Conservative/Christianist Hate Speech Has Deadly Consequences

The talking heads of the Far Right, Fox News a/k/a Faux News, and Christianist organizations put out a constant stream of hate -filled propaganda that slowly and subtly poisons the minds of those with bigoted inclinations and over time can create a justification for violence against those depicted as the enemy. Two of the favorite targets are gays and those alleged to be illegal immigrants. In the case of the latter group, here's what the American Family Association had to say about recent immigration bill proposals:

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[T]his bill offers a provisional Z visa which instantly conveys legal status on approximately 12,000,000 illegal immigrants. It grants illegal immigrants massive benefits (subsidized college tuition rates, free legal counsel for agricultural workers, etc.) in return for a token fee - $3,000 for an individual, $5,000 for a family of five. And that is only the beginning! This bill will cost U.S. taxpayers trillions of dollars. Those who broke the law and entered illegally are rewarded. Those who are working within the immigration laws aren’t given the preference granted to illegals.

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With respect to gays, it's even worse. Here's an example of AFA fear mongering towards gays and the alleged gay agenda:

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Transvestite teachers. Boys kissing boys in restrooms. Teens taught about anal sex. "Gay" fairy tales for children. Could these things actually become a reality in our public schools? The speed of change in our society thus far, driven by resolute homosexual activists, indicates that the answer is most assuredly yes.

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Recent events have demonstrated how this hate speech DOES translate into violence against those targeted. The first is the sad events at the Unitarian Church in Knoxville, Tennessee where individuals were murdered by a main bent on attacking liberals and those who are supportive of gays. Wayne Besen has a good column that looks at this phenomenon. Here are some highlights:

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In Knoxville, Tennessee, a homophobic loser burst into a Unitarian Church where a children’s play was being performed and unleashed a fusillade of gunfire, killing two people and injuring six. According to police, Jim D. Adkisson, “had targeted the church because of its liberal leanings and his belief that all liberals should be killed because they were ruining the country.”

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The far right’s dirty little secret is that they depend on the threat of violence to retard the advancement of the GLBT movement. Without the fear of physical attack, the number of people who are out of the closet would quickly multiply. Gay couples would hold hands in every city in the nation. On each block, from San Francisco to San Antonio, gay and lesbian people would be visibly present. Each day, all but the bravest GLBT people make subtle or even significant adjustments to remain safe.

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What the right wing realizes, however, is it only takes a small number of twisted fanatics to keep GLBT people in check. We rarely know who these lunatics are, as they often keep their hate closeted. But, each gay person knows these hidden ticking time bombs exist and could go off at any moment — shattering our lives.

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When Focus on the Family’s James Dobson says that giving gay people the freedom to marry will “destroy the earth” he is encouraging hate crimes. When Oklahoma state legislator Sally Kern says that homosexuality is the “death knell of this country,” she is promoting gay bashing. When Elaine Donnelly told a congressional committee that lifting Don’t Ask/Don’t Tell would let lesbians take pictures of people in the shower she was setting the stage for violence. . . . . We live in a society filled with violently homophobic messages and images, yet the perpetrators — both religious and secular — feign innocence and say they can’t imagine how anti-gay hate crimes occur.

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With respect to the constant anti-immigrant mantra that the far right is putting out, a recent beating death suggests that the teens that killed a young Hispanic illegal immigrant had absorbed this message of hate all too fully. What is so truly sickening is that so many of these hater go to church and pride themselves on being "good Christians." Somehow, I suspect Christ would feel revulsion at having his name cited by such people. Here are some highlights from CNN:

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SHENANDOAH, Pennsylvania (CNN) -- By the time help arrived, Luis Ramirez lay convulsing in the middle of the street, foam running from his mouth. Blows had struck the 25-year-old illegal Mexican immigrant with such force that they left a clotted, bruised impression of Jesus Christ on the skin of his chest from the religious medal he wore.

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His attackers were white teenagers, including star students and football players, witnesses told police. After a night of drinking, the teens taunted the undocumented worker with racial epithets, pummeled him to the ground and then kicked him in the head, court documents charge. He died in a hospital two days later.

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By this time, Eileen Burke, a retired Philadelphia police officer, had stepped out of her home after hearing Arielle Garcia's pleas to stop the beating. Burke recalled hearing one final, ominous threat as the teens ran. "They yelled, 'You effin bitch, tell your effin Mexican friends get the eff out of Shenandoah or you're gonna be laying effin next to him,' " she said. Ramirez was taken off life support two days after the fight. His body was flown back to his mother in Guanajuato, Mexico, with donations from parishioners from Annunciation Church in Shenandoah.

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On Main Street, where people gather on benches in front of the remaining storefronts, some members of the Anglo community are also outraged. "The young guys around here are racist because they think they're so much better than everyone else," said Jessica Lane, 18, as her 2-year-old son, Damien, squirmed in her lap. Shenandoah officials now acknowledge a racial element of Ramirez's death.