ALVIN McEWEN
On Tuesday, the Obama Administration took a huge step against LGBT persecution worldwide:
The Obama administration is announcing a wide-ranging effort to use U.S. foreign aid to promote rights for gays and lesbians abroad, including combating attempts by foreign governments to criminalize homosexuality.In a memorandum issued Tuesday, President Barack Obama directed U.S. agencies working abroad, including the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development, to use foreign aid to assist gays and lesbians who are facing human rights violations. And he ordered U.S. agencies to protect vulnerable gay and lesbian refugees and asylum seekers.
Also, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton made a monumental speech in Geneva in which she basically broke it all down to the simple fact that gays rights are human rights.
The Obama Administration was no doubt spurred by acts of LGBT persecution in such places as Nigeria, Uganda, Russia, and South Africa. In Nigeria, Uganda, and Russia, the legislature is considering laws which would imprison LGBTs and those who support them. In South Africa is a practice called “corrective rape” in which a lesbian would be sexually assaulted in hopes of turning her heterosexual.
Naturally, religious right groups and some of those on the right in general aren’t happy with the Obama Administration over this new policy or Clinton’s speech.
Amidst the usual whinings about the so-called radical gay agenda, two statements stand out.
One is from Texas governor and presidential candidate Rick Perry:
“But there is a troubling trend here beyond the national security nonsense inherent in this silly idea. This is just the most recent example of an administration at war with people of faith in this country. Investing tax dollars promoting a lifestyle many Americas of faith find so deeply objectionable is wrong.
“President Obama has again mistaken America’s tolerance for different lifestyles with an endorsement of those lifestyles. I will not make that mistake.”
Aside from the usual offensive “real Americans should tolerate gays like one tolerates a dog which wets on the rug” semantics coming Perry is the sad fact that he totally omitted the reason why the Obama policy is necessary, i.e. the persecution of the gay community in other countries.
Bear in mind that this is the same guy who led a prayer rally earlier this year while claiming that America needs to call upon Jesus to save the country from calamities.
Apparently Perry seems to have overlooked the statement by Jesus which said:
For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.’
And then there is this statement by Matt Barber of the Liberty Counsel:
It is “frankly offensive” . . . that President Obama feels “compelled to export American culture’s decline in morality, and export that immorality to other nations that are trying to adhere to traditional principles relative to human sexuality.”
So in Barber’s world, is it a traditional principle to imprison a man simply because he is gay and his mother because she didn’t report him as being gay? Is it a moral thing to beat a woman within an inch of her life and violently rape her because she is a lesbian?
Barber statement is a cruel irony when one takes into account that earlier this morning, the Liberty Counsel was whining about a Macy’s employee who was fired for harassing a transgender customer in violation of the store’s policy.
It’s a strange world we live in when someone harassing a customer at a department store can be seen as a Christian martyr, but speaking out against injustice is seen as a evil plot to destroy values.
It’s a sad statement on what Christianity has become in America.
And with all of the statements and vigorous adjectives thrown out, not one of these so-called upstanding morality groups or people has said one word about the true victims – the LGBTs worldwide who are being victimized, who are being chased out of their homes and beaten, who are being persecuted and raped, who are being brutally murdered and disposed of in humiliating and devaluing ways.
Oh sure, some of those folks practically break their backs in their eagerness to rise and talk about the “evils of gay marriage.” They will clap their hands sore when some well-dressed charlatan gets them together in an expensive ballroom to wax about how they are being “stomped out” by the radical progressives. And they will practically raise blisters on their feet with their desires to march against their gay and lesbian neighbors being afforded the same protections under the law.
But what about true cases of persecution? True cases of people being forced out of their homes by an evil agenda of intolerance? True incidents of mothers losing their sons, fathers losing their daughters, and children losing their parents to hate wrapped up in a religious cloth?
Where are these Christians then?
The next time any of these folks get together in one of their silly rallies whining about persecution and godless homosexuals, I don’t think they should expect Jesus to be there.
