The radical right means what they say (and so do we)
Dustin on Jun 12th 2007
Rummaging through the Family Pride archives recently, I came across an undated “memorandum” put out by the Concerned Women for America, a radical right organization that routinely attacks LGBTQ families. The document is entitled, “Correct Terminology When Debating Homosexual Issues.” It’s good to know that as we work daily to expand protections for LGBTQ families through visibility, these people are looking for even sneakier ways to undermine our struggles and our very identities as LGBTQ people.
The document begins with the following paragraph:
Our choice of words can be influential to a reader or a listener. We are called to be savvy in our use of language in order to be effective. In Matthew 10:16, Jesus tells us to be ‘wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.’ Choose words carefully when communicating the truth in love.
The “memo” goes on to show two columns, YOU SHOULD SAY and YOU SHOULD NOT SAY. Here are some highlights:
You should say: homosexual. You should not say: ‘gay’ or lesbian.
You should say: so-called homosexual ‘marriage’. You should not say: ‘gay,’ or lesbian, or same-sex marriage. The public instinctively rejects ‘homosexuality’ and the activists know this, which is why they try to insert the less threatening words. When we call a spade a spade, we win.
You should say: homosexual lifestyle. You should not say: ‘gay’ or lesbian. Lifestyle signifies one has a choice in their behavior.
You should say: special rights. You should not say: equal rights or equal protection. Those who practice homosexual behavior already have the same rights as everyone else.
We, too, know that “our choice of words can be influential to a reader or a listener.” Interestingly enough, our choice of words is about dispelling the myths and correcting the misinformation regularly spewed by the radical right, as seen above. Ours is a struggle for greater peace and community, protections for loving families, respect and reconciliation.
This “memo” was sent to CWA members as part of a fundraising campaign, which just goes to show how money-hungry these people are. They could pack up and go home and nothing in their worlds would change. If we stopped fighting, they’d tear our families apart and send us back 50 years into the closet.
The top ten anti-gay organizations in the United States have a combined annual budget of 1 billion dollars. Their messages of hate spread far and wide. We’ve got to stick together as a community of LGBTQ parents and allies, ready to combat their harmful lies. To learn more about how we do it, check out Family Pride’s OUTSpoken Families Speakers Bureau. It’s a one-stop-shop for LGBTQ family advocacy–from changing the hearts and minds of your neighbors to preparing yourself to speak to legislators, reporters and more.
And don’t let the Concerned Women for America get you down. We’re going to win this fight. We have to–our families actually are at stake.
Filed in OUTSpoken, general, marriage |
