Just when you thought that anti-gay activists couldn’t get more outrageous — they launched a nutty petition today packed with inflammatory language urging FOX News to blacklist me. This latest stunt follows an incendiary letter sent out yesterday by sixteen anti-gay activists trying to pressure Bill O’Reilly to stop having me on as a guest. Today, the American Family Association’s Executive Vice President, Buddy Smith, joined the fray by signing onto the letter.
I responded yesterday, pointing out that those who signed were some of America’s biggest anti-gay extremists.
The petition was written by one of the signers, Chaplain Gordon James Klingenschmitt, who embarrassed himself by offering me an exorcism on the David Pakman Show. So far, officials at FOX News are not honoring their petulant and bizarre demands.
The petition’s breathless headline: “Free Petition to Bill O’Reilly: STOP helping violent homosexuals kill Christians.”
Note to fundies — if you are trying to ban a person for allegedly demonizing Christians — it might help if you did not overtly demonize them. For example, the e-mail used on the letter to attract new signers was WackyWayne666@hotmail.com. When I wrote about this, they slyly changed the e-mail address to something more benign. But not before I screen captured it. Good going Einsteins!
These folks aren’t helping their case by appearing so angry and unhinged. But, it seems, they just can’t help themselves. It’s interesting that they are portraying me as a “violent homosexual.” My rap sheet is as blank as many of their faces and consists of a few paid traffic tickets. Yes, call me Charles Manson, it totally fits my record!
Here is an excerpt from the fiery petition:
Remember the violent homosexual gunman Floyd Corkins who shot a security guard at Family Research Council (FRC) last week, carrying 15 bags of Chick-Fil-A, because he didn’t like their politics or defense of traditional marriage = 1 man + 1 woman?
Sadly Bill O’Reilly at Fox News is helping the gunman’s associates. O’Reilly regularly invites Wayne Besen to appear on his show to defend the Southern Poverty Law Center, who was just rebuked by the Washington Post for rhetoric facilitating Corkins’ violence.
Why is the homosexual activist Wayne Besen who speaks for SPLC still a regular on the Fox TV show The O’Reilly Factor? (You may remember I debated Besen who humiliated himself about science and homosexual exorcisms, here.)
Besen runs the deceptive homosexual activist group “Truth Wins Out” but he also regularly defends the hateful Southern Poverty Law Center who was blamed for causing violence. FRC President Tony Perkins said “Corkins was given a license to shoot an unarmed man by organizations like the Southern Poverty Law Center that have been reckless in labeling organization hate groups because they disagree with them on public policy.”
Let’s take a stand by petitioning Bill O’Reilly to STOP inviting Wayne Besen and SPLC.
Yes, he put science and exorcisms in the same sentence. Take a moment to chuckle before we continue…
To be quite frank, the language in this petition is what causes hate crimes and places my family in harm’s way by claiming that I “facilitated the shooting” and was “one of his associates.” For the record, I’ve never met Floyd Corkins. I was in San Diego when the shooting occurred. Yet, this petition practically places me at the scene or insinuates that I somehow influenced the shooter.
Such rhetoric is reckless and irresponsible. It is certainly unChristian. And such diseased behavior is an indication of how these dishonest organizations ended up on SPLC’s hate group list.
They make it clear they favour freedom of speech only when it favours them.
They make it clear that they are insane and/or stupid.
They’re a textbook case of what can happen if babies are repeatedly dropped on their heads!
Guess this much hypocrisy is too much even for FOX “News”.
God bless Wayne Besen and protect him from those who smear Jesus’ face with the darkness and shame of homophobia. Give him strength to continue the fight for the real, decent, American Value of equality. Amen.
FYI – they can’t even distinguish between one columnist at WaPo (Dana Millbank) who doesn’t seem to grasp the concept of what constitutes hate speech and the all of us who contribute to the paper in one form of another. :) The paper as a whole did not rebuke the SPLC.
Hang in there, Wayne, and please make sure you protect yourself. You are the best thing that has happened to the LGBT community ever!
That petition headline to O’Reilly was worthy of Goebbels.
slightly off topic, but worth listening to:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/23/michael-d-higgins-takes-down-michael-graham_n_1825812.html?utm_hp_ref=world
It’s sort of sad to see anyone lose it like that in public — but then, Klingenschmitt, from everything I’ve ever heard about him — or from him — never had too firm a grip on it to begin with.
Well, Wayne, keep up the good work — you’ve obviously hit a nerve with this group. We’re proud of you.
