Unsolicited bigotry

[Corny]

Another issue that has been brought up is that God wants us all to love one another. We have many gay friends who are wonderful people and contribute a lot to this world.

.. we just think that they are immoral, unnatural and that nobody ever should know about their contributions or at least mention in textbooks that they were gay.

 

[springboksfan]

Golly, gee, Peg! That's the same reply I got from them. I bet they were surprised to get so many emails from those damn fags. Bet the called in a doc for their computers! We carry viruses, you know! lol

 

[snapcat]

I emailed the company and shared my comments, much of which would be too nasty to repeat here.

Thanks lunarus!

 

[lunarus]

T-Zero[/B] ]Since they're located and operate just outside of Salem, Oregon, any of the local GLBT community organizations in Oregon. The Chamber of Commerce, etc. Any number of GLBT news magazines or newspapers.

Did that too.

Your welcome snap.

Spread the word guys, I don't know about you all but I have just had enough of being bashed for something I cannot change.

 

[metta]

I have not sent this to them. If anyone would like, you are welcome to.

"The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362
admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision."



Dear Religious Fundamentalist:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I
have learned a great deal from your self righteous speeches, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend
the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that
Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other
specific laws and how to follow them.

1. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a
pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors.
They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in
Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair
price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in
her period of menstrual cleanliness - Lev.15:19-24. The problem is,
how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.

4. Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend
of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can
you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus
35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated
to kill him myself?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than
homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I
have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading
glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room
here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.
19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes
me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two
different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing
garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester
blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really
necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town
together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to
death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with
their in-laws? (Lev.20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident
you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is
eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan,
Jack

p.s. if over 70% of "straight" marriages are ending in divorce, how are you going to "protect" marriage by preventing more loving couples from getting married?

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[lunarus]

I have not sent this to them. If anyone would like, you are welcome to.
"The Bible contains six admonishments to homosexuals and 362
admonishments to heterosexuals. That doesn't mean that God doesn't love heterosexuals. It's just that they need more supervision."



Dear Religious Fundamentalist:

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I
have learned a great deal from your self righteous speeches, and try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend
the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind them that
Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the other
specific laws and how to follow them.

1. When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a
pleasing odor for the Lord - Lev.1:9. The problem is my neighbors.
They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

2. I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in
Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair
price for her?

3. I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in
her period of menstrual cleanliness - Lev.15:19-24. The problem is,
how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offence.

4. Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and
female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend
of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can
you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

5. I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus
35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated
to kill him myself?

6. A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an
abomination - Lev. 11:10, it is a lesser abomination than
homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

7. Lev. 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I
have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading
glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room
here?

8. Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair
around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev.
19:27. How should they die?

9. I know from Lev. 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes
me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

10. My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev. 19:19 by planting two
different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing
garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester
blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really
necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town
together to stone them? - Lev.24:10-16. Couldn't we just burn them to
death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with
their in-laws? (Lev.20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident
you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is
eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan,
Jack

p.s. if over 70% of "straight" marriages are ending in divorce, how are you going to "protect" marriage by preventing more loving couples from getting married?

Thank you metta I needed that! And I sent it to them, thank you!

 

[handyman22]

As someone has said here before "I have no problem with God, it's his advertising department that scares the shit out of me!"

 

[lunarus]

I got this email back from GLAAD

Hello and thank you for contacting GLAAD!


We appreciate you for brining this important issue to our attention. We have received several e-mails expressing concern over the Outsidepride mass e-mail and are currently looking into it.


We hope to find a satisfactory resolution. Please continue to forward on your thoughts and concerns. Your input is very important! Feel free to contact me directly.

Sincerely,






Cindi Creager
Director of National News
The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD)

 

[Kulindahr]

Oh my gosh, I can't believe someone else here got that email. I got that email last night because I have purchased from them before, being that they offer organic seeds and I try to buy organic whenever possible. It really suprises me that he thinks that the majority of his customers are so conservative. The organics industry is not generally conservative. It's roots are actually liberal.

I was reading it last night around 12am and threw together a quick response which I emailed to them last night, because I knew that I would not be able to sleep if I just let it go.

VERY cogently thought-out and argued!

Dang, intellectual clarity is HOT!!

(Metta, will U B my bf?)

 

[Kulindahr]

After I calmed down (I HATE fallacious reasoning in theological matters!), I sent them this:

I am a handyman, and do a substantial amount of landscaping and grounds care. I have been looking on line for product sources for my b usiness, and yours was one I've checked out.

