Death, Even Plausibly Denied, Is Still Death

A while back one of the loudest voices on the right wing so-called Christian Facebook groups in SA made a u-turn and denied calling for the death penalty as punishment for gay people. He said, "I deny personally calling for the death penalty".

And yet he is the one who has on several occasions instituted such "discussions" on several of these forums, and actively promoted and defended them. (The transcripts I have made of these discussions bear me out on this.)

"The death penalty was never my idea" he objects. He even shifts the blame for this atrocious lack of morality by claiming "it is not I who says so, but the bible..." - He is too much a coward to even claim the mantle of responsibility for what he desires to be meted out to innocent people - based simply on his own personal intolerance of gay and transgender people.

What a nice example of a "Christian soldier" you are. Persecution, murder, injustice and genocide - it's all in a days work for you.

This individual advocated the death penalty for homosexuality and has not even had the courage to want to pick up the stones/noose/sword/gun himself, but stated that he would prefer the "Christian government" (whose parties he supports and advocates) to do the dirty work for him. He has also on several occasions in scores of posts on FPI, CDA and ACDP personally referred to gay people as "gay terrorists" and "gay Taliban". Very clever indeed.

But he plucks up a little courage and asserts: "I have not denied calling militant GLBT terrorists or Taliban, I stand by that."

I wonder, what would he call the militant bigots such as himself, demanding the death penalty for all and sundry - for delinquent children, rapists, adulterers, and divorcees to name but a few - but specifically on the grounds of inborn sexual orientation and gender identity, demanding special rights for his religion over everyone else? Protecting the immunity of his own religious views against legal action for persecuting citizens of this country with hate speech and hate crime?

People who think like this man does are many, but still a minority - and luckily for us an even smaller minority than the pink community.

Their groups defame us in press releases, media pieces, magazines, speeches, policies - they campaign against the rights of fellow citizens and human beings to freedom, liberty and equality, and demand their persecution in parliament by opposing decriminalization of their nature.

Curious that the majority of Christians in South Africa do not act or speak as this man does - and yet he and his friends claim to be "true Christians" - I wonder what that means?

They oppose hate crimes legislation to oppose such actions and worse yet, violent hate crime, because they claim it will curtail their activities in the expression of hate and somehow "infringe" on their "freedom of religion"?

Does this mean it is their religion to hate? Considering ALL that they have said and done, I think it is.

For years they have been waving away medical and scientific studies which show that people are born gay or transgender as a "sin issue" and trying to poke holes in rock solid evidence using plastic chisels and rubber hammers. This, despite the undeniable facts that they "ex-gay" support for their rhetoric has crumbled beyond hope of recovery with the revelations that the single largest "credible" claims that gay people can change their orientation through "therapy" - a 1979 book by two clinical sexologists in New York - were in fact bogus. Add to that the small detail that expert psychology bodies have expressed warnings of the "ex-gay" "reparitive therapy" as dangerous and ineffective and that sexual orientation and gender identity are natural, inborn - and cannot be changed. And yet they see such logic based presentation of the facts as "attacks on their freedom of religion and it's fundamental values" and also "social engineering".

When gay people, especially young gay people are faced with the fear generated by the hatred of such people and their groups, and the threat they pose to them, do they really think it doesn't terrify them? How many people haven't become suicide statistics because of this fear? How many people have been murdered out of hate by people who were incited to it by groups such as these? And yet they have the arrogance and impudence to call US terrorists?

As part of his defence in his denial of debates started and fueled by him, he also stated: "I also deny that I would take pleasure in the death of any sinner". I disagree - anyone who advocates so enthusiastically for the death penalty for innocent people who have harmed no-one must derive some kind of twisted pleasure from it.

No, you don't want gay people to die - of course not - you just advocate the death penalty for them to be executed. I don't see the difference. I doubt anyone else does either.

You are light years away from plausible deniability.

He still argues in tight, vicious little circles, never once allowing fact to usurp fantasy or to intrude in his cosy little right wing universe - maintaining that gay and trans people should be murdered (by the state of course) for their birthright, while he would be only too happy to campaign for a Christian political party intent on terrorizing the pink community and to help vote it into government.

People - if you are incapable of understanding or accepting scientific and medical facts which stand before your eyes, laughing at your density (after being paraded before you countless times, even in swim-suits or leathers) then do not pass the buck by blaming your own faults on the rest of the human race.

I am actually embarrassed for you.

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If you would like to know more about Christina Engela and her writing, please feel free to browse her website.

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All material copyright © Christina Engela, 2019.

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