6th Circuit Court Upholds Firing of Anti-Gay College Official

Remember Crystal Dixon (pictured at left), who had been the University of Toledo's interim associate vice president for human resources who got fired for authoring an anti-gay screed in the Toledo Free Press in April 2008?  She quickly became the darling and a martyr in the eyes of the Christofascists who believe that their religious beliefs trump everything else, including job responsibilities and the rights of other citizens.  It is the "it's all about me" mindset that typifies today's self-anointed "godly Christian" crowd.  After losing past case at the District Court, Dixon appealed to the United States Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit.  No doubt the shrieking, spittle flecked horror of the Christofascists, the 6th Circuit upheld her firing by the University of Toledo.  The Chronicle of Higher Education has details:

A federal appeals court has upheld the University of Toledo's decision to fire a high-level human-resources administrator who wrote a newspaper opinion column challenging the idea that gay people deserve the same civil-rights protections as members of racial minority groups.

In a ruling handed down on Monday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the administrator's column "contradicted the very policies she was charged with creating, promoting, and enforcing," and cannot be excused as merely a statement of her own views as a private citizen. The panel affirmed a lower court's decision to dismiss the administrator's lawsuit accusing the public university of violating her constitutional rights by firing her.

At the center of the case was an opinion essay that Crystal Dixon, who had been the university's interim associate vice president for human resources, published in the Toledo Free Press in April 2008. In it, she wrote that she takes "great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are 'civil-rights victims.'" She argued that she "cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a black woman" because she is biologically and genetically such "as my creator intended." But, she said, "daily, thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay lifestyle" with the help of groups such as Exodus International, which claim to be able to help people overcome homosexual desires.

She was fired after a hearing in which she stood by her views but argued that they did not affect her performance as a human-resources administrator, citing her recent decisions to hire "one, possibly two practicing homosexuals" in her own department.

In upholding the dismissal of Ms. Dixon's lawsuit, the federal appeals court said she differed from other employees cited in her equal-protection claim in that her speech, and not theirs, contradicted university policies. The appeals panel said her essay "spoke on policy issues related directly to her position at the university," and the government's interests as an employer outweighed her free-speech interests in the dispute.

In my view, Dixon is a bigoted idiot.  It's truly delicious that she cited Exodus International which has closed its doors and admitted that few, if any, gays actually change their sexual orientation.    Dixon is an example of why the Christofascists continue to fund these bogus "ministries" so that they can dupe the obviously simple minded.

Appeals Court Upholds Firing of College Official Over Anti-Gay Op-Ed

Why does it seem that while claiming that it is gays who want special rights it is actually the Christianists who want special rights?  The special right to bully at will, the right to stigmatize and denigrate others without consequence, and, in the case of Crystal Dixon (pictured at left), to ignore the responsibilities at the University of Toledo and engage in an anti-gay rant in an op-ed in the Toledo Free Press.  This demand by Christianists boils down to an incredible level of selfishness and open contempt for the rights of others.  The Christianists believe that their rights and beliefs trump everything and everyone else.  The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit, however, ruled otherwise and affirmed the University of Toledo's decision to fire Ms. Dixon from her position as a high-level human-resources administrator.  The Chronicle of Higher Education looks at the slap down delivered to Dixon and by extension other self-centered bigots like her.  Here are excerpts"

In a ruling handed down on Monday, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit held that the administrator's column "contradicted the very policies she was charged with creating, promoting, and enforcing," and cannot be excused as merely a statement of her own views as a private citizen. The panel affirmed a lower court's decision to dismiss the administrator's lawsuit accusing the public university of violating her constitutional rights by firing her.

At the center of the case was an opinion essay that Crystal Dixon, who had been the university's interim associate vice president for human resources, published in the Toledo Free Press in April 2008. In it, she wrote that she takes "great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are 'civil-rights victims.'" She argued that she "cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a black woman" because she is biologically and genetically such "as my creator intended." But, she said, "daily, thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay lifestyle" with the help of groups such as Exodus International, which claim to be able to help people overcome homosexual desires.

She was fired after a hearing in which she stood by her views but argued that they did not affect her performance as a human-resources administrator, citing her recent decisions to hire "one, possibly two practicing homosexuals" in her own department.

