Month: April 2005

(SATURDAY, APRIL 9) Ñ Who found it a bit unseemly for CNN to devote three hours to live coverage of the Pope’s funeral, and to repeat those three hours in prime time tonight?

Granted, the time was much better spent this week than the garbage the networks chose to feed us last week, when the horrible spectacle of a long-dead woman turned into a human beanbag in Pinellas Park, Florida, was all the buzz in tv land. For better or worse, Pope John Paul II was a truly legitimate global figure, whose passing, like Reagan’s, marks the end of an age. That really is news, for a change.

But I thought while watching this evening these ca. 120 cardinals — all dressed to the nines, all male, all reeking of power and fine perfume you could almost smell through the screen — about how if at all, as reflectors of the basic misogyny inherent in contemporary “Christian” faith — no women needed ever apply, after all, for the priesthood in JP2’s church — these men of somewhat questionable moral integrity (there is the midst of them, for God’s sake, was Cardinal Law of Boston!) really reflected the Will of Christ, and wondered how and when some young and enterprising twenty-something might choose to set the whole scene to rap…

After all, in so many ways, the College of Cardinals does indeed, however unintentionally, refect the sexism so inherent in the works of such other modern cultural icons as Fifty Cent and Eminem. Okay, sans tattoos, sans vile lyrics, but…the rappers and the cardinals have way more in common than would ever, either side, like to admit.

Obscene, this six hours of “news” devoted to medieval ritual designed to preserve the status quo, six hours of CNN time given out as “fair and balanced,” to effect the confirmation of a religious tradition as suffocating in its own way as anything Islamic.

Think about it: both the College of Cardinals and Osama Bin Laden firmly believe that one half the human race has a “different” place in God’s plan than the other. How quaintly eighteenth-century! And how obscene, for any male who’s ever had a wife or daughter.

……

Why every American woman is not screaming “foul,” I’ll never know. And, for those who think I bear an anticlerical grudge: I am as Catholic by upbringing as the day is long, and perhaps I just focused too much in my youth upon the part about Jesus and the Pharisees, because those guys on the steps in St. Peter’s Square sure reminded me of same. In any event, many long years as altar boy and CYO president have earned me the right to speak frankly about the religous tradition I call my own. So those of you who think I’m coming down too hard on Catholicism: as President Reagan might have said, Mr. Moderator, I bought this microphone.

I happen to still believe, with all my heart, that Catholicism offers a more inclusive, humane path for spiritual development than just about any other faith. The facts speak for themselves; for all its problems, the Catholic Church somehow ends up being all things to all people, around the world. And inclusive, inviting, and all forgiving. These are good things.

But the Catholic Church’s truly Christian path has been mightily obscured during the long rule of John Paul II, who ultimately will be viewed by historians and Catholics alike as a well-intentioned but singularly reactionary pope. The Catholic Church’s best aspects, after all, were reflected, not so long ago, in the teachings of a truly great modern Pope (John XXIII), not this one. This one did little but batten down the hatches, once eastern Europe was “liberated.”

And if the Big Guy really is watching — we must of course assume He is, unless He’s busy trying to decide whether the Grizzlies or the Timberwolves make the NBA playoffs — He is not amused by CNN’s fanfare, the Roman ritual of frozen players in frozen time, and the participation in said ritual of moral midgets like Cardinal Law. Hey, I can hear the Big Guy saying (when He takes a time-out before turning his attention to baseball’s opening week of games): “Isn’t that the kind of guy we used to burn at the stake?”

I don’t know all this for a fact, of course, and can’t ever “get a grip”, so to speak, at least not until it’s too late to share the findings with you all. But call it just a hunch.

(Kenneth Neill is publisher of The Flyer.)

Thanks to anti-gay Republicans and many spineless Democrats in the Tennessee legislature, Tennessee voters in 2006 will most likely approve an amendment to engrave discrimination against gay and lesbian couples into our state’s constitution. Eighteen states have already approved similar anti-gay marriage amendments as part of a national effort by the Republican Party to divide and conquer the base of the Democratic Party.

