Homophobia is Alive and Well in Non-Urban Virginia

Nichols Hardware, scene of purported anti-gay tirade.

While Virginia's urban areas for the most part are moving into the 21st century, rural areas and Republican strongholds continue to year for the 1950's and segregation and when gays remained mostly invisible.  Things are the worst in Southwest Virginia, but even in the outer exurbs of Washington, D.C., a longing for the ugly days of the past.  A case in point is Purcellville in western Loudoun, County, home of  right wing Christian Patrick Henry College which has a "statement of faith" for both students and faculty that (i) requires the teaching of creationism, and (ii) pretty much excludes all but white evangelical Christians.  As the Washington Post reports, an employee of Nichols Hardware when on an anti-gay rant while waiting on an Eagle Scout candidate.  Apparently, the Scouts' policy of accepting gay scouts was too much for the man.  Here are story highlights:

A historic hardware store in Purcellville, Va., is at the center of a community controversy over allegations that one of its employees used an anti-gay slur after refusing to help a Boy Scout asking for donations for a service project.

The alleged incident happened Friday afternoon at Nichols Hardware, a family-owned store that was founded more than 100 years ago and is a “trip back in time,” according to a Loudoun County history organization.

After the boy and his father were turned away, Carlyn Hamilton, who was finishing up her purchase, said the employee turned to her and said, “You know they let homos in, right?” He was referring to the Boy Scouts. “And he said, ‘We do not support homos around here, I can tell you that,’ ” Hamilton said Sunday.

When contacted Sunday by The Washington Post, a manager at Nichols who would identify himself only as Glenn called the allegation “hearsay.” He said he would talk to the employee Monday. “I won’t put up with it,” he said. “If it turns out to be true, he will be terminated.”

The allegations marked another clash in what has become a nationwide culture war over the Boy Scouts of America’s rapid expansion of rights to gay members. In 2013, the organization ended its prohibition on openly gay youths, and in 2015, it ended its ban against openly gay scout leaders. Last year, the organization announced that it would accept transgender children who identify as boys.

The group also announced last year that it would welcome girlsfor the first time. Beginning in February, it will be known as Scouts BSA.

The moves were unpopular among some religious conservatives, many of whom had viewed the Boy Scouts as a paragon of traditional values. Earlier this month, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, which teaches that gay relationships are immoral, ended its century-long relationship with the organization.

Hamilton said she was waiting for her receipt when the bell at the door chimed, and the teen entered the store with his father. “I noticed how handsome he looked,” she said. “Well-pressed Boy Scout uniform. He looked very proud, and maybe a little nervous.”

He asked the three men behind the counter for help with his project. Immediately, one of them told him, “ ‘Absolutely not,’ ” Hamilton said. “ ‘There is no such thing as the Boy Scouts anymore.’ ” The boy froze, she said, uncertain. “And he was like: ‘Did you hear me? We don’t support your organization. You allow in gays.’ ”  The employee pointed at the door, she said, and the boy lowered his head. “Thank you for your time,” the boy said.

“It broke my heart,” Hamilton said.  Then she got mad. She went onto Facebook and wrote a lengthy recap of what had happened. “How dare you demean an innocent child?” she wrote. “SHAME on you Nichols!” The post immediately caught fire, igniting more than 300 comments and calls for a boycott.

“Time for all those old guys to retire,” one woman wrote.  “Absolutely disgusting!” another woman wrote. “Never getting my business. Probably racists too.”

The store’s manager said he was worried about what the drama might mean for the store.  “It’s costing us business,” he said. But he said there was no way he would know what was happening online. “I don’t use the Internet,” he said. “I don’t know how to use the Internet.” 

The one comment is likely accurate - they are likely racists as well.  A recent issue of Virginia Business contained an article that looked at the difficulties of securing health care providers for rural regions in Virginia.  Given the presence of this kind of bigotry, it's not a surprise that educated people avoid such areas. 

Homosexuality at Wingnut Patrick Henry College?

Virginia sadly has more than its share of loony bin crazy educational institutions including Pat Robertson's Regent University and the late Jerry Falwell's Liberty University.  But perhaps the craziest of all is Patrick Henry College ("PHC") located in Purcellville, Virginia, which is an Evangelical institution with an enrollment of approximately 325.  Patrick Henry College was founded by home school champion Mike Farris, a failed right wing politician, who takes Kool-Aid drinking to nearly unknown levels.  Now, Farris is acting like Iran's Ahmadinejad (Farris is indeed just as crazy and extreme) and claiming that homosexuality cannot possible exist at his bizarre Christianist institution.  The firestorm started back in July when three anonymous writers with ties to the school launched a controversial blog titled Queer at Patrick Henry College. Frankly, I am not surprised that closet cases exist at PHC.  Friends who used to live in Lynchburg, the home of Liberty University, have related how the gay chat rooms and hook up sites were always filled with married Liberty faculty members and Liberty students.  The Loudoun Times looks at this entertaining controversy.  Here are highlights:

Gay students at Patrick Henry College in Purcellville don’t exist. They can’t exist.  So says Dr. Michael Farris, the college’s founder and chancellor.  It’s simple, really. Homosexuals can’t exist at Patrick Henry College because the students sign an honor code, Farris claimed. “[Homosexuals] could not sign our honor code,” Farris said, adding that he considers the actions of gay men and women “sinful.” “Part of the honor code is to be sexually pure,” he added.

