Monday, November 14, 2011

Religious rightie says DeGeneres not a good choice for raising AIDS awareness

Sometimes, mess coming from the religious right doesn't need an explanation. It just needs a spotlight to underscore how clueless and homophobic they are.

Recently, openly gay actress and talk show host Ellen DeGeneres was named as special envoy to raise awareness about AIDS.

This decision was hailed in many circles. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton said DeGeneres will “bring her sharp wit and big heart, and her impressive TV audience and 8 million followers on Twitter” to support U.S. efforts to save the lives of those suffering from HIV/AIDS.

However to the folks on the right, particularly Janice Crouse of Concerned Women for America, the only thing that matters is that DeGeneres is a lesbian:

"She is openly lesbian and obviously is an activist on the issue of homosexual rights and has taken a very active role in pushing the homosexual agenda. So for her to be the person who's out front and the face of the Obama administration in the whole fight against AIDS I think is inappropriate," Crouse decides.

Does that even make any sense? Of course not. The only thing that matters to Crouse is that DeGeneres is a so-called "dirty lesbian" and will somehow taint the fight against AIDS.

The only thing that has tainted the fight against AIDS thus is ignorance and stigmatization - which is what Crouse is showing in spades. 

But more than that, it amazes me how some in the religious right will push sexual orientation as a reason for people not being able to do their jobs. It wasn't that long ago when anti-gay activist Linda Harvey was telling parents to not allow their children to be treated by gay physicians.

It's fascinating when one looks at both cases and realizes the one thing that Crouse and Harvey vehemently opposes is the fact that these folks  - i.e. DeGeneres and gay physicians - are openly gay and unashamed.

I think that says more about the mindset of Crouse and Harvey than anything else.



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3 comments:

eimm said...

Yeah, and the mindset is this:

"OhhMmGeee!!! A homosexual!!!! Eviiilll!!!"

Doesn't even matter if they're making any sense or not, so long as they've got something to complain about.

Anonymous said...

I hate that phrase "homosexual agenda". What the hell is the homosexual agenda???? Wanting to be able to marry like all other adults in the US or do they mean something more "evil"? Cause the people who use this phrase seem to be the same people who think that gay people are trying to "convert" everyone else to their "lifestyle". Gee, maybe Ellen is secretly converting all of us with her show. I better warn my husband.

itgrowls said...

some of the people who have never been touched by this epidemic should have ZERO opinion on who is the face of this movement to find a cure. This woman probably has never been touched by AIDS and doesn't know a single gay person personally whereas gay people the nation over have lost multiple friends and family members by this since it began. Nothing new here, same ole bigotry, move along.