Religious Conservatives Are Not the Victims of Bullying

This blog has looked at the myth of Christian persecution that is being fanned by the professional Christian class a number of time.  What they describe as persecution actually comes down to restrictions on their ability to bully and persecute others.  Anything that restricts the rights of the "godly folk" to trample on the rights of others and treat others despicably magically becomes anti-Christian bullying.  Like most of what comes out of the mouths of these foul, self-centered people it is all a lie.  In a piece in The Daily Beast, Bishop Eugene Robinson - whose ordination caused "conservative" Episcopalians to leave the leadership of the Episcopal Church USA and swear fealty to African bishops (one of whom is suspected of ordering the slaughter of 600 Muslims - takes these liars to task.  Here are column excerpts:

It is understandable that religious conservatives would feel uncomfortable and unsettled by recent developments in the church and in the culture. But are they victims? Is there, as many would claim, a “war on religion?”

In American religious communities, across every denominational demographic, support for equal rights for LGBT people, and particularly support for marriage equality for gay couples, is on the rise. In most denominations, that rise has resulted in majority support even when the denominational hierarchy disagrees.

[T]he result of knowing someone gay is that most people are now unwilling to believe or accept all the negative things said about us. The sky has not fallen, nor have church roofs caved in, just because gay marriage is legal in 17 states, plus the District of Columbia. Life goes on pretty much as normal, and in fact, people are seeing that marriage equality strengthens the institution of marriage, rather than undermining it.

For those religious conservatives who see something sinister and immoral in gay and lesbian couples having the right to marry, it must feel as if the moral universe has gone awry. The reaction to this development has engendered a fear that cultural morality is veering out of control. Nothing is as it should be. And it must feel to them that if such a proposition as marriage equality for gay and lesbian couples is accepted, nothing will now stop the world from careening out of moral control. That would be a pretty scary place for a religious person to live.

But I have to ask: are religious conservatives confusing the pain of finding oneself “suddenly” in the minority with actually being a victim? Both feel uncomfortable, even painful, and are fraught with anxiety. But they’re very different.

Here’s what victimization looks like: every day, especially in some places, LGBT people face the real possibility of violence because of their orientation or gender identity. Young people jump off bridges or hang themselves on playground swing sets because of the bullying and discrimination they face. In 29 states, one can be fired from one’s job simply for being gay, with no recourse to the courts. In most places, we cannot legally marry the one we love. Some of us have been kicked out of the house when we come out to our parents, and many young LGBT people find themselves homeless and on the streets because of the attitudes of their religious parents toward their LGBT children. And did I mention the everyday threat of violence?

Compare that to the very painful realization that one’s view of something like homosexuality is in the minority after countless centuries of being in the majority. 

[A]s a society, we would do well to distinguish between real victimization and the also-very-real discouragement felt by those who now find themselves in the minority.

I do not mean to brush aside as inconsequential the feelings of those who find themselves in the minority, whether it be around the topic of gender, race, or sexual orientation. But I do mean to question characterizing such feelings as discrimination, violation of religious freedom, and victimization. It’s time we called out our religious brothers and sisters for misunderstanding their recently-acquired status as members of a shrinking minority as victims.

 Personally, I cannot feel any sympathy for these supposedly bullied Christofascists.  For decades - actually centuries - they have made life hell for others and cause all kinds of pain, suffering, violence and suicides.  That the larger society has finally recognized them for what they are is not persecution.  If anything, it is karma belatedly giving them back as they have done to others.