The “he”
above is Jorge Raschke,
and the “it” is an event called “Clamor a Dios,” which thousands of
Evangelicals attend, as well as local “dignitaries” and shameless politicians.
None of that bugs much less surprises me—so what is it that makes me crazy?
It’s held
on the steps of the capitol, the very building that I, an atheist, help pay to
maintain.
“Do you
think they’d ever let a bunch of faggots hold an event on the capitol steps?”
said my friend Pablo, as we passed the event one year.
I saved my
breath.
Well, the
rumor on the street is that the event is getting less crowded every year, which
may have prompted Raschke to turn up the heat. And that may be why he announced
recently that—owing to his Godless agenda—the governor
may be the victim of hit men brought in from outside.
And the gov
should take this seriously because guess what? This isn’t just Raschke talking;
rather, God him-or-herself revealed it directly to Raschke. Take a look at this….
“En las
escuelas trataran [sic.] de enfermar a nuestros niños con la ideología de
género, como ya está ocurriendo en el estado de California, donde ni los
inodoros se escapan de esta agenda que acapara a las escuelas, colocando en
peligro a nuestros niños”, adujo el evangelista.
El
controvertido religioso afirmó que el presidente Barack Obama lleva a la nación
estadounidense a su peor destrucción y aquí nuestro gobernador García Padilla
sigue ese mal ejemplo.”
(“In the
schools they are trying to poison our children with gender ideology, as is
occurring in California, where even the bathrooms don’t escape this agenda that
monopolizes the schools, putting our children in danger.
The
controversial religious affirmed that president Barack Obama is taking the United
States to its worst destruction and here governor García Padilla is following
the same bad example.”)
Good
news—it’s not too late. According to the reverend, García Padilla has a chance:
it’s late, but not too late. What does the gov gotta do? You got it—repent and
apologize to the people of Puerto Rico.
And what,
you ask, has the governor done?
Well, he
and his party have
come out in favor of LGBT issues, and this has put us all in jeopardy.
OK—my
father got after me and made me watch 6 minutes of pretty dreadful eternity in
which Raschke bangs the usual drum: the dangers of the homosexual lifestyle.
And he drags out the usual bromide, too—he loves the sinner, but hates….
No.
You slimy
bastard, you are NOT getting away with this. Not until every gay kid can come
out and be sure that his parents won’t kick him out of the house. And if forty
percent of the kids on the street are LGBT—about four to eight the rate of
LGBT folk in the general population—well, who do you think is to blame?
You know,
Raschke, what’s gonna happen to these kids? Sure, some will be OK, but a lot of
them won’t. They’ll fall prey to prostitution, drugs and drink, and crime. And it’s
not just the kids that you’re shooting down the drain, Raschke. It’s also
families, and however misguided these families may be, is there any parent who
could want his or her child out on the street, especially now, when it’s 30
below zero in my hometown, and for much of the rest of the nation?
Because
those people listened to you, Raschke, and guess what? The Leviticus got in
well enough, but the loving the sinner? Not so much.
You know,
Raschke, my parents weren’t religious, but they were very socially conservative,
and there were years when I was sure that if I told them I was gay, they’d be
devastated. You know how that feels? Two things at least: first, you have some
terrible sickness in you, a spiritual or psychological illness worse than
cancer. Because the cancer isn’t you, and can be cut or zapped out. But being
gay? That’s you, and you think that it’s the worst thing in the world.
So you hate yourself.
The second
thing? Since your parents would be destroyed if they found out you were gay, it
means you’re not worthy of their love. You know, I once decided that it would
be better for all concerned if I just faded away from the family, that it would
spare my parents if I just disconnected. Surprise? My parents were distraught.
You have two daughters, Raschke—could you live with yourself if for some reason
one of your daughters drifted away?
Because
that’s what we did for a long time. We came home as little as possible; we left
our boyfriends and girlfriends at home on Christmas Day. And wondered if we’d
still have them when we got back home.
Oh, and
another thing about those days. It was generally better to glue yourself to the
television, since the last thing you wanted to do was talk to the people you
loved. Because yes, you still did, as much as a person who had stopped loving
himself could.
The days
were bad, the nights were worse. I didn’t have the luxury of a religion, but
could I cure myself if I went to a shrink? But how would I get the money?
You have
blood on your hands, Raschke—you and everyone else who has trotted out the
self-justifying line about hating the sin but loving the sinner. Because
telling somebody that the deepest part of him, the most essential part of him,
is sinful?
I think that’s
a sin.
