Right Wing Jumps on Sexual Orientation of Black, Gay Shooter in Virginia

By now I suspect almost anyone in America who is not living under a rock has heard of the horrific murder of two WDBJ-TV (Channel 7) employees - reporter Alison Parker, 24, and cameraman Adam Ward, 27 - during an on air broadcast by a disgruntled former WDBJ-TV employee.  The shooter, Vester Lee Flanagan II’s, a/k/a Bryce Williams, obviously had serious mental problems, yet under Virginia's ridiculous gun laws was able to easily purchase a gun.  Governor MsAuliffe (who I saw last evening) has rightly cited the murders as yet more proof that Virginia needs to change its lax gun control laws - Virginia is a major source of illegal guns in New York City.  The Christofascists and whores of the gun lobby have a different take.  According to them, the whole tragedy is the result of the evil of disaffected gays (and by inference, cry baby minorities) and the Democrat Party.   First, blogger friend Joe Jervis looks at the poison being disseminated by Christofascists and right wing extremists such as little twerp Ben Shapiro who seemingly has no credentials to make him a knowledgeable commentator on anything.  Here are highlights:

According to Ben Shapiro, the Virginia shooter was driven to murder by the left’s enabling of his gay black victimhood status.

Bryce Williams’ self-described victim status, even while murdering innocents, will merit no rethinking of the divisive politics in which he apparently bathed. We won’t have a conversation about whether pushing a perennial picture of victimhood for blacks and gays in the most black-friendly, gay-friendly country on the planet could drive supposed victims to violence.

It is true that statistical outliers should not be used to club entire movements into submission. But leftists protesting at the linkage between Williams and their favored political causes have no ground on which to stand – they consistently blame conservatives for outlier events with no statistical basis. Moreover, Williams’ violence is part of a larger trend, not of black men killing white people (that still happens disproportionately, but the numbers are down), but of black men using supposed American racism as a rationale for violence more generally, and of gay people using supposed American homophobia as a rationale for violation of others’ rights.

Sample Breitbart comment: “Who should I despise more? Sick queers or low IQ blacks?”

Not a word out of Shapiro on Virginia's lax gun laws which have seen little change since the Virginia Tech massacre.  Likewise, not a word out of Shapiro on the role racism and the murders in Charleston by white supremacist Dylann Root played in today's carnage.  As ABC News reported, a portion of the shooter's rambling manifesto stated as follows:

Flanagan "writes what triggered today’s carnage was his reaction to the racism of the Charleston church shooting:"

“Why did I do it? I put down a deposit for a gun on 6/19/15. The Church shooting in Charleston happened on 6/17/15…”

“What sent me over the top was the church shooting. And my hollow point bullets have the victims’ initials on them."

It is unclear whose initials he is referring to. He continues, “As for Dylann Roof? You (deleted)! You want a race war (deleted)? BRING IT THEN YOU WHITE …(deleted)!!!” He said Jehovah spoke to him, telling him to act.

I am in no way condoning today's murders, but in must be noted that those like Shapiro have consistently supported unlimited guns access to crazies under the guise of "protecting" the 2nd Amendment and have regularly fanned the flames of homophobia and white racism yet then complain about the consequences of their own handiwork and, as seems to be the norm, immediately play the role of the victim even thought they are the real aggressors.  

Christianist Claims SPLC Is the Real Hate Group

The hypocrisy and lies of the Christianists truly know no limits. A case in point: Christianist talk show host Michael Brown (pictured at right) has a piece in Human Events whining that the Southern Poverty Law Center is a hate group because it has registered "venerable family organizations" like Family Research Council and American Family Association as hate groups. (Not surprisingly, Brown is one of the members of the ultra-far Christian Right who is trying to turn conservative Christians into the real victims of the massacre in Norway.) As I recently noted, the Southern Poverty Law Center has this to say about how it classifies organizations as hate groups:

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All hate groups have beliefs or practices that attack or malign an entire class of people, typically for their immutable characteristics. Currently, there are 1,002 known hate groups operating across the country, including neo-Nazis, Klansmen, white nationalists, neo-Confederates, racist skinheads, black separatists, border vigilantes and others.

