One of the constant, in-our-face arguments against any progress in LGBT rights or recognition is inevitably some variant on "Think of the children!" They really like the version that's about their children's delicate minds being "brainwashed" into tolerating queerness/gender variance by the mere presence of unashamed queers/transpeople. I know - being brainwashed into tolerance? Terrifying! But it turns out the real problem with it isn't that they don't want their children being brainwashed. They just want to have the chance to brainwash them first.
Enter Peter LaBarbera (aka Porno Pete, for his habit of "going undercover" to leather and lifestyle events to describe in graphic detail what those scary homos are really getting up to - seriously, it's a fucking obsession, he goes to Mr Leather EVERY YEAR pretty much) and his Homophobe-In-Training Camp, where students as young as 14 will listen to Porno Pete and his line-up of speakers, including Matt Barber, Ryan Sorba, and Greg Quinlan, for three days, teach them "how to answer the lies and myths that so readily emanate from the “GLBT” (“gay”) camp."
So it's not that they don't want their kids exposed to depictions of homosexuality/transness. It's just that they don't want them exposed to depictions of *actual* LGBTs. Instead, they want to shield them until they're old enough - at 14, mind you - to be trained in the hateful rhetoric of the movement and learn the version of LGBTness that is useful for that cause. Ahh, the all-too-common stink of conservative hypocrisy.
In all seriousness, snark aside, I am deeply disturbed and offended by the idea of taking high school freshmen and deliberately, systematically teaching them to hate like this. LGBT bullying is already a serious issue in our schools, and these people want to make it worse by combining the volatility of youthful emotions with focused training in anti-LGBT hate? That is a recipe for teenage hate crimes right there. And it is Not. Okay.
Let's just hope nobody signs up and the whole thing is a terrible flop.
9 comments:
Don't make me get Dorothy. Witch.
... o.O
I sincerely hope this is a joke.
Saw this on Shakesville, good post. Anti-LGBT people are so ridiculous...
If I had to guess, I'd suggest the poster is unhappy with your religious choice, and vaguely threatening harm? About as good at threats as Slartibartfast, I'd say.
I thought it might be something like that. It does seem rather failful as an insult, though.
Hitchhiker references, however, are always FTW. ;-)
Thanks, and welcome to the snark-cave. ;-) As for anti-LGBTs, they're one of the few groups I know that manage to be simultaneously utterly ridiculous, and sometimes deeply threatening. It's a creepy combination.
I sure hope the 25 capacity room at the Carol Stream, IL rec center isn't already booked up.
I totes wish I could pass the references portion of the application, I would drive out the burbs and attend this so fast.
LOL! That was my first thought, too..."Ok, who could I get to lie convincingly enough that sure, I'm totally an anti-gay budding activist, yep, she hates her some queers alright, you betcha?" I don't think I know anyone who could keep a straight face well enough to get me in. ;-)
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