YES! I am so on board with this, you guys! I've said a lot of bad things about Tony Perkins (not as in "No, Mother! Blood!," but as in "Eww, homos are icky!"), but I am in 50% agreement with this decision. Even if the reasoning behind it is--as always--addle-brained. You go, girl homophobe! (PS. The 50% I disagree with is--of course--that nobody should give any money to a hate group. Thanks.) [Excerpt] FRC's Tony Perkins Tells Supporters: Stop Donating to the GOP "Until the RNC and the other national Republican organizations grow a
backbone and start defending core principles, don’t send them a dime of
your hard-earned money," Perkins said in the email, a copy of which was
obtained by CNN. "If you want to invest in the political process, and I
encourage you to do so, give directly to candidates who reflect your
values and organizations you trust-like FRC Action. . ."
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. . .
*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.
We had another shooting today, this one--fortunately--on a much smaller scale, with the gunman only able to inflict a non-life-threatening wound on a security officer. Unlike the Dark Knight Rises shooting (where the purpose of the shooting was vague) or the Sikh temple shooting (where the gunman was a anti-Islam moron) the purpose of this one seems fairly clear. The target was the Washington DC headquarters of the Family Research Council, an anti-gay group. And the gunman seems to have attacked them for their political positions. I say seems, because these things often to turn out to be not what they seem initially.
Now, I'm going to be very clear: what this man did was wrong, stupid and inexcusable. I get no pleasure out of the fact that an organization I abhor was the target. In fact, I think this man's actions have unwittingly given the FRC (and organizations like it) a case to point to, where they are the victim of the "gay agenda". . .which is how they will spin it. Before now, they could only point to some minor (and well done) vandalism at a Chick-fil-A. So thanks, shooter dude, you nearly literally shot yourself and gay rights in the foot.
But there are a couple of ways this story is being spun, by anti-gay groups, and by the right-wing media. The anti-gay groups are leveling charges at The Southern Poverty Law Center and the Human Rights Campaign for calling FRC and its ilk "hate groups," and inspiring the shooter. The right-wing media, such as Las Vegas Badgerand Kevin Wall of KXNT are blaming--unbelievably--President Obama and Vice President Biden. Yes, somehow, they are running a hateful, nasty, terrible, horrible, no good, very bad campaign, and that is what provoked this shooting.
That is a staggering leap in logic. As far as I know, Obama and Biden have never mentioned the FRC by name, nor that of its leader Tony Perkins. While they have been outspoken on gay rights issues, I don't recall either of them leveling charges at any of the (many) anti-gay organizations on the right (curiously, most have "family" in their names). And WTF are they talking about, in regard to the campaign? What is so hateful from Obama/Biden? Just because you assert something doesn't make it true. Are the Prez and VP responsible for the Dark Knight and Sikh tragedies as well?
Finally, after the wounded man at their headquarters, the next biggest tragedy in this case is how the FRC is being portrayed. They are not some right-wing "think tank," going about their business, not bothering anybody. Their entire reason for being is to antagonize gay people, and do everything they can to prevent and take away our rights from being legally recognized. As previously stated, that does not justify what was done today, but neither do they magically become pure as the driven snow now that it happened. They are a hate group. It is not surprising that it seems to have inspired hate in retaliation, thought it is unfortunate.
[Excerpt] Security guard shot at conservative group's DC office
A gunman who shot a security guard Wednesday at the Family Research Council office in Washington, D.C., was carrying a handgun and several additional rounds of ammunition, federal investigators told NBC News. . .
Yes, Brooke. That is precisely the expression you should always present to this douche! Image from Raw Story.
I am greatly annoyed that cable news and other outlets keep spotlighting hateful people like Tony Perkins (blood, Mother, blood!) of the Family Research Council. The FRC--like most organizations with "family" in its name, oddly enough--has been designated a hate group by the Southern Poverty Law center. They exist to torment gay people, and virtually no other reason I can discern. CNN and others put people like Perkins out there in a misguided attempt at "balance." Because, if you have a controversial "issue," it must have a counterpoint, right? Yes, but that counterpoint isn't always equally valid.
Not that Tony Perkins!
Anyway, if they must put this cretin on, I'm thankful that the host toyed with him like a mouse. Good work, Brooke Baldwin!
NOTE: This is something I'm going to post in every future story having to do with same-sex marriage and religion: Civil marriage is not holy matrimony. Civil marriage only includes religion if you want it to. No matter what you feel about "God," it is irrelevant unless you want to start outlawing interfaith marriages, or marriage between atheists.
[Excerpt]
CNN host probes Tony Perkins: ‘Why do homosexuals bother you so much?’
Family Research Council President Tony Perkins found himself in an awkward situation on Thursday when one CNN host insisted he explain why “homosexuals bother you so much.” When Perkins agreed to appear on CNN to hype his press conference supporting the Defense of Marriage Act, he probably didn’t expect host Brooke Baldwin to make the conversation personal. . .