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In the case of Family Research Council, SPLC registered it as a hate group for the following reasons (the full analysis is here):

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The FRC often makes false claims about the LGBT community based on discredited research and junk science. The intention is to denigrate LGBT people in its battles against same-sex marriage, hate crimes laws, anti-bullying programs and the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
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In the case of the American Family Association, a summation of SPLC's analysis is as follows (see the full analysis here):
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The AFA's fundraising appeals are known for their shrillness. One mailer from the early 2000s read: "For the sake of our children and society, we must OPPOSE the spread of homosexual activity! Just as we must oppose murder, stealing, and adultery!" It continued, "Since homosexuals cannot reproduce, the only way for them to ‘breed' is to RECRUIT! And who are their targets for recruitment? Children!" In other appeals, the AFA has used a standard propaganda ploy against LGBT individuals: They're a danger to children.
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In short, both groups disseminate deliberate lies and untruths about all LGBT individuals with favored memes being the threat to children, mental illness, drug use and alcoholism, promiscuity, shortened life spans, etc. As an added bonus, both groups are strongly anti-immigrant which in truth translates to anti-non-white. Given this true background on these two organizations, here's a sampling of Brown's batshitery:
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[M]any people, rather than questioning the SPLC, are instead questioning these venerable family organizations. Perhaps it is time to ask this question: Is it the SPLC that should be designated a hate group? Are they the ones spreading false information and demonizing propaganda about other groups, thereby defaming their good names and placing them in the ranks of the KKK and neo-Nazis? * All of which begs the question: Is the SPLC, by its own criteria, the real hate group? It still carries weight in plenty of circles here in America, and so when it categorizes an organization as a hate group, many people of good conscience are influenced by that designation, one which is quite stigmatizing and destructive, as evidenced by the recent events involving FOTF and AFA mentioned above. Yet it is the leaders of the SPLC who are either irresponsibly attacking other fine organizations, or worse still, knowingly defaming them. * Who then deserves the title of “hate group,” Focus on the Family or the Southern Poverty Law Center? Who has been guilty of demonizing others and spreading hurtful, inaccurate information? Whose actions and words have been hateful? The record speaks for itself.
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Yes, the record of these organizations and others like them does speak for itself and SPLC was 100% on target in giving them the hate group designation. As for Human Events, based on the comments on the article, its readership seems comprised mostly of homophobes, racists, and irrational Bible beaters. Why do I suspect the are mostly Republicans?

Gay Relationships

For those of you who have not checked it out, GAYTWOGETHER has some great thought provoking articles on any number of issues, but particularly on topics dealing with gay relationalship issues. The author of the blog has some great insights and has certainly given me things to think about both via his blog and in our e-mail exchanges. Today, he has two posts that merit reading that cover aspects of intimate relationships. This one is particularly usefull (http://gaytwogether.typepad.com/gaytwogether/2008/03/healthy-intimat.html). Here are a few highlights:

Healthy intimate relationships, whether dating someone rather casually or being committed to a life partner, call for a bit of a balancing act. Intimacy requires an ability to act selflessly sometimes -- to put the other guy’s interests on a par with our own. At the same time, if we don’t get our own needs met, we are going to experience this relationship as pretty damn unfulfilling. We want to maintain our individualism, but also to open our hearts in a way that allows us to grow closer.

Healthy relationships require taking responsibility for our own selves, while allowing the other person to keep responsibility for himself. How to do this? Start by deciding that you are going to let go of the “v word:” victim. You are responsible for the choices you make.

Understand that there is a place for anger in relationships. Stuff happens. Learning to express angry feelings in the moment -- and in a way which doesn’t attack the other person -- keeps those angry feelings from festering into bitterness and hostility. Learn that anger doesn’t mean a relationship is over. Take responsibility for your feelings: “I feel angry when you do this because...” Don’t attack the other person.

Intimacy almost always challenges us and requires us to learn new skills. It’s not unusual to feel overwhelmed sometimes. Remember: with patience and persistence and a willingness to face the truth, you can get what you want.