Two teens shot in Texas

[technomage]

Two young women were shot, execution style, in Texas Saturday. One died. One, so far, survives, and is in critical but stable condition.

They were lesbians. They had been dating for five months.

Were they shot because of their sexual preference? As of the time I write this, that's still one of the unknowns in this horrendous crime.

The suspicion, of course, is that they were shot because of their sexual orientation. That such activities have occurred so recently after a spate of very public anti-gay sermons from various Christian churches, some of them advocating ostracization--and yes, some of them advocating even violence--shows how little we have come from the days of Jim Crow.

Today in the United States, being gay, or lesbian, or transgender is little different than what it was like to be Black in American during the 50s. These are our second-class citizens. We have no "straights Only" water fountains, but we, as a nation, have institutionalized the persecution of these American Citizens, just as we had institutionalized the persecution of non-whites back then.

These crimes, and other crimes like them, are not some tragedy far away. This could have been my son. This could have been your best friend. This touches all of us who live in the United States.

There is blood on all of our hands.

There will come a day in this land where gender identification and sexual orientation will be recognized under our laws. There will, eventually, come a day--just as the day slowly came for Americans of African descent--when those who hate are seen as the aberrations that they are, and such attitudes are not acceptable in mainstream society.

This is my dream. And I will work, and vote, to make it happen.

There have already been many assaults, and no few deaths, that can be directly attributed towards the hatred of those who do not conform to the Judeo-Christian ideals of what is "right." Just as in the days of Jim Crow, where the Bible was used to excuse hatred, people were hurt, and people were killed, because people got it in their head that their religious beliefs gave them the right to ignore the laws of the land, or even to create laws that legislated persecution of minorities.

"Christians" all over the United States used their religious beliefs to hold people in contempt. When the objects of that contempt tried to stand up and be counted as equals, some of these "Christians" responded with the gun, the knife, the attack dogs, the fire hoses, the rope.

People died then for equal rights. People are dying now for equal rights.

One more died Saturday. How many more will die?

[Darth Executor]

Two young women were shot, execution style, in Texas Saturday. One died. One, so far, survives, and is in critical but stable condition.

They were lesbians. They had been dating for five months.

Were they shot because of their sexual preference? As of the time I write this, that's still one of the unknowns in this horrendous crime.

That will not stop me from demagoguing with gusto.

Welcome back.

[technomage]

Welcome back.

I'm hoping to do better, though your dismissal is noted.

[Darth Executor]

I'm hoping to do better, though your dismissal is noted.

A dismissal is generous when I'm accused of murder by proxy for merely existing in a state that displeases you.

[Jedidiah]

No blood on my hands. I do not approve of such hatred, nor do the Christians I know.

[technomage]

No blood on my hands. I do not approve of such hatred, nor do the Christians I know.

How easy it is to say "I do not approve." How difficult it is to put one's disapproval into action.

[technomage]

A dismissal is generous when I'm accused of murder by proxy for merely existing in a state that displeases you.

You need to read a bit closer, Darth. I do not disapprove of Texas--my condemnation is towards the American culture as a whole ... which, if you will note, I am a member of. I do not make any accusation to you that is not also applied to me.

More to the point, I thought you lived in Canada. If you do not live in America, then I am not addressing you.

[Darth Executor]

You need to read a bit closer, Darth. I do not disapprove of Texas

When I said state I didn't mean the land mass, I meant my state as a conservative Christian.

I do not make any accusation to you that is not also applied to me.

Yes, there is a broad group of people that seek to escape criticism for their demagoguery by claiming they include themselves in the criticism even when it makes no sense for them to do so. I generally refer to such people as "cowards".

More to the point, I thought you lived in Canada. If you do not live in America, then I am not addressing you.

