A Most Lethal Weapon - Words!
By Reverend Elisheva C. Clegg
Do you remember Baptist minister Jerry Falwell’s remarks following the attacks of September 11, 2001? Allow me to refresh your memory. The quote I read said, “I really believe that the pagans, and the abortionists, and the feminists, and the gays and the lesbians who are actively trying to make an alternative lifestyle, all of them who have tried to secularize America. I point the finger in their face and say, YOU made this happen!” Falwell’s shadows still darken countless pulpits with this message, and the listeners are still soaking in the “words of hate.” Have no illusion that the frustrated man who shot indiscriminately into the Unitarian Universalist Church in Knoxvillle, TN on July 27th listened carefully to such lunacy from a diverse network, including countless pulpits. Have no doubt that this murderer is not the only time bomb conditioned by years or vicious, repetitious programmed learning by a fundamentalist church or mosque near you. LISTEN CAREFULLY! The “Words” matter!
The good, the bad and the absolutely obscene – word choices can structure a diversity of language options to lift us soaring, or dash our spirits into splinters. Allow me to spend just a short time referring to the bad and ugly, namely “hate speech.”
Perhaps you are saying to yourself, “the only time I see those rabblerousers is on the news or perhaps cable channels or on the internet.” Has it ever occurred to you that from the hallowed halls of religious gatherings, there are words in sermons which quietly ignore emphasis on understanding and silently filter out taking actions to reach out and heal? Has it not occurred that the words said are fashioned to intimate exclusion? Has it occurred to you that there is practically no diversity of culture exposures in the pews or in the outreach programs, except to go out and convert and leave “them” where they are? Has it never occurred that the theme of “giving them (the poor and needy) seeds to grow their own crops” has become an escape clause in major religious groups? Perhaps the mega churches have a greater need for giant air conditioners to house the tens of thousands who come for that weekly dose of talk, with practically no talk of “planting the seeds WITH THEM!”
Has it not occurred that talk is cheap… and made even cheaper when exclusion permeates the meeting place where God supposedly listens? Has it not occurred that LOVE AND EXCLUSION are diametrically opposed?
We often refuse to compare the lethality of words with a gun, a knife, a bomb, a torch, a bat, a poison … the weapons are many. Those who use hate speech and allow it to find its way into the texture of their speeches know the damage they are inflicting. They have found a way and a level of comfort with the freedom of religion and speech in the U.S.A. to raise their messages and integrate it into a distorted patriotic flag which could wave a level of exclusion and rip the soul right out of the Constitution. We are told that some of their “words,” may “offend” those THEY deem as sinful, but they knowingly allow the trend to lead to dangerous actions by their naïve listeners.
The potential for massive distribution of lethally hateful words for selective destruction, which is the preferred weapon of hate mongers such as the homophobic, has increased tremendously. In so many instances the perpetrators are still wearing white robes, and standing in elevated positions, cleverly smiling down upon captivated masses… the masses who willingly believe this clergy of anger are conduits of righteous guidance.
Let us be frank … the pulpit preachers of exclusion are a brand of the old fire starters of the southern landscape. They influence the young and those who need fellowship, telling them who to dislike and who to blame for their own weaknesses. They take the sponges waiting to be filled. “Exclusion of all that can hurt you” is the message. “Now,” they say, “let me tell you WHO can hurt you, and God’s plan for YOU.”
The fundamentalist types, who scream and cry and spit forth their anger and bathe their listeners in memorized hate phrases, know the effects which take deep root in the character of the young and the naïve. The masses become the carriers of dis-ease which festers within them and they in turn deliver egregious harm. It is the saddest of cycles in the human experience.
There are the obvious murders inspired by hatred in the United States of America which number in the dozens every year. BUT then, there is the other manner in which homophobia kills. There are countless suicides by young adults and teenagers who discover they are gays and lesbians. These suicides are not the direct result of the victim’s homosexuality, but rather the result of how homosexuals are treated by society.
