Thursday, September 22, 2011

We're not bigots but.....



Ever notice how when people say, "I"m not prejudiced, but...." that what usually follows is a statement that proves they are precisely what they claim not to be?

In Elkton, Virginia dozens of angry citizens marched on the city council demanding they do something about a gay pride picnic. They say that they don't want the towns name associated with the event and they want the local politicians to stop it. Beverly Knight said, "I'm not racist. I'm not biased, this is a free country, but we have to be careful as to what we are going to allow attached to our names." Well, this isn't about race, so the "I'm not racist" is about as relevant as Pat Robertson. But, the biased part remains to be seen. As for attaching "our names' to the event, I note that Knight's name is not attached. She is trying to ban the rally from mentioning the town's name.

Another, "I'm-not-a-bigot-but" whiner was Tammy Hammer. She bitches, "When you say Elkton, that pertains to everybody that lives in Elkton, and we don't like that." Tammy, dear, the word for that is bullshit.

One of the local yokels, Pastor Homer from the Bible Holiness Church says his opposition is "not a position of discrimination or hate. We just don't feel like tagging it with Elkton was necessarily a reflection of Elkton values."

I did a small amount of digging that proves Homer, Bev the Bigot, and Two-faced Tammy, are just lying their asses off.

Does everybody in town attend the Elkton Church of God on E Street. Oh, no, they can't, otherwise there wouldn't be people at the Elkton Freewill Baptist Church, or the Elkton Pentecostal Church, the Elkton Presbyterian Church, the Elkton Seventh Day Adventist Church, the Elkton United Methodist Church, or the First Baptist Church of Elkton. Apparently using the world "Elkton" only means "everybody that lives in Elkton" when it comes to a gay pride event. I noticed that a local TV station said that numerous ministers—anyone want to bet they were fundamentalists?—were at the protest but they all refused to be interviewed. No doubt because they represent the churches that actually use "Elkton" in their name, proving the name doesn't have to be for everyone, but can just represent a small number of locals.

The problem with that selective demand—that only gay groups avoid using the name Elkton—proves that when these bigots insist they are not bigots, and wouldn't dream of discriminating, that the very thing they deny they are doing is precisely what they are doing. Excluding only gay groups from using the name Elkton is what discrimination means. I have to ask if everyone in town uses Elkton Family Dentistry, or if everyone goes to Elkton Eyecare, I'm pretty sure that not everyone is buried in Elkton Cemetery, and clearly most people are not residents of Elkton Manor, or go to Elkton Family & Children's Medical Center, or buy only at Elkton Pharmacy. Does everyone wash their car at Elkton Car Wash, and store the porn mags they don't want discovered at Elkton Mini Storage? We also have Elkton Emporium, Elkton Florist, Elkton Motel, and Elkton Pawn & Trading.

Now, with all these churches, and all these businesses, using the word Elkton, without even pretending to represent "all the people of Elkton," then the only possible conclusion one can draw is that these protests are precisely because the people in question dislike gay people. If Baptists, Pentecostals, doctors, florists, gravediggers and pawn shop owners all have access to the name Elkton, without asking anyone's permission first, then an attempt to exclude gay people, and only gay people, is absolute proof that Beverly, Tammy, Pastor Homer and all those other cowardly ministers are bigoted and they do want to discriminate.

As I said, the moment someone tells you, "I'm not a bigot" and then immediate says, "but...," you can safely bet that what will follow will be bigoted. Beverly, Tammy, Pastor Homer and the rest have proven my case.

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