Think of poor Matthew Shepard, crucified on a fence for being gay, by “Christian” bigots. Think of Lawrence King, shot and killed by a classmate for being gay. Think of the men imprisoned and killed in Africa for being gay by “Christian” governments. There is not ONE SINGLE INSTANCE of someone being killed for being Christian by a gay person. And given the security guard (who did not deserve to be shot, no one does) will live, that record holds.
If you want to see what the Christianist right is up to, look at exactly what they accuse the other side of. They are not only UnChristian, they are UnAmerican, they are inhuman.
First, let’s get a tidbit of info out there: the guy who shot the guard was taught in a Catholic school and received a Catholic education. So what was driving him?
As far as this petition goes: It is really typical of the breed. They are not taught to think about the real world, but to only accept what the preacher/leader tells them. Having to hear someone try to explain the life positions of those they routinely condemn and demonize, is really too much reality for them. They need everything neatly packaged and sanitized and blessed so it isn’t distasteful and doesn’t disagree with their blind faith. Try to understand the REAL lives of those they look down upon, huh? You might as well ask for the moon. You ain’t gonna get it! Their world is black and white – either you are good or you are evil. There is no middle ground. Because they are DOING the Lord’s work, they are good. Of course, their version of the Lord’s work doesn’t even begin to imitate the life of Jesus himself. THAT message they never quite digest. Naturally, some whackaloon decided to try to silence one of our spokesmen. Why should they be forced to listen and, maybe some without such petrified minds, learn something about the humans they hate so much.
Of course, it is perfectly fine for them to hammer us whenever the opportunity presents itself. The Bible (or rather their overblown view of it) must be drummed into us – WE ARE THE ABOMINATION GOD SPEAKS OF! They are only trying to help us to be like them. What a fate!
Get this you dipsh.ts, O’Reily is NOT going to stop having Wayne on his show. It’s ratings, you yahoos, don’t you understand the REAL world?
I think Wayne Besen should sue the bigots. They have defamed him. Chris Armstrong’s suit against the crazy former asst. atty general of Michigan, Andrew Shirvell, indicates that juries do not take kindly to people who lie about other people and attempt to hurt them.
Isn’t their argument ironic, considering that when abortion doctors have been murdered by “Christian” gunmen these same Christian extremists and fundamentalists have claimed their rhetoric had no influence whatsoever on the killer’s motives and, therefore, they were not responsible for the killer’s action?
What hypocrisy!!
Wayne, know that we have your back and that we hope you will you continue to be an outspoken advocate for the fair, equal, and non-violent treatment of all people regardless of sexual orientation.
The reaction of the homophobic protestant right wing is totally outrageous. I am really outraged and angry. I solidarize with Besen for this terrible defamation against him. Besen has nothing to do with the incident at F.R.C.
He has to sue those homohaters “activists” now.
Racism is homophobia too. Homophobia is racism. STOP RACISM NOW.
I’m brand spanking new to this blog ! I saw the article on Towleroad and everything that Mr. Besen has said seemed like words taken out of my own mouth.
The demonzing of LGBT citizens (from the demons themselves) has got to be one of the most vile, putrid forms of cowardice I’ve seen in a long time.
Donate people – c’mon, DONATE !!!
Thanks Wayne for all you do.
This is great! I know lots of people “on the fence” who don’t consider these guys to be this insane. I’ve distributed this letter to several of them and it’s turned all of them off to the anti-gay right wing completely.
Hopefully they’ll turn up the volume even louder, run television ads, and scream/yell their slogans. The nuttiness apparently to all but the most crazed true believer will turn off legions of undecideds and will probably even send a large chunk of people who agree with them to our side.
I also agree with the comments about the defamatory claims made in the so-called “petition.” I’d certainly consider retaining an attorney and pursuing civil action against the authors of this petition and their libelous claim that you were an “associate of the shooter” who “facilitated the shooting.”
The shooter was RC…
Perhaps not… Other sources claim the shooter was the product of a very-conservative virulantly anti-gay Protestant school. I’d like to see what the Religious Right would do with that.
“Anti-Christian violence”. Indeed.
Irony escapes these bigots as they call for protection from “murderous homosexuals” even as they froth in the mouth with their bigotry and hatred. It would be funny except that their actions may potentially affect the people they’ve chosen to target – yes, the “murderous homosexuals.”
Hah! Can we count the endless murders suicides bullying and just plain unchecked hate anti-gay reactivists spew all over “the land of the free?”. No. Because it’s off the charts. Don’t deflect with lies. The computer age has our backs.
Grow up …
……and own it
I think you would be hard-pressed to find a group of ‘Christians’ who are less Christ-like.
[...] the American Family Association, Liberty University, and Rep. Sally Kern (R-OK), have launched an incendiary petition with an inflammatory headline: “Bill O’Reilly: STOP helping violent homosexuals kill [...]