Well, here's your daily helping of Fundamentalist Christian Love. And it's a hearty one.
If you watched the Rose Bowl last Wednesday--or even if you didn't--you're probably aware that the parade included a float featuring a wedding of two men. The float, sponsored by the AIDS Healthcare Foundation, was historic in that it was the first such addition to the Rose Parade. Despite the angry and desperate protestations of anti-gay bigots threatening to boycott the event, the Rose Bowl survived, and the wedding took place on the float without incident.
Perhaps the most grotesque display of this anti-gay vitriol over the Rose Bowl came from Kevin Swanson and Dave Buehner, fundamentalist pastors and co-hosts of the right-wing Christian Generations Radio. It's more than a week later, but Right Wing Watch has just reported what these self-professed followers of Christ (right) had to say about the inclusion of a same-sex wedding in the parade. Really, it's some ugly stuff.
First, Swanson and Buehner questioned whether the AIDS Healthcare Foundation's mission was to "spread AIDS." Because that's what making a gay wedding visible would do, of course. Then, they got even more repulsive and questioned what would happen if there was a float in the Rose Parade that made visible the stoning to death of a gay person. After which they bemoaned the "degradation of our society." Because not publicly executing gay people in Old Testament fashion constitutes "degradation." There are no words. Here is the transcript, courtesy of Right Wing Watch:
Swanson: They’ll also witness a controversial same-sex wedding, courtesy of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation. According to the Pasadena Star News, a pair of homosexual hairstylists will ‘marry’ along the parade route while riding a wedding cake-shaped float sponsored by the AIDS group.
Buehner: This is an AIDS group? This is a group that’s against AIDS? They’re not trying to spread AIDS right? I mean, if you are trying to spread AIDS you would have pro-homosexual propaganda but if you’re trying to stop it….
Swanson: They may be serving lemonade too as part of the event, I hope not but maybe.
Buehner: I wonder what the Rose Bowl parade would do if we had the stoning of a homosexual along the parade just as an expression of free speech and all that.
Swanson: I think that would be rejected by the Rose Bowl parade committee.
Buehner: Well what if the stones were just made like of flowers and flower pedals?
Swanson: I don’t know if they’d allow that or not. Anyway ladies and gentlemen, this is another instance in which the degradation of our society is going mainstream.
Later, Swanson went on a tirade about gays "coming after Christians," hoping to have them "burned at the stake." Of course, he doesn't seem to realize that he and Buehner are the ones who
just freaking called for public execution. Fundies tend not to grasp irony, though.
They are coming after Christians and if there is 45% of Christians in America or 45% of Americans who disagree with homosexuality or homosexual marriage, they will lose their jobs. That’s the goal, to make sure they lose their jobs, to make sure that they are persecuted, to make sure that they may even be burned at the stake. I don’t know what the whole agenda is but it seems to me that this may be a battle between good and evil and evil will not tolerate good. Good may tolerate evil to some extent but I think also we have to draw lines ourselves and encourage the civil magistrate to prosecute homosexuality, especially public acts of homosexuality. When Christians are a little wimpy addressing the issue of homosexuality, get ready friends, Christians will be destroyed by the other side.
And there you have it. Some may argue that these people aren't worth talking about, but I disagree. It's well worth shining a light into these dark corners so we can effectively counter those who would deny the extreme nature of this ugly strand of anti-gay hatred within fundamentalist Christianity.