I'm not sure if certain people's refusal to see the real issue here is a result of youth, just plain denseness or a willfull ignorance of the difference between mainstream Christianity and the "religious" right as personified by Pat Robertson.
Pal Joey has done a great job of posting some of Robertson's views on gays. Can it be true that so many people have forgotten that, the day after 9/11, Robertson went on the 700 CLUB and blamed 9/11 on gays, lesbians, feminists et al? Can you truly not see how Robertson's political agenda and that of his allies are creating anti-gay legislation across the nation? Kansas today will probably ratify an anti-gay marriage amendment tonight. Can NO ONE here see the true implications of the whole Schiavo case, and how the "religious" right wishes to intrude into our private lives, and using gays as a punching bag is a convenient way of getting their agenda done? Gay people are unfortunately under attack. This is why there is so much anger here.
If Chenoweth went on "The Hour of Power" with Robert Schuller, there would have been no protest. But she didn't. She went on the 700 Club. Whether she truly believes in his agenda or not is immaterial. Many Germans probably didn't believe in killing 6 million jews, but they are still dead. Frankly, considering the stakes, some people won't give a hoot how good a performer she is. If people want to organize a boycott, this is free speech - just like when the "religious" right organized a boycott of the advertisers of "Ellen."
And as for Clydemestra's scream of victimhood - this is a cynical but effective tactic by the religious right whenever someone says ANYTHING that puts them on the defensive. "Why do you hate christians?" No one has expressed that they hate anyone purely for being Christian. It has been stated over and over that there have been no statements against Christianity, but reason will never appeal to such people - they believe they are being "crucified" because of their beliefs. Clyde - no one has expressed hatred toward you - why the defensiveness?
FYI - The Nazis also believed that the jews were involved in a world-wide conspiracy to own all the banks, and used this reason to build concentration camps. Fascists always paint themselves as victims in order to stir the emotions of their followers. For more information, go to
http://dneiwert.blogspot.com/ and click on the link in the upper-left hand corner - The Rise of Pseudo-Fascism in the US.
Updated On: 4/4/05 at 11:11 PM