Thursday, March 09, 2006

Unbelievable

Did anyone else notice the HUGE two-page spread ad in the middle of today's Asheville Citizen-Times Home & Garden section? Was anyone else horrified and offended?

If you haven't seen it, let me tell you about it. The header on the left-hand side reads "What the Bible Says About SODOMY." Followed by, you guessed it, lots o bible verses, several taken out of context, as far as I can tell. Then there's a box at the bottom of the page that reads: "According to the Word of God, the gay lifestyle and their claim to be Christian does not agree with one another."

Retyping this shit is making me feel like barfing, and it's not just because of the bad grammar.

Page two announces a rally to be held in Pack Square on Saturday at 11:00 "in SUPPORT of CHRISTIAN and CONSERVATIVE BUSINESSES and their RIGHT TO OPERATE according to FAMILY VALUES SANCTITY OF MARRIAGE (between one man and one woman) WHOLESOME WORK ENVIRONMENT (without oppression from the Sodomites & The Liberal Media).

All punctuation errors and screaming caps are theirs, not mine.

So, basically this is a reaction to the whole Wolf Laurel Ski Area brou-ha-ha, which the next graph refers to, followed by a long list of names. Christians, all, I assume. None of them anally-inclined. For those of you who missed it, a Wolf Laurel photographer was fired from her job recently because she's in a long-term monogamous relationship. With another woman.

Shocking, I know.

Above and beyond the obvious questions, should the AC-T be publishing this kind of stuff? Are they that desperate for ads? Do you think whoever placed the ad understands the irony of utilizing the "liberal" media as a vehicle for their personal hate and lack of understanding?

I'm feeling so ill that I'm not sure I can even talk about this anymore.

22 comments:

Jeremy said...

As a gay man who works in advertising, I have very mixed feelings about this...freedom of speech going both ways and all that jazz. Does the Citizen-Times have a right to reject the ad? Probably so, but only if they already have strict guidelines in place about their ability to do so. In looking over their advertising info online, I don't see that in writing, so had they rejected the ad the backlash for them could have been pretty hefty. If anything, the fact that they printed this ad serves as a reminder that Asheville isn't the utopia we often feel it is, and it's a call for gay-friendly businesses and organizations to respond with their own ad. And you know it'd be better designed and gramatically correct!

Anyone have a contact at Purple Pages so we can get this going? Surely their advertisers would chip in a bit of money each to make this a possibility.

Edgy Mama said...

I'm mixed as well, Jeremy. This post was more a visceral reaction. I do imagine that the AC-T has the right to refuse to publish a paid ad that foments hate, though what foments hate is a subjective debate.

car said...

what a great spread in the Asheville Citizen Times. Why would you want any media to censor the truth? Of course all you whiny mamby pamby liberals always shout about free speech but can't tolerate speech you don't believe in and want it censored! Can't you see the public doesn't believe your lies anymore! Wake up and support conservative thinking and the gentrification of Asheville!

1000 black lines said...

I know this is supposed to be serious, but I couldn't help wondering why the ad was placed in the Home & Gardens section. I can imagine the ad traffic director scratching her head as to where to put the conservative christian ad.

"Maybe if I place it in near the end of section B no one will notice," she wonders. "No, that won't work. Where oh where am I going to place this hideously designed two-page ad? Oh, I got! The Home & Garden section--after the comics. No one reads the pages following the comic."

Yeah, I saw the ad too. Badly-designed with big-ass copy on one page and micro copy on the other page. I think Asheville NOW has a rally scheduled for next week (I think). Equal opportunity rallies? I love Asheville!

Huw Richardson said...

I agree with MX... I read the comics every day at work... never even saw the ad. LOL. Nor did any one else at work, to judge by my clients' reaction (we all read the comics and the horoscope every morning - it's a community thing with the coffee.)

Continuing to agree with MX - this interface between what I call the Hootervillans on the right and the New Babylonians on the left is exactly why Asheville is so very cool. It's totally missing in the places I used to live.

Matt said...

I'm just annoyed that their ad exec's didn't help them with grammar and layout. The advertiser was not well served.

Gordon Smith said...

Brainshrub is hosting a poster making gathering tonight to gear up for the big rally on Saturday morning. I'm thinking of a few different signs: "My God Hates You as Much as Your God Hates Me", "America Stands for Freedom", "Jesus Loves Me", "Love", "God Loves, Men Hate". Once you get rolling it's easy...

I want to see if there are 8 people at this rally or 800. If everyone who's name was in 4-point type in that ad shows up, there'll be 3,000 homohaters gathering around Pack monument like so many pubes around Vance's colossal phallus.

I think the AC-T certainly has the right to accept the ad, but I wonder if they would have accepted an ad that said, "God hates Christians. Christians are evil heterosexualites. etc..."

I couldn't stop looking at the ad last night (Althea brought it along to Drinking Liberally).

Question People! Who are Christians United and IBOM? They sponsored the advertisement. Who are they? First one to find out gets a Hoolie.

Gordon Smith said...

IBOM has in it's employ an upstanding homohater by the name of Dr. J. Wendell Runion.

