This is simply awesome.
In an interview/piece about the new hate crime statistics and the fact that gays are the most likely to be targeted in hate crimes of ANY minority, Dan Savage said the following, to a CNN anchor:
“There are no ‘two sides’ to the issue of LGBT rights. Right now one side is really using dehumanizing rhetoric. The Southern Poverty Law Center labels these groups as hate groups and yet the leaders of these groups, people like Tony Perkins, are welcomed onto networks like CNN to espouse hate directed at gays and lesbians. And similarly hateful people who are targeting Jews or people of color or anyone else would not be welcome to spew their bile on CNN.”
THANK YOU. Dear everyone supportive of LGBT people who ever appears in the mainstream media: Keep Saying It. The Family Research Council and other groups who appear on CNN and other networks are hate groups. And Dan’s exactly right: there are NO “two sides” here.
I’m annoyed that the video cut off immediately after Dan’s comment, I’d like to see what the CNN anchors response was to that.
The way i owuld put it is that if there are indeed two sides to the issue of gay people in society, the family Research council is not the other side. They are anti-gay, period. they are enemies of sanity, science, logic, and compassion.
Our fierce avocado is the other side.
I don’t think there was much of a response from the CNN anchor. According to what I was reading on Joe.My.God it appears that although they were apparently sympathetic they still ended the interview.
Thanks, ETownCanuck.
Dan Savage is a hero.
I actually saw Dan Savage make these same comments on MSNBC about a month or so ago. He specifically called on CNN, MSNBC, and Fox to stop promoting hate-spewing bigots as “the other side” of the “debate”.
Good for YOU Dan. You tell it like it is! Amen! You are making and causing History. YOUR life of love is what love is all about! Thank you!
Hopefully this means Dan will reconsider his own extensive history of making vile remarks about trans people.
[...] Says Savage: "There are no ‘two sides’ to the issue of LGBT rights. Right now one side is really using dehumanizing rhetoric. The Southern Poverty Law Center labels these groups as hate groups and yet the leaders of these groups, people like Tony Perkins, are welcomed onto networks like CNN to espouse hate directed at gays and lesbians. And similarly hateful people who are targeting Jews or people of color or anyone else would not be welcome to spew their bile on CNN." [...]
Wow Bob, when did you become such a trans-activist? Do you actually care about trans people or do you just not like Dan Savage?
[...] exchange has gotten attention at a number of activist group, progressive, and LGBT blogs. Via Joe Jervis at JoeMyGod, we learn that CNN pretty much knew what [...]
I always hear people claiming Dan says anti-transexual things but I listen to his podcast and don’t find him trans-phobic. What is it that he said?
Dan said “Wow Bob, when did you become such a trans-activist? Do you actually care about trans people or do you just not like Dan Savage?”.
Dan, Boo is a transwoman.
Daniel, it probably stems from an article he wrote where his method of slamming a (cisgender) government official was to call him a transsexual.
Dan Savage is right on.
Unfortunately, I do remember Wolf Blitzer interviewing David Duke about a year ago (but again, CNN shouldn’t give air time to him either).
Cisgender? There are so many varients that unless it’s a personal issue for you you’re unlikely to know the difference between the terms. Also, he didn’t use “transexual” as a slam, he (apparently mistakenly) said that as a transexual it was wrong for him to deny others the surgery they desired.
Also, Bob’s a transwoman? This is the same Bob who defends ex-gay therapy?
[...] notion that “mainstream media” needs to give two sides to the debate over LGBT issues. But as Dan Savage so brutally and honestly told CNN last month, that’s a flawed philosophy to [...]
I’ve always seen these hate groups as a necessary evil, in the sense that they make us look so much better in comparison. The more virulent their hate, the more logical those appalling jackasses make us look. It’s all about image.
The problem is when they make themselves look more rational than us. In my opinion, we need to take care not to allow any measure of hatred corner us emotionally, and I know how hard that is because of how personal this issue is. Nevertheless, rationality is our greatest weapon. The calmer we are, the harder it will be for the bigots to keep their cool.
Daniel said “Also, Bob’s a transwoman? This is the same Bob who defends ex-gay therapy?”.
Daniel, you’re mistaking Boo for Bob – they’re two different people.
Sorry about that Priya, obviously I need to have my eyes checked.
Easy mistake to make Daniel, I saw “Bob” at first too.
[...] late 2010, activist/writer Dan Savage made a critical point about the responsibility of media outlets like CNN in how they cover LGBT issues. Savage took CNN to task for feeling the need to [...]