Reporter Dana Milbank Gets it Wrong on Hate Group

Tony Perkins of the FRC

As a gay atheist (step back, I'm dangerous), I'm automatically on the receiving end of the ire of fundamentalists and extremists. Not usually personally, thank goodness, but the vibe is always out there. There are a number of prominent organizations--most with "family" in their names--who exist primarily to be a thorn in gay people's sides. Oh, they throw in some of the other hot-button issues like abortion and stem cells, but their primary gig is the gay. Some of these groups are dishonest and hateful enough to earn the designation of "hate group" by organizations such as the Southern Poverty Law Center.The anti-gay groups don't like that very much.

Sorry, couldn't resist, this is him.

Recently, when a nutty guy with a gun shot a security guard at Family Research Council, FRC (and the rest of these types of groups) got what they've always wanted: martyrdom. After gay people being tormented since time immemorial by fudies, one of ours (allegedly) went after them. This one event,* in their eyes, doesn't just balance the scales, it tips it in their favor. For some reason. Something to do with Chick-fil-A sandwiches, I don't know.

The FRC--always a group to exploit a tragedy--went about gaining sympathy, and whining about their hate group designation. And since CNN, FOX "News" and MSNBC have regularly used groups like theirs as "balance," they don't have trouble getting air time. Oddly, they're actually convincing some people, like reporter Dana Milbank. Dana's been a regular guest on several cable news shows, and is perceived to be liberal-leaning, and basically fair. This time, he got it way wrong, and has inspired the ire of a whole bunch of prominent pro-gay people, like me.

And this is Dana Milbank, who is about to
find out what happens when the gay
hits the fan.

I was going to recap further, but found the following write-up when researching this story, and frankly, I can't top it. If this story is of interest to you at all, I encourage you to read beyond the excerpt. It's all spelled out perfectly.

[Excerpt]

Dana Milbank: The Southern Poverty Law Center's 'Reckless' Name-Calling

Dana Milbank, the generally pro-gay Washington Post columnist, yesterday published a column in which he repeatedly insisted that he wasn't blaming the non-fatal Family Research Council shooting on the Southern Poverty Law Center's labeling of the FRC a "hate group." Nevertheless, he claimed that such "reckless" label-throwing "stirs up the crazies" and leads inevitably to violence. . .

Read more at: TowleRoad



*I'm obliged to say--as I've said several times before--that what the gunman did was wrong, stupid and inexcusable. Violence is not the answer, and indeed has handed them something to clobber us with. I also think it shows a tremendous lack of imagination,  as there are many non-violent ways to show our displeasure with the FRC and its like-minded brethren.  I'll continue to do all I can in this space to make them look ridiculous.