Happy Friday! There’s been some great stuff this week. Be sure to check out what’s been happening.
1. Slacktivist on white evangelical privilege
This post by Fred Clark is at the top of my list this week for a reason. It’s a fantastic summary of what’s wrong with comparing having privilege questioned with never having had it in the first place. If you read one thing today, makes sure this is it. (For a very clear explanation of privilege, read this.)
Keep in mind that part of what it means to be privileged is that you don’t ever have to realize it. That’s why the “invisible knapsack” is invisible. They’re trying to make sense of a confusing new world. Confusion and obliviousness can produce the same effects as malice, but they require a different response.
2. And in other weird news…
Okay, this is actually from last Thursday. But for heaven’s sake, what was this guy thinking?
One day after the “Kill the Gays” bill supporter appeared in Massachusetts federal court, [Scott Lively gave an interview], in which he claimed Noah’s Biblical flood was punishment from God for the “writing of wedding songs to homosexual marriage.”
I personally would love to know what these “homosexual love songs” were. I mean, are we talking like Song of Solomon “explicit” lyrics here? I have a friend with a beautiful voice; if I had access to these ancient gay tunes, perhaps I could pass them on to him so he can sing them at a modern-day wedding.
3. Feminism done right, feminism done wrong
Dianna Anderson’s hard work paid off last week when she stood up to an exploitative web site called “Is This Modest?” She launched a campaign against the site which ultimately paid off in the removal of the site and its Twitter account. This week, she took Jezebel, a subsite of Gawker, to task for undermining the campaign and enforcing the objectification of women.
If we willingly engage in the exploitation and public comment of women ourselves, we are no better than the “creepers” we criticize.
You can read about it here.
4. Two posts on tolerance failure
I really need to write about this myself, but I haven’t been able to get it right. I don’t want to hurt the very people with whom I stand. But these two posts say quite nicely what I haven’t found the words to express. First, Fred Clark (yes, again) explains why we shouldn’t use “gracious” and “cordial” to describe the continued denial of rights to LGBT people. Saying something more politely doesn’t make it better.
If you intend to be gracious and/or cordial, then you should never, ever, utter that insidious euphemism “homosexual lifestyle” ever again. Please. Thank you. OK, then.
Second, Crystal St. Marie Lewis writes about why we need to stop agreeing to disagree. When setting aside our differences hinders justice, it’s time to stop politely accepting one another’s views; sometimes, one person is actually wrong.
I explained that in my opinion, there are times when justice requires us to stop “agreeing to disagree”. Inaction and complacency can in themselves become forms of violence.
In other news, many thanks to Dianna Anderson for linking to my post from yesterday about privilege and inclusion within Emergent Christianity. Be sure to read the other posts she’s linked for more good stuff.
That’s it for the week. Out of respect for Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, I will not be writing a Fifty Shades post on Monday. Have a great weekend, and I’ll be back on Tuesday.