In upholding the dismissal of Ms. Dixon's lawsuit, the federal appeals court said she differed from other employees cited in her equal-protection claim in that her speech, and not theirs, contradicted university policies. The appeals panel said her essay "spoke on policy issues related directly to her position at the university," and the government's interests as an employer outweighed her free-speech interests in the dispute.

Note how Dixon cited the fraudulent bullshit disseminated by the "ex-gay" crowd to support he bigotry.  That alone in my view makes it clear that the woman is too ignorant to hold any senior university opinion.  We can expect shrieking and flying spittle to engulf the professional Christian set who will falsely claim Christians are being persecuted when in fact it is they who are doing the persecuting.

The Christianists Create a Martyr

As predicted by a number of bloggers, the Christianists are trying to turn former University of Toledo Associate Vice President of Human Resources, Crystal Dixon, into a martyr. Ms. Dixon wrote an anti-gay rant in the Toledo Free Press, which identified Ms. Dixon's position with the University, that among other things said the following:

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"As a Black woman ... I take great umbrage at the notion that those choosing the homosexual lifestyle are civil rights victims. I cannot wake up tomorrow and not be a Black woman. Daily thousands of homosexuals make a life decision to leave the gay lifestyle evidenced by the growing population of PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex Gays) and Exodus International just to name a few. Frequently, the individuals report that the impetus to their change of heart and lifestyle was a transformative experience with God; a realization that their choice of same-sex practices wreaked havoc in their psychological and physical lives."

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Economic data is irrefutable: The normative statistics for a homosexual in the USA include a Bachelor's degree: For gay men, the median household income is $83,000/yr. (Gay singles $62,000; gay couples living together $130,000), almost 80% above the median U.S. household income of $46,326, per census data. For lesbians, the median household income is $80,000/yr. (Lesbian singles $52,000; Lesbian couples living together $96,000); 36% of lesbians reported household incomes in excess of $100,000/yr. Compare that to the median income of the non-college educated Black male of $30,539. The data speaks for itself.

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My final and most important point. There is a divine order. God created human kind male and female (Genesis 1:27). God created humans with an inalienable right to choose. There are consequences for each of our choices, including those who violate God's divine order. It is base human nature to revolt and become indignant when the world or even God Himself, disagrees with our choice that violates His divine order.

Meanwhile, in her position as Associate Vice President of Human Resources, Ms. Dixon was supposed to be impartially and objectively enforcing the University's diversity policies and programs which differ sharply with Ms. Dixons editorial comments (which again clearly designated her position with the University). Here is what the University's diversity policy reads:

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The University of Toledo has declared a policy of providing equal opportunity in all policies and procedures affecting employment and education. In conjunction with the objectives of the policy and in accordance with the various local, state, and federal laws, rules and regulations, the university is committed to providing employment and educational opportunities without regard to race, color, religion, sex, age, national origin, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, veteran status, the presence of a disability, familial status, political affiliation and participation in protected activities.

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Obviously, by her own statements, Ms. Dixon made it clear that she does not support ANY anti-discrimination protecting LGBT individuals, much less the University's policy. She thinks gays are just a bunch of Godless sinners acting on their own hedonistic choices. Never mind that the medical experts take a completely opposing view to that of Ms. Dixon. Thus, it makes perfect sense that the University did not wish to keep her in a position where she obviously doesn't want to follow University policy. Now, she's a martyr for the Chistianists. Here's how professional anti-gay gas bag (and in my opinion, extreme closet case) Robert Knight describes Dixon's firing in Cybercast News:

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"She is being singled out for telling the truth," Knight said, "and that is happening all too often on America's campuses, where speech codes and censures and disciplinary actions are undertaken to enforce a singular point of view on any number of topics. But the homosexual issue seems to be the area where university officials brook the least amount of dissent."

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"The media have played a major role in the success of the gay rights movement by excluding responsible dissent and promoting whatever the gay rights movement wants," Knight told Cybercast News Service . "I don't think it is unfair to say that most media, right down to the community level, are fully owned subsidiaries of the gay rights movement."

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All too typically, Cybercast News also has quotes from an "ex-gay for pay" - the only ones that seem to exist are those being paid to say they are ex-gay - whining the same only "choice" myth and citing their marriage to a woman. I assue you, being married to a woman does not mean you are straight - just in deep denial. I tried that approach for 24 years and guess what? It doesn't work.