Anti-Bullying Speaker Curses Christian Teens

[dead0man]

Now, before I get to the link let me say that I generally like Dan Savage, dislike FoxNews, think Christians play the "persecuted" card too much, agree 100% with the "it gets better" campaign and am generally on the side of science/logic over religion/faith...but the following, if accurate, isn't helping.  Now the Link (warning....FoxNewsOnline).

As many as 100 high school students walked out of a national journalism conference after an anti-bullying speaker began cursing, attacked the Bible and reportedly called those who refused to listen to his rant “pansy asses.”

The speaker was Dan Savage, founder of the “It Gets Better” project, an anti-bullying campaign that has reached more than 40 million viewers with contributors ranging from President Obama to Hollywood stars. Savage also writes a sex advice column called “Savage Love.”

Savage, and his husband, were also guests at the White House for President Obama’s 2011 LGBT Pride Month reception. He was also invited to a White House anti-bullying conference.

Savage was supposed to be delivering a speech about anti-bullying at the National High School Journalism Conference sponsored by the Journalism Education Association and the National Scholastic Press Association. But it turned into an episode of Christian-bashing.

Rick Tuttle, the journalism advisor for Sutter Union High School in California, was among several thousand people in the audience. He said they thought the speech was one thing – but it turned into something else.

“I thought this would be about anti-bullying,” Tuttle told Fox news. “It turned into a pointed attack on Christian beliefs.”

Tuttle said a number of his students were offended by Savage’s remarks – and some decided to leave the auditorium.

“It became hostile,” he said. “It felt hostile as we were sitting in the audience – especially towards Christians who espouse beliefs that he was literally taking on.”

Tuttle said the speech was laced with vulgarities and “sexual innuendo not appropriate for this age group.” At one point, he said Savage told the teenagers about how good his partner looked in a speedo.

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I know it's just Savage being Savage, but it seems to me this is just going to feed the persecution complex more than it's going to change any minds.  Thoughts?

[Zioneer]

Dan Savage is kind of an idiot, but I guess it makes some sense, in that most kids who bully LGBT kids are Christian. Doesn't excuse him, but it does explain why he'd go off on them.

Also, are they sure Savage wasn't drunk? If he was intoxicated, that would explain a lot of that behavior.

[President Marokai]

I get the general point of the article re: we can't respond to bullying toward gay teens with bullying of christians and christianity in general, but the stuff about Savage using vulgar language and making sex jokes is what Savage always does, and just comes off as silly prudery.

[shua]

Dan Savage is kind of an idiot, but I guess it makes some sense, in that most kids who bully LGBT kids are Christian. Doesn't excuse him, but it does explain why he'd go off on them.

Also, are they sure Savage wasn't drunk? If he was intoxicated, that would explain a lot of that behavior.

You know what else would explain a lot of that behavior?  Being Dan Savage.

[opebo]

To be fair, we would hardly criticize a speaker for attacking Nazis in defense of Jews, or attacking the KKK in defense of Blacks.

[nclib]

Probably the wrong focus, but Savage does have a point, given that the Bible is used as an excuse. Coming across as anti-Christian isn't good, though I do not have any sympathy for any actual bully (or defender of bullies) who was offended by his talk.

[Zioneer]

Dan Savage is kind of an idiot, but I guess it makes some sense, in that most kids who bully LGBT kids are Christian. Doesn't excuse him, but it does explain why he'd go off on them.

Also, are they sure Savage wasn't drunk? If he was intoxicated, that would explain a lot of that behavior.

You know what else would explain a lot of that behavior?  Being Dan Savage.

That is true. Savage is kind of a jerk. The only thing he's done that I've liked is the Santorum joke, and now that I think about it, it's not worth ruining his (Santorum's) kids lives for the sake of making fun of a terrible politician.

[Ѕenator Αverroës]

It's a bit of a stretch to say that Savage has ruined the lives of Santorum's children.

[politicus]

To be fair, we would hardly criticize a speaker for attacking Nazis in defense of Jews, or attacking the KKK in defense of Blacks.

Which is of course exactly the same

[Emperor SJoyce]

To be fair, we would hardly criticize a speaker for attacking Nazis in defense of Jews, or attacking the KKK in defense of Blacks.

Which is of course exactly the same

Christian teens these days... sending gays to the mass extermination camps...