Monday, May 12, 2014

Bigots Claim Rams' Draft of Gay Player Violated Their Religious Freedoms



The last few days have truly provided a bumper crop of examples of Christofascst lunacy as the godly folk have gone absolutely batshit crazy over gay marriage and the St. Louis Ram's drafting of Michael Sam.  What truly put the drooling, spittle flecked "godly folk" completely into crazy land was ESPN's broadcast of Michael Sam learning that he had been selected and the following kiss that he gave to his very attractive boyfriend.  Since Sam's draft, these folks have had nothing short of apoplexy and have gone berserk claiming that somehow the Rams and the NFL have trampled on their religious freedom.  How any of this amounts to an interference with their religious freedom rights isn't explained, particularly since if they find gays offense, then all they need do is to change the TV channel.  Christian Post provides an example of this unhinged batshitery:
Jack Burkman, head of the Washington, D.C. lobbying firm J.M. Burkman & Assoc. who is seeking to ban gays from the NFL, says he intends to build a national coalition to boycott any football franchise that picks openly gay football player Michael Sam in the NFL Draft, which starts Thursday at Radio City Music Hall in New York City.

In a release issued Thursday, Burkman said he would "leverage his political clout" to ensure that the franchise that selects the 6-foot-2, 260-pound defensive end from Missouri would get "roughed up financially."

"The NFL, like most of the rest of American business, is about to learn that when you trample the Christian community and Christian values there will be a terrible financial price to pay," said Burkman.
WWJD?  Obviously, not what Burkman is advocating.  As noted in the previous post, what is really going on is that the Christofascists are beginning to slowly realize that the tables are turning and it is they, not gays, who are about to be the ones shunned by decent society. A piece in Salon entitled "Michael Sam is the New Normal" looks at this process of the tables turning on the "godly folk" who at least in Virginia are 9 times out of 10 openly racist to boot:
It would have been historic even without the kiss. But while the critics continue their predictable frothing over Michael Sam’s emotional response this weekend to his NFL draft, it doesn’t change the fact that the world is a different place now because of it.

That he’d already scored an endorsement deal with Visa indicated that being gay doesn’t have to make a man sponsorship-averse, but it also didn’t guarantee a career – or indicate what that career would look like.

That changed on Saturday in the span of a phone call – and the moments immediately afterward. It happened not just with the Rams’ indication that the NFL is ready for an openly gay player, but in Sam’s tearful, bowled over response. It happened when he joyfully smooched his boyfriend Vito Cammisano — and in the way an entire roomful of jubilant friends and family witnessed the whole thing and supportively celebrated with them.

The partners of sports figures always tend to attract attention. The WAGS (women and girlfriends) are part of the culture of the NFL, a lusted-after collection of supermodels and actresses. It’s going to be different from here on in. Having now seen a photo of Cammisano shirtless, I fully support this new expansion of the pool to include husbands and boyfriends.

But that gay, interracial display of affection was guaranteed to blow a few gaskets. 

While that kiss might not do anything to open the hearts of the crazy YouTube ranters, it is a big step toward tolerance and equality. So if you’ve somehow managed to successfully avert your eyes for too long, or think that gay people are fine as long as they’re not being gay in front of you, go ahead and look. It’s not scary or strange. This is love. This is celebration. This is normal. And as long ago Harvey Milk said, “Once they realize that we are indeed their children, that we are indeed everywhere, every myth, every lie, every innuendo will be destroyed once and for all.”
Due to their sick psychological need to feel superior to others and their bizarre fear of any challenge to their fantasy world religious beliefs (I increasingly see it as a form of mental illness), Michael Sam, his boyfriend Vito and other gays who refuse to knuckle under to Christofascist dogma send this "godly folk" literally into a near mental breakdown.   The message, of course is that we need to maintain the pressure.  The more crazy the "godly folk" become, the sooner it will be that no one decent and moral gives them the time of day.  Which is exactly what they deserve.
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