The Loudoun Out Loud event last weekend was a huge success; great turnout and enthusiasm that I think even exceeded expectations. Lori Stevens and the other organizers of this project have just done a fantastic job meeting this need. This is wonderful news for Loudoun families.
Especially after years of being dehumanized, bullied and derided by this or that pontificating scold. And those folks, I’m sure, don’t like it much. A few of them – anonymously, naturally – are expressing their displeasure online. This is not always hateful, but then again, it often is. I’m pretty sure I know what hatred looks like, and while it may be true that we can’t really know the heart of an antagonist, I think this is also true: If it looks like coffee, smells like coffee, and tastes like coffee, chances are it’s coffee, and not some fabulous new kind of beer. Hateful comments directed at individuals (not removed) and possibly defamatory comments identifying me by name (removed by the editor presumably for TOS violations) appeared on the Loudoun Times-Mirror site, and were rightfully criticized. That didn’t stop someone from posting this:
so if you simply just don’t agree that homosexuality is moral then your an evil hate monger who needs to just wake up and see the light- Really? Why is it when you “alternative lifestyle folks” find someone who doesn’t agree with your position then you turn on the HATE MACHINE- Usually calling names etc. YOU are the ones without tolerance. Stop attacking others who have different moral beliefs then you have. Many people are just like me- we don’t believe what your doing is moral and go against the laws of nature but we leave you alone to do what you want- NOW LEAVE US ALONE AS WELL!!!! Oh, and by the way, stop trying to push your agenda on our kids at school.
They don’t want to be told that they are expressing hatred – and by the way, unless this person posted a hateful comment, no one was speaking to him. Should we read it as a confession? This comment echos the somewhat hysterical reaction of the “Family Research Council” to being included on the short-list of Southern Poverty Law Center hate groups (as distinct from groups that just express disagreement, or “view homosexuality as unbiblical.” SPLC is very clear in making that distinction.).
It’s another example of christianist exceptionalism, as illustrated in the story about Scott Lively here. The presupposition of such exceptionalists is this: Because they have adopted a Christian identity, all behavior they engage in is, by definition, not-hate. Instead of their Christian identity being shaped and demonstrated by the way they treat others, they turn the logical relationship on its head: They are incapable of hateful acts no matter how they treat others, because they have decided they are Christian. It’s a pattern you will see over and over. Watch for it.
Amen. And again amen.