Thursday, April 14, 2005

LGBT: Christian Groups Fight Anti-Bigotry Day

CNN has an article today about the efforts of some Christian conservative groups to counter the anti-gay bias event known as the "Day of Silence." These groups see the day, where students go an 24 hours without speaking to draw attention to the harassment of gay students, as a way of broadening acceptance of homosexuality. In response, they created what they call the "Day of Truth," encouraging students to wear shirts and talk about their belief that homosexuality is wrong.

You know, there are a lot of things right-wing groups do that I dislike, but very few which outright piss me off. This is one of those few. How can they honestly take a day designed to end bigotry, harassment, and discrimination and decide that it's something that needs to be countered? Their excuse, as the article points out, is that they believe the event is meant to be "cloaking their real message -- that homosexuality is good for society." They also continue their incessant whining that Christian students are being censored as school (despite the fact that they're being censored for prejudice and discrimination). They point to a student who was disciplined for wearing a shirt at school which reads "Homosexuality is shameful." I wonder if they would have thought "rights were being trampled" if the offensive shirt read "African-Americans are shameful" or "Judaism is shameful."

I can understand (even if I do not accept) the belief that homosexuality is a sin. But fighting against a day designed to promote the acceptance of any group of humans as just that, human beings with normal rights and individual dignity is beyond me.

1 comment:

Matz said...

Let me get this straight (forgive the pun). They are angry because people they disagree with are picking a day and not talking on that day? I wish every group did that. Imagine if the conservative Christians shut up for a day.

PS No one needs a shirt to say that Judaism is shameful or African American's are shameful, there are already numerous symbols that can communicate that wihtout words. Maybe that's what the Christian right needs, a horrible symbol to summarize their bigotry. Something like a rainbow swastika or a flaming pink triangle (pun intended).