As the GP comment form says, “Your first comment is held for moderation”. It means that when the system thinks you might be new, it doesn’t publish your comment until a person (administrator) has come and looked it over. And sometimes, it can take a few hours (or days) to get around to it. The point is, it’s nothing against you. After your first one is approved, it should get easier for you to comment.
Things We Condemn – and expect our opponents to condemn
So, this post is written by Jeff; but I may say we/us/our in the following, meaning that I’m pretty sure that other GP authors would agree with me.
From time to time, trolls show up in GayPatriot’s comments section: people who are here not to provide new info or discuss anything for real, but only to throw accusations. They are usually left-wing. It’s fun, because they so often provide evidence for our points about how the Left thinks (or rather, doesn’t think).
You can tell a troll because his accusations are illogical. He usually shows little understanding of our viewpoints as the writers of GP, which may differ among us on some issues, but which are always rooted in our respect for human life including liberty (human freedom).
For example, if you understood anything about our viewpoints, you would know that we condemn violence^^ against gays and lesbians. And against women. And against black people or any minority. We condemn physical violence against anybody who isn’t a perpetrator of physical violence, because we condemn all physical violence that isn’t necessary for self-defense. No peaceful citizen should have to live in fear for his or her physical safety.
Likewise, we condemn anyone who -calls for- violence^^ against gays and lesbians, against women, or against anybody else who hasn’t committed criminal violence. To our way of thinking, we shouldn’t have to say the preceding, because it should be SO OBVIOUS that it flows from our principles. But if it’s important to you that we say it: there it is. Easy to say. Done.
It’s an example of something so basic that we would expect any commenter on GP who wants to be taken seriously to feel the same way. A similar example of something basic would be condemning violence against children – including the sexual exploitation of minors, such as child pornography or pedophilia**.
Rejecting the sexual exploitation of minors is so obvious and basic to being a decent human being that a person should not normally be asked to condemn pedophilia – but, if she is asked to, it should be quite easy for her to say “Of course I condemn it – Done.”
The thing is: When it comes to the Gay Left, and because the Gay Left sometimes tolerates NAMBLA or promotes certain individuals who do condone sex with minors, it may be legitimate to ask the person to condemn it. And when they condemn it, that’s good. You got your answer, and you move on to other topics.
At this point, a gay leftie might say “But then we’re right to ask you if you condemn violence against gays!! Because you tolerate or associate with Christians, and Christians promote or condone violence against gays!!!1!11!1!”
And the answer is: No, Christians don’t. Of course you can find some crazy/fringe person who happens to call themselves “Christian” and calls for violence against lesbians or gays; but the key words there are “crazy” and “fringe”. The words apply because the real world is different. In the real world, all major denominations of Christianity reject violence against gays.
But, sadly, it is not equally true that all major Gay Left groups, Pride parades, etc. shun NAMBLA and condemn anyone who has sex with teenage boys. Sadly, no.
All this came up in a recent GP thread. A leftie commenter asked me if I condemn violence against gays, and/or anyone calling for violence against gays. I replied readily that I do.
Thinking that I was throwing the guy a softball, I said, now you can reciprocate my example by condemning pedophilia, right? He couldn’t or wouldn’t. Instead, he claimed that Christian leaders typically call for violence against gays. I demanded contemporary examples – and the one example that he provided (after some stalling and further hand-waving) was just a fringe nutcase, a worthless example.
To summarize.
- We (authors at Gay Patriot) condemn violence^^ against gays. (and always have)
- We condemn anyone who promotes or calls for violence^^ against gays. (and we always have)
- We condemn pedophilia**. (and always have)
- We find these things easy to say, when we are challenged about it.
- We think that any decent person should find these things easy to say, if they are challenged.
- We do NOT normally want people to be challenged on these things, in GP comments. (Why not? For staying on topic, for goodwill / presumption of innocence, etc.)
- But, if a troll is going to make challenges on these things, then he or she may expect to be challenged back – and had better come up with the right answers. As we do.
- In the future, when we are challenged, we may simply refer the troll back to this post.
(^^Violence meaning: real violence, which of course is physical violence.)
(**Pedophilia broadly also including hebephilia/ephebophilia, the sexual exploitation of teenagers or of any/all minors.)
On the Difficulty of Being a Patriot (when your citizenry sux)
Hi folks! (Jeff/ILC) I haven’t posted here for several months. Where have I been?
