Subscribe to Breaking NewsWithers: Rev. Warren meets with Etheridge
Melissa Etheridge, who once informed us that her son thought the language for Proposition 8 was “lame,”, was on the same stage with Rev. Rick Warren this week-end. At least that is the story scholar Juan Cole is telling.
Cole and Warren were headline speakers at an annual conference sponsored by the Muslim Public Affairs Council; Etheridge and Salman Ahmad were the musical performers for the evening and it looks like Warren and Etheridge spoke before the conference and got along swimmingly.
“Local television in Los Angeles showed a short clip of Etheridge after the event asking gay leaders to reach out to Warren, just as they wanted him to reach out to them.”
Don’t trust Cole? Cynic! Well what about Etheridge’s wife?
“…And then my wife meets the man behind the projections, the quotes, the ‘other side.’ And he is warm, caring, effusive, and loves gays. since he nearly swallowed honey when he hugged her, I tend to believe him. he wants our gay marriages to be just as respected and embraced as the straight marriages.”
My head hurts now. The same guy who is on the record of comparing the relationship between Etheridge and Michaels with incest and pedophilia now wants their relationship to be respected?!
I’m more than willing to accept Warren is not on the same level as other preachers who opine on gay sexuality, but his recent interview with NBC’s Ann Curry shows Warren ain’t a friend who is respectful. And I want these gay friends of the good reverend talking to him about gay sexuality to show themselves. If what he says is true, you all need a serious beat down!
It’s not surprising to hear that Warren is talking out of both sides of his mouth…that’s what they (preachers) do. What amazes me is Melissa seems to be falling for it! I have always been on the side of Melissa, except for when she chose Barack over Hillary in the primaries, but I can’t see this. What are the missing details? We clearly heard him compare her relationship, and every other gay relationship to pedophilia, incest, etc. WTF? I need some answers!
Mr. Warren likes to think that the Bible has 3 types of law enshrined in it. Amazing. I always thought that it had one type, God’s law. Sounds to me like another person who is trying to justify why they pick and choose which laws in there to obey. “I’ll obey this one because it’s a moral law but the rest, well, they only apply to those who are Jewish.” Nice way around it. Too bad that God is going to look at them and ask why they turned Him/Her away when they stand before Him/Her in judgment.
Mellissa and wife would be at the opening of an envelope. Obviously, they aren’t intelligent enough to recognize a snake oil salesman when they see one.
If “he wants our gay marriages to be just as respected and embraced as the straight marriages,” then why did he work so hard to pass Prop 8? These words are meaningless. Does he now intend to work very hard to over-turn Prop 8? It’s about your actions! Not your words!
Wow Melissa sort of sounds like she’s got a touch of downes. How could someone be so simple? and easily manipulated? People like Rick Warren have built fortunes on the force of their charming personality. That’s what preachers do. Of curse he’s gonna turn it on the for little ol lesbo singer. I’d like to see how he’ react to a room full of tart-tongued, quick-witted super-snarky drag queens. Where’d the love be then?!
Oh, Charming Ms.(Mrs?)Etheridge is sucking ass for profits now like all media/celebrity whores! Did you expect anything less? This “woman” has ALWAYS disgusted me! She is a lousy, half baked “artist” to begin with and now this sadly egregious cozing up to warren display is truly the icing on the cake! Show how much respect you have for this woman’s “talent” by refusing to buy her albums! I wish her and all the other gay/lesbian media sluts would just STFU and go live out their pathetic empty lives in their Bel Aire mansions!! Rich, gay celebrities mean absolutely NOTHING to me! They don’t “represent” me or my family who have to actually WORK for a living.
Why is it surprising that this celebrity is “falling for it”? Her discernment and intelligence aren’t why she’s a celebrity. And sorry, but if etheridge is the “voice” of lgbt activism and not just another celebrity who happens to be gay and out, then we’re in serious trouble. Thankfully, that couldn’t be further from the truth. Recall her on the logo primary interviews. That performance spoke volumes about her intellectual prowess.
