Baylor University, strongly encouraged by a group called "Concerned Women for America," had the campus Starbucks shop pull coffee cups containing quotes from authors and other well-known people. According to this report on 365gay.com, Starbucks had a series of cups made for their "The Way I See It" promotion. On about one out of every hundred cups was a quote from Armistead Maupin, author of the famous "Tales of the City," a chronicle of gay life in San Francisco. I read the book and saw the miniseries and thought both were fascinating.
Anyway, the CWA thought that Maupin's quote "promoted the homosexual agenda," and Baylor had the cups pulled.
When I have a point of view and I am secure with it, I don't worry about someone else voicing a different opinion. Should a discussion take place where ideas are exchanged, I don't focus on silencing the other point of view because my beliefs can stand on their own merits.
There are conservative groups that invest a lot of energy and resources in silencing anyone who might express any viewpoint that does not strictly condemn homosexuality. What are they so afraid of? That someone with different values might make sense?
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Years ago in a workshop on communication skills for ministers, the presenter told us that one reason we are poor communicators is that communication always brings with it the risk of having to change.
ReplyDeleteI am as guilty of this as anyone. I tend to ignore those who see things differently. Perhaps my reluctance to "waste time" reading social conservatives' opinions is a sign of how uncertain I am about my own beliefs. I am comfortable with what I think and don't want to be unsettled. Not a good thing!
As I mentioned on my own blog about this incident, as usual the conservative uproar over the Starbucks cups has guaranteed that far more people are now reading the "offensive" quote in their daily newspapers and hearing it on the evening news. Don't these people ever learn?