As proud as I was to show my support for victims of bullying by wearing purple last Wednesday at Library Mall, I was quickly reminded later that day that members of the LGBT community are not the only victims who are regularly attacked because of their identity. In fact, some gay rights supporters and many other activists with liberal leaning perspectives are actually to blame for at least a portion of the disrespect that has recently come to the forefront of our society.
More specifically, I'm talking about the recent attacks against the Christian right. Though I don't identify myself as a part of that group, I am horribly dismayed that it has seemingly become entirely acceptable, if not encouraged, to attack the entire Christian faith based solely on the fact that they have unique beliefs. The internet has provided, quite literally, the perfect forum for the name calling and personal attacks geared toward those whose beliefs align with the pro-life and sanctity-of-marriage camp, and it really got out of hand last week when popular sex columnist Dan Savage joined the already heated discussion.
Savage, who is openly gay and the founder of the ""It Gets Better"" campaign against youth bullying, made a remark during an NPR interview that asserted his belief that the church perpetuates the discrimination. A Christian listener wrote in to tell him he was offended by the comment, and stated that he and many others were deeply saddened to hear of the recent suicides. The letter was well-written, polite, and simply pointed out the hypocrisy of preaching against discriminating based on sexual preference while simultaneously discriminating against people of faith.
Savage's reply, on the other hand, was a blatant attack on the writer and their faith, complete with references to their ""magic sky-friend Jesus,"" and expressions like ""dehumanizing bigotries"" and even, I'm sad to say, a ""Fuck you."" While I fully expected him to respond in typical Savage fashion to the listener's complaint, his full-blown attack on Christianity as a whole displayed just as much disrespect and ignorance as the people he fights against.
Though I fully support the rights of my LGBT friends to marry, adopt, and lead full and successful lives, I also grew up attending church and Sunday school. I cannot once recall hearing what Savage calls ""the lies about (gay people) that vomit out of the pulpits"" or learning ""to see gay people as sinful, damaged, disordered, and unworthy."" Instead, the message was constantly one of love and acceptance. While I'm sure those messages are preached in some churches (Westboro Baptist, for instance) the vast majority of Christians are taught that all humans are equal and deserve respect. Moreover, it is entirely possible to be a gay Christian without giving up any part of your identity. Just ask my openly-lesbian aunt, also an ordained minister.
Is there some hypocrisy in preaching love and equality while still opposing gay rights? Yes, but opposing gay marriage is a long way from condoning bullying of gay youth, just as supporting abortion rights in no way equates to condoning the killing of infants. The real hypocrisy lies in groups that, like Savage, demand to be treated with respect while they themselves attack huge swaths of the population just for disagreeing with their beliefs.
The LGBT community is understandably sensitive to this issue as of late, and should absolutely pour all their efforts into asserting their right to equal protection and the pursuit of happiness. However, it should (and absolutely can) be done without belittling other Americans for subscribing to different ideologies. Just as being Christian doesn't give anyone the right to say they're better than anyone else, being gay doesn't give anyone the right to say: ""I'm right and you're wrong, so you need to abide by my rules.""
Savage was right about one thing in his column: gay and lesbian children are dying, and we should do everything in our power to bring an end to the heartbreak. But we, as a society, won't truly be victorious against this tragedy until we find a way to stop the bullying without turning into bullies ourselves.
Lydia Statz is a junior majoring in journalism and international studies. Please send all feedback to opinion@dailycardinal.com.