He will be in Nigeria. He will be in Uganda. He will be in South Africa. And He will be in Russia.
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Wow
Don’t nobody give a fuck lol Christians always getting up-tight about something. They need to calm all that down.
Those that claim to be “good” Christians are not if they give gay people a hard time all the time. The REAL good Christians however, don’t bother me. THEY have a place in heaven.
Christians are the ones who actually shame God.
I hate Rick Perry…..I just hate him so much. I know hate is not the answer….no, wait, it’s REVULSION I feel towards him, as I would towards any evil.
You have become one of my new favorite writers.
in my opinion…Christians shame Christianity…what cracks me up is that they are making their own place in their own personal hell…lmao
I’m a Christian, and I am embarrassed by the Rick Perry ad. It really is not hard to keep your faith and be tolerant of everyone. It isn’t.
It makes me feel greatful to live in a country where gays and lesbians have rights. I just hope that these other countries get the help they need. No one should be discriminated against like this. It doesn’t matter who or what someone is attracted to, just as long as no one gets hurt. :)
The Bible warns about when people call good evil and evil good. While I am not really a Christian, I find these religious persons fine examples of this backwards mindset.
It’s so sad when discrimination runs so deeply in so many that they cannot support efforts to protect people from being imprisoned wrongfully, being killed, and being raped but instead see these people as sub-human and so extend no pity, mercy, or any shred of compassion for these people being terrorized. It’s the same Pharisees who rallied to put Jesus to death. Hypocrisy really is deadly.
Gay rights are indeed human rights and Obama knows that but does nothing to make gay marriages law, unfortunately! ?
Right on, Samantha – that is why I am an Episcopalian – we are an openly affirming and welcoming church and have been performing gay marriage and/or civil unions for years where allowed…..
Just as we LGBT folks aren’t all the same, and don’t like others grouping us all as being “this” or “that”…I don’t group all christians together either :-) I know christians with warm, accepting, loving hearts, and yes….some of them are LGBT! :-)
im not happy about it either!!! we have enough to worry about in our OWN COUNTRY!!!! hell, we cannot take care of our OWN gays. how the hell can we spend money on others around the world!!! i am so sick of people around the world getting what we at home do not, AND i am sick to death of groups like this one perpetuating it.
oh great,something new for the crazy westboro baptist church to protest about,i hate those people
I really find this religion-based, tradition-based arguments of politicians and individuals very tiring. There are things where tradition can guide us but there are lots of misguided traditions too. Who is this Matt Barber to comment on human sexuality when human sexuality has always been diverse, just not all accepted? Also it is just not appropriate to base segregation and hate towards others off of religion. The Jesus they claim to worship was always questioning the norms of the times-giving voices to women who were considered below men because of immature interpretations of the creation story, not dehumanizing or demonizing people outside of Jewish heritage basically disapproving nationalism and racism, criticizing corrupted religious leaders and churches only concerned with money. Seriously, if they want to argue against equal, humane treatment for homosexuals, they should not base it on the Bible. Just admit that you are the one that feels uncomfortable whatever the reason may be. Coming from a culture in which gays are silenced and maltreated, I also absorbed that stigma and felt uncomfortable for the longest time despite my rational thinking not finding a problem with homosexuality. That’s natural when you are not exposed to a world that is so hidden and suppressed. but I didn’t let my discomfort get in the way when discussing human rights or treating them with dignity. Seriously Christians, think about what Jesus would find more important? Loving your neighbors, or sticking to an elusive tradition(and tradition only to some people when reality was never that way) and making another human being suffer?
religion = epic fail , so matter what they lose
Not all religions are epic fail, Erik. I’m a Wiccan myself, and we don’t have any laws like that. Our motto is “As long as no one is harmed, then do what you will”.
