I've begun to notice an interesting (re: disturbing) trend among LGBT individuals and their allies: we're slowly becoming the bully, rather than the bullied. Now, don't get me wrong, we're obviously not setting heterosexual couples' homes on fire, punching someone just for being straight or leaving a straight man strung up on a fence with "breeder" spray-painted across his chest. That's just not our style. We've been using stinging, accusatory, and ignorant words. But, we seem to be forgetting a very crucial bit of information: there are Christians who fight for us, as well.
All too often, I view comments on Facebook pages such as the Human Rights Campaign or Lambda Legal where members of the LGBT community post things like, "This wouldn't be so hard if there weren't so many damn Christians!" or "Christians are causing this turmoil and ignorance! Off with their heads!" Really, guys? Are you serious? Yes, there are some incredibly annoying Christian groups out there like Focus on the Family, NOM, and the oh-so-poular Westboro Baptist Church (though they hardly deserve to call themselves Christians). But have we forgotten the people who stand beside us and stand up to their fellow Christians?
These past few weeks have been brutal for our community in terms of losses. We have Crazypants McDougal over in North Carolina urging people to put all of us "gays" in an electrified fence and starve us to death, North Carolina managed to pass their same-sex marriage ban, and let's not forget the incredibly charming toddler singing us a beautiful song about "ain't no homos getting into heaven." But throughout this, other Christians have risen to the occasion. One church even paid to have a billboard in North Carolina APOLOGIZING for the ignorance of others. It reads as follows: “Missiongathering Christian Church is sorry for the narrow-minded, judgmental, deceptive, manipulative actions of those who denied rights and equality to so many in the name of God.” If that doesn't scream "HEY! Some of us are on your side!" I don't know what does.
I was raised Mormon. It was good in some ways, not so good in others. Their stance on same-sex marriage has always been pretty clear-Adam and Eve, not Adam and Steve (I hate that saying, don't you?). I've separated myself from the church for that reason, but that's a story for another day. Throughout all of this, that didn't stop the students at Brigham Young University from making an "It Gets Better" video. Obviously, these students are working towards finding a way to make peace with themselves and the gospel. Rather than being treated as though they are worthless, they are embraced as humans just as they should be, and by Christians.
Furthermore, a gay Mormon was the Grand Marshal at Utah's Pride Parade today. He didn't walk by himself. He invited other members of the church to march with him. And you know what? Over 100 of them did. That's a big deal. In some places, that's almost an entire congregation of members marching with nothing but love and support for their peer. That's a huge deal. In the Atlanta Pride Parade alone, there are always at least 10 churches spreading messages of love and understanding, not including the churches with tents in the marketplace.
It seems unfair for us to judge, stereotype and verbally abuse a group just based on the same ignorance that we struggle so hard against. That's like people coming up to us and telling us that all lesbians are butch, all bisexuals are just greedy, and all gay men prefer Pier 1 to Home Depot. It's just not the case. So, consider this a calling-out, a challenge, a provocation; to check yourselves before you start to harp on a Christian based solely on their faith. Nobody deserves to be bullied.
Follow @FRW
