Our good friend Jeremy Hooper points out today that Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays (PFOX) is, once again, on the warpath.
The hate
group is viciously attacking journalist Edward Graham, who works for the National Education Association publication NEA Today. They are livid because he responded to a PFOX email promoting junk science by writing:
“Please stop sending us you’re [sic] garbage. Sincerely, the Majority of America.”
In typical PFOX fashion, the melodramatic group of misfits and malcontents had a tizzy. They wrote an email to their followers that blasted the journalist’s grammatical mistake, while begging for money to fund their anti-gay campaigns. According to their screed:
This bigoted email came from an organization that, in a press release favoring same-sex marriage, states that the NEA supports “fairness, inclusion and freedom for all.” Worse yet, this email was written by an NEA journalist who apparently needs a refresher course on the correct use of the word “you’re.” You’re means ‘you are’ — even a 5th grader knows that. The NEA journalist’s attempt at writing shows the sad state of our public schools today due to the NEA’s influence. Perhaps the quality public education of which the NEA boasts should start with its own employees?
…
PFOX filed a complaint with the NEA against this journalist. We also urged the NEA to institute reforms by specifically including ex-gays in all diversity and equality statements. We asked that they appoint a representative from the NEA Ex-Gay Educators Caucus to the NEA Sexual Orientation Committee. We have had no response.We will continue in our efforts to bring true acceptance for ALL. But, we need your help. The NEA is powerful and well-funded, as are many of the adversaries we face. BUT OUR VOICE CANNOT BE SILENCED! YOUR VOICE CANNOT BE SILENCED! Click here to contribute today by mail or online so that this generation learns the real meaning of equality. They deserve no less.
This focus on grammar is rich coming from PFOX. The group’s leaders, at times, seem to border on being functionally illiterate. While Graham misspelled a word on what appeared to be a hastily typed email (as we all do), PFOX misspelled — as People for the American Way’s Brian Tashman discovered — a key passage on its Code of Conduct that it forced audience members sign if they wished to attend its sparsely attended Ex-Gay Pride dinner:
Code of Conduct — PFOX requires attendees to sign and adhere to certain standards of conduct, and is not responsible for the individual conduct of attendees. We reserve the right to refuse any person to register or attend for any or no reason at our sole discretion, and disruptive conduct will be grounds for removal without a refund. Attendee agrees to uphold the principals [sic] and beliefs of Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays — that we support the ex-gay community, ex-gay rights, and providing hope to those with unwanted same-sex attractions and gender confusion that change is possible. No cell phones, recording devices or photos may be used or taken during the event. I agree to the above conditions.
Hmm. So PFOX is running a nasty campaign against Graham for a grammatical mistake, yet the hate group doesn’t know the difference between “principals” and “principles?” Um, PFOX, even a third grader knows this.
Here is another gem from PFOX board President Greg Quinlan:
“Human beings can chose [sic] to do what they want with the information they have regarding how they live their lives. If someone chooses to respond to the feelings of same sex attraction by living as a homosexual they have that right.”
Here is another interesting use of the English language by Quinlan:
“To my ascertation [sic], he had painted himself into a corner to the point where his small band of donors were demanding that he rise up against me and against PFOX because we called him out on the hateful rhetoric that he says against me and against others.”
I was about to say that when covering PFOX, I have to write [sic] so often that I think I’m writing for a hospital magazine. But, PFOX might attack me for the missing “k” in the word “sick.”
What I find amusing about PFOX’s petty rant is that the group purports to be fundamentalist Christians, yet
, there appears to be little forgiveness for something as minor as an email typo. It seems that these fake Christians have forgotten the following Bible passage: “And why worry about a speck in your friend’s eye when you have a log in your own?”
We will end with a quote from Hooper (pictured):
“Teach the NEA to write”? Oh please. This coming from an organization that routinely writes “ex-gay,” without the quotes, as if that flux state between recognized sexual orientations is actually a thing.
What next, PFOX—gonna school fashion writers on the proper use of closets?
