June 13, 2005
That Triangle Looks so Pretty in Pink
by Jeff Langstraat
You gotta love it when the fundies truly speak their minds:
"We put warning labels on cigarette packs because we know that smoking takes one to two years off the average life span, yet we 'celebrate' a lifestyle that we know spreads every kind of sexually transmitted disease and takes at least 20 years off the average life span according to the 2005 issue of the revered scientific journal Psychological Reports," Rev. Bill Banuchi, executive director of the New York Christian Coalition told the Mid Hudson News.
(Fuck Godwin)
It feels like we've been here before. Early in the AIDS crisis, William F. Buckley proposed having HIV-positive gay men tattood on the ass, but we're all probably more familiar with the actual practice of putting visible "warning labels" on homsexuals.
Read about the triangle and it's place in the Nazi signification system, as well as about the persecution of gay men, among other groups, here.
If you go to this page, you can see the internment photos of men who were forced to wear that symbol in Auschwiz. (Unfortunately, the site is in German, und ist meine Deutsch nicht gut. If you scroll down the page, there is a series of small pics--click 'em to see clearer pictures, along with the dates of internment and death.)
Now, most on the right are not willing to take their homohatred to that level. There are some, however, in the Reconstructionist movement who, in their call for "return to Biblical principles," would favor a literal interpretation of Leviticus 20:13 and impose the death penalty for homosexuality.
The statement of this Christian Coalition Leader comes on the heals of this story about a young man sent to a "reparative therapy" center whose director is quoted as saying:
I would rather you commit suicide than have you leave Love In Action wanting to return to the gay lifestyle. In a physical death you could still have a spiritual resurrection; whereas, returning to homosexuality you are yielding yourself to a spiritual death from which there is no recovery." --The Final Indoctrination from John Smid, Director, Love In Action (LIA)
That comes on the heals of this savage beating of a gay man in New York City, which comes on the heals of an increase in anti-gay violence last year (30% here in Massachusetts). Just because we're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get us...they really are.
It's also worth noting a few other things about what the "good" Reverend had to say. First of all, as Professor Gregory Herek notes, Psychological Reports is hardly "revered":
Psychological Reports publishes a larger number of articles and has a lower rejection rate than is typical for psychology journals. According to JCR in 1994 and 1995, Psychological Reports was the third largest journal for which statistics were collected, publishing 510 articles in 1994 and 504 articles in 1995.Psychological Reports is also different from the vast majority of psychology and social science journals in that it requires contributing authors to pay a fee (in 1996, $27.50 per page for longer articles). The practice of charging a per-page fee or requiring purchase of preprinted copies of the article is rare in psychological and social science journals. Such per-page fees are not charged by the high-prestige psychology journals (e.g., those published by the American Psychological Association).
This "revered" journal is a pay-to-publish journal for papers that aren't good enough for quality journals. It's the same journal that whackjob Paul Cameron uses to publish his drivel.
The danger, however, is that people won't understand that this study, and Cameron's, have absolutely no scientific value. They are consistently and fatally flawed methodologically. All the public will hear, though, is "studies show...." It's a nifty little trick they're playing.
Part of the task is not to counter their data, at least under certain circumstances.If we get into "dueling studies" arguments, we may leave observers with the impression that it's just a matter of interpretation, that both sides might have a point. No, we've got to destroy any legitimacy or credibility those studies might have, we have to undermine the credibility of those who produce, publish, and perpetuate these studies.
These hate groups are paying to have their lies published because legitimate journals know it's garbage and won't publish it. That's how reliable their "data" are.
Don't even get into data debates. Grant them no legitimacy. These hate groups don't deserve it.
Posted by in Christian Fundamentalism, Culture War, Culture of Life, Extremists, Fascism, Gay, Lesbian, Transgender, History, Queer, Sexual Politics
Permalink |
Comments (0)
| TrackBack (0) | Technorati Cosmos
Trackbacks
Trackback for this post:http://www.culturekitchen.com/cgi-bin/movabletype/mt-tb.cgi/3029
The following blogs make reference to this post :
