Yes, it’s me, ExGayWatch’s lone UK correspondent, amazingly still breathing. 😉
Despite my infrequent articles, I intend to remain a contributor to the blog, and I urge any UK readers with tips or ideas for UK-related issues or stories to get in touch.
I did want to share two US-related items, however. The first is from Marc Adams of HeartStrong, a charity that reaches out to GLBT kids in religious schools. Recently HeartStrong was booked to appear at outreach events at two US churches, one a Roman Catholic church, the other a Unitarian Universalist church that happens to rent a building from the local Catholic Diocese.
After a spate of publicity about HeartStrong in the local press, the Catholic priest pulled out. The Unitarians did not. Marc continues:
[The UU church] received a letter from the lawyers from the Catholic Diocese of their state. The letter simply stated that their lease was being dissolved. This was a direct attempt to intimidate the church.Aside from the destruction of a lease, we feel that we must come forward publicly about what has happened. The Catholic Diocese of this state has made verbal attacks against myself and HeartStrong. Their attempt to silence us by attempting to force the church into submission is not acceptable at any level.
We are currently working with the leaders of the UU church to make a joint public statement, hold a public rally and make sure there isn’t anyone who doesn’t know about what happened.
We will not be silenced in our work. We will not be intimidated by anyone and we certainly will not tolerate the Catholic Diocese of this particular state bullying anyone or do anything illegal.
About 1/3 of the people who come to HeartStrong for assistance are from Catholic schools.
I thought it was important attention was drawn to this, and Marc agreed. I’m not sure how exactly you sign up to the HeartStrong mailing list, but all contact details are here.
The second US story I wanted to comment on was Richard John Neuhaus’s recent column in First Things, related to the Ted Haggard scandal. I really just wanted to register my disappointment and frustration with this kind of neocon rubbish, which positively drips with disdain for gays. Here’s a short quote to give you the idea:
In tones of adolescent rage and petulance, which is the characteristic gay voice, commentator after commentator has accused Haggard of hypocrisy … What most Americans know about being gay is distinctively unattractive and, in their view, morally repugnant. Gay advocates deceive themselves in thinking that the more people know about homosexuality the more they will approve of it.
The “characterist gay voice”! And therein lies the problem: To Neuhaus, “gay” is not you and me, real flesh-and-blood human beings in our own right. We’re just a “them”, all one of a kind. Until conservatives learn to look past the “them”, and at you and me, I’m afraid Neuhaus and those who think like him will never get it.
Yeah… that got my hackles up too. If I still have hackles….
But the next paragraph… well, there’s an element of truth in what he says, even if the way he says it is rather condescending. I don’t think the Foley scandal was at all good for gay peoples. What Foley did is not what we’re about. What Haggard did is not either. However, both cases are influenced by the closet which they perceive they must inhabit to certain degrees.
What is there for gay people is that the hypocrisy is not necessarily a personal one, but a societal one. And that is what so much of America fails or downright refuses to see. I’d count Neuhaus among the refuseniks. And he sees the greater part of American society as following his refusenik banner, especially when he says things like: Chelsea and the West Village, along with the Castro district of San Francisco and counterparts in other larger cities, are not America. Gays live in such places precisely because they are not America..
It seemed like nearly every paragraph had that seething condescension, like saliva slobbered out of his mouth. He expects that America will always be as he is in his own “self-serving illogicity.”
The Neuhaus comment reveals a telling tactic of many who would “manage” groups and define groups. Neuhaus not only makes pronouncements about gays; as well he claims to speak for “most Americans.” He knows what they know. This is a way of herding and pushing together something that does not exist, i.e. group marching behind Neuhaus, thinking as he directs. We’re moving away from such, rather than toward it. Find another tactic, Neuhaus!
Richard John Neuhaus says
But earlier this year Pew Research found that only 50% of Americans consider being gay “morally wrong”. And its a very long step from morally wrong to “morally repugnant”. Neuhuas makes the mistake (also often also made by ex-gays) of thinking that the conversations that he has with his friends are representative of a greater whole.
That’s an easy mistake. But making proclamations based on this falacy without doing the slightest research shines a public spotlight on ones own shortsightedness and bigotry.
The religious doctrines of the Unitarian Universalist are about as far from Catholicism as you can get and still make some vague claim on the name “Christian”.
UU describes itself thusly:
I find it fascinating that the Catholic Church can tolerate rejection of doctrines of redemption, authority, Scripture, and creed but cannot tolerate having a gay person speak.
Talk about priorities!!
“adolescent rage and petulance”
sounds a lot like Neuhaus himself.
He needs to look in the mirror.
If you live in Connecticut and would be interested to meet Marc Adams in person, we are very privileged to be hosting him at our PFLAG chapter meeting next Tuesday (November 21) at 7:30 p.m. Our chapter meets at the Church of the Redeemer on the corner of Whitney Ave. and Cold Spring Street in New Haven. Please email the chapter at greaternewhavenpflag@yahoo.com if you’d like more info or directions. All are welcome and child care is provided if you let us know ahead of time.
Jane in CT
Gay advocates deceive themselves in thinking that the more people know about homosexuality the more they will approve of it.
Interesting – this Harris Interactive Poll would seem to challenge that notion (it is from 2000, however):
https://www.harrisinteractive.com/news/allnewsbydate.asp?NewsID=184
Some findings:
85% of those with a close relationship to a gay or lesbian person support legislation to define and increase penalties for hate crimes as compared to 74% of likely voters who do not know anyone who is gay or lesbian.
80% of those with a close relationship to a gay or lesbian person support workplace anti-discrimination laws as compared to 58% of those who do not know anyone gay or lesbian.
74% of those with a close relationship to a gay or lesbian person support allowing gays to openly serve in the military as compared to 46% of those who do not know anyone gay or lesbian.
I am pretty sure other polls show the same thing – maybe Mr. Neuhaus should do some research next time.