Often, they don’t even remember what they’ve said. It means nothing to them– e.g., the lollipop kid’s comments (prince). The only thing that has significance is that they are given the deference their egos demand; that they are the center of gravity. Anything that detracts from that is to be villified, and anything that feeds into the delusion is praised. It’s not like they actually sit down and give it some thought before talking. “No, no, don’t speak…it ruins it by making you ugly.”
My guess is that she initially mistook warren for one of her adoring fans on olivia.
I’ll preface this by saying that I am in no way a fan of Rick Warren. However, I’m also not a fan of the flame-fanning, one-sided, and yes, even “intolerant” reporting that I’ve seen on this site and others.
In the very link you posted in this blog, Mr. Withers, (http://hollywoodfarmgirl.blogspot.com/2008/12/big-ricks-yamaka.html) there is a very objective, fair, rational analysis of exactly what I see is wrong with the state of gay “advocacy” right now: picking the latest “HE HATES YOU!” target. There is a trend of vilifying any one who doesn’t support gay marriage, no matter what other stances and achievements they have, it seems like the gay community is bound to stick “bigot” on anybody who simply doesn’t agree, even the people in our own community like Ms. Etheridge. We are not going to win our case by yelling and screaming in “I want it NOW!” fits reminiscent of Veruca Salt in Willy Wonka. We need to focus on winning over hearts and minds.
Ask yourself, if a brother and sister wanted to get married, what would be your initial reaction? You may say, well…we ban incest because of the genetic consequences. But what if both siblings were sterile? Would you object to them being married? What about two gay brothers getting married in Massachusetts? How would you feel about that? Most people, gay, straight, or otherwise, would still object, based on an indoctrinated and perhaps outmoded sense of “morality”. And that’s what we’re up against. People against gay marriage aren’t necessarily evil or overly religious bigots. They just see things differently from a “moral” standpoint, and we must make it our job to address that in a rational, respectable way (you don’t win people to your cause by saying they’re evil). We’ve got a lot of people to convince out there. We need to accept that simply calling them bigots and refusing to talk to them is not going to work.
Oh Ramsey, do STFU.
Ramsey,
I suggest you read the post over. Didn’t call the good Rev. Warren a bigot; however, if you are going to compare gay relationships with incest and pedophilia, as Warren has done, then pardon me for not seeing that as “respectful.”
Sincerely,
James
Firstly James, I did not say you in particular called Warren a bigot in your post, I just said that it’s awfully common ’round here.
Secondly, I was not comparing gay relationships to incest. I was making a point about how views of “morality” shape people’s definition of marriage. The discussion must go both ways. If you feel that siblings should not be married purely for “moral” reasons, then you at least have to understand how someone against gay marriage could feel that way for the same reason, and that’s a good starting point for meaningful debate: empathy. We want, no DEMAND, that others empathize with us without giving any understanding in return. I’m not saying we should agree with those opposing gay marriage, but at least make the effort to understand and then rationally, respectfully counter-argue.
To quote Chris Sullivan
“Oh Ramsey…STFU” You are digging in deeper and there’s no way out. Write incest and gay marriage in another post and try to make that work for you. It’s a dumb argument, move on.
Ramsey,
For some reason you keep bringing up gay marriage when I’m not talking about that. There can be no starting point, for me at least, if one side sees gays as no different from people who engage in incest and pedophilia.
Thanks for reading.
Sincerely,
James
If it’s such a dumb argument, why has no one successfully argued against it? “STFU” is not a rebuttal, it’s a dismissal. It convinces no one.
The incest-gay marriage argument is used commonly by the anti-gay marriage brigade. If you can’t rationally dispute that argument against me, someone who is FOR gay marriage, how can you expect to convince someone that isn’t on your side?
James,
If we stop engaging Ramsey, will he go away? He didn’t read your last comment about having the converstion with these people beginning with those things (incest, pedophile, etc.)as an argument for them makes it impossible for us to engage? That would be like trying to convince a hooded member of the KKK that all people are created equal. They are not wired to even hear that side of the argument. May as well talk to a wall.