A recent bit of news that came my way ended that, however. My attention was brought to a newsletter mailing from Mr. Troy Hake in which he condemned homosexuals and homosexuality -- and did so with serious flaws in logic as well as clear prejudice.

I teach any employees I hire to think clearly, and to be fair to everyone. Since Mr. Hake has demonstrated that Outsidepride cannot be counted on to do the same, I am dropping you from my list of possible sources of supplies, and will be recommending the same action to every other business I know which uses outdoor products of any sort.

In fairness, I will reverse this decision if (and only if) Mr. Hake makes a public apology, both through the same newsletter and in a major newspaper.

I decided not to mention my orientation; it didn't seem to be relevant to my point -- that stupidity and prejudice are bad for business.

I DO wish I'd recalled that they're practically down the street from one of the place I do landscaping work, before hitting <submit>!

 

[1st love ron]

Some of you are probably too young to remember Anita Bryant.
.

I remember that period and her. Did you know that her son came out a few years ago? Beautiful irony, just beautiful....

 

[metta]

Actually, Metta quoted "The West Wing." I have the clip on my MySpace:

http://www.myspace.com/antares_ascendant

Still, it is strangely poignant.

If you mean that "Dear Religious Fundamentalist" letter, I'm not sure where it originally came from. A friend sent it to me. Another friend of mine wrote an email to them as well. Here is her response to them:

Dear Mr. Troy Hake,

Your email sent out concerning CBS and gays in the media truly appalled me.

Gay people have always been in society, whether in and out of secrecy. There is nothing "wrong" with two people showing modest affection for each other, whether on TV or in public, any more than two straight people showing affection. I have more of a problem with straight couples getting way too explicit on TV when kids could be watching, more than two men/women or even a straight couple sharing a mild embrace/kiss. It shows love and affection for another person, and there is nothing wrong with that.

To bring up Adam and Eve is to mix Christianity into this issue. One thing I love about the USA is that there is SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND STATE and FREEDOM OF RELIGION. While the people making our Constitution and Bill of Rights happened to be mostly Christian people, they made a point to make the USA open to folks of ANY RELIGION and to make sure the church never interfered with the law. Being a Buddhist, your Adam and Eve/Steve comments are RUDELY pushing your religious beliefs on me, and any other Buddhist, Hindu, Tao, Bahai, Shinto, Muslim, etc... or even Atheist person.

If I can share my own religion with you as you have done for me, then I will say that in Buddhism, there are NO RULES concerning gender relations, other than to not cheat on your partner. Homosexuality is not moral or immoral, IT JUST IS. And even though there are carvings of homosexual couples engraved in some Hindu temples of India (ALL aspects of humanity are worshipped, even sexual union, including GAY sexual union - and yes, children and families attend services and worship), India obviously has no issues with losing its population. The idea of gays replacing straight people is absurd. The reasoning for black, Latino, and Asian actors pushing for mainstream TV roles are the same as gay roles - to show that these populations EXIST, and NOT to replace all white and straight people! There is nothing wrong with children knowing that gay people EXIST and that they're feeling human beings too.

You don't have to agree with different cultural practices, but you need to to understand that you live in a melting pot society and shouldn't be pushing YOUR bigoted views and religious beliefs onto YOUR CUSTOMERS in order to promote oppression and silencing of a minority population of people who don't threaten your life in any way other than showing that they exist. Your expression is the same kind of rationale used to keep people of color and women oppressed in the past.

I have no interest in doing any kind of business with a company with these kinds of "values", and I will make sure all my friends see this offensive "hate mail" as well before they decide who to shop with.

 

[metta]

VERY cogently thought-out and argued!

Dang, intellectual clarity is HOT!!

(Metta, will U B my bf?)

I'm glad that you enjoyed it.

 

[Snickers52]

I just fired off a response. My blood is still boiling.
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Dear Mr. Hake (or is it "Hate"):

I sit here in total shock! I was recently forwarded a copy of your email where you spew disgustingly ignorant, homophobic comments.

I am completely disgusted after reading it & I can only ask, ARE YOU INSANE? You clearly have no idea who the people are you are sending that email to. Are you so ignorant and small minded as to think that EVERYONE on your email list is straight and shares your dimwitted, fake religious values? Every church house on this planet is loaded to the rafters with sinners, but I guess in your strange mind they're ok because they bother to show up on Sunday morning trying to buy their ways into heaven.

Do you think that gay men and women have not been purchasing your products for years? Well I can tell you one thing today and that is that I will waste no opportunity to make every gay person I know aware of the type of person you are.