This would be the best of all possible worlds if there were no religion in it.” — John Adams, 2nd president of the U.S
These so-called “Christians” make me sick with their lack of logic and reason. I am a recovering Roman Catholic and I find these beliefs to be complete crap. I am a realist who uses his brain, and these beliefs have nothing to do with reality. And since the societal structure of ours is indeed so easy to tear down, being based on unrealistic ideology, maybe it’s time for this structure to indeed be torn down and re-assessed and re-built using the concrete of reality.
Just because something has been considered a “traditional” principle(as Matt Barber puts it) does not mean that it is “right” or “realistic.” The church’s belief system (and I mean the church in general) regarding sexuality is not only archaic, but it is dangerously out of synch with the true, actual reality of human sexuality and development. And in reference to Rick Perry’s statements, the beliefs of people of “faith” are simply that: *beliefs*. Faith does not make them any more true or right than no faith. If he wants to believe that these beliefs are indeed the ways of God, fine, but don’t force the rest of us to follow it and not be true to ourselves.
That these beliefs come from a book claimed through means of fear and control to be the word of God, when in reality there is no factual evidence to prove that claim as truth, does *not* give Perry or any other person in the government the right to legislate those beliefs and force everyone else to follow them.
Last time check this Country wasn’t built on Christianity.The true Americans that truly discovered this country weren’t Christians.
Why all religions are epic fail? Because they are all based on superstitions without any kind of credential.
We need to banish christians to anisland somewhere so they can destroy eachother and hopefully self destruct. I was raised southern baptist and left the church over 20 years ago. God needs to begin hanging out with a better class of people. Honestly, todays evangelicals are the most vile, godless, unholy people I know.
Congratulation from Germany for your statement. That is a very strong comment, very strong words you used to describe the bigot view of these so called “christians”. Who are they to judge over other people, who (in their view) have sinned? Have they never sinned how they preach to have the right to cast the first stone?
Aren’t these the same people who complain that people are prosecuted because of their religion elsewhere? LGBT people are persecuted, imprisoned, murdered by the same ideology and the same reasons why people are murdered because of their religion.
They can’t complain about that while condemning those, who fight against persecution of LGTB people.
And what about those called “american values”, like pursuit of happiness and freedom for all?!? Don’t these values apply to LGBT people or what? Is that an american and a christian value, agreeing that other people are killed due to the way of they are?
It makes me angry to see how close-minded and bigot some people are, and how they are able to see that they are contradicting within their own logic.
Everyone, please, PLEASE understand that people who are bigots and hateful and want to harm others in ANY way are NOT true Christians! They may call themselves that, but I assure you, the God of Christianity and Christ himself has NEVER approved of hate, evil, violence, inequality, mistreatment, oppression, etc. Jesus spent every one of his years on earth telling everyone to spread love, tolerance, kindness, and mercy. I don’t know how, why, or when these so-called Christians got so messed up, but please don’t assume we are all like that. It’s just like saying every person from the Middle East is a terrorist, or every black person is a gang member, or any other such stereotype. And it’s painful for me as a Christian, lesbian, human rights activist when cruel and hateful people get the same religious title. Despite what they tell you, God never called them to act the way they do towards other humans.
Electing a Republican Administration in 2012 would be a national calamity!!!!!
Really, no gay person should vote for any Republican for any office, no matter how bad the Democrat running against him (or her) is. The Republican party must be disempowered, at least until they change their tune on GLBT issues. Not voting GOP even on the most local races will help reach this goal!
Give up religion. You’ll note that religion shackles minds and causes people to divide and hate. Giving up religion for actual spirituality will cause you to see what’s good and right about civilization and the human species.
Plus, the GOP uses Christianity as a weapon.
I just love how I tried to post a comment disagreeing with a few parts and the system immediately marked it as spam…
Christianity is the ultimate HATE GROUP! When it comes down to finding a similarity amongst all the hate groups in America, they all have 1 thing in common: CHRISTIAN VALUES.
CHRISTIANS are a HATE GROUP!
how can gays shame Christianity. Christianity shames its self. Lokk and all the horrible things it done thru out history.Even today.Christianity should be very ashamed for the hate and intolerance is spreads.