When one lives with rejections day after day, and society discounts one’s value constantly, it is difficult to maintain a forward looking view and to realize that the problem is OTHERS perception and not one’s own fault, which is why suicide is several times higher among gay men than in “straight” men. The highest price is paid by our youth. These are young people just entering adulthood, which have begun to realize that he/she is different - and this difference is not approved of in “normal” society. Characteristics of being made to feel dirty, rejected, abnormal and useless are NOT criteria from which a young person can grow into an emotional and well-adjusted adult. When a person kills the spirit and the will to live of another fellow human being because he/she is homosexual, we cannot blame homophobia. What is to blame is the ignorance of others which is grounded, in many cases, in religious, societal and cultural upbringing.
A phobia according to the dictionary is “a fear or anxiety that exceeds normal proportions or that has no basis in reality.” There are many phobias: fear of spiders, snakes, elevators, darkness, etc. Do people with a phobia kill other people?
There has been no case, whereby a person with ablutophobia (fear of washing hands), aqua phobia (fear of water) or acrophobia (fear of heights), has killed the spirit or life of another person. The American Psychiatric Association (APA) describes a “phobia” as “a mental, medical condition/disorder that can be treated.” Homophobia and racism however are not listed among the many phobias. Why is that? Is it because homophobia and racism are not considered a mental, medical disorder? Homophobia and racism are a product of the social, religious and cultural upbringing and environment.
In the California Prison System, extreme racism or homophobia will result in the individuals being medicated with antipsychotic drugs. According to Dr. Shama Chaiken, who later became a divisional chief psychologist for the California Department of Corrections, states the following, “We treat racism and homophobia as a delusional disorder to reduce the level of prejudices.” This is a method which is helpful in keeping prisoners sedated and less reactive, but it will never cure racism or homophobia. When the medication is stopped; the prisoner released, once back in society and familiar surroundings, homophobia and racism will rear their ugly heads again.
Personally, I think this is not a bad idea. After all, we finally could say to ALL those preaching against homosexuality that they have a mental illness. This would then, of course, include many religious organizations as well as their followers. And, don’t forget, many famous biographies, including the late Reverend Jerry Falwell, would have to be altered to include his affliction with his mental illness. The fact is that racism and homophobia are not a mental illness. Instead they are a character and intelligence-lacking condition/behavior, fostered by exposure most of the time since early childhood, to ignorance and hatred.
Most of the behavior and statements of those against homosexuals and their “lifestyle” are a direct result of quotes selected specifically from The Bible and interpreted loosely. Do homophobes realize that many of the arguments they propound against gay rights are the same type of arguments against left-handed people? Does anyone still think it is a sin to be left-handed? How many left-handed children over the years were forced to use their right hand in school?
One nun told her class that the right side was the side of the angels, and the left side was the side of the devil. She decided to back up her beliefs by select quoting from the scripture with the following parable. Christ says the sheep would be placed on the right side and the lost goats on the left side. (Matthew 25:23) Also, Christ is depicted as sitting on “the right hand of the Father.” (Acts 2:33) Sitting on the right is traditionally taught as the position of favor. (Genesis 48:17)
So let us condemn left handed people. What about those homophobes who are left handed? Oh well … I guess we will have to stone them. The selective citing of Bible passages , especially from the Book of Leviticus, as well as the many interpretations quoted and used, have become the number one murder weapon in killing the human spirit and the homosexuals’ will to live.”
The Book of Leviticus also asserts that menstruating women are unclean and must not be touched. How many Bible-quoting homophobes obey this law? The Bible never explains why and/or what is unclean. Also in the Book of Leviticus there is the demand for an offering after the birth of a child. A priest must kill a lamb, pigeon or dove as a “sin offering.” What is the sin? Please, ask the nice church lady who loves homosexuals but not their behavior, what was her preferred offering after she gave birth: lamb, pigeon or dove?
The entire first nine chapters of the Book of Leviticus can be summarized as follows:
Take an animal. Kill it. Sprinkle the blood around. Cut it into pieces and burn it for a “sweet savour unto the Lord.”
