The Christian right has made no secret of its homo-hating. NOt only are the gays absolutely damned sinners, they’re an assault on masculinity everywhere. In his examination of the rights’ revolting mission against the gays, journo Chris Hedges points out a somewhat overlooked aspect of their ideology: good Christian men are meant to submit to Jesus, a savior Jerry Falwell once described as “a man with muscles”. Hedges writes:
The unspoken truth is that Christian men are required to have a personal, loving relationship with a male deity and surrender their will to a male-dominated authoritarian church. The submission to church authority is a potent form of emasculation. It entails a surrendering of conscience and personal control and deadens emotions and feelings.
Hedges goes on to warn the reader that though the right may seem weakened, they still pose a tremendous danger to our loves and, more importantly, lives.
The Nazis also used “values” to launch state repression of opponents. Hitler, days after he took power in 1933, imposed a ban on all homosexual organizations.
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Should another catastrophic attack such as 9/11 occur, should we enter into a period of prolonged instability and fear, what will prevent these preachers from calling for the punishment, detention and quarantining of gays and lesbians, as well as abortionists and Muslims and other nonbelievers to safeguard the nation?
While we’re not as worried as Hedges, his words do offer a chilling reminder that the war against the Right’s far from over.
Bill O'Turdly
Chris Hedges is amazing. He is one the best journalists out there. I have some more links here to other articles by him.
nystudman
That Christian theology & imagery is dripping with latent homoeroticism isn’t exactly news. STill it’s good to be reminded of it now & then> i guess
Gene
Well… it sounds like the church hates gay people for the same reason that the military does: the institution uses homoeroticism as a training aide to create a bond between cult… um, institution members. So, a gay person would be disruptive because they’d see what was going on from a mile away.
el polacko
gene has hit the nail on the .. uhh.. head. i would add that these organizations also NEED screwed-up, closeted gay men to help perpetuate their traditions so the conflict is further exaggerated, requiring more supression. it’s a sick cycle.
dizzyspins
Um, i think there’s a misprint in the headline. Shouldnt it be “Christian Right Loves Bending FORWARDS For Powerful Men”? hee hee
Bill O'Turdly
El Polacko got it right with the sick cycle analogy. The Christian Right’s attack on gays is just one thing that Chris Hedges writes about. His main point of interest is fascism in the guise of Christianity. The oppression of gays is just the first steps of overall fascism. I think we should be as worried as Hedges is because fascism is alive and kicking again throughout the world.