Lifesite is walking a thin line...

In Seattle, the pesky issue of whether Christian clubs are discriminatory because they exclude non-Christians has come to the fore. This exchange is telling between a judge and the school that wants to exclude Christian clubs that are "discriminatory" because they exclude non-Christians, meanwhile you can have a whole host of other clubs that are quite "discriminatory" when it comes to membership:

"Judge Fisher, however, is reported to have pointedly questioned why the school singled out religion for discrimination charges, when other clubs, such as the Gay-Straight Alliance that focused on those 'who believe in a gay way of life,' were not. Judge Fisher suggested Tierney was calling for a double standard of treatment similar to that utilized by racial segregation."

"'Separate, but equal?' Judge Fisher retorted, according to the Seattlepi."

"'Essentially, yes,' Tierney responded."

"The phrase 'separate but equal' is the notorious linguistic contortion that was used throughout the early 20th century to justify the period of institutionalized segregation of people of colour in America. It is unclear whether Tierney fully understood the historical weight of the phrase."

Well of course Tierney didn't fully understand the "historical weight of the phrase." He's not a moron - at least I would hope a State school wouldn't choose one as it's council. This is a little pushing it from Lifesite news as far as I'm concerned. If Tierney knew what the judge was getting at, he would have never agreed to that statement. Suggesting "it was unclear" brings to mind the possibility that he knew full well what the words insinuated and he didn't see anything wrong with it. Accusing people of being racist over slip ups and clever debate maneauvering is just cheap. That's not what Lifesite news did here, but they are walking a thin line. The wording left MUCH to be desired.

What this does show, which was brilliant by the judge mind you, is where the other side of this case is coming from. The line of thinking by the opposite side of the case is obviously not unlike those that argued for racial segregation back in the 20th. That in itself is scathing damning of the case of those that believe Christians are "discriminatory"... It's like my father always says, whenever you point a finger at someone, five of your own fingers are pointing straight back at you.

Which is an important point even for lifesite news to keep in mind as it fights its noble and just cause in defense of the family and life issues: Don't accuse if you don't have evidence. We shouldn't assume that Tierney is racist, but we should ask ourselves some serious questions about his side of the debates line of thinking.

Actually, that "five fingered" thing could probably apply to me as well accusing Lifesite news of accusing other people... The truth is that I myself have come up with just as bad if not worse lapses in judgement in the writting of this blog, so in the end the log in my eye shouldn't be forgotten. That being said, I still Lifesite news should've showed more caution.

1 comment:

  1. Sadly, LifeSite news serves no other purpose than bringing alternative news items to the attention of an otherwise uneducated public; they can often go too far as you said, but that probably has to do with the fact that only they're surrounded exclusively by the choir!

    ReplyDelete