And then there is the part where God tells the Israelites to make slaves out of their neighbors and their families. WOW!
So, back to the beginning: The most lethal unpunished crime with a weapon = WORDS. Please go to http://www.hatecrime.org/ (Site of many links for religious right hate speeches) – BUT BEFORE YOU DO, LET ME WARN YOU! WHAT YOU ARE ABOUT TO SEE (AND IF YOU CHOOSE – TO LISTEN), will make you SICK.
Here is the first site: http://hatecrime.org/subpages/hatespeech/hate.html . On this page, you will see the photo of Matthew Shepard “burning in hell” propagated and promoted by a “prominent Conservative Church.” This site comes with a link which promises the visitors to hear Matthew Shepard scream in hell. (Note: At this writing the http://www.godhatesfags.com/ organization had removed the link. It was available for listening until very recently. The specific link is: http://www.godhatesfags.com/library/memorials/matthewshepardmemorial.html
Here is the excerpt from Dr. Paul Cameron who is a “scientist” often quoted by religious right groups, speaking at the 1985 Conservative Political Action Conference. He said, and I quote,
“Unless we get medically lucky, in three or four years, one of the options discussed will be the extermination of homosexuals!”
According to an interview with former Surgeon General C. Everett Koop, Cameron was recommending the extermination option as early as 1983." - Mark E. Pietrzyk, News-Telegraph, March 10, 1995. (Cameron's now-discredited "research" still provides the basis for most of the anti-gay facts and figures used by the religious right - his work is cited often by the Family Research Council, among many others)
Here are some of the ideas and thinking of Dr. Cameron which he still subscribes to today. They are as follows:
* Gays are crime against humanity
* Gays have sex with animals
* Tattoo AIDS patients, castrate gays
* AIDS is a Godsend
* Gays eat feces
* Gays engage in torture and pedophilia
* Put AIDS patients in detention centers
* Outlaw homosexuality, register gays
* Gays prey on the young
* Homosexuality is caused by older predators
* Gays are pedophiles
* Gays molest children
* Gays consume blood
* Gays are promiscuous
* Gays have abnormal sex
* Being gay is dangerous
* Treating AIDS patients is risky
* Gays are medical horror story
* Gays are sexually troubled
* Gays are unhealthy, violent, and bad parents
* Gays beat their spouses
* Gay parents molest their children
* Gays don't believe in commitment
* Thomas Jefferson said to castrate gays
* Gays attack children
With people like Dr. James Dobson (American Family Association), Pat Robertson, Jerry Falwell (father and son) and other bigoted right wing “Christian” groups, there has been an accusation made that it was the homosexuals/gays that were behind the ascension of Adolph Hitler to power. Many more speeches are derived from this.
There are many more public reference sites and locations that propound and propagate hate and ignorance. Please go to the Pat Robertson site for more actual quotations and documentation: http://hatecrime.org/subpages/hatespeech/robertson.html
For a primary example please read the quotations Reverend Robertson uses as to the concept that gays were behind the rise of Adolph Hitler as well as many more speeches. Here is an example of such rhetoric:
“When lawlessness is abroad in the land, the same thing will happen here that happened in Nazi Germany. Many of those people involved in Adolph Hitler were Satanists. Many of them were homosexuals. The two things seem to go together.” - 700 Club, 1-21-93 (source: People for the American Way Foundation)
Next, from the same website location, the late Reverend Jerry Falwell continues to promote and endorse these ideals with examples such as:
1. God hates homosexuals and will crush America.
2. Gays want to abolish all age of consent powers and to eventually recognize pedophiles the prophets of a new sexual order.
3. The Columbine High School killers might be gay.
4. Gays spit on Jews.
5. Gays are diseased, die early and are less productive than heterosexuals.
6. Gays don’t like children
7. Gays commit 80% of child molestation in America.
These horrid statements are then further perpetuated and supposedly confirmed by the Ex-Gay Ministry group (http://www.hatecrime.org/subpages/hatespeech/exgayspeech.html ) with comments such as:
· Satan uses homosexuals
· Gay rights will bring the wrath of God!
