Tiny Queer Footballs

Peter La Barbera on Faith2Action’s radio show with Janet Folger

(Split post to preserve front page space.  Please follow the link at the bottom or click the title to view the entire post. -Punted)

Faith 2 Action, a group led by Janet Folger recently had Peter La Barbera on her radio show entitled, Faith2action. This group is making a blantent call to Christians to go against their faith’s message of nonviolence and calls them to fight in the cultural war rather than do the right thing.

To start with the host of the show Janet Folger is planning to launch a new website against hate crime laws called http://www.stophatecrimesnow.com/. The site will be dedicated to stopping hate crime laws from protecting gays and lesbians. No words on whether the site will stop hate crime protections for christians. I will be watching to see the day the site goes up and keep you posted.

In the second half of the show, Janet had long time activist, Peter La Barbera from Americans for Truth on the show. Here is my sum up of the show:

• His starts off his comments talking about how America is a place where we can stand up for our beliefs, but he just doesn’t want others to stand up for theirs.
• Next he claims that the reason Britain and Canada are “going down” is because there is only a small number of “REAL” Christians in those Countries. I am guess all those churches are for the fake Christians, since if you don’t believe the way Peter does, then you are a fake Christian.
• He goes on to say that Christians should stand outside gay bars and try and “get” people out of the “lifestyle”. He says the reason most Christians don’t do this is because it is too hard. Peter’s reply to them, “life is hard”.
• Janet Folger proclaims (in a fear tactic) that if Christians do not speak out and fight the homo’s that witnessing to gays outside a gay bar will be a hate crime. (she has no basis for this statement.) It is clearly a lie she is telling to make people fear gays. These tactics are sick Why on earth would people use these fear tactics? Because they are afraid.
• A man name “Smitty” calls in to tell us that “spiritual warfare ain’t for wimps, its for warriors”..good god where are these people getting this glamorous view of war. They make this war thing sound noble. It is not. It is wrong to turn your fellow man against each other. Just wrong. Smitty goes on to say he wrote an article in his local paper about his support for the marriage amendment. He claims “the gays” came out of the woodwork to bash him. That may be true, who knows, but Smitty says he found all of their names in the phone book and wrote them all letters about how he loves them enough to tell them the truth. If he really loved them, he would be volunteering at the local HIV/AIDS clinic. He would be meeting them and learning about them, not stalking them to send them letters.
• Peter next claims another loving statement that I will quote: “Sexual orientation law as it is now being formulated is simply incompatible with freedom, especially our first freedom, our freedom of religion.” The best thing about people like Peter is the fact he makes statements like this. People take him less seriously when he says stuff like this. He becomes just another Phelps with statements like this. I once asked Peter in an email, Peter what happens to gay people in your perfect little world. Are we in jail? Are we in the closet living in fear? Are we in camps waiting to be gassed? Where is gay people’s freedom? No one will ever respect this man until he learns to respect others.
• Next Peter states that the law should be punishing people for wrong doing and that sexual orientation laws reward people. So if I hear this right, Peter wants the law to PUNISH GAY PEOPLE. I am sorry, but that is sick.
• Peter States “You cannot have homosexual rights because you are enshrining deviant behavior”…What does this man propose doing with the millions of homo’s. Throwing us in Jail, stripping away our rights. Okay, Peter is going off the deep end.
• Peter next goes on to say there should be no employment protections for gays. So, if you have been working at your job for 20 years, Peter thinks it is fine for your boss to fire you, take away your retirement you have built for 20 years because he finds out you are gay. Peter thinks this injustice is okay. I don’t think this is okay.

While I do think it is important to find a solution to these conflicts, I do not believe that Peter La Barbera or Janet Folger are heading in the right direction. They are demanding the country be there’s with no place for gay people. That isn’t freedom it is fear. I will not live in fear, but I also refuse to spread it.

Peter and Janet are wounded souls with anger and hate taking all their energy. I feel sorry for them. Peter needs to tell us exactly where are our rights? Will they give us good soup in the camps before they gas us?