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“It's not my problem,” is a popular answer, and it never goes out of style, despite how often we've all been reminded of the infamous quote attributed to Pastor Martin Niemoeller — the one that ends, “Then they came for me... and by that time there was no one left to speak for anyone.”
People sometimes need help imagining the unimaginable — even if they've witnessed it. Take one of Childers' poster boys, Clarence Thomas, for example. Does Thomas examine what's happening to the gay and lesbian community today, compare it to the victimization of African-Americans less than 50 years ago and say, “If I walked away from this whole thing … I don't know if I could put my head on my pillow at night”? (The Advocate) No, he doesn't. He ignores the most compelling arguments for gay and lesbian equality and, more importantly, ignores the common ugly.
Who did say those words? Not another Supreme Court member. Not President Bush. Not a butcher or a banker. It was Mitchell Gold — the furniture maker.
Even with a title that assures him a spot in history and law books, Justice Thomas has yet to demonstrate he's a fraction of the man that Gold is proving to be. All Thomas is proving is that he's just another bigot in a robe.
Holy Grand Wizard, that's pathetic! But it's hardly unheard of.
Unless the “I” in the proverbial “We” is getting clobbered, it's hard to believe an abuser exists — especially a patriotic or ecclesiastical one. Sometimes being a witness isn't enough. Often a person has to be flogged in real time for him to notice the man with the stick.
To this point, I think the Faith In America project will make a huge difference. Even though the ads contain images from history or, as in the Thomas ad, ask us to recall it, they all focus on the here and now. Gold, Childers and Creech are taking a real-time approach to fighting a real-time fight, and it's about time.
It's time some Christians consider not only where they've been, but also where they are, where they're headed, who's leading them, and why. As difficult as it might be for some, it's time they think twice about what's happening around them or even in their own homes at that very moment.
It's also time for the GLBT community to do a better job connecting the pasts of others to our present, and connecting one man's suffering to the next man's, as well as to our own. Man, it seems, would rather compare his suffering than admit that it's common to someone else's. And that's got to stop.
Perhaps with FIA's help the arguments between oppressed groups over who bleeds/has bled more will finally end. No one has cornered the market in pain caused by discrimination, for crying out loud. We all bleed red, regardless of the color of our skin or the name of our God.
The Faith In America project might be directed at Christians, but its message is one that people of all religions would benefit from hearing.
For more information, visit Faith in America's website
Kim Ficera is the author of Sex, Lies and Stereotypes: An Unconventional Life Uncensored. Her bi-weekly column Don't Quote Me is dedicated to all the folks in and out of Hollywood who talk without thinking or who don't know when to stop talking. Email her at kim@kimficera.com.
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