Wednesday, February 18, 2009

Buttars and another rant

Chris Buttars is a douche. No, it's not polite to call people names. He's behaving like a paranoid infant with too much time on his hands. Someone in the Utah State Legislature should give him something to do. As it is, he's busy protecting traditional families from his own equivalent of radical Muslim druggie prostitutes: homosexuals. (No doubt he meant to offend the radical Muslim druggie prostitutes when he compared them to gays.)

His latest diatribe appeared on ABC 4 a couple nights back and garnered a lot of media attention. (Here's a link.) I'm frustrated. I've tried to be nice, and this blog has been a great place to vent, but as I recently said, I simply don't know that I care about being nice anymore.

The thing is, given the zeal with which Chris Buttars and Gayle Ruzicka (et al) pursue their anti-gay agenda, I've started losing my tolerance for differing viewpoints. I like to think of myself as level-headed and tolerant, but lately I've had a hard time getting beyond my anger at the lies and hypocrisy. It's so frustrating because everybody on both sides of the issue takes it so personally, when at the bottom of it all, it's just a tiny percentage of the population is actually affected. It's so infuriating! I want to shake my fist and say "If you don't like gay marriage, don't fu*king get gay married!" People are so worried that their way of life is being destroyed by some nebulous gay threat that they're willing to viciously trample the basic rights of their gay brothers and sisters.

"But if gays can share insurance coverage, what will I tell my children?" Okay, that's a little much. How 'bout, "But if gays can visit each other in the hospital, what will I tell my children?" Nope...still rings of the ridiculous. "If gays can be treated like human beings..." Laughable. "If homosexuality becomes widely accepted, what will I tell my children?" Frankly, I don't care...in an ideal world you would tell them it's perfectly okay, but since you won't say that, tell them whatever you want. Tell them gays are space aliens with impeccable taste. Or tell them nothing at all. Just don't stand in the way of fairness!

Buttars keeps claiming gays are asking for "special rights." That's bullshit. Political rhetoric pandering to the uninformed, nothing more. Frankly, I think every gay employer or landlord should fire their straight employees and evict their straight tenants. See how that feels. If sexual orientation isn't a class protected from discrimination, then if I were a gay landlord or employer, I think I'd be entitled to discriminate based on the fact that people are filthy "breeders." I certainly wouldn't want heterosexual perversions happening in a residential property I own. Goodness knows, I would lie awake night thinking about the disgusting things they're doing in the privacy of their rented bedrooms. And those employees who openly flaunt their heterosexuality in my place of business don't deserve the right to their perverse self-expression, much less their privacy. I've got a reputation to maintain! I don't want my good name associated with that kind of debauchery. So the moment I found out, they'd be out on their pervert asses.

Does ANY of this make sense? At all? When did protection from arbitrary eviction or employment termination become a "special right?" Spousal insurance benefits, wrongful death compensation, hospital visitation rights...how the hell are any of these "special rights?" Under current Utah law, I can be fired or evicted not based on actions, but based solely on who I am. I could be a model employee and tenant, but none of that matters if my employer or landlord thinks I'm gay. I have no right to job security. I have no right to be judged based solely on my performance as an employee. The fact that someone suspects I might be gay is cause enough to end my employment and make me homeless. Does anyone still wonder why people are pissed?

The settling of the Salt Lake valley came about, in part, because of vicious religious persecution. The Mormons fled Illinois and Missouri for their lives. People openly challenged the validity of LDS marriages, and the infamous "Mormon Extermination Order" was on the books for nearly 150 years. The LDS people are no strangers to persecution. Yet so many good LDS people stand idly by while vocal religious zealots persecute an already maligned small segment of the population. I know there are good Mormons out there. I know this personally. Intensely compassionate, fair-minded individuals who helped shape my life into what it is today. People I'm profoundly grateful to every waking minute. So here are a couple things to think about:
  1. If you're not gay, denying basic human rights to gays will most likely affect you MUCH more than extending extending them. Gays amount to 2-3% of the population. If all of them married, which they won't, it's still an almost negligible fraction of the population. And when basic human protections are extended to the gay population, your taxes won't change, your ability to marry and live your religion won't change, and contrary to popular belief your family won't crumble. But when we classify any group of people as second-class citizens by denying them equal recognition under the law, the door of discrimination gapes wider. And who knows, maybe someone who hates you might just draw up a constitutional amendment invalidating your family. So really, what's the consequence of supporting gay rights? Well, you may have to explain to your children why those two men are holding hands in the park or on TV. Trust me, it's not the most difficult conversation you'll have with your children. Besides, it's called PARENTING. You made the babies, be a parent!
  2. If you simply sit by and let Chris Buttars and Gayle Ruzicka be the vocal spokespeople for the LDS views on gay rights, everybody in the world will think all Mormons are that repulsive. You're not. I know it because I know you. And you know I'm not a radical muslim druggie whore terrorist threat to anyones traditional family and society as we know it because you know me. So open your mouth! Tell your senator you think the words and actions Chris Buttars and Gayle Ruzicka are repugnant and that you don't support their hateful agendas. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper explaining how you're a good Mormon and some of your closest friends are gay and that you hope their families can enjoy the same legal protections yours does.
When it boils down to it, this issue IS about the destruction of families. But not your family. It's about the destruction of mine. That's all.

