Oh the poor dears:
The Richmond Federal Reserve Bank’s decision to fly the gay pride flag outside of its building, below the American flag, has outraged a Virginia lawmaker, who wants it removed.
In a letter to Richmond Fed President Jeffrey Lacker, Robert Marshall, a Republican state delegate, called the flag “a serious deficiency of judgment by your organization, one not limited to social issues,” according to the Richmond Times Dispatch.
Marshall claimed that the homosexual behavior “celebrated” by the bank “undermines the American economy” and is a felony in the state, the newspaper reported.
Hahah, this stupid man thinks that being gay is a “felony?” I can’t stop laughing.
Sally Green, the bank’s first vice president and chief operating officer, told the newspaper earlier this week that the bank is flying the flag “as an example of our commitment to the values of acceptance and inclusion.
In other words, “grow up, wingnut, and go do something productive for a change.”
Know who else is upset about this? That is right, it’s the American Family Association’s “news” arm OneNewsNow, who has some sort of secret fundamentalist wingnut operative working across the street at some sort of portable trans fat stand called The Family Foundation:
Though The Family Foundation’s new office in Richmond has a beautiful view of the state capitol and the flags, the rainbow flag fluttering from the flagpole outside the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond is also in view. Foundation president Victoria Cobb does not expect it to fly away any time soon.
“Our expectation is it’ll be flying all month,” she predicts. “We think the Federal Reserve ought to be focused on the economy rather than focusing on special rights.”
And Victoria just knows that deep inside the Fed building, they’ve stopped paying attention to the economy altogether in order to draw up designs for special gay-only parking spaces at country bible churches. I mean, she did say “special rights,” right? Nah, Victoria. We just want to have the freedoms people like you have, misuse and take for granted.
The AFA also has heard from a Federal Reserve employee who is also a fundamentalist, and it is upset!
Meanwhile, the Mississippi-based American Family Association has received a complaint from a Federal Reserve employee who objects to the flag and what it represents. In reference to the “gay pride” flag flying just below the American flag, the employee wrote in an email: “For the past five or six years, the homosexual agenda has been pushed down our throats. [The bank president and vice president] have initiated this agenda. This offends me as a Christian.”
Uh huh, hmm. Let’s just let Wonkette reply to that one:
Haha, these people are always talking about things being pushed down their throats. Fantasizing much, guys?
Much, they are, always.
Also, in that Wonkette post, Pride month is referred to as “National Gay and Lesbian and BLT Month,” to which I just say bravo!
“undermines the American economy”?
HUH? I’m not sure what that means, but I’m sure they have a perfectly stupid answer.
For the past 4 decades the Fundamentalist Agenda has been pushed down our throats. There is a baptist church near my house that flies a baptist/Christian flag and NO American flag at all. As a progressive/liberal Episcopalian, this doesn’t particularly offend me like the wingnut at the Federal Reserve, because I really don’t give a s**t what flags they fly or not— but DO shut the f**k up about our flag flying.
Somebody really needs to pin down Robert Marshall on how Gays undermine the economy. As for Victoria Cobb, it takes all of five minutes to put up a flag so how does that distract the Federal Reserve from its mission? My guess is the custodial staff puts it up.
I think the felony claim is in reference to the fact that Virginia actually stil has an anti-sodomy law on the books.
The “tolerant” anti-gay activists are always the first to revile law-abiding, taxpaying, gay Americans. Yet the Bible they claim to follow clearly tells them that revilers are going to hell. Maybe instead of reviling others, they should consider repenting?
After a recent interaction with a closed-minded sibling of mine,
As a psychology student, I’ve since come to realize that most homophobes are not specifically “homophobic,” per se. Their problem is a much broader one.
(1) Some of them are afraid of anything different; anything that exists outside the fragile boundaries that they’ve constructed within their own minds makes them become fearful, even terrified.
(2) Some of them need to assert their own moral fortitude by condemning people that are seen as being “less than.” Anti-semitism is a prime example of this. In the past, condemning those who “crucified Christ,” as absurd as that is, was seen as upholding moral values.
As soon as that changed and condemning them was seen as being something that was immoral, Jews were no longer an easy target.
We will finally win this battle when condemning gays is seen as being less moral than it is more moral. That’s what our battle is all about.
I think it’s really exciting to be able to witness the strides that the gay rights movement has made.
On this Chris, we agree. It is fear based, pure and simple. Amazingly, I have spoken to people who truly believe that if gay marriage is legal, beastiality and polygamy will HAVE to follow, and society will fall apart. The analogy to Jews and anti semitism is apt. While he is wrong on almost everything, it is interesting to read the blog of Albert Mohler, the dean of the flagship Southern Baptist seminary. He sees this, and writes and comments on the every shrinking social settings where one can make homophobic (he would say “pro tradtional values”) remarks and not get called out on it.
Of course, to these people, who take every word of the Bible literally (so they say) except the ones they don’t (which they explain away while saying they still take every word literally) our very existance calls into question their most basic belief and worldview. A liberal/progressive Christian or Jew (or athiest) is not afraid of gay people because our existance is not a threat. BUT, if one claims to take every word in the Bible literally, then the quote “and so were some of you”, which is a reference to ‘former homosexuals’(sic) in the Bible must be taken literally also. If we exist, and all attempts at change fail, then that calls the WHOLE worldview of these people into question. It TERRIFIES them. Thats why they work so hard to try to make people buy the “ex gay” lie. Fear. Plain and simple.
But, unlike anti semitism, giving up the fear of us means, by extension, giving up an entire worldview. Thats why they hold on the ‘ex gay’ thing, and fight our rights, like they are fighting to stay alive.
Chris– 1 and 2 are actually the same thing.
You may quote me on the rest.
Not all homobigotry is based upon fear, ignorance, stupidity, religious belief, or the unquestioning unconsciousness of “This is how I was brought up.” A good deal of it, I am more and more convinced, is the self-directed hatred of homo-hatin’homos, wanna-be-straight-but-ain’ts, camn’t-cope-with-even-teeny-bit-o-homos.
But there is also this, and it is the veneer that covers up all of the ugly. The always assumed, ever-present, but usually unstated belief in the inherent, although completely ficticious, superiority of heterosexuals over homosexuals. If you press them on this inherent and wholly imaginary superiority, they will usually move onto the procreation argument to cover up the obvious, or if they are desperate, they’ll move on to the religious argument.
In the end, this laughable construct is what has to be challenged.
“Why do you think you are better than gay people?”
Gene, I agree totally. As for the Bible, their motivations are incredibly thinly-veiled. They use scripture to dress their bigotry up as holiness, but a lot of people realize that the “emperor has no clothes.” I think a lot of Americans are aware of this fact. The Bible can be made to say anything. What they choose to make it say reveals a lot more about them than it does scripture.
Having said that, I have met many born again Christians who are decent, nice, kind people who do great things for their loved ones and communities; I bet we all have met those types. A lot of people stereotype them, just like we’re stereotyped, but again, many are truly decent people.
There are even some who are “anti-gay” who manage to make a distinction between what they believe about us doctrinally and how they treat us when they meet us. I think that’s a start. I used to be one of them. They will never, simply never change their doctrines as they regard homosexuality, but I have seen some of them realize that treating people with respect does not contradict their beliefs.
Homosexuals (as well as nonwhites) have the special right to die a horrible death. Step right up and receive your special rights now.