"Dr. Runion was born on a mountain farm in Madison County, North Carolina."
[...]
"In 1972 after moving his family back to North Carolina, Dr. Runion became Youth Minister at Trinity Baptist Church in Asheville, NC where Dr. Ralph Sexton, Sr. was the pastor. He was ordained on January 22, 1973 by the late Dr. Sexton."
[...]
"On October 13, 1974, God led him to start Asheville Baptist Tabernacle in Asheville, North Carolina."
[...]
"In 1992, he helped to found Anchor Baptist Bible College in Pisgah Forest, North Carolina"
[...]
"He founded International Baptist Outreach Missions, Inc. in January, 1996"

Wait for it...Wait for it...

"Dr. Runion has also served with the Congressman of the 11th Congressional District as an advisor on church and religious matters since 1990.



This rally could also be termed the official kickoff for Charles Taylor's reelection campaign. Dirty, dirty, dirty bastard.

Gordon Smith said...

Here's a handy link to email IBOM. Well, it's actually to WKJV, which is owned and operated by Runion.

SPEW LINK

Gordon Smith said...

Here's the phone number for Charles Taylor's office:

(828) 251-1988

Please call and ask them if Rep. Taylor supports the views of his religious advisor or if he plans to sever all ties with him. Taylor's running on bigotry and fear, as usual. Let's call him on it.

arratik said...

i have this really awesome album that was recorded by dr. ralph sexton that i found at a goodwill a couple of years ago, where he spends approx. 45 minutes condemning streaking!

i don't know if you heard me say it last night or not, but i wondered aloud if there was anything other than mere coincidence to the fact that the rally was going to be held in such close proximity to taylor's asheville office.

good catch on that, screwy. we can use this, you know...

Gordon Smith said...

Here's the link to the Scrutiny Hooligans post:

Charles Taylor Advisor Leads Hate Rally

arratik said...

i saw that - and i just cross-posted it as well. very nice work.

Jim Jenkins said...

Here we go again.

{sigh}

FUCK YOU, reverend. FUCK YOU, congressman. FUCK YOU christian & conservative businesses.

Here's my homosexual agenda. To spend as many warm spring evenings as possible on my back deck with the love of my life, my dog, my cat and some good tunes.

Someone explain to me how this oppresses anyone.

Of course it's all smoke and mirrors.

What are they going to run on? The war? The popular president? Effective governance? Ethical governance? Education? Health Care? Fiscal responsibility? Nope.

Time to drag out the favorite boogeymen. Abortionists & Sodomites, oh my! Of course they do it because it works.

I don't believe that this is directly connected to Wolf Creek Ski Lodge. I also think that it has about as much to do with christian morality as an e-mail from Jack Abramoff to Ralph Reed. I think it's all political and shows the desperation of the radical religious right as they watch their golden jesus boy, George the Lionheart, fall from grace after promising to lead the holy war not just against the hordes of heathen islamisists, but against the liberals and secular humanists who oppress wholesome christians with their abominable insistance on the anti-theocratic principles outlined in the bill of rights.

FUCK everybody that drags out who I love and how I love every two years to be the whipping boy that draws attention away from their stupidity and incompetence.

signed,
a sodomite

Gordon Smith said...

Everyone please check out the updates at Scrutiny Hooligans.

There's a prayer breakfast tomorrow to be attended by both the Congressman and Dr. Runion.

Anyone hungry?

arratik said...

yeah, cuz you know you can't hate on an empty stomach...

hey, if it's a prayer breakfast that's open to the public, then is it open to all denominations? if so, i say we start a religion just for the occasion whose prayer ritual involves simulated acts of sodomy.

can we call it the Church of American Sodomites and Humanists?

Gordon Smith said...

C.A.S.H.

I like it.

Edgy Mama said...

I'm up for some simulated sodomy. So, Screwy, where are the protesters meeting and when?

Edgy Mama said...

Go, Jim. Made me teary. XOXO.

arratik said...

okay, we need to plan... i can taste the bisquick already, but does anyone have any other info aside from time and place?

- how much does this event cost?
- is the money going to runion or taylor or both?
- are we going to meet up somewhere beforehand?
- is there a contingency restaurant that we could consider just in case we end up getting 86ed from the place? because, really, sometimes breakfast is just breakfast.

jay said...

Vile. Sad. Un-American.

I have a meeting I cannot escape at 10- I will come downtown soon after. I find it cute that the ad went all New Testament, since the OT stuff is so laughable and riddled with contradictions... They realize, these running scared, that the battle is already lost. Mainstream America is turning away from this kind of hate. People are actually growing up.

Therefore, we must treat them like little children. Use small words and make them EARN their place in society. I've earned mine, damnit.

Gordon Smith said...

All,

The breakfast tomorrow is a prayer breakfast, not a fundraiser. It's at 8 a.m. at the Crown Plaza (formerly the Holiday Inn Sunspree). It's open to the public. There's a charge for the meal. I don't know how much it costs.

I've got a fever, and I may need to sleep in. Otherwise, I'll never make it to the rally.

I urge everyone to bring signs. There's sure to be a lot of press coverage, and you know how those on-the-street interviews go. Images are much more powerful.

I'll be down there with my digital camera and my laptop.

Call everyone you know and invite them down. Dr. J. Wendell Runion, who I just got off the phone with, expects "hundreds, maybe thousands" of anti-sodomite God lovers to show up.

Click Here To Read My Interview With Dr. Runion