Lisa and I were discussing the situation today. Here’s what she said:
The thing that bothers me is it is the radicals, on both sides of this, that are being heard. Not the people who actually want to come to an agreement and understanding. It's not people like you or I. It's the people who can't see either side that are speaking for everyone. I can't stand that.
It's like when there is a national disaster or something tragic in the news...who does the news interview? The one moron who has nothing important to say and can't tell his ass from his head.
In the disaster that is the 2009 Utah legislative session, I take comfort in the mental image of Chris Buttars in ratty overalls acting out "the one moron who has nothing important to say and can't tell his ass from his head." (No offense to the good hillbillies of the world.)

So go back and listen to his interview with THAT in your head. It’s infinitely more entertaining.


P.S. A couple links:

The ABC 4 Article
The Salt Lake Tribune Article

9 comments:

Princess Lisa said...

I shall repeat what I said in our email...

If we're ever running for our lives, I'm going to trip you and yell to the murderer/terrorist... "Take him, He's GAY! His life is worth less..." then I'll keep on going. You understand. I mean, you're gay.

(how many of your friends are going to think I'm serious and hate me now? )

Anonymous said...

Dear Princess L,

Why would murderers or terrorists (who are by definition evil and want to inflict as much pain as possible) go for those whose lives are worth less? Wouldn't you be singling yourself out for attack there?

Regards,


Vinnie

Princess Lisa said...

Dear Vinnie,

I would assume... no matter how evil.... that all terrorists and murderers would feel the same as the rest of the world. We must eradicate gays first! Obviously they are a biggest threat. If they all banded together, we wouldn't have the energy to fight one another and have good wars. We'd have to fight off the gays. And the gays might win.

When it comes to gays... we can all unite against them. Regardless of race or religion or political belief. We must destroy the gays!

Fondling,
Lisa

Anonymous said...

Dearest PL,

That's a big assumption, if you'll allow me to say so. And the contradiction in your original message remains. If the purpose is terror, killing those most people agree are disposable won't do the trick.

Warmly,


Vinnie

Princess Lisa said...

Dearest Vinnie,

Again, under normal circumstances, terrorists would want to inflict as much terror as possible. Which would make it seem logical to kill people who are worth more.
However, in the fight against gays... normal doesn't apply. Obviously, the terrorists would unite with their usual victims to kill all the gays first. Gays are a threat to the family, to the terrorists way of life... to everything we hold sacred and dear. Obviously, the terrorists would kill the gays first. Obviously.

Don't you read the papers? It's the world against the gays! We can't let our guard down!

Once we have eradicated the gays, of course the terrorists will go back to trying to kill others to inflict as much pain as possible. Until then... terrorists unite.

Warmly,
Princess Zealot

Anonymous said...

Dear PL/Z,

Plzzzz, what you just wrote makes no sense. And we both know it.

Dearly,


Vinnie

Princess Lisa said...

Dearest Dearly Vinnie,

No, we don't both know it. It makes sense. If you're a zealot. You obviously lack the ability to hate people based solely on one aspect of their genetic make-up. Clearly, you don't have what it takes to be a zealot.

Saddened,

Princess Lisa, Superior Zealot

Anonymous said...

Dearest Princy,

Zealots must make crappy terrorists then. Getting rid of things people despise sounds more like a favour than terror to me.

Vilely yours,


Vinnie

Princess Lisa said...

Dearest Vile Vinnie,

You don't see the wisdom in the plan. Terrorists enjoy a challenge. Once we eradicate gays, the real fighting can begin. Until then, we won't really know if we've made a big enough impact. So it seems pointless to continue arbitrary attacks. Once we know the gays are gone...the quality killing can begin.

Shocked at your confusion,

Princy SZ