Sunday, February 05, 2012

Miley Cyrus: The Christian Hate She's Recieved for Supporting Marriage Equality

You can always tell the conservative Christians by their most notable traits: hate and bigotry towards almost everyone different from themselves. Oh, and did I mention false piety and sanctimonious self-congratulation? It's the "godly Christians" who make me increasingly want to have nothing to do with Christianity. Now, in a Glamour Magazine article singer Miley Cyrus describes the hate and venom she has received for being supportive of marriage equality for LGBT citizens. Slurs, hate mail, mockery - all the usual signs of the "love" that is, in my view, the hallmark of the conservative Christians. Here are highlights from the Glamour piece:

Imagine finding someone you love more than anything in the world, who you would risk your life for but couldn't marry. And you couldn't have that special day the way your friends do—you know, wear the ring on your finger and have it mean the same thing as everybody else. Just put yourself in that person's shoes. It makes me feel sick to my stomach.

When I shared a picture of my tattoo on my Twitter page and said, "All LOVE is equal," a lot of people mocked me—they said, "What happened to you? You used to be a Christian girl!" And I said, "Well, if you were a true Christian, you would have your facts straight. Christianity is about love." The debate resulted in a lot of threats and hate mail to people who agreed and disagreed with me. At one point I had to say, "Dude, everyone lay off." Can't people have friendly debates about sensitive topics without it turning into unnecessary threats?

I believe every American should be allowed the same rights and civil liberties. Without legalized same-sex marriage, most of the time you cannot share the same health benefits, you are not considered next of kin and you are not granted the same securities as a heterosexual couple. How is this different than having someone sit in the back of the bus because of their skin color?

We all should be tolerant of one another and embrace our differences. My dad [country singer Billy Ray Cyrus], who is a real man's man, lives on the farm and is as Southern and straight as they come. He loves my gay friends and even supports same-sex marriage. If my father can do it, anyone can.

This is America, the nation of dreams. We're so proud of that. And yet certain people are excluded. It's just not right.

For many LGBT Americans, instead of a nation of dreams, America is a long continuing nightmare. Here in Virginia, the Republican Party of Virginia and the Christofascists at The Family Foundation are working diligently to make the nightmare continue as long as possible. They care nothing about the lives and souls they damage. It makes me sick.

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