Okay now, kids, you'd better hold me back. I know there are those who thought that my earlier post More Hypocrisy of the Well Known Saints was a little harsh and that I expressed a little bit of anger over the Ted Haggard deal (you should see the Christian-tongue-lashing email I received from a past acquaintance....I'll post it sometime). But I'm going crazy, again. Uncle Lewis (Daddy Lewis to some of you) is quickly coming unglued. What the @#$%^&* is the (unconditional, loving Christian woman) Carrie Gordon Earll (who works for the infamous Focus on the Family and is good friends with the Ted Haggard of "I want to be a good Christian pastor, bash gays, and buy drugs and sleep with gay escorts on the side" fame) talking about? You can find the whole article here. After taking a Maalox and grabbing a bucket for puking in, follow me through some of her quotes:
She expressed empathy for the Cheney family. Pardon me? "Empathy" for a family who is expecting a child, a grandchild? Maybe she's confused. Sweetie, they're not getting a fatal illness, rat infestation, or jar of peanut butter in their home....they're getting a beautiful, brand new baby. Maybe try "happiness" or "joy" or one of those more well-received and appropriate adjectives. Empathy is what we express to those who call you a friend. (Ouch, I know.)
She also depicted the newly announced pregnancy as unwise. I guess when I think of "unwise," I think of (oh, should we do the short or long list here??) allowing children to be born into heterosexual homes that don't take care of them, don't feed them, abuse them, beat them, do drugs with them in the home, drink in front of them. We could go on to wars that our good Christian nation started on purpose, harboring pedophiles in the name of the church, and not taking a stronger stance on the ills growing inside the church in our world today. Those things are, quite clearly, unwise.
And finally, the title track of today's post: Love can't replace a mother and father. Shame that she has now bashed thousands (millions?) of wonderful children who grew up in same-sex parent homes. Maybe we could arrange lunch with Ms. Earll to quickly remind her of the mothers and fathers, dare I say even inside of her own organization, that have not wanted their children, have hated their children, and have slapped and molested their children. Oh yeah, love surely can't replace a heterosexual mother and father who don't want the children they have.
And this is where you, my readers, come in. I would like to hear your stories about growing up in homes that weren't "normal, standard" homes. Maybe a single parent, maybe same-sex parents, maybe no parents at all. Or how about grandparents or neighbors raising you? There are plenty of children being raised today by people who aren't their father or mother. Let's hear it! Ms. Earll needs to hear it, apparently. I'm sorry, what was the name of the organization that she represents again......I thought it was Focus on the Family....but it doesn't sound like it's fulfilling it's purpose. Yes, I'm angry, outraged and fired up. No apologies here, kids. I'm mad.
After you post your story here, I encourage you to take a look at Ms. Earll's press site and then write or call her office. She needs to hear your story. Oh, say, while you're on her site, pay close attention to the slug line Nurturing and Defending Families Worldwide. Huh? Say what?
She expressed empathy for the Cheney family. Pardon me? "Empathy" for a family who is expecting a child, a grandchild? Maybe she's confused. Sweetie, they're not getting a fatal illness, rat infestation, or jar of peanut butter in their home....they're getting a beautiful, brand new baby. Maybe try "happiness" or "joy" or one of those more well-received and appropriate adjectives. Empathy is what we express to those who call you a friend. (Ouch, I know.)
She also depicted the newly announced pregnancy as unwise. I guess when I think of "unwise," I think of (oh, should we do the short or long list here??) allowing children to be born into heterosexual homes that don't take care of them, don't feed them, abuse them, beat them, do drugs with them in the home, drink in front of them. We could go on to wars that our good Christian nation started on purpose, harboring pedophiles in the name of the church, and not taking a stronger stance on the ills growing inside the church in our world today. Those things are, quite clearly, unwise.
And finally, the title track of today's post: Love can't replace a mother and father. Shame that she has now bashed thousands (millions?) of wonderful children who grew up in same-sex parent homes. Maybe we could arrange lunch with Ms. Earll to quickly remind her of the mothers and fathers, dare I say even inside of her own organization, that have not wanted their children, have hated their children, and have slapped and molested their children. Oh yeah, love surely can't replace a heterosexual mother and father who don't want the children they have.
And this is where you, my readers, come in. I would like to hear your stories about growing up in homes that weren't "normal, standard" homes. Maybe a single parent, maybe same-sex parents, maybe no parents at all. Or how about grandparents or neighbors raising you? There are plenty of children being raised today by people who aren't their father or mother. Let's hear it! Ms. Earll needs to hear it, apparently. I'm sorry, what was the name of the organization that she represents again......I thought it was Focus on the Family....but it doesn't sound like it's fulfilling it's purpose. Yes, I'm angry, outraged and fired up. No apologies here, kids. I'm mad.
After you post your story here, I encourage you to take a look at Ms. Earll's press site and then write or call her office. She needs to hear your story. Oh, say, while you're on her site, pay close attention to the slug line Nurturing and Defending Families Worldwide. Huh? Say what?
7 comments:
I wish I could post about how difficult it was growing up in many of the situations you describe, however I can't. I had a mother, and a father, both fantastic parents. "Focuc On The Family" would be beaming.
Well, maybe not...
My mom happened to be one of those "feminists".
I was raised agnostic, with exposure to all churches if I desired, and the full support to make my own, if any, decision regarding spiritual faith.
For as long as I can remember there have been gay people in my life. From "Aunty Gwen and Aunty Linda", who were treated as nothing less than just that, full members of the family.
There were the kids in my high school, who, before I did, would come out to my mother!
I suppose the pivitol reason I feel no shame in who I am today, was the evening in 1987 when I told my parents I was gay. "Are you happy". was the question. I answered yes.
"Then so are we".
Take that Focus On The Family! And maybe if you don't have such a harmoneous relationship with your own, work on your family, not mine, hers, his, or theirs. Work on your own bigoted, small minded, scared of change, etc. etc. myopic world view.
Because for a group with "focus" in their name, I'm not seeing much of it directed back at yourselves. Or perhaps that's the point?
What is it with these people?
Good blog.
**Cheering on my couch**
Yeah! Tell 'em, Lewis!
the fight for marraige equality rages on full tilt here in NJ.
yesterday the state judiciary committee took more testimony and hopefully before too long, we can see what life is like at the front of the bus.
My mom first asked me if I was gay when I was 14. I said no then, but every yer she would ask, and when I finally said yes, she said she had known since I was a child, and that she would always love me and want me to be happy. When I came out to my dad, he wasn't too fond of it, well actually, I think it was the boyfriend that he didn't like more than us being gay, something about him not being good enough for me... how "normal" is that? Now? my family was at my wedding ( not that b/f, a much better guy), the husband and I are our nephew's godparents,and we all have dinner together at least once a month. There is no diffence between my brother and his wife than with me and my husband. Heck, our wedding pictures hang side by side at my folks house as well as at my aunts & grandmothers!
I grew up in a "traditional" family with a father who was an expert at psychological abuse. I wanted my mother to divorce him, but she was too passive. He's been dead 10 years and I don't miss him at all.
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