Earlier in the week I did a post about the censoring of a student art project at Brigham Young University. Apparently the negative coverage became so intense that the university reversed its decision and the art display has been restored. Much of the negative coverage came via the blogosphere and demonstrates that by focusing attention on bigotry change can happen. Here are some high lights from Dan Savage's blog:*
Portraits of gay Brigham Young University students taken by a photography major for a class project are back in an exhibit at the school's fine arts building four days after school officials removed the display.
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Wiltbank said he spoke with college leadership on Monday. Later that day, bloggers around the country began to criticize BYU and its owner, The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Some attacked the school and church. The Deseret News requested a statement from the university Tuesday morning. The display went back up Tuesday afternoon.
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The story interestingly enough also received reference in a column in the Mormon Times which seems to argue against some of the extremism that has been the hallmark of the Mormon Church towards gays both before and after the Proposition 8 vote. The writer even seems to get the message that gays are human beings too and should not be simply condemned on a wholesale basis. Here are some highlights:
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In talking to friends about the issue, I find that many of us have virtually no comprehension of the other side's arguments. They're not all ridiculous, you know. And when we automatically dismiss everything our aggressors say without a second thought, we are being just as ignorant and intolerant as we accuse them of being. If we want to claim true Christian discipleship, we should start with a Christlike understanding of what is motivating our "enemies." So here I offer a summary of some of their arguments and encouragement to reconsider some of our own.
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One credible argument they employ is that banning homosexual marriage promotes promiscuity in the gay community. Proposition 8 could discourage gays from settling down and starting families, therefore forcing them to live the single life forever. . . . when I brought it up with one of my roommates, he immediately rejected the notion with a look of disgust. No coherent arguments were formed, but he just could not accept that gay activists might actually have something reasonable to say.
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We should also try to understand why this is such an important issue to the gay community. . . . the fact that we disagree on the fundamental definition of marriage doesn't mean that we can't acknowledge why they would want it.
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Finally, it's important to remember that those who are spray painting our places of worship do not make up the majority of homosexuals in the country; and many of the protesters aren't even gay. Making inaccurate generalizations regarding large groups of people probably isn't something we want to get involved in, considering our current situation.
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On the fourth floor of the Harris Fine Arts Center at BYU, there is an exhibit displaying eight photographs, each depicting a Mormon male. The plaque next to the photos explains that some of the men pictured identify themselves as homosexual BYU students; the others are people who lend support to their friends struggling with same-sex attraction. There are no labels to distinguish between the two groups.As I finish this column, I am sitting on a bench next to the display. . .
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I think the late archaeologist Howard Winters' quote accompanying the display sums up their conversation -- and the way we all ought to act -- pretty well: "Civilization is the process in which one gradually increases the number of people included in the term 'we' or 'us' and at the same time decreases those labeled 'you' or 'them' until that category has no one left in it."
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