The Blogger in question, Joe Jervis is gay, atheist, and about as left-wing as you can get. His chief opponent, Peter LaBarbera of Americans For Truth About Homosexuality has taken their war to the next level – he’s called the FBI. Granted, biblical bloggers have nothing to fear about this, I guess – because we know that things like this simply do not have a slippery slope.
It started when JMG encouraged his readers to book seats at the anti-gay Americans For Truth About Homosexuality annual banquet, presumably as a prank. “Homosexual Hate Site Targets AFTAH Staffer for Phone Harassment,” responded Americans for Truth.
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That seemed to be that until Monday, when Americans for Truth reported “Homosexual Activists on ‘Joe.My.God.’ Blog Warn of Gay ‘Domestic Terrorism’ against Pro-Family Leaders including LaBarbera, Gallagher… Gay writer says ‘well-organized terrorism’ against pro-family leaders is ‘just what we need.’”
A careless reader might think Jervis had made the remarks, but AFTAH was referring to JMG commenters, who said things like “Maybe a bit of well-organized terrorism is just what we need,” “Will someone please give me a gun?” and “There will be radicals who will begin to hunt down haters like LaBarbera and Gallagher” vis a vis anti-gay crusaders Peter LaBarbera and Maggie Gallagher.
Americans for Truth added, “The pro-family Christian defense organization Liberty Counsel has contacted the FBI regarding the threatening posts.” LaBarbera told us that Liberty Counsel’s Matt Barber had indeed called the FBI.
JMG said the comments “don’t pass the laugh test as a ‘terrorist threat,’” but nonetheless removed the post and asked his readers to notify him of any comment “that you feel incites to violence,” and requested, “please don’t post anything, even in jest, that you wouldn’t mind saying in a signed letter to your local newspaper.”
The most honest and trustworthy news source in America, World Nut Daily has weighed in as well and has One News Now.
Here’s the thing. We have had this type of comments flair up before – with idle humor, I hope. Of course, some of the right have been just as guilty, but of course, its freedom of speech then. Then again, the left has a problem with stupidity as well.
Do we foresee a problem with one side using the FBI to silence the other? Will there be cyber-police?
I’m really glad you posted this, and also that you posted this particular version of the story.
The Right has a long and storied history of couching violent threats (which all-too-often result in violent actions) in what they proclaim to be free speech. Everyone from the KKK to these AFTAH bastards have created an environment where it’s okay to use lynch-speech against gay people (and others with whom they disagree); now that these same unsavory tactics are being employed by the traditionally oppressed minority, the already-inflammatory AFTAH people are calling the FBI.
All while only recently this same batch of Christians protested the Matthew Shepard Act under the cry of “thought crimes” and fear-mongering centered around the speech of pastors from the pulpits, which often includes graphic exposition on how gay people (and others) are going to spend an eternity in fiery torment with demons torturing us relentlessly. I can’t think of anything more terroristic than that–and these pastors, as you well know, mean every venomous word of what they’re saying. There’s a solid precedent for violent actions by followers acting under the guile of this belief–actions which have destroyed and claimed lives in what can only be described as a Cold War Crusade.
Now, AFTAH is fulfilling their own paranoid predictions about thought crimes in an interesting reversal of roles. I’ve been a very regular reader of Joe.My.God for over a year and have never read a comment that I thought was sincerely an incitement to violence or genuine support of militant action by the gay community. But just like the fight for African American civil rights produced two factions intent on the same goals (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. vs. Malcolm X), I fear that if extremist hate groups like AFTAH are left unchecked, the same philosophical disparity will emerge in what has been been a REMARKABLY peaceful gay rights movement. There are already far fringe groups within the gay community (Bash Back is one) which are attracting the most disenfranchised of our youth.
The potentially disastrous results of a violent movement will hurt everyone. Like 99.5% of the gay community, I do not advocate a militant approach to long-deserved civil equality. How will the Christian community (which includes sizable overlap with the LGBT sphere) assist those on my side in keeping a peaceful discourse? Ask your pastors. I’d love to hear their responses…
Robert, I believe that what we see are hypocrites a lot of times. I had hoped to receive more comments on this, but alas, the ‘homosexual’ issue might have scared them. After rereading the comments posted on Joe’s site, I don’t see an advertisement for rebellion, but angst over the fact that many feel that civil rights has become an issue to be decided by a majority – something our Founders would not have approved of.
Further, we are seeing that with the rise of the greatest democratization tool – the internet – more and more people are becoming cyber-police. People are starting to try to curb freedom of speech in such a manner as to stifle real freedom.
I do hope that more people comment.
Polycarp, really?
“…angst over the fact that many feel that civil rights has become an issue to be decided by a majority – something our Founders would not have approved of.”
Soo… was it a tiny minority who decided to overthrow the British occupation here or was it the majority?
Isn’t the foundation of democracy based on majority rule?
Didn’t we get the ball rolling a lot faster when the “majority” ruled in favor of CIvil RIghts in the 60s, rather than the minority?
Dan, have you read the Founding Fathers? They didn’t set up a democracy.
I mean, these were the same fellows who proclaimed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone and kept men, women and children like chattel.
Further, we don’t allow one group of people to decide the civil rights of another, or don’t you respect the rule of Law?
My bad, I see where you stand. My first thoughts were that you were speaking on the actual government parties, ie, the majority vs minority deal, not the “common folk.”
I completely agree, civil rights should never be in the hands of the people’s majority, but in the hands of the government’s majority, which is Democratic now.
Yet we still same to be making the same amount of unprogress with the majority power.
The problem – which we both agree on – is that the government is washing their hands clean of these issues by throwing them to the states, just like the government did in an attempt of save face with abolitionist and the well, crazy slave owners. If we keep this up, only God knows what will happen next, but either way it won’t be pretty…
Gotcha, Dan!
Thank you for posting this. The fact that a few yahoos posted inappropriate comments on a website certainly does not constitute “terrorism” — and yes, folks on the right have had similar issues with postings and comments.
I agree with you – we do not need the cyber police here.
Thanks, Dorothy.
I agree with you, Dorothy!
What is interesting is that had this been conservative people making the comments and liberals doing the calling of the cops, I have a feeling you would have been in favor of that, spanking the hands of the conservatives and giving props to the liberals.
Actually, I am not. If you remember, when liberals attacks conservatives for the allusion to ’slitting throats’ I stood against that. It think the idea of cyberpolicing is wrong and it should not be used as a weapon to silence critics.
I feel that I am fair on this issue. When the Liberal Group tried to do it to Conservative Group, I spoke out against that.
oh wait, that IS what you’re doing….
I’m gay, agnostic…and because of your very humane response to this whole kerfufle, I will be checking out the rest of this blog…who knows, you may very well convince me of something! I look forward to reading…thanks
Well, Well?, I appreciate it.
I’m a big huge gay atheist, but Joel puts some pretty interesting stuff up here. Sometimes.
LOL! j/k, Joel.
It’s a concerted effort, Robert, to be like the One I try to follow. I don’t always succeed, don’t even come close, but I am trying.
whoops…”kerfuffle!” (right?)
I understood exactly what you meant! Don’t worry, I have spell checker and grammar checker and still mess everything up from time to time!