So you can imagine the chancellor’s consternation when he learned of Queer at Patrick Henry College, a six-month-old, provocatively-titled blog operated by three pseudonymous writers – all of whom graduated from or have taken classes at the school.

Queer at Patrick Henry College’s intent is to be a “safe online space for closeted students and alumni to share thoughts about LGBTQ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and questioning) issues, without the risk of school punishment,” according to one of the blog’s founders, who goes by the nom de plume Kate Kane.

“Currently there are three contributors, though we are in contact with other students and graduates who are LGBTQ or identify as straight allies,” Kane said.  Kane and co-founder Alan Scott told the Times-Mirror the reasons for anonymity range from not yet “coming out” to friends and family to professional connections to the school.

The pseudonyms were not chosen by accident. Katherine Kane is the name of “Batwoman” in DC Comics. Kane’s character has received attention for being arguably the most prominent LGBT superhero. Alan Scott is the fictional name of DC Comics’ Golden Age “Green Lantern,” who was recently reintroduced in the series as a gay superhero. The third regular blogger at Queer at Patrick Henry, Captain Jack, takes the name of Jack Harkness, a character from the BBC’s “Doctor Who” and its spinoff “Torchwood.” Harkness is the first non-heterosexual character in televised “Doctor Who.” 

Dr. Farris is not a fan. On Dec. 1 the chancellor sent a message to Queer at Patrick Henry through Facebook.   “This page is in violation of our copyright of the name Patrick Henry College,” Farris wrote. “... you must remove this page at once. On Monday, we will began (sic) the legal steps to seek removal from Facebook and from the courts if necessary. In the process of this matter we can seek discovery from Facebook to learn your identity and seek damages from you as permitted by law. The best thing for all concerned is for you to simply remove this page.”  The next day, Farris withdrew his legal bluff. Again through Facebook, the chancellor and constitutional lawyer stated: “After further consultation, I withdraw my note from yesterday. While we believe in the inappropriate nature of the use of our trademarked name, we believe that litigation is not appropriate.”

But Farris’ correspondence had already put in motion a stirring week on campus, according to people familiar with the situation.  A  source close to the college, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, told the Times-Mirror the blog was “all anyone [was] talking about” on campus.

Upon launching Queer at Patrick Henry (queerPHC.wordpress.com), Kane and Scott were inspired by blogs at other Christian colleges, namely BJUnity at Bob Jones University in upstate South Carolina. Kane and Scott recalled wishing there was a similar support network and outlet for Patrick Henry College students that felt they had no one to talk with about sexuality and the range of emotions that go with realizing one is gay.  “Since we didn’t see any other PHC students or alumni stepping forward to create such a network, we decided to start QPHC,” Kane said.

Known as a favorite institution for Evangelical parents and their children, Patrick Henry College has an estimated enrollment of 325, many of which were homeschooled in their pre-college years. In addition to the college, Farris is the founder of the Home School Legal Defense Association (HSLDA), which maintains a close connection with the school – the Purcellville campus serves as the HSLDA headquarters.

 

Scott said he knows numerous students who have experienced feelings of isolation and loneliness because of their sexuality. The college can feel “very oppressive at times,” he said, which is why the blog is so essential.  “Queer at Patrick Henry wants to make sure [students] know theyaren’t alone and that it is possible to both accept one’s queerness and continue strongly in one’s faith,” Scott said.

In his comments to the Times-Mirror, Farris made clear Patrick Henry College is not a friendly environment for homosexuals.

One question naturally comes to mind when considering Patrick Henry College and gay rights and tolerance: “Why would an openly gay, bisexual or transgender person, or someone who’s questioning their sexuality, choose to attend a hard-line Christian institution?”  "It’ s a good question,” Kane said. “And there are a few answers ... I know for me, if my parents were going to sign off on a loan for school, it had to be fundamentalist college.” (Farris said he does not consider the school to be “fundamentalist.”) 

Scott and other sources maintain a surge of conversations about gay issues have come about since word of Farris’ threat spread.  “I remain hopeful for the possibility of more positive interactions with [administration] in the future,” Scott said. “I look forward to when it is possible to have mature, open, honest and loving conversation about LGBTQ issues at PHC without students or alumni experiencing fear of reprisal, rejection, or shaming.” 

In my opinion, few people are more unhinged from reality than Mike Farris.  I love it that Queer at Patrick Henry is forcing Farris to have at least some slight experience with reality and the fact that God made some of us gay notwithstanding the writings of ignorant Neolithic herders that Farris embraces as the literal truth.