Fellow conserva-blogger Boi from Troy reported today on Bishop Gene Robinson's speech before the Liberty Education Forum in Philadelphia, in which the Bishop exhorted the audience as follows:
Calling religion, “the greatest source of our oppression,” the openly-practicing-homosexual clergyman called upon religious gays and lesbians to “come out as religious.”
Only religious people can combat the assault on gay by people who claim to be religious, so Robinson advises to, “come out as religious…and become a teacher.”
Gee. Bishop, I'd love to, but I simply haven't a thing to wear to my funeral.
No, it's not that the religious folks would get me; it's the reception I'd get from other gays.
If you are ever stumped and need synonyms for a speech or a sermon, go to any gay blog and post anonymously about the importance of faith in your life and following Christ's example. Odds are, you will be overwhelmed by the sheer generosity of the other commenters in providing you a veritable freshet of words that mean "ignorant", "backward", and "superstitious". Don't be surprised if they come up with a few pet names for you as well; "Jewish Nazi" tends to be most common, but the occasional "Uncle Tom" sneaks in as well, demonstrating the gay community's remarkable commitment to diversity in insult while completely avoiding it in thought.
Were we all at least paid the same degree of lip service respect that you are, Bishop, we might also believe that the solution is for religious gays to go educate the masses. But what you fail to recognize is that the reason you aren't treated the same way as we are isn't because of the magnamity of the gay community towards religion; it's because they need a token or two to cloak the fact that a) the gay community's attitude towards religion is, to be kind, radically different than the majority of Americans, and b) that a) is a big part of why we keep losing the public relations and political battles.
Most of us who are religious and gay have had to go out of our way to convince our fellow members that we're not going to storm down the aisle and piss in the Communion cup, wear garish rainbow sashes, toss used condoms at parishoners, teach in Sunday school that the reason John was the "the disciple who Jesus loved" was because of what he had under his robe, or blame them for every problem in our lives from low self-esteem to bald spots.
This is not because they imagine these things; it's because they've seen the self-appointed guardians and arbiters of "gay" practice that and more on TV, radio, website, newspaper, magazine, tabloid, eight-track, and six-cassette book on tape as read by James Earl Jones.
So in short, Bishop, it's not that too few of us aren't out as religious; it's that too many of us are far too eager to associate "gay rights" with whatever anti-religious action tends to take their fancy. And frankly, those of us who ARE out as religious are getting a mite tired of all the abuse we're taking from them.
I believe it was the Man Himself who said, "Take the log out of your own eye before going after the speck in your buddy's."
When you say that to the gathered leaders of HRC, NGLTF, LCR, and others who are asking you to provide them religious cover, then we'll talk.
No comments:
Post a Comment