"God Makes Me a Bigot"

[Content Note: Homophobia; Christian Supremacy.]

Former Arkansas Governor, former (and future) Republican presidential candidate, pastor, talk show host, and professional Christian Supremacist Mike Huckabee stopped by Iowa yesterday, and told the crowd of nincompoops who turned up to see him that he's "not homophobic," but is "on the right side of the Bible."

"I'm not against anybody. I'm really not. I'm not a hater. I'm not homophobic."

"I honestly don't care what people do personally in their individual lives," Huckabee said in his keynote address to the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition.

"But … when people say, 'Why don't you just kind of get on the right side of history?' I said, 'You've got to understand, this for me is not about the right side or the wrong side of history, this is the right side of the Bible, and unless God rewrites it, edits it, sends it down with his signature on it, it's not my book to change.' Folks, that's why I stand where I stand."

...Huckabee went on to refer to a review, rejected Monday by the Supreme Court, of a closely watched religious liberty appeal over a business owner's right to deny services to gays and lesbians. The justices denied the petition of a New Mexico photographer who was sanctioned under state law for refusing to document a lesbian couple's commitment ceremony. The court's refusal to intervene means those financial penalties stand.

"Why is it that Christians stand back and take it in the teeth time and time and time again? But we cannot change this country if we do not rise up and vote with an informed mind and a committed spirit and if we're not willing to stand along."

This is a bullshit argument for half a dozen different reasons, chiefly that it's tremendously mendacious for Huckabee to assert that he adheres to every single rule laid out in the Bible and further that it's impossible for him to maintain his religious principles (such as they are) while supporting basic equality. He could be "on the right side of Bible" and "on the right side of history" by supporting (or even merely not actively advocating against) same-sex marriage equality and just not marrying a person of the same sex himself.

Presumably, that's how he navigates the Biblical imperative to stone adulterers: He doesn't commit adultery himself, but also doesn't feel obliged to go out and stone the people who do.

But, naturally, the eminently reasonable decision in a modern, pluralistic culture to make one's own choices per one's own religious tradition while staying out of other people's business ends right at same-sex marriage and abortion. Somehow, all the people, like Huckabee, who "honestly don't care what people do personally in their individual lives" suddenly "honestly care a whole lot" when it's choices that only affect women (as they see it) and gay/bi men.

The "sins" that straight cis men might commit tend to get a more hands-off approach. Funny, that.

It's also continually amazing that Huckabee and his pals will argue, without a trace of fucking irony, about Christians' need to "rise up" against the perceived governmental encroachments on their religious freedom, in the same breath as they'll argue that they are compelled by their religious beliefs to impose them on others.

Freedom from religion means nothing to dominionists.

And, hey, I'm just a hell-destined atheist dirtbag, but it seems curious to me that people who constantly tell me that their god is a loving god also tell me that their god exhorts them to be bigots.

Gee, it's almost like some people just use cherry-picked religion as a justification for otherwise unreasonable bigotry.