I assume you are one of those feeble minded people who think that homosexuality is a "choice". I assume you listen with great excitement to every word some TV preacher says on Sunday morning (in between begging for donations that is).

I sit here wondering why I am wasting my time on such a person as you. You do not deserve my attention, but for my own peace of mind I feel I must give you a piece of my mind.

One person I shared this with said "don't worry about him, he's sick". I disagree. You're not sick. You're just plain mean, and evil to the core.

Look around your own family my friend. Of this I can guarantee you. You have gays and lesbians in your own family. You might not know it now, but they're there.

Again, rest assured that you will never received one thin dime from me, my family, my friends, my business associates, or anyone else I get the opportunity to expose you as they nasty, evil, homophobic thing you are.

May you have peace in your life, as God knows you need it.

 

[lunarus]

I've been looking around the Internet and believe me this goes well beyond us. In fact my hubby came home with an email that was sent to some he works with. They were disgusted to say the least have expressed their disdain for him and his company. There have been many a post on other forums about how asinine this man as his company is for doing this. But I have yet to receive a fake apology from them. I will not hold my breath mind you.

 

[degrandm]

i cant believe that in to days world that some one could be so close minded and ignerent to others feeling i for one well not purchase anything from them

 

[Kulindahr]

gaywill19, your point is why I refrained from even mentioning my sexual orientation, and wrote just as a businessman. Hate mail will just get him angry; well-written, polite but disagreeing letters such as (I believe) Antares', quoted by Metta, will give him pause, but when a businessman in his area negates him as a possible source, he has to take note.

I fully intend to tell everyone I know in lawn care and landscaping about this, too, and telling Hake that has to make a point. Maybe he's doing well enough he won't care, but any decent businessman is always hurt, at least psychologically, by the blow to his business.

 

[ari25]

I emailed CBS letting them know how much I appreciate seeing gay characters in their programming and to keep working towards the goal of gay characters being equal in scope to their hetero counterparts. CBS (like the other networks) have a history of giving into the far right (remember the Superbowl) so hopefully this time they'll rebuff this asshole like the rest of us should.

 

[metta]

I'm posting this link for another JUB member that has not ever posted.

http://www.snopes.com/politics/religion/drlaura.asp

Dear Dr. Laura,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God's Law. I have learned a great deal from your show, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate.

I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

a) When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. Should I smite them?

b) I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as sanctioned in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

c) I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

d) Lev. 25:44 states that I may indeed possess slaves, both male and female, provided they are purchased from neighboring nations. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans, but not Canadians. Can you clarify? Why can't I own Canadians?

e) I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

f) A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an Abomination (Lev 11:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don't agree. Can you settle this?

g) Lev 21:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

h) Most of my male friends get their hair trimmed, including the hair around their temples, even though this is expressly forbidden by Lev 19:27. How should they die?

i) I know from Lev 11:6-8 that touching the skin of a dead pig makes me unclean, but may I still play football if I wear gloves?

j) My uncle has a farm. He violates Lev 19:19 by planting two different crops in the same field, as does his wife by wearing garments made of two different kinds of thread (cotton/polyester blend). He also tends to curse and blaspheme a lot. Is it really necessary that we go to all the trouble of getting the whole town together to stone them? (Lev 24:10-16) Couldn't we just burn them to death at a private family affair like we do with people who sleep with their in-laws? (Lev. 20:14)

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help.

Thank you again for reminding us that God's word is eternal and unchanging.

Your devoted disciple and adoring fan.

Thank you Juber!

 

[Oden_grey]

If homosexuality was the norm, civilization would have ceased to exist thousands of years ago. Procreation takes a man and a woman.

I guess he's got us there...

Seriously though, I think that as long as people think they are right there will always be this type of hatred. We all know that the writer of this email is wrong in his characterization of homosexuality. Homosexuality, like it or not is a naturally occurring, unalterable condition... just the same as heterosexuality. What he sees as "promotion" of homosexuality is really acknowledgement of something that already exists in the real world. Nowadays, TV tends to try to emulate real life and homosexuality is a real issue and includes real individuals.

I think think it is just as morally repugnant for a straight person to engage in homosexual acts as it is for homosexuals to engage in heterosexual acts. Both situations end up toying with people's emotions and ruining the sanctity of sexual intercourse itself. Additionally, I doubt heterosexuals or homosexuals can live out healthy lives without succumbing to their inherent urges to have intercourse with their preferred sex. That being said, I seriously doubt that many straight people want to lead gay lives "just for kicks" so Mr. Moral Melvin has little to worry about.