Sally Kern [is] a bigot
A letter I sent to family and friends today:
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Hello All,
Oklahoma Rep. Sally Kern delivered a hate speech to a group of 50 people recently, not expecting she might be recorded. Victory Fund got a hold of the recording and released this powerful YouTube video. Since, over 1 million people have viewed the video, and letters continue to stream in from all over the country.
The state of affairs in this country continues to baffle me. Our economy isn’t “stable,” it’s weakening by the day, poverty and homelessness are increasing while IQs and security are decreasing. And who do we have to thank for this? Our elected officials.
So take a few minutes to listen to this elected official make an ass of herself, and seriously think about what we can do to quit the bullshit, think about the issues that really matter, and make this country (and the world) a better place for our children, our nephews and nieces, and our grandchildren.
http://www.victoryfund.org/files/listening.html - this link takes you to the Victory Fund page and video. Read Chuck Wolfe’s “Open Letter to Sally Kern” and add your name to the letter if you feel so inclined. I did.
Christopher
ps - I’m through with using polite language for creeps like these. Let them all go to hell. Chuck Wolfe has a point. Because of Sally Kern and evil assholes like her, gay youth everywhere are in danger of being victimized by people who gain nerve from her words. Does anyone remember how Matthew Shepherd died? Or did 9/11 erase that from our memories, too?
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Here’s a good blog post from Recovering Straight Girl I caught today. The best I’ve read so far, actually. Hate crimes continue. Matthew Shepherd was only one example. There have been several murders over the past few weeks. Have they garnered as much media attention as Shepherd did back in the late 90s? We’ve become desensitized, captivated by this idiotic political battle between Hill and Obama. Frankly, my eyes hurt. I’m tired of the back-and-forth “he said, she said” routine. Just give us someone in the White House who can do their job!
The March 19th Huffington Post, written by Chuck Wolfe, President and CEO of the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund, was an incredible read:
“In recent days, Rep. Kern and her supporters have defended her freedom of speech, as though that’s what millions of people, gay and straight alike, are objecting to. We are not. Rep. Kern has every right to her opinion and to express it. But she is also a public servant and an elected community leader whose public speeches have an impact beyond her own small sphere. If she had offered similar hateful views about African Americans, Native Americans or Jewish people, the calls for her resignation would have been swift and deafening, and from both sides of [the] aisle in the State House. We wouldn’t even be debating her speech. We’d be saying goodbye.”
Three things to do: 1. See the video, 2. Read Wolfe’s letter at the Victory Fund page, and 3. Read The Huffington Post. Then see if you’re not moved to action.
Oklahoma City: About 300 people protested Kern’s comments.
According to the Tulsa World newspaper,”Robin Meyers, senior minister at Mayflower Congregational Church in Oklahoma City, said Kern’s homophobic comments are a ‘national embarrassment for Oklahoma…It is frightening to me that Sally Kern is an elected official doing the people’s business.’ Meyers called on House Speaker Chris Benge and Gov. Brad Henry to condemn Kern. ‘I call upon Kern to apologize to all of us,’ he said. Meyers asserted that Kern’s words were hate speech.”
Also, reflect on Gov. Brad Henry’s response very carefully: “‘I would just urge all public officials in Oklahoma to cool the rhetoric. Think before you speak and be respectful of all people.’” Is this just more “rhetoric” on his part?
Link: http://www.tulsaworld.com/news/article.aspx?articleID=20080319_1_A9_hButa25141
In an April 2 article at Oklahoma’s NewsOK.com, Staff Writer Devona Walker quoted Rev. Jeff Hamilton (head of the Interfaith Alliance of Oklahoma and a former state legislator), as he responded to Kern’s fanaticism in particular and sectarian politics in general:
“Religion can be a positive force. It’s intended to be a positive voice for folks who may not have a voice….The voice of religion should be speaking out against discrimination…my real worry is that in the legislative process, this sectarianism is used to institutionalize prejudice, institutionalize policies that affect negatively people on the margins of life. And that goes contrary to the Christian point of view and Jesus of Nazareth.
“You’re entitled as a Christian to have your beliefs even though your factual basis is not sound, but you cannot cloak yourself in holiness and claim that everything you say is factually correct or biblically correct.”
Read the full article: http://newsok.com/article/3224586/1207188548
Blogger Sara Whitman’s humorous retort to Kern’s ignorance (Huffington Post): http://www.huffingtonpost.com/sara-whitman/breaking-down-the-bedrock_b_94293.html
Sally Kern was caught packing a semi-automatic weapon at the Oklahoma Capitol (for the second time) building yesterday. She said it was a mistake (for the second time).