However i would like to point out that just because many Christians in this country do unfairly whine about being persecuted, in many parts of the world, we are indeed persecuted. We are tortured, we are killed, we are degredated, our wives raped and our priests publicly executed. It does happen. In those same countries, Homosexuals face the same fate, so we do have more in common than you may think.

However, as others have pointed out, just because we have it better than homosexuals in this country, does not mean that what we face is right. Both peoples need to be treated better. Everyone deserves basic human respect.

A: We probably don’t, BurningTongues. I live in Mexico City, though I’m originally from Michigan. To be honest, though, I don’t watch any TV and I see few movies, so I admit freely that I’m not an expert on the media.

What I mean is that in movies in the 80s gays were portrayed as whining, prissy, over-the-top lunatics and were included for comic relief. Skinny African-American guys in dresses screaming at the top of their lungs in panic type of stuff, in contrast to the cool, straight hero. Since the (late?) 90s whenever I’ve seen a gay character in movies and sitcoms it’s been to teach straights not to be homophobes, or the character is better than the other characters, even if it’s in stereotypical areas such as interior design or fashion or somesuch. They are presented as someone you ought to respect. You could not have made Brokeback Mountain in the 80s and you couldn’t film a movie with those 80s flamboyant buffoons today.

By contrast, it was a total shock in the 80s to see the Bad Religion album cover with a cross, crossed out by the “do not” sign. Today it is quite common for Jesus to be mocked as he is in South Park and so many other shows.

No, we are not denied housing and many of the items you mentioned. I appreciate your bringing those up, as they are a sad commentary on how people discriminate against gays. I would disagree with you about the job issue, depending on the job and the region, but the other items on your list are a good reminder of how far we have to go.

But to be fair I don’t remember the word discrimination being used in the posts above, and I think the original post was more about verbal abuse on the Internet and movies/TV and from authors like Dawkins, and my comments were an attempt to respond to that. And in that regard I still have to insist that homosexuality is an issue people treat with kid gloves, so as not to be labeled as intolerant, homophobic or politically incorrect, whereas anti-Christianity is an issue where one can vent without restraint and be treated like a hero, not a jerk. And when the word ‘intolerant’ is bandied about by such intolerant people, it is especially ironic, because of their insistence upon tolerance for other groups.

Getting back, then, to the goal of the original post, then, I just wrote a post on my own blog, inspired in part thinking of this and another recent Ventpark post, as well as past experiences. It is a modest bill of rights for religious debate on the Internet. http://www.giffmex.org/blog/?p=80 . I hope this is helpful for some.

How many times have you feared for your physical well-being when telling others about your being a Christian? Have you ever been “Christian-bashed”?  (Rude and disparaging comments are not what I mean here, I mean real violence)

How often have you been denied housing because of your religion?  (Try going before a co-op board or the landlord of an aparment as a gay couple)

Have you ever feared to reveal your religion at work for fear of being passed over for promotions?

Have you ever feared that your children could be taken from your Christian spouse by your relatives in the event of your death because they don’t agree with your chosen “lifestyle”?

There’s a difference between discrimination and disrespect. Having people disagree with your beliefs is not discrimination. Being made fun of is not discrimination.  I personally don’t care what people think regarding the morality of being gay; I don’t care about their silly jokes; I do care about discrimination that affects my livlihood and abilty to live my life safely.
There are certainly many people out there who disagree with and say unpleasant things about Christians, but can you honestly say that being Christian in America puts you at a disadvantage? If you say yes, I think you’ve really sort of disconnected from reality. If that were so, why is it that being Christian is , for all intents and purposes, a prerequisite for becoming president?

I’m just saying, let’s keep things in perspective.

Let me add that I have nothing against Christianity; it’s the arrogant hypocritical and very un-christlike mockery of Christ’s message that is so prevalent in the US that I find distasteful. No, not all Christians in the US are like this, but enough of them are to make others’ lives vastly more difficult and unpleasant than they ought to be. Many people have had enough and are lashing out. It was to be expected.

Additionally, let me also add that I find arrogant religion-bashing atheists like Richard Dawkins and his ilk to be equally as repugnant, if not more so for the sheer animus they exude, than the red-faced runny-mascaraed bible-banging TV charletons that use religion to line their purses.

And one last thing:
You say that no one makes fun of gays in the media anymore… excuse me, do we live in the same country?

Something similar happens on TV. No one makes fun of homosexuals in the media today (compared with the 80s when every movie had a ‘zany’ gay character and ridiculed that character). Everyone is afraid of being labeled homophobic. But Jesus and Christians are regularly held up for ridicule and contempt. Either everyone should be a fair target for satire, or we should respectfully refrain from targeting anyone, or the same rules should apply to all.