i like to take arugments like this to their logical conclusion,
if she isnt held deely[sic] accountable by the public for this very bigoted attack on human dignity
and if we allow her to manipulate peoples feelings about religion
she is no better than the guys who killed matt shepard
and we are no better than the people who turn a blind eye to all kind of bigotry we see every day
With respect, your reduction of bigotry to a flat Earth view is an untenable stand when judging human transgressions. We cannot allow a black/white dichotomy to prevail when condemning the enemies of civil rights, be they for gay men or anyone else.
Our social codes, as exemplified by our laws and customs, are not perfect, but they are not primitive either. We don't equate petty shoplifting with bank robbery or grand theft. Our social attitudes nor our criminal punishments equate them. A boy may steal a candy bar from a store, a woman may shoplift a carton of cigarettes, and a man may embezzle $1 million, and they all face different levels of condemnation and punishment.
It is the tendency of racial supremacists, and exclusive religionists, to frame the world in absolute dichotomies. Judaism, Shintoism, Christianity and Islam have all taught their doctrines of us vs. them, with no quarter given for compromise or middle ground. As recently as 2000, Cardinal Ratzinger (later Pope Benedict XVI) issued the
Domine Jesu reassertion that non-Catholic Christians remain infidels, bastards within the eyes of the HRCC.
Viewing the world as all us or them is a dangerous and inaccurate portrayal of humanity, of the ability to change, of the dynamics of human psyche. It is the road of the leaders of ISIS.
Kim Davis is probably a true martyr in her mind, despite all the snarky comments about crowd funding and capitalistic aspirations. For those familiar with this sort of Apostolic sect, her ability to compartmentalize one teaching versus another is hardly rare. It's hardly rare in personal morality, business ethics, and a range of human behaviors well apart from religion. We saw it clearly in the blind spots about human rights when the U.S. Declaration of Independence was adopted and in the U.S. Constitution. We see it today in all governments and most social institutions across an array of inconsistencies.
She may or may not at some point evolve. If one examines the social influences that lead to personal transformation, the odds may well be against it. She is surrounded by a culture in her immediate environment that would champion her stand, supporting her as a bulwark against "outsider" forces that are imposing change. From a civil and legal standpoint, it is immaterial. She is an elected official and took an oath to uphold the rule of law. She is justly prosecuted just as surely as Martin Luther if breaking a civil law. Unfortunately, the stand she took is not as noble as Luther's, and her infamy will likely follow her to her grave, but thankfully marks a milestone for many of us who may live in less than progressive regions.
However, to directly rebut your conclusion, she is NOT on a level with Matthew Shepard's murderers. They took a life, an act from which there is no recovery or reparation. Denying a class of people equality, even harming that class by disallowing financial advantages of civil marriage, is NOT equal to murder. Shoplifting isn't equal to grand theft or embezzling millions of dollars. Breaking a $10 bowl from Wal-Mart is NOT equal to blowing up a temple at Palmyra or hammering the
Pieta to smithereens. There is harm, and there is great harm, and we judge them differently, and that is appropriate.
This again gets us back to the racial purity sort of thinking, like Shintoism holds, and others. You can't say that one type of bigotry is as bad as another when the impacts and consequences are so dramatically unequal. If reductionist thinking is to prevail, castrate the 13 year old boy who "steals" a kiss without permission, as he is destined to be serial rapist.
Matthew Shepard's killers did great harm. Kim Davis delayed official recognition of some marriage licenses for a matter of weeks or months. The two acts are not even in the same boat. Both being wrong doesn't make them equal.
And, as wrong as Davis is, there is no argument to be made for her death or immolation -- that is some sort of bizarre hysteria.
