Does James Dobson have brain damage? Looks like it. The homosexuality-obsessed founder of Focus on the Family, an über-conservative preach-tank based in Colorado Springs, has declared war on Spongebob Squarepants.
“Does anybody here know SpongeBob?” Dr. James C. Dobson, the founder of Focus on the Family, asked the guests Tuesday night at a black-tie dinner for members of Congress and political allies to celebrate the election results.
SpongeBob needed no introduction. In addition to his popularity among children, who watch his cartoon show, he has become a well-known camp figure among adult gay men, perhaps because he holds hands with his animated sidekick Patrick and likes to watch the imaginary television show “The Adventures of Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.”
Now, Dr. Dobson said, SpongeBob’s creators had enlisted him in a “pro-homosexual video,” in which he appeared alongside children’s television colleagues like Barney and Jimmy Neutron, among many others. The makers of the video, he said, planned to mail it to thousands of elementary schools to promote a “tolerance pledge” that includes tolerance for differences of “sexual identity.”
Let’s get down to the meat of the objection: “tolerance pledge” that includes tolerance for differences of “sexual identity.”
Now let’s go look up “tolerance” in the dictionary.
The capacity for or the practice of recognizing and respecting the beliefs or practices of others.
So basically, James Dobson is saying that teaching our children to respect people is dangerous.
On Wednesday however, Paul Batura, assistant to Mr. Dobson at Focus on the Family, said the group stood by its accusation.
“We see the video as an insidious means by which the organization is manipulating and potentially brainwashing kids,” he said. “It is a classic bait and switch.”
Teaching kids to respect people who are different from them is “insidious” and a form of “brainwashing?” No. F**k that. It’s hateful, and its unchristian. Jesus dined with prostitutes and tax collectors… the most despised people at the time. He did not judge them. Are you better equipped to judge someone than Jesus? He also defended a woman who had committed adultery and who was about to be stoned. His words, in case you’ve forgotten them: “Let the one among you who is without sin cast the first stone.” And not a stone was thrown. People like James Dobson and his Focus on the Family minions are a disgrace to Christianity.
And to complicate matters further, Focus on the Family (as well as the American Family Association, who is also calling for Mr. Squarepants’ head) seems to have gotten its facts mixed up.
The video’s creator, Nile Rodgers, who wrote the disco hit “We Are Family,” said Mr. Dobson’s objection stemmed from a misunderstanding. Mr. Rodgers said he founded the We Are Family Foundation after the Sept. 11 attacks to create a music video to teach children about multiculturalism. The video has appeared on television networks, and nothing in it or its accompanying materials refers to sexual identity. The pledge, borrowed from the Southern Poverty Law Center, is not mentioned on the video and is available only on the group’s Web site.
Mr. Rodgers suggested that Dr. Dobson and the American Family Association, the conservative Christian group that first sounded the alarm, might have been confused because of an unrelated Web site belonging to another group called “We Are Family,” which supports gay youth.
I visited the “We Are Family” website. It is a homosexual support site, and is concerned with issues such as this, from their site:
Gay youth are at least 5 times more likely to attempt suicide than heterosexual youth as a result of the feelings of isolation and alienation they experience.
The answer is understanding – not just among family members but in the greater community.
Nowhere on the site is a video mentioned. In fact, from the looks of the site, I rather get the impression that it is a fairly low-budget organization.
So really, Focus on the Family was just so dedicated to preventing children from being “brainwashed” by dangerous “tolerance” that they took one group’s video, that has nothing to do with sexuality, and attributed it to another organization going by the same name. They made a mistake, and they are hateful bigots. Bravo.
(via Oliver Willis)
Update: Ed Morrissey has a somewhat softer rebuke
How about “tolerating” the viewpoint of Focus on the Family? “Tolerance” goes in two directions. Yup, subscribing to tolerance means you also have to tolerate intolerance.
I tolerate it. I’m not going to advocate censoring their opinions or making what they do illegal. I’m just going to call them on their lack of charity.
I tolerate people who deny the holocaust ever happened. I tolerate the Ku Klux Klan.
Tolerance doesn’t mean that you sit idly by while people preach hate. I respect FotF’s beliefs, and support their right to hold such beliefs, but I’m not going to allow their unChristian behavior to go unrebuked. You can’t make tolerance out to be a ban on rebuke.
I guess you’re coming from the assumption that homosexuality is morally right, which I, along with FotF, believe is morally wrong. I agree that children should be taught tolerance and respect for people. However, children, nor other people, should not be required to ACCEPT beliefs about homosexuality if they oppose it, especially if their parents oppose it. Intolerance/lack of acceptance of a person’s beliefs and respect for a person are not mutually exclusive. You can still treat a person with dignity and respect while at the same time disagreeing, not accepting, and not tolerating their beliefs. This is not un-Christian behavior in my opinion. Love must also be tough at times. And if FotF is compelled to act on their beliefs, it does not mean they are acting in an un-Christian manner, nor treating homosexuals with disrespect.
Finally, I obviously don’t believe FotF deserve a rebuke.
I’m not coming from that assumption at all. First, minor quibble, “homosexuality” isn’t itself a sin. That’s just an inclination. What is a sin is homosexual activity.
You bring up the real crux of the matter. It is about tolerance vs. acceptance. Tolerating something means “allowing it to happen.” It means that you don’t try to intervene when you see two men holding hands. You respect that they are adults and can make their own decisions regarding how they want to live their lives. Accepting something means “favorable reception” or “belief in something… agreement.” This is obviously something that a Christian cannot do with regard to homosexual activity. I think you take tolerance to imply more than it does. Tolerance is absolutely not agreement, or approval, or belief, or a positive moral judgment. Tolerance is merely saying “I respect you as a person, and respect your ability to make your own decisions when it comes to your personal life.” This is not “insidious,” or “brainwashing”… this is basic Christian decency.
I can’t make this point firm enough: “tolerance” can be, and often is, paired with a lack of acceptance.
Where FotF crosses the line, is where they take their lack of acceptance for homosexual activity and turn into a lack of tolerance for homosexuality. When they fight against the teaching of tolerance towards homosexuality, what they are saying is that it’s not okay to respect people who do things that go against your beliefs. FotF needs to realize that materials that advocate tolerance of homosexuals are not promoting homosexuality, but merely calling for mutual respect between people who happen to have different moral beliefs.
Homosexuals routinely get harassed in high school and beyond by people who don’t tolerate anyone who is different. FotF adds fuel to the hateful fires that burn within such people when it attacks anyone who dares teach respect and tolerance.
Believing that homosexual activity is wrong is perfectly fine. People who disagree will just have to tolerate your opinion. It is when your lack of acceptance of homosexual activity turns into outright intolerance that you’ve taken it too far.
You’ve communicated your point very well. And I can definitely understand what you’re saying.
I can tolerate the people who hate and fear GLBT Americans.
What I cannot and will not tolerate are the efforts to curtail the civil rights of GLBT Americans—the rights to live and work where they wish to, marry who they want to, and to express themsleves without getting bashed or murdered.