As a rule, I dislike negative people; I like problem-solvers and try to be one. But sometimes, even a problem-solver can get negative because problem-solving starts with acknowledging reality, and the reality may be very negative.
This is the situation I’m in, with regard to the United States of America. By my guess, Americans today fall into roughly four categories:
- 25% good people. (Constructive people who see clearly and value liberty.)
- 25% confused people. (Semi-good people who have been mis-educated with anti-freedom ideas. Some of these may live off the public trough, although they know they shouldn’t.)
- 25% parasites. (People who expect to live off the public trough, claiming it’s right and they deserve it.)
- 25% fascists. (People, usually leftists though not always, who actively want government to control more and more of everyone’s lives. Even speech, for example with speech codes.)
When I was a kid, things were not much better; but they may have been a little bit better. The proportions seemed to be more like 30, 30, 20, 20. So the balance was a little more in favor of the good people.
I believe that, by now in 2015, the balance has tipped against the nation’s remaining good people. As a result:
- We get “leader” after “leader” who is either pathetic and confused (Donald Trump, any of the Bushes), or pathetic and malevolent (Barack Obama, any of the Clintons or Kennedys).
- We get government officials that continually lie – for example, saying that unemployment is 5.1% when it is 11% or more – and a media that couldn’t care less, as long as Planned Parenthood or its other favorite causes will be funded.
- Add your own. (Libya? Syria? Talk about illegal wars! Given that ISIS and the disgusting, U.S.-backed “Syrian rebels” are much the same people, shouldn’t we be asking if ISIS may be an incredibly-stupid U.S. covert op?)
I gotta be honest: It’s depressing. As I survey this post-modern, corrupt, neo-socialist wreck of a nation that had once proudly taught the world about human freedom and productivity, I feel disgust and disappointment. I’ve been absent from the blog because I hit a point where I simply did not want to pay any attention to current events. And because I (still) feel uncomfortable writing at a blog with the word “patriot” in the title when, in Obama’s America, there is increasingly less that is worth defending.
I love and support the America that its Founders had intended: a beacon of liberty. I do not love or support (except by paying a ton of taxes, in cash) the America that we have in the year 2015: a deceit-filled, national-socialist travesty whose eventual crash (and/or takeover by China) can no longer be prevented.
That’s at the political level. On a personal level: I have to admit that it took me a couple decades to “get it” – that is, to understand real economics, psychology and morality and how they should interact to make a free society. It took me awhile, because I was mis-educated originally (was told a lot of the standard lies), and because my general desire to love people and give them credit made it hard to disbelieve the lies. It took me a long time; so why not be patient with the many people today who “don’t get it”?
Here’s why not. Yes, it took me a long time; but I did “get it”, because of my lifelong commitment to figuring out what’s real and what isn’t real, what works and what doesn’t work. I don’t see most people making even half of such an effort. I see a majority of people lying to themselves and others, spouting crap, not caring that they’re spouting crap, and treating their families like crap – as they indulge themselves with daily marijuana, coke, alcohol, iPorn, affairs/hookups, all-day gaming or other destruction. Which they rationalize.
Anyway…your thoughts?
We Need This Guy
We *All* Know This Guy
The changing blog (and some LCR news)
Recently, Log Cabin Republicans were denied a booth at the Texas GOP convention. I’ve debated with myself (a little) if I should even mention it.
Why the disinterest? As longtime readers know, GP is a group blog. Bruce and Dan are Republicans; and more than that, Republicans who have had past dealings with LCR. One of them might want to cover this topic. But they seem to be busy these days. Posts lately have been written mainly by V the K (who has been awesome! – if a little incendiary at times 😉 ), and to a lesser extent by me.
And I have been an Independent for years. I believe V is too. In other words, as committed non-Republicans (presently doing the posts), we may often just not care about LCR-related news. The more so because, over the years and at the national level, LCR has so often abandoned the conservative and/or small-government principles that we believe in.
Speaking purely for myself (and with no knowledge of whether the Texas LCR group is better than national LCR), I can hardly blame any Republican group for wanting to exclude LCR from anything, since LCR so often seem to be barely-Republicans. I believe very much in freedom of association.
But it turns out that anti-gay animus could be at work, in this case, because the Texas GOP platform claims that “homosexuality tears at the fabric of society.” And that is worthy of comment. I find it silly, for the following reasons.
First, the Texas GOP may be inadvertently serving the interests of LCR: dignifying them with controversy (thus, publicity) that they may not deserve. Second, I do think it would be much more accurate to say that -the extreme Gay Left- tears at the fabric of society, as does the Left in general.
