{Washington state anti-gay bigot inanity contained herein...also crossposted at Switzerblog}
This court rules that Ken Hutcherson is a douchebag and exhibit friggin' A that anti-gay crusaders are motivated by sex, not God.
Okay, got that off my chest. Boy, I'm not even sure where to start with this. So, this article reports on Ken Hutcherson's planned "protest" at Mt. Si High School tomorrow during their GSA's annual Day of Silence. For those who don't know, during the DoS, gay students and others remain silent all day to draw attention to the gay students that have to live in silence, hiding their sexuality to avoid abuse. It's not even a day calling for special access or rights they lack, just drawing attention to some basic dignity they feel entitled to.
But Ken...ol' Ken, as always, can't let any opportunity to get attention for himself AND attack gays pass by, and is supposedly bringing 1,000 of his "prayer warriors" to protest. (I say supposedly, because he also has assured Microsoft that he was leading massive boycotts and bringing them down several times. Last I checked, they're still doing okay) He's bringing adults. To protest. High school kids. He even ran an ad in the local paper saying straight people should "come out of the closet", one of the more rancid things he's said lately. (And that's a high bar to get over!)
Hutcherson said minority students aren't treated with the same respect and sensitivity that is being shown gay students. "There are so many issues at that school, and homosexuals get a whole day?" he asked.
Really, Ken? Martin Luther King day doesn't ring a bell? Christmas? It's really that upsetting that a couple hundred kids will just be quiet for a day, that you need to bring "1,000" people to fucking protest them? Douche. Of course, it isn't that simple with Ken. See, he had his feel-goods smushed last time he was there on Martin Luther King day and they pulled all the kids out of class for an assembly with him. Seems some of the kids and a couple teachers weren't so agreeable about a single-minded bigot coming to talk about equality, and let him know that.
Mount Si principal Randy Taylor said Hutcherson's planned protest is continuation of that controversy.
"It's personal," Taylor said. "We embarrassed him at the Martin Luther King assembly. It's payback."
Hutcherson countered, "Of course it's personal. They embarrassed me and they embarrassed my daughter."
There you have it, folks, the pastor at Antioch Bible Church. Your religious leader, pulling you into his personal vendetta, because he was embarrassed and wants revenge. Ask yourselves this: Would Jesus hold grudges? Would Jesus pursue revenge?
Last month, the Seattle Times covered this when it first came up and Hutcherson's brownshirts went to a school board meeting to complain about other people's kids looking for a bit of tolerance. As you'd expect, there are the conservative kids who assure us they were mistreated and made to feel badly because they didn't "go along" with the DoS.
Irony, thy name is youth.
In an open letter to the school's GSA, Garding and five other CoDE board members said the day coerces support and encourages hostility. "Neutral students can't opt out, and they can't say they don't like it," the board members wrote. "Please choose to not spread anger this year and do not request the Day of Silence during the school day."
Irony, thy name is also these douchebag parents. Yes, let's teach kids tolerance by asking them to stop seeking tolerance. That's not comically inept at all.
I love the kids complaining that education isn't "taking place to its fullest extent" on this particular day. (This, of course, appears in both articles. Talking point, anyone?) Riiight. That's your problem with it. I assume these same kids oppose pep rallies, the day before winter break, and assemblies, right?
But guys, here's the clincher for me:
...Hutcherson, whose daughter attends the high school, has also denounced the school's Gay-Straight Alliance (GSA), calling it a "sex club," and urged parents and community members to oppose it and the Day of Silence.
I've said it a million times, the opposition people like Hutcherson have to homosexuals has nothing to do with religion or sin. There is no such thing as a gay "lifestyle". It's all about sex. Sex, sex, sex. To Ken, the mere existence of a GSA means kids are walking around sodomizing each other all day long, and the survival of civilization is threatened! Oh my!
Would someone please out this douche as a Haggard already, so we can stop hearing his nonsense?
Returning to today's article, which closes with my favorite quote:
GSA adviser Kit McCormick said members will observe the day regardless of the protest going on outside.
"It's enough of a tragedy that there are 1,000 grown-ups protesting kids who are asking for acceptance. We don't need to say a thing."
Goddamn right, Kit. I'm with you.