Anti-Gay Richard Land Reprimanded and Show Cancelled After Racist Remarks

My experience has been that when harbors hate and one is a bigot towards one group, it's likely that the individual also harbors similar feelings towards other minority groups.  Richard Land, laughably the chief ethics official of the Southern Baptist Convention ("SBC"), is a case in point.  Land is viciously anti-gay and would appear to be a racist as well.  In the wake of the murder of Trayvon Martin Land shot off his big mouth with vitriolic and inflammatory remarks attacking Barack Obama and supporting racial profiling of blacks.  Apparently, this was too much from a PR perspective even for the SBC which came into being when southern Baptist churches broke from the American Baptist Association so that they could continue to support slavery.  Land has reportedly been reprimanded and has had his hate spouting radio show cancelled.  What the SBC should have done was flat out fired Land and given him his walking papers.  The Richmond Times-Dispatch has details.  Here are highlights:

The Southern Baptist Convention's ethics chief was reprimanded today and his radio show canceled after he made inflammatory comments about the Trayvon Martin case.

Among other things, Richard Land accused President Barack Obama and other black leaders of shamefully exploiting Martin's death for political gain. He also said racial profiling was understandable given the crime statistics for black men.

Land’s comments upset many black Southern Baptist leaders, one of whom called for Land's resignation. The controversy got more intense when a blogger revealed that Land's commentary was copied nearly verbatim from an editorial in The Washington Times, although Land did not credit the newspaper on the air.  After an investigation, the trustees board of the SBC's Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission reprimanded Land for the comments and the plagiarism. Land, who is the commission's president, has previously apologized for both.

The commission takes public stands on issues like abortion and same-sex marriage. In his position at the commission’s head for nearly 24 years, the outspoken Land has become the Southern Baptist Convention’s most visible spokesman.

But his comments on Martin came as the nation’s largest Protestant denomination is attempting to distance itself from a past that includes support for slavery and segregation. Faced with declining membership, the Nashville-based SBC is trying to broaden its appeal beyond its traditional white, Southern base - a goal that Land supports.

The board’s statement, which was released in the Baptist Press, calls Land’s comments about Martin "hurtful, irresponsible, insensitive, and racially charged."  .   .   .   . 
"We must now redouble our efforts to regain lost ground, to heal re-opened wounds, and to realize the dream of a Southern Baptist Convention that is just as diverse as the population of our great Nation."  The statement also reprimands Land for his unattributed use of The Washington Times editorial, saying he unwisely accepted practices that occur in the radio industry.


"Finally," the statement reads, "we have carefully considered the content and purpose of the Richard Land Live! broadcast. We find that they are not congruent with the mission of the ERLC."  On the call-in show, Land discusses the news of the day, including politics. The board says the show will be cancelled as soon as possible within the bounds of their contract with the Salem Radio Network.