Saturday, April 16, 2005

When homophobic bigots have a really limited imagination.


At the risk of turning on one of my own, I have to take gentle exception with Cathie from Canada here, where she suggests that the headline "Anti-Gay 'Day of Truth' Signs Up 1,150" is slanting the real news, that being that the pro-tolerance "Day of Silence" signed up a slightly larger 450,000.

Sure, the headline might have been a bit grating, but the body of the article itself made up for it, comparing it pretty unfavourably with its ideological opponent:

The inaugural Day of Truth, seeking to mobilize students who believe homosexuality is wrong, attracted 1,150 participants Thursday at about 350 schools nationwide, according to the conservative group which launched it in response to the far larger, gay-supportive Day of Silence.

The New York-based Gay, Lesbian, Straight Education Network, which coordinates the Day of Silence, said at least 450,000 students at more than 4,000 schools and colleges participated in the 10-year-old event — which took place Wednesday.

But it's the last paragraph that shows the sad desperation of the anti-gay Day of Truth's organizers:

Alan Sears, president of the Alliance Defense Fund, said some participating students had been threatened through "intimidation and potential disciplinary action." But overall he was pleased, describing the level of participation as "far more than we could have ever hoped or imagined for the first year."

Really, Alan? Far more than you could have "ever hoped or imagined"? Man, how jaw-droppingly stupid do you have to be say that? You'd sort of understand it if he said it was more than he "expected", perhaps, although that would still be pretty pathetic to not even expect much more than a thousand people across the entire United States. I mean, really, that works out to just over 20 closed-minded, intolerant homophobic students per state, fer cryin' out loud. You could fill that quota from Bible colleges alone, no?

But Sears goes further, claiming that this is far more than he could have "hoped for". So, Alan, you didn't even "hope for" more than a thousand people? Talk about your feeble dreams and aspirations. And when it comes to far more than he could even have "imagined", well, one gets the impression that Sears just isn't comfortable with large numbers.

So why is higher education dominated by liberals rather than conservatives? Maybe because right-wing wankers can't imagine numbers bigger than a thousand. That kind of limits their post-secondary options, wouldn't you say?

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