· Gays need a good whack
If this is not enough to make you sick … the following articles are available from the Christian Coalition of Maine expressed by its proponent, Paul Volle. Here are some of the examples of statements made by this group: (http://www.hatecrime.org/subpages/hatespeech/cc.html ):
1. Gays ingest urine and fecal matter.
2. Gays rape children.
3. Being gay is akin to pedophilia, bestiality and necrophilia.
We previously mentioned Dr. Paul Cameron, but let’s look at some of the more vile statements he makes from more than fifty abstracts and articles published. Some of the more disgusting ideas are as follows:
1. Gays have sex with animals.
2. AIDS is God sent.
3. Gays eat feces.
4. Gays are pedophiles
5. Gays molest children
6. Gay parents molest their children.
7. Gays attack children.
Who relies on data supplied by Dr. Paul Cameron and some of these aforementioned statistics? Here is a list of just a few that take the so-called “true” facts and expands upon them:
1. The American Family Association
2. Family Research Council (with more than a 100 articles)
3. NARTH (National Association of Research and Therapy of Homosexuality)
4. Colorado for Family Values
5. The Reverend Fred Phelps (with articles with titles such as follows:
a. “God Hates Fags, Matt in Hell”
b. “Gays Pose Greatest Threat to Survival of Nation”
c. “Faggets”
6. Americans for the Truth about Homosexuality – Peter La Barbera (La Barbera is also employed by the Family Research Council and is responsible for articles published like “Gays Threaten School Children” and “Lesbians are Violent” plus much more.
7. The Claremont Institute (with examples of articles like “Gay Civil Rights Could Lead to Slavery & Cannibalism” and “Anal Intercourse and Children”.
8. Former Senate Republican Leader Trent Lott (MS) with quotes from Associated Press June 15, 1998.
9. Reggie White (“Gays Hurt Children”) and more.
10. The Traditional Values Coalition and it’s founder Lou Sheldon (“Gays Are Like Hitler and Gestapo”
11. Senator Don Nickles (Quoted as saying, “gays shouldn’t represent the U.S.)
12. Alveda King: “Gays want to kill the civil rights movement.”
13. Republican Party of Texas: “Gay Republicans are like the K.K.K.”
14. Former U. S. Senator Jesse Helms (R-NC): “Gays are sickening and intellectually dishonest.”
15. Republican Presidential candidate Alan Keys: “Gays cause Nazism”.
16. Dr. Laura Schlessinger: “Gays are deviant – akin to pedophiles and bestiality”
The above samples are just a few of the more than thousands of articles and many by so-called educated people: This type of freedom of speech is a disguised form of legal murder.
There is a saying:
“If you see Evil being committed unto another person and you do nothing to prevent it, you are equally guilty."
Every time that we do not speak up against this type of killing with words, we are equally guilty. I refer you again to the video of Matthew Shepard supposedly burning in hell.
In the last year I have personally received several e-mails telling me that I too will burn in hell because my website offers gay and lesbian commitment ceremonies. I will tell you truthfully that I seek to answer most of them, if I can detect any opportunity in that person’s ramblings to entertain the concept which is laid down for all religions … namely to show love. As you know, LOVE is lost in the messages which are tailored for hate and exclusion. Perhaps … just perhaps … LOVE when used in rebuttals can calm a few souls and find a needed resting place.
I have thought about those who only find a God of Anger in all they do and live by. It must be the most depressing of all conditions, for it cripples the soul, and destroys those around them. I have also thought about their ability to hurt, when stronger voices are not used to counter the litter they throw out upon the world. If YOU care about protecting those whose very existence is constantly attacked by the vile tongues, then the energy you expend to counter their evil is energy well spent, and tends to regenerate you own soul.
Your GIFTS are many. Use them!
Blessings -Reverend Elisheva Clegg & Reverend T. Wade Clegg III