Tennessee legislature's latest homophobic absurdity

I had not realized until a couple of days ago that our most honorable governor of this our fair Tennessee had signed a most unnecessary piece of so-called ‘legislation’ entitled ‘Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act’.  But sign it he did, on this past 10 April.  Another vulture feather in the coonskin cap of the “Greatest State in the Land of the Free” to go along with the one awarded for the thankfully failed “Don’t Say Gay” Bill. 

It is the latter failed attempt at making homophobic bigotry not merely acceptable in the halls of Tennessee schools but real official policy and praiseworthy behavior that gives insight into the real motivations behind the former.  To protect not religious speech but hate speech.  Not a defense of anyone’s rights but of social dominance orientation and sociopathic entitlement.

Let me give y’all an example of how things could easily play out under this ill-conceived and completely unnecessary “law”.

Throughout my time at East Brainerd Elementary School, first through sixth grades, a teacher from outside came into our class once a week for Bible lessons.  Yes, this was at a public school, from fall 1969 to summer 1975.

I am NOT endorsing this; absolute separation of church and state is something I have always believed in and advocated even at my most religious.  Growing up I considered myself Republican because that’s what my parents were.  I even helped campaign for Reagan in 1980, mostly because a girl I had a crush on in Mr. Cousin’s American Government class was campaigning for Carter.  Then the Moral Majority and similar groups came to the fore soon after the election, and I left.

Part of the reason I didn’t see a conflict with having a Bible teacher in our public school at the time was that my teacher in first and second grade at the school was also my Sunday School teacher at St. Martin’s Episcopal.  Both, incidentally, were within easy walking distance of our house on Walnut Grove/North Joiner Road.

One of my most memorable arguments (there were several) with this Bible teacher at school came when I was in sixth grade.  This was either in the fall of 1974 or the spring of 1975.  Mrs. Genung was our regular class teacher, and Malcolm Defriese was still principal back then, still had his grocery at the Crossroads in Westview. 

The argument was over her assertion that black skin was the “Mark of Canaan” that all blacks wore as the stain of the sin of Canaan’s father Ham against Noah.  I objected rather strenuously, and when my mom arrived at school after being called there (something she was not unfamiliar with), she backed me up.

My point in telling this story is to point out that under our legislature and governor approved ‘Religious Viewpoints Antidiscrimination Act’, if a student made that assertion in a class speech or even before the whole school assembly, that assertion would be protected, and if part of an oral report could not be automatically failed.

Some might call the Tea Party Republicans who have taken over the GOP of our fair state as well as our entire government the American Taliban, Tennessee Chapter.  In truth, however, they are nothing more than old unredeemed Bourbon Democrats recycled through a Tennessee Walking Horse.

No doubt part of their illogic is based on claims that they have to defend Christianity from a nonexistent war against it.  However, first, that is not and never has been at any time a function of government in the United States of America.  Second, there is no “war on Christianity”.

Christianity is no more under attack in this country than George Zimmerman (murderer of Trayvon Martin) and Michael Dunn (murderer of Jordan Davis) were when they were still sitting in their cars.  No more than the ante-bellum property rights of slave owners.  No more than white supremacists to discriminate against Afro-Americans in the days of the Jim Crow South.

First the Tennessee legislature passed a law which was signed by the governor allowing the bullying of gay kids in schools in the name of protecting religious speech, but I didn't protest because none of my kids were gay.

Then the Tennessee legislature passed a law which was signed by the governor allowing the bullying of Muslim kids in schools in the name of protecting religious speech, but I didn't protest because we're not Muslim.

Then the Tennessee legislature passed a law which was signed by the governor allowing the bullying of Latino kids in schools in the name of protecting religious speech, but I didn't protest because we're not Latino.

Then the Tennessee legislature passed a law which was signed by the governor allowing the bullying of kids of trade unionists in schools in the name of protecting religious speech, but I didn’t protest because I’m not in a trade union.

Then the Tennessee legislature passed a law which was signed by the governor allowing the bullying of Jewish kids in schools in the name of protecting religious speech, but I didn’t protest because I’m not Jewish.

Then the Tennessee legislature passed a law which was signed by the governor allowing the bullying of mixed race kids in schools in the name of protecting religious speech, and I finally took notice, because my kids are Irish-Kapampangan-Scottish-Sangley-English-Tagalog-Cherokee-Spanish, but when I looked around, no one was standing behind me to back me up.

An injury to one is an injury to all.  Whoever harms the least of these little ones, it would be better for them to have a millstone to be tied around their neck and be drowned the sea.

Bullying is an act, not speech.