apologize for his comments and should apologize to the high school students in attendance whom he called 'pansy-asses,'" continued LaSalvia. "It is ironic that someone whose claim to fame is fighting bullying would resort to bullying tactics in attacking high school students who were offended by his outrageous remarks.
"GOProud works with people of faith every single day gay and straight. We believe strongly that people of faith should be treated with respect," concluded LaSalvia.
… which is a rather gross mischaracterization of what occurred at Dan's speech, but oh well. GOProud's a political organization; good politics are its biz. Dan's a journalist, and his business is to tell the truth to the best of his ability. These ends are not always simpatico.
