Submitted by Semi-Anon. Contributor #11
This is an interesting discussion.
The individual who felt that the posts should not be anonymous, and that the focus should be on the good things that happen in the region is missing the point. We all KNOW good things are happening! How can anyone miss all the positive coverage the area has received in the last few years regarding economic and arts related development. And our community leaders are incredibly positive people with energy and drive to make things happen and take the risks necessary to promote regional growth. On those levels, good things are happening, and virtually everyone knows it.
What people don't know, however, is the experience of those members of this great community who go bed at night fearful that at any moment a rock will come through the window, or their property will be vandalized, their livelihood will be at risk, or that when they go to school they'll have to spend the day trying to ignore vile epithets regarding their real or rumored sexual identity.
And though I have heard time and time again (from very influential community leaders) that most people don't take Diane Gramley seriously, and that they dismiss her as mean spirited and bitter, it cannot be ignored that she preaches to a like minded choir, all of whom make the horrible mistake of calling their personal morality "God's will".
These people, to varying degrees, hide behind a veneer of Christianity that they TRULY BELIEVE is authentic. They TRULY BELIEVE that they are doing God's will and trying to save souls.
The soul saving tactic most often employed is the "Action Alert" which focus primarly but not totally on gay issues, and that encourage others to actively protest any and all things that are gay, gay related, or gay friendly. This must be done, of course, to prevent the downfall of society. (Because it's not greed, avarice, dishonestly, and incivility that lead to societal decay. It's gay people.)
So act quickly! these action alerts tell us. If anyone even proposes to make laws that protect gay people or give them the right to marry, write to the senator, the governor, the mayor, the Derrick, anyone who will listen and remind them that gay people have diseases that they want to give to children! or say some other similarly scary thing! and oh, send us some money!
We are told that we will know the faithful by the fruits of their labor. It really is that simple. What are the fruits of Diane's actions? what do they write, what do they say, and what they have nurtured-a little band of followers that look much like the Pharisee's must have back in the day-thinking they knew God's laws, and they knew who was worthy and who was not, and they knew who MUST DO WHAT in order to be acceptable to their god. They didn't break bread with the people they had marginalized with their rhetoric. They wouldn't sit in the same room with them. Avoided them on the street. Publicly humiliated them. Sound familiar?
But Jesus wasn't like that at all. He went right up to people who were hated and reviled by the "holy men" and he ate with them, blessed them, and made it very clear that if ANYONE wanted to enter the kingdom of heaven, then they must do the same.
Here in Venango I see that Diane Gramley and her ilk have made a mission out of trying to keep gay people marginalized(unless they change). A lot of people have been REPEATEDLY told that they are a threat to society, REPEATEDLY told that there is something "wrong" with them, REPEATEDLY told that they are not acceptable unless they "change". And as a result of hearing this-they live in fear, addled with an anxiety that some people will never try to understand.
And I think that people like Diane Gramley like things this way. It makes them feel powerful and right, and they can believe that everything they do is "in his service". And when someone disagrees with them, they get to pretend they are just like the prophets, who were also ignored, and they get to say things like "no, we LOVE gay people, they just need to change. Because they're bad."
But things are changing, and people like Diane will no longer be the only voice on the matter. In fact, it seems that there are a whole lot of people who are just sick and tired of the hate disguised as christianity crap, and many of them are moved to counteraction. My take is that this blog is just one small way in which people can begin to feel a sense of contribution to this growing community of supporters. And if someone wants to, they can most likely leave their name. But if they choose not to, that only points to the need for this type of a forum right now.
1 comment:
Just to clarify my earlier comments--
I don't think the main or only focus of the site should be on the positive. There is value in turning over rocks and exposing what lies underneath to the light of day.
But one of the stated objectives of the blog is "to Promote the Historic and Beautiful Oil Region of Northwestern Pennsylvania as a Welcoming Place for All" and that is hardly achieved by an uninterrupted list of various acts of local bigotry.
Likewise, I get that the decision to take a public stand in these issues is not one made lightly. It's no fun to be on the receiving end of the vitriol of either side.
Unfortunately, I think that's part of the problem. I think there are plenty of people who fall somewhere in a moderate middle on many of these issues, people who are equally frustrated when A) they're told they have to disapprove of someone's entire life and personhood just because of that person's sexuality or B) they can't ever criticize a gay person for anything because that "proves" they're homophobic.
Lots of people who could be speaking for the middle, who could be building bridges, are chased off the playing field because of the extremes on either side who say, "You must be with Us 100% or you are an ally of our evil opponents."
These are complicated issues-- particularly in a small area like ours-- but people who might try to express complicated or nuanced points of view need thick skins, because they are liable to be hammered by both sides (though, in truth, it's not as simple as the us vs. them two-sided model that those folks would like us to buy into). They are the voices that are least likely to speak out, but they are the voices that, I believe, are most needed.
I'm aware that as a straight white male (religious but only, so far, born only once) there are experiences and points of view that I am never going to be in a position to understand. I'm always open to hearing about experiences beyond my own by people who know. I am not so interested in being harangued and called a variety of names-- not only is it not fun, but I don't learn anything from it.
And that is perhaps what I find most unsympathetic about the extreme position-holders. They aren't looking to understand anything, nor help anyone else understand. They just want to power their view into other peoples' heads, or, barring that, express their POV to like-minded people so everyone can pat each other on the back and say "You sure told them."
At the end of the day, with pretty much any issue, I would like to understand you better. I can't understand you better if we don't have some kind of dialogue. And it's hard to have a dialogue with you if I don't even know who you are.
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