Your condemnation is of Christianity in general. You are addressing me by mere virtue of your dragging my religion into it whether you intend to or not. The American Christian stance on homosexuality in general and gay marriage (I presume that government endorsement of your personal relationships is what constitutes "rights" to you now) is identical to that of most worldwide mainstream Christian churches, so any criticism levied at American Christians would apply to the rest of the world as well. Suffice to say I find your insistence that opposing gay marriage or considering homosexual acts a sin translate to murder or people being responsible for murder reprehensible and will act accordingly. The irony is that when I was a kid (believe it or not I was pretty quiet for most of my childhood) I had to endure countless verbal abuses from bullies. "Faggot" was a tool in their arsenal about as common as a hammer is in a carpenter's. I couldn't tell you the religion of these people if you put a bazooka to my head, which is about what I would expect from a highly secular culture like Toronto's. It's lovely that as an adult I am now also blamed for the moral failings of apatheists. I realize this is difficult for people like you to comprehend but anti-homosexual violence is not necessarily (or even predominantly) fueled by religion. It is far more often fueled by the current crazed sex culture combined with primordial social dominance attempts, neither of which are particularly well known Conservative Christian principles.

[Carrikature]

Is there something that's happened to you recently? I'm glad to see you back, but I don't really understand why you've come back with a salvo of homosexual-oriented topics.

It's an unfortunate side-effect of maturity and understanding that one increasingly doesn't see the need to shout down the vocal minority. Mind, I've no idea what the actual ratio of radically-opposed Christians is, but those that I encounter tend to be generally venomous and poor representatives of the population as a whole.

[Darth Executor]

Is there something that's happened to you recently? I'm glad to see you back, but I don't really understand why you've come back with a salvo of homosexual-oriented topics.

He does this every once in a while (not necessarily with homosexual-oriented topics, he just shows up to rant for a bit then disappears again).

[technomage]

Is there something that's happened to you recently? I'm glad to see you back, but I don't really understand why you've come back with a salvo of homosexual-oriented topics.

I have a son who is gay. The news-story hit home.

[technomage]

When I said state I didn't mean the land mass, I meant my state as a conservative Christian.

You jump when you're not hit, Darth. I do not blame conservative Christianity for this: I blame aberrant Christianity and our American culture. Unless you fall into one of those two categories, then you have no stake in this discussion.

[Jedidiah]

The word aberrant did not appear in your OP. It only referenced Christians. You specifically said "There is blood on all of our hands." Why do you say there is blood on my hands. I have never derided or abused homosexuals. The fact that I don't see any reason to change our handling of marriage is in no way abuse or persecution. Because some wicked folks act like wicked folks is no reason to blame Christians. And "institutionalized?" Sounds like you are taking a vacation from reality.

[technomage]

The word aberrant did not appear in your OP. It only referenced Christians.

Did you honestly believe that I placed the blame on normative Christianity?

Well, come to think of it ... I've not been anywhere near "at my best" the last several times I've posted here. Yes, I can see where you would have gotten that impression.

I have been fighting fibromyalgia for several years (along with a few other issues, including depression). When I am hurting, I'm irritable, quickly frustrated, and quite likely to go off the handle. I mean what I said in the OP, but I did not express it anywhere near as clearly as I should have.

No, I do not blame normative Christianity.

And "institutionalized?" Sounds like you are taking a vacation from reality.

Am I? We have laws in place that forbid homosexuals from partaking of the same rights as heterosexuals--they cannot marry according to their choice. We have laws in many states forbidding homosexual couples from adopting, despite widespread scientific support for the assertion that the children raised by such couples fare no worse than those raised by same-sex couples, and somewhat better than those raised in single-parent households (no surprise on that last).

We have laws that restrict a minority of American citizens from enjoying the rights and priviledges enjoyed by the majority. Is that not the very definition of "institutionalized discrimination"?

[RumTumTugger]

How easy it is to say "I do not approve." How difficult it is to put one's disapproval into action.

Tell me Technomage other then going against our deeply held religious beliefs and start saying homosexual acts are ok with God and not sin what would you have us do to put our disapproval into action.

So tell me Technomage if folks started killing conservative Christians because of their view on homosexual acts being a sin would you then blame the homosexual Advocates for preaching against the so called "intolerance"(not that that accusion is true) of conservative Christians? or is it only Conservative Christians who get painted with a broad Brush?

and make no mistake the way your op reads it is painting us all with a broad brush.