The shocking murder of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, along with 53 others wounded, many of them in serious condition, is a sign of the war on gays and lesbians raging in America by religious fanatics and Republicans!
The perpetrator was a Muslim fanatic, a person devoted to ISIS, but it is not just Islamic terrorism that is guilty of this crime.
It is religious fanaticism of all religions, which refuses to treat gays and lesbians as human beings with basic human rights, as much as straight Americans.
It is white Americans, black Americans, Hispanic Americans who use their religious fanaticism to hate gays and lesbians, with many people repudiating their own children and other family members.
It is evangelical Christian extremists, Catholic extremists, Jewish extremists, Hindu extremists, Mormon extremists–extremists of all religions—who promulgate hatred and prejudice and discrimination.
It is ministers who promote hate, and priests who promote hate from their pulpits.
It is Republicans who refuse to accept gay rights and gay marriage, and refuse to mention that this terrorist event involved gays and lesbians, as if the people killed do not matter.
It is Donald Trump refusing to acknowledge until just now that gays and lesbians were killed, only bragging that he was “right” that this was another example of radical Islamic terrorism, and calling on Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton to resign for refusing to use that term. It took Trump two days until now finally to show concern that it was gays and lesbians who were the victims.
Donald Trump should resign from the race if he refuses to accept that gays and lesbians have the same rights as anyone else in America, including marriage rights, as decided by the Supreme Court of the Unites States.
This is a human rights crisis of massive proportions, and the religious fanatics and Republicans cannot be allowed to triumph, as this would be a crime on the scale of Nazi Germany and the Holocaust against gays and lesbians, often forgotten!
I will snip a pic of this entry to share it with my friends. It is completely unbelievable you really outdid yourself this time. This is just to much, much more than I can handle alone. Need to share with friends to be able to process this. I mean really? “a sign of the war on gays and lesbians raging in America by religious fanatics and Republicans!??? What happened yesterday is Republicans fault? OMG the situation is more serious than I thought. My jaw just hit the ground. There is absolutely no possibility of ever reaching a minimum of understand with people who think like you in this issue. I was completely wrong. This is just too much insanity. You must be utterly defeated.
We’re going to ensure your side is utterly defeated in November!
Mercy has gone beyond the pale, to the point of THREATENING me, and I do not take this lightly.
It is clear this character is a dangerous right wing nut, clearly a mental case!
Saying people that think like you must be utterly defeated is a threat???? Please what on earth are you on???? We are not even allowed to say we want to defeat you? Really? Just think about what you are saying…
I’m vacationing out of my home state … but dropped in to read this. I am very sorry this happened at all … and I sympathize with surviving family and friends of those murderered.
Mainstream Muslim culture has a serious problem with gays and women. Look what’s happening in Sweden. Look what’s happening anywhere in Germany, anywhere there are large influxes of a Muslim population. Things don’t end well for women and gays. The left has got to make a decision. Either they want female emancipation and it wants gay rights or it wants Islam. It’s got to pick.
Very perceptive of Trump today. Democrats hate Republicans, conservatives and the NRA more than they hate Muslim terrorists.
Obama should be aware that there are 10 Muslim countries that have LAWS punishing homosexuality with death.
Maybe he could speak out against that:
Laws punishing homosexuality with death and verified executions:
1. Iran
2. Saudi Arabia
Nations with such laws on the books; no recent executions reported
3. Sudan
4. Yemen
Nations with such laws on the books in part of the country; no verified executions for homosexual activity
5. Nigeria
6. Somalia
Nations with such laws on the books; no executions reported
7. Afghanistan
8. Mauritania
9. Pakistan
10. Qatar
But he prefers to spew his hate towards Americans who aren’t leftist Democrats.
President Obama is NOT spewing hate.
Princess Leia, you are correct, but there is an old saying:
You can take a horse to water, but you can’t make it drink!
A troll is a troll, and the desire for truth and enlightenment do not exist in a troll, so best to ignore, and eventually, not getting a rise out of people will finally convince a troll to go elsewhere!
Professor,
I think you understate society’s change in outlook on LGBT issues. Just think of that issue in Florida 30 years ago when people like Anita Bryant held the stage and contrast it to people lining up to give blood to the surviving victims of the carnage.
Don’t get me wrong, there is still a long way to go in some people’s tolerance on the issue, but I have to disagree that there is a “war” going on.
Societal changes are very slow to change, but there is an evolution going on all the way to the Supreme Court and the public philosophies of so called enlightened candidates like The Clintons and President Obama in the last 10 years on total equal rights to LGBT. It just a matter of degree on how fast the iceberg melts.
Paul, I think you make a good point.
I was reacting in despair after the horrific Orlando event.
I agree progress has been made, but when one sees the right wing pastors and their hate, it makes one pause.
Thanks for your insights, as always!
Professor, Case in point. There are also degrees of progress ; )
http://www.deseretnews.com/article/865656262/Ut-Lt-Gov-We-must-learn-to-truly-love-one-another.html?pg=all
Yes, Paul! I saw this yesterday and it brought tears to my eyes that someone could have the courage to admit he was wrong, and to own up, so hope springs eternal!
Ms. Letourneau, of the progressive blog, Horizons, and also writer for the Washington Monthly, writes about what binds these mass shootings. http://washingtonmonthly.com/2016/06/15/the-tie-that-binds-mass-shootings/
All four proposals were voted down. http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/orlando-nightclub-massacre/senate-votes-down-4-gun-policy-measures-thorny-showdown-n595896
U.S. Senate Republicans proved yet again that they don’t care either about what the American people’s safety or what they think (note that large majorities favor universal background checks, restrictions on “assault weapons†and other measures). It’s beyond disgraceful, and the only answer is to vote every one of these NRA allies – or as many as possible – out of office.
http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-congressional-candidate-greg-evers-give-away-ar-15-n596211 (Qualifies as WTF?!)
House Democrats, fed up with Do-Nothing House Republicans, hold a sit-in protest. http://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/house-democrats-hold-sit-gun-control-n597041
Hillary and President Obama have both endorsed the protest. 🙂
http://www.politicususa.com/2016/06/22/president-obama-hillary-clinton-endorse-democratic-gun-protest-house-shutdown.html