NOM, The AFA, and Anti-Gay Orgs...Do We Still Care?

This post is to settle somewhat of an argument between my husband and I who have a difference of opinion on whether or not it does any good to write about the doings of antigay groups like The National Organization for Marriage or characters like Tony Perkins and The American Family Association.....correction, what he actually said was that no one cares enough about them to read what they are up to.

Every day that goes by see's these groups, and the individuals that speak for them, slide into increasing disfavor. With DADT repealed, the potential likelihood of the return of marriage equality to California via the courts, and polls that are NOT in their favor, antigay groups are having to take a different stance in the public eye...the one of the victim. If they can't win the game of spinning public opinion into fearing that gays will destroy the nation by wanting to be a part of its institurions than they will fall back on creating the fear that gays want to attack and harm them and anyone who believes similarly.

An example of this fallback strategy is NOM's creation of a subgroup who's task it is to advocate for anyone who feels they have been targeted for violence or harrasement due to their belief that marriage is just for straight people and not for gays.  NOM's newly created Marriage Anti-Defamation Alliance( not to be confused the the rebel alliance)  was so laughable...and it's charter do beyond the pale that I felt practically compelled to take it apart piece by piece. But...I was discouraged to do so on the basis that no one gives a rats behind about them. Which makes me ask the question...Is it true? Have they slid so far as to have faded into irrelevancy?....because personally, I think that's a mistake.

Under The Cloud Of Fear

Fear is one of the most primal of human emotions. The biological mechanisms that produce fear are buried deep within a portion of our brain called the amygdala...a portion which has been dubbed "the reptilian brain" since it has been present since the age of dinosaurs and predates other brain structures responsible for emotion and logical thought. Indeed, all the brain structures responsible for "higher" thought are built around the structures responsible for survival instinct. Fear is an integral part of being human and neccesary to our survival...except when it seeks to dehumanize...

Fear is often the source of...and most common tool used in, discrimination. Many people throughout history have been the target of fear based discrimination which can seize on almost any detail of your being(gender,ethnicity, religion, etc.) and turn you into a shadowy threat working to destroy society.

In the national debate over homosexuality and its equal treatment under the law, fear is often evoked in an attempt to make us look like we are mindless monsters bent on destroying all life...dont believe me? Take a look..

Fundamentalists and the Human Disconnect

There is a certain segment of the "pro-family" fundamentalist camp that you simply ignore because its rantings are so extreme they simply marginalize themselves. Even groups like NOM go far out of their way to publicly distance themselves from these people....even though they secretly agree with one another. Bryan Fischer of the America Family Association is one such individual and his messages are usually over the top. His last forey into the news cycle was to claim that homosexuality was akin to heroin abuse and should be treated as such...yes that meant illegality and some kind of treatment program for being gay. This time around...via Good As you...Mr. Fischer wants all Fundamentalist families to start having children so they can outbreed the gays/liberals....wow...just wow....thats one extra crispy bucket o' crazy.

Last time around I ignored Mr. Fischer largely because it was universaly acknowleged that he was uber-rightwing fringe and giving him any attention at all was giving his perspective more weight than it deserved. So why give him blog space now? Well as I read his words...as crazy as they are...they betray a viewpoint held by a  large swath of Americans...specifically the disconnection of gays and lesbians from their basic humanity.