Your thoughts?
Yes, it’s easier not to think about politics
My title (point) will strike most people as obvious. But some “obvious” things remain theoretical until they hit you. Then they feel almost like a new thought.
I’ve been on a break from “the news” for over 2 months now, and I feel relaxed. Life is easier this way. What Obama and the Democrats have been up to, by way of destroying most of what has been healthy and good about America, is so sad. And out of my control, so it’s easier to think about other things.
This may lead to a small insight into the “low-information voters” who support Obama / Democrats. Politics deals with life-and-death questions. A budget or regulatory change can force any number of people into changing their lives. ‘Not thinking about it’ is probably easier for most people, including those voters.
The average Democrat voter (that I’ve encountered) has a feeling that the Democrats seem to like abortion privileges, gays and blacks; and she likes those things, too; and she doesn’t think any further about politics, because she figures that whatever else the Democrats are up to, she would probably also like. Never mind that in reality, the Democrats are the stalwarts of that Big Government – Big Banking nexus which siphons off her earning power year after year, and whose nature is essentially fascist (anti-freedom).
What’s depressing for libertarian-conservatives is that the Republicans are only a little better. The GOP are better – as in, usually they are a bit less insane. But the GOP Establishment are also captives of (or intimidated by) the same Big Government – Big Banking nexus that uses/runs the Left. The GOP and Democrat establishments unite in seeking to destroy the Tea Party – who are the main people interested in a smaller government, to restore the prosperity and freedom of Americans.
Remember, conservatives, many Americans do* want to like President Obama
I believe it’s been a week, maybe more, since I even checked this blog. I did not get to the post I wanted to write on JFK, contrasting that smart Democrat’s record with the media coverage of his murder and his legacy. I had a few notes for posts on Obamacare and honesty and one on Obamacare and prediction. Reading something this morning in the Daily Caller reminded me of a piece I had read yesterday in Commentary, articulating an idea which gets at the meaning of Obama’s reelection last year.
Peter Wehner wrote:
In their fascinating behind-the-scenes book on the 2012 election, Double Down, Mark Halperin and John Heilemann write that the campaign’s research showed “that there was a deep well of sympathy for Obama among voters.” In focus groups after the first debate, they write, “people offered excuse after excuse for his horrific presentation. In Florida, one woman said, almost protectively, ‘I just bet you he wasn’t feeling well.’”
That deep well of sympathy–that willingness to give the president the benefit of the doubt and the attachment and connection voters felt for Mr. Obama–has been crucial to his success for his entire political life. He has always been viewed as a likeable and decent man, even when his campaign employed fairly ruthless tactics. But the days of broad public faith and trust in this president appear to be over. And no wonder.
I think this is why the image of Obama responding to Hurricane Sandy was so beneficial to the incumbent. People do want to like him. And in the coverage of the storm and his response, that Democrat looked very much like the man they wanted to like.
It remains to be see whether the disaster of the Obamacare roll-out and the realization (despite his many promises) that many Americans who liked their health care plans couldn’t keep them will erase the goodwill many Americas feel for the incumbent. That said we on the right should not lose sight of the fact that as Halperin and Heilemann put it, many Americans do have a “deep well of sympathy for Obama”.
——
*And the question now becomes whether we should change the tense on this verb from present to past.
NB: [Read more…]
The “End” of GayPatriot
No, no, no… calm down! Our blog isn’t going anywhere!
I decided to move forward with my online and social media “brand” and ditch the “GayPatriot” moniker today. Dan ditched “GayPatriotWest” a few years ago and I didn’t understand why. I thought our names were cool and provided an instant recognition of who we were. But, as usual, Dan was right so I’m following suit today.
Since December 2011, I’ve been striking out on my own as a political, media, grassroots consultant. Leaving the clutches of Corporate America has been quite liberating and I’ve enjoyed the projects I’ve worked on to date. I also made a conscious effort to push the “GayPatriot” brand for myself online, especially Twitter.
Well, I think the time is right to promote and grow who I am as a person and a professional — not hide behind a cute and fun nickname. I’m engaged in a wide variety of endeavors now with the Match Game show, “The Wrap” podcast, and of course professional projects. Time to grow up!
So from now on – you can find me on Twitter @BruceCarrollSC
PS – NO, I’m not running for office. Just changing things up a bit!
-Bruce
Open thread
Whatever y’all want to talk about. What should GayPatriot blog on, more?