Understand this one thing if you understand nothing else: It isn’t just about marriage…
FRC Outraged That US Opposes The Criminalization Of Homosexuality
On Monday, the State Department issued a joint statement in the UN’s Human Rights Council opposing the criminalization of homosexuality. Currently, well over 70 countries impose criminal penalties for gays and lesbians, and the statement has the support of 84 countries. According to the Family Research Council, however, the US is committing a great injustice by condemning the criminalization of people because of their sexual orientation. The FRC dubs it “Operation International Tolerance,” complete with a picture of Obama wearing a rainbow helmet
And here comes the double-speak…
Obviously, FRC believes that homosexuals and transgenders shouldn’t be subjected to violence. But this resolution goes well beyond that to endorsing a behavior that dozens of member nations oppose. No binding document of international law has ever recognized a universal “human right” to engage in sex with a person of the same gender. And although even the U.N. admits that “resolutions” like this one “aren’t legally binding,” they do help to create a legal norm.
[Emphasis mine] As though rounding up gay people and locking them behind bars isn’t an intrinsically violent act. But pay attention to that business about legal norms. In his 1990 essay The Hypocrites of Homosexualty Orson Scott Card acknowledges what most other right wing culture warriors only soft peddle in public: that sodomy laws exist mainly to create a climate of fear among gay people…
Laws against homosexual behavior should remain on the books, not to be indiscriminately enforced against anyone who happens to be caught violating them, but to be used when necessary to send a clear message that those who flagrantly violate society’s regulation of sexual behavior cannot be permitted to remain as acceptable, equal citizens within that society.
The goal of the polity is not to put homosexuals in jail. The goal is to discourage people from engaging in homosexual practices in the first place…
This can’t be emphasized enough: right wing culture warriors really do want homosexuality criminalized. This fight isn’t just about marriage, hospital visitation rights, the ability of gay Americans to hold down a job, get a professional license, or walk into a restaurant and expect the same service anyone else gets. It’s about fear. Gay people must be afraid. Every minute of every day, we must be afraid. And we are not. And that makes them angry. They are angry that we can live our lives openly, that we don’t have to worry about being turned into the police by some neighbor or co-worker with a grudge and get thrown in jail. They hate it that we don’t have to be afraid.
Because a fearful homosexual is a good homosexual. A fearful homosexual isn’t merely one who does not agitate for civil rights. We must be afraid just to live our lives openly. The closet must be our world. It must go back to this, all over again:
“If only we didn’t hate ourselves so much…if only we could just not hate ourselves quite so very much…” -Michael, The Boys In The Band
We must hate ourselves, at least as much if not more then they hate us. Because then we will never know the one thing we must never be allowed to know: what it is to be loved, and to love another… wholeheartedly… joyfully… body and soul.
Because love stays the course. Because love can move mountains. Because the one thing you never want the scapegoat to be able to do, is move mountains.
OSC equates pedophilia to homosexuality (or, more specifically, bisexuality) in his book “songmaster,” too.
The number of nations that criminalize us for who we are is shrinking. The two greatest victories of the last few years were China, and India, which together represent half of all humanity. Throw in the Western nations, all of Europe, and all but a few tiny hell holes in south and central America (non of the large nations) plus South Africa and Australia, and the FRC realizes all they have left is much of Africa, and most (not even all…Turkey and Indonesia do not criminalize us, and both have small but vibrant gay communities) of the Muslim nations that the FRC I suspect secretly loaths for so many reasons.
OF course they are scared when they read these resolutions! All they have left is the scraps, and they fear they are losing those to!
Oh…one of my all-time favorite Quotes That Make You Really See How A Bigot Thinks comes from Card. It’s from his rant about the Massachusetts Supreme Court decisions legalizing same-sex marriage in that state, Homosexual “Marriage” and Civilization. The scare quotes around the word Marriage are the least of it…
Just look at that. Card isn’t even willing to grant that that there is actually Any emotional bond at all between same sex couples, let alone bonds of romantic love but only, and grudgingly, that they might Think there are. There’s the man, right there. You look at this and it’s certainty that he will never be moved from his prejudices. Ever. This is the purest statement of bigotry I have ever seen, and as a 57 year old gay man I have seen lots.
I had the misfortune to accidentally read Ender’s Game, the book that brought OSC fame and money. It might be a bit of escapism but there was a moral vaccum at the heart of the novel. The central idea was that Might and Race wins even if means the destruction of an entire peace-loving alien species.
It also depicted a violent attack (albeit under provocation) by one child on another child. We find out later that the child who was attacked died. That outcome is treated with a worrying ambivalence – as if should be celebrated so long as you are sorry afterwards.
What kind moral code does this guy live by?
Why is being listened to by so-called Christians or Mormons?
But of course they’re a bit too chickenshit to outright say it, because they know how people are going to react.
It’s funny that they talk about the rights of countries to be able to “legislate against any behavior they think is harmful to society”, when that’s exactly what they’re railing against, here. What they’re actually doing is trying to force countries into abiding by what they, the FRC, think is harmful to society.
And, of course, they’re lying out their asses when they say they don’t want gay and trans people to be subject to violence, because I’m sure they know what happens to gay and trans people (especially trans women) when they’re placed in jail with people who hate them.
“Obviously, FRC believes that homosexuals and transgenders shouldn’t be subjected to violence. ..”
Being imprisoned for merely being gay is violence.
[...] their “point of view” is eliminationist against an entire minority group. Just like the Family Research Council’s point of view. Just like Exodus’s point of view. That is sort of the point that wingnuts are missing, I [...]
Why is it that every time I get mad at myself, I start blaming gay people? Is this a function of my own psychological problems, or am I just bad at life?
God, the guys who run Truth Wins Out are cute, though.
Ed: Troll my blog with comments like that, this is what happens.
Seriously, how did you guys get so cute? I just don’t understand, but it makes me self-conscious.
How did you sillies get so sexy hot? I think I just got pregnant.
Aww Billy. That’s flattering and all, but maybe Craigslist is better for you. ;*
You’re just so darling, though! I wanna pinch yer cheeks!
Yeah, not interested.
As the GaGa says, we were just born that way.
I know. And unfortunately we have high standards.
*sad trombone*