The Republican Party won the allegiance of white southern conservatives by championing “states’ rights,” opposing “activist federal judges” who ordered an end to segregation, and embracing the bigotry of fundamentalist conservative Christianity. The GOP is now courting African-American voters by embracing conservative black clergy and an exclusionary right-wing theology at odds with the inclusive liberation theology espoused by Dr. Martin Luther King. President Bush and the GOP have used “faith-based” government handouts and the anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment to win over a few black clergy and churches.

World Overcomers Church, lead by the homophobic Rev. Alton Williams, recently raised thousands of dollars to publish ads attacking the civil rights of gays and lesbians. Bishop G.E. Patterson of the Church of God in Christ explicitly stated, “Nobody has a right to be gay.” No doubt these black churches and their leaders had a role to play in the passage of the anti-gay amendment in Tennessee, as well as Rep. Harold Ford Jr.’s change of heart in supporting the Republican’s anti-gay Federal Marriage Amendment.

A group of predominantly black churches sent a letter representing “Memphis City Churches” to area churches to ask for support in their anti-gay marriage campaign. The letter claimed that the government must “follow the will of the churches.” I would remind these clergy that our laws are based upon the secular U.S. Constitution. They must respect the separation of church and state. Churches are free to marry or not to marry as they please. The U.S. government cannot, however, discriminate against a group of people based on their religious beliefs, or the gender of the person they love.

These anti-gay clergy fail to distinguish between “civil” marriage and marriage as a religious institution. Civil marriage is not the same as religious marriage. Churches are not required to marry or recognize marriages that are in conflict with their religious beliefs. Civil marriage is about legal rights under the secular law and constitution of the United States. Gays and lesbians are seeking the legal rights and responsibilities of civil marriage; we are not asking anyone or any church to change their religious beliefs about marriage.

African-Americans should also consider that the same arguments used to oppose the rights of gays and lesbians to marry were used to support laws against inter-racial marriage a few decades ago. Religious fundamentalists quoted Biblical passages to support keeping the races separate, just as they used the Bible to support segregation and slavery.

Some conservative African-Americans have questioned the minority status of gays and lesbians. Some even suggest that gays and lesbians are “stealing” from the civil rights movement. Like other social minorities, gays and lesbians have been, and continue to be, victims of blatant prejudice and discrimination. Civil rights are not the sole possession of one racial group in the United States, and rights are not a zero-sum game where giving to one group takes away from others. Nor are civil rights only based on assumed biological characteristics like race and sex; our laws and courts also recognize civil rights based on religion, marital status, and other matters relating to freedom of conscience.

Gays and lesbians played important roles in the struggle for civil rights. A black gay man, Bayard Rustin, organized the 1963 March on Washington. When Rustin was attacked by other black clergy and opponents of the civil rights movement, Martin Luther King stood by him and supported him. Dr. King maintained, “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

Many African-American civil rights leaders are strong supporters of the civil rights of gays and lesbians. Coretta Scott King has been a strong advocate of gay and lesbian civil rights. Rep. John Lewis, one of the original speakers at the 1963 March on Washington, has spoken out in favor of gay civil rights including marriage. Jesse Jackson, Al Sharpton, and Julian Bond are a few of many others who support equality for gays and lesbians. The National Black Justice Coalition has launched a campaign to build support for marriage equality and stop the proposed Federal Marriage Amendment, which would be the first constitutional amendment to restrict the civil rights of a group of U.S. citizens.

Anti-gay black leaders like Alan Keyes are at odds with the spirit of Dr. Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement. It is a mockery of “family values” to oppose the civil rights of gay and lesbian families. It is hypocrisy for Alan Keyes to claim to support “family values” and disown his lesbian daughter. Homophobic black leaders like Alan Keyes, G.E. Patterson and Alton Williams do not share the dream or vision of Dr. Martin Luther King.

On the 30th anniversary of her husband’s murder, Coretta Scott King addressed a gay and lesbian audience at the Creating Change Conference in Atlanta. I was there. She said, “I still hear people say that I should not be talking about the rights of lesbians and gay people, and I should stick to the issue of racial justice. But I hasten to remind them that Martin Luther King Jr. said ‘Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.’ I appeal to everyone who believes in Martin Luther King’s dream to make room at the table of brother and sisterhood for lesbian and gay people

Even if we do not share the same religious beliefs, we can work together to defend equal rights for everyone guaranteed by the Constitution of the United States.

(Jim Maynard is a Memphis gay activist.)

