Protestor outside our show, Anaheim, CA 5.29.13
Guys like this always baffle me. I was raised in the Christian church; Southern Baptist to be exact, and none of the people I grew up around ever ran amok in some sort of theological frenzy, doing nutty things like carrying signs and screaming at innocent passers by. This gentleman was a real piece of work though, let me tell you. He was calling women fat whores, he was yelling at EVERYONE telling them they were going to hell for drinking and drugging, and his views on homosexuality- well, I suppose those are clear by his sign. None of the Christians I knew as a boy ever did things like this.
But his extreme views are not what confuse me. For example, sure, I think it’s ludicrous that anyone would actually believe that the creator of the universe would judge people for being attracted to the same sex and condemn them to everlasting torment & hell fire for what is clearly a natural urge- some people