Tolerance In Action

The tolerance of the left rears it's ugly head again. This time in response to a resounding rejection by the voters. As a result of the passage of Prop. 8 by California voters, the GLBT community has gone off....on Mormon Temples across the country. Whether it is here in Utah, or California, or Seattle or in Colorado the people who demand that the rest of the world accept their "alternate lifestyles" are now engaging in the very same type of activity that brought hate crimes legislation to the lexicon. The following story was related to me by a friend. This happened to someone he knows who was in Los Angeles on Election Day.

As additional information for those who missed the news, I was at the temple assisting in the security efforts and it was quite an experience. Our temple is safe and no damage was done on the grounds.It was a site I never expected to see. At one point we had let in about 20 police vehicles through the gates because they were afraid their vehicles would be damaged as civilian cars were being vandalized. I removed the Utah plates from my truck just so I could drive through the mess and park blocks away. Two full squads of LAPD in riot gear set up their base inside the temple grounds while SWAT vehicles and hundreds of officers followed the crowds run up Santa Monica and Wilshire Boulevards. I've heard that the crowd was estimated to be over 2,500. The officers inside the temple grounds made a line on the front lawn by the fence. At one point, with 7 news and police helicopters overhead, the crowd began to climb the fence and it looked like there was going to be a lot of trouble.

We had, it seemed, a good fourth of a Polynesian ward there so it could have gotten very interesting very fast. While I was there, I was not aware of anyone actually breaching the fence, but we were asked to move far across the parking lot as they were anticipating the need to shoot tear gas canisters. I never thought I would see the day when police officers would sit perched on the spire of our temple as lookouts.

All of this happened at about 7:30 PM. It should be remembered that most likely many of the law enforcement were not in favor of our stance on Proposition 8, but nevertheless, the men and women were there doing their duty and protecting our property. For that we are grateful. And yes, there was an incident with some of our members who had gone to remove the protest signs from the front fence. One of the protesters did initiate physical contact with one of our sisters so the details are uncertain as to whether the response was fully justified. The lesson to be learned is that it's important to anticipate and avoid such confrontational situations.

Remember the world is watching our reaction and the media is everywhere. In the end, when we keep our cool, the video footage speaks the truth regarding which side is really intolerant and appears hateful when we simply do not respond or do so in a loving and controlled manner.

No matter your feelings about the Mormon Church (and I am no Mormon so I have no "dog" in this fight) they have the same rights to preach issues to their flock as the Catholic Church, the Baptist Church (where I belong) or any other church has. IF their flock goes out and acts on that teaching that is also their rights! As long as the Church is not advocating for or against a specific candidate they are well within their rights do to what they did.

If the GLBT community wants to be upset they should be upset at the voters of California. WE THE PEOPLE in California spoke - if the GLBT community does not like that maybe they should move to Massachusetts or something. But taking out their electoral loss is just as hate filled as anything they accuse others who do not approve of their "alternative lifestyles" of being.

The Jerk

I am not a huge fan of Steve Martin's movies but I admit that the have, on occasion, made me chuckle. "The Jerk" however, was not one of them. This story falls into the same category.

Paul Pugmire feels like a jerk.
The Salt Lake County Council candidate joked in a high-school reunion blog that he was "born a poor black child" - a play off the 1979 Steve Martin flick "The Jerk" that has the white Democrat regretting his stab at humor and answering charges of racial insensitivity...
But Salt Lake County Republican Party Chairman James Evans, who is black, took a harsher tack.

To quote Joan Rivers...James..."can we talk?" Is there nothing more important to the residents of Salt Lake County that we can be talking about? Are there no more pressing issues facing the county than this? Is there really nothing more important that some guy making a not so successful stab at humor based off of a movie from the 1970's?

James also had this to say about the incident.

"What he has done is despicable," he said. "There is nothing funny about being a poor black child from Mississippi. It gives me insight into what he thinks about African-Americans."

And what this shows me is that we have a county GOP chair that needs to lighten up a little bit. Not everything in the world is about race. Heck - if I were to take umbrage every time someone told a joke around me that featured a Hispanic, I would probably be wound as tight as you are but I don't. You see, I have come to realize that life is too short to get wound up over insults - real or perceived. Plus there are far more important things to worry about than my hurt feelings.