Tennessee public school students gathered at the University of Memphis Saturday to show their wares and awareness at annual History Day activities. (Winners of the competition are listed at the Tennessee History Day 2005 Web site:

Looking over the day’s schedule were (l to r) Dr. Shirley Raines, U of M president; Dr. Beverly Bond (rear), chair of African and African-American Studies; and Dr. Janann Sherman, chair of the university’s History Department.

Forrest Wentzel of Knoxville recreates the Woody Guthrie era, complete with slogan affixed to guitar.

Zach McCathey of Greenville in front of his montage exhibit of the pivotal 1960 Kennedy-Nixon debate.

Franklin students Sarah Paris, Allison Mills, and Megan Crowell present their documentary on the “Underground Railroad” transporting slaves to freedom, as Judges Leigh Ann Wilson and Tarique Martin observe.

THEM VS. EVERYBODY ELSE

I’ve been in a little e-mail conversation about the Democrats’ need to assemble a tightly crafted message about who they are and what they stand for. Me, I think this sounds like a bunch of thirsty sand-rats out chasing a mirage. It all began with the circulation of this e-mail.

Short Essay Question: Tennessee Governor Phil Bredesen said the following recently (as quoted by the London Times!). Peruse it and supply the correct answer to the question posed after the quotation.

“In a recent speech to southern Democrats in Atlanta, Bredesen summed up the Republican party platform as follows: ‘A traditional view of family, no abortion, no gay marriage, a central role for faith, gun over the mantel, low taxes, an assertive and combative view of American interests abroad.’

“He then challenged his colleagues to sum up the Democratic Party in less than 30 words. Nobody could oblige. Asked what his 30 words would be, he replied: ‘I don’t have any yet. I’d be delighted to tell you if I did.’ He

may be waiting until after his re-election to unveil his national vision.”

Your mission: What should be the Democrats’ 30 words?

My answer: Bredesen’s no dummy, but language isn’t his strong suit. This is the guy who didn’t understand that “Tennessee, Sounds good to me” referenced Tennessee’s world famous musical traditions–bluegrass (east), Country (middle), Blues and Rock and Roll (west). Or that said musical traditions, the foundation of Tennessee’s tourist market–are just about the only thing the three distinct regions have in common. But we’re not marketing Tennessee here, we’re marketing the Democrats. Besides, Bredesen’s hardly the first person to call for a reactive Us vs. Them exercise in counter branding–a futile exercise that REINFORCES the already strong G.O.P. brand name.

The metaphor: Bellevue Baptist has defined itself in 30 words, can you do that, New York City?

The GOP has always had hegemony on its side– and that makes political shorthand as easy as F-A-G. The party is overwhelmingly white, Christian, anti-gay, and anti-abortion. Their population density is highest in suburban and rural areas. They make up a formidably cohesive “THEM..” There is no similarly cohesive “Us,” there is only “Everybody Else.”

The Democrats are the party of gays, and blacks, and cripples, and environmentalist wackos, and peacnicks, and freaks, and geeks, and gun-control fascists, and people who aren’t Christian, and flag burners, and baby killers, and 10-Commandment haters, and PETA and a bunch of normal looking, hard working folks who love Jesus, and hunt, and raise their kids, and watch baseball and drink Coca Cola, and shop at the mall, and play golf on Saturday just like everybody else. What’s that shit about 30 words again?

Bredesen wants to go toe to toe in the Message War by delivering tit for tat. But given the weight of their own big tent the Democrats can’t afford to spar. It’s time to break out the Judo in order to beat THEM around the head with their own rigid, definitions. The Terry Schaivo circus provided America a good look at just how much these new Conservatives value REAL Republican values like state’s rights, and the rule of law, and what thorough contempt they have for checks, balances, and American Democracy in general. Fox-watching moderates were suddenly shocked out of their stupors as they saw how and bizarre and biased the coverage was. And they were shocked again when they saw the overall tone of the mainstream media fall in line, though polling data showed that the vast majority of Americans were strongly opposed to federal interference.

The BIGGEST problem with Bredesen’s game is that winning the language war has less to do with the idea of tight message than with the facts of a conservative, corporate media, and the sound byte nature of Television news. The medium is the issue here, and a smarter man than I once said, that IS the message.

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For more of Chris Davis, also try The Flypaper Theory, his personal blog.