If He Walks Like a Bigot, and Talks Like a Bigot . . .

If I ever get round to putting up a list on link in the sidebar, Orcinus will be right at the top. It is the only blog I ever came across that I would characterize as indispensable. His post on the Dobson affair is typically thoughtful, well-argued and well-researched. He nails the issue: Dobson's bigotry :

What is happening here, though, is that for some people, "traditional values" are only about respect, fair play, and fundamental human decency for people who are just like themselves. To be fair, this is a "traditional value" of sorts as well, but over our nation's history, it has been responsible for many of our worst atrocities, from slavery to the genocide of Indians to the internment of Japanese Americans.

In this case, religious proscription of homosexuality (scriptural evidence for which is not, incidentally, nearly as abundant as those prohibitions regarding divorce) are being touted as the source of the "traditional values" under attack from the forces of tolerance. This is not terribly surprising. After all, the Scripture has in the past been cited as the source of such "traditional values" as slavery, lynching, and segregation, as well as laws against miscegenation.

(Be sure to read the whole post, there is a lot more good stuff there)

(most of Dobson's defenders are trying to make this about a cartoon character, when it is really about hate)

Neiwert's analysis dovetails with my previous post: that Dobson's position is unChristian, that Dobson knows this and that he does it anyway to keep his constituency. Self-righteous anger is addicting, and Dobson wants to keep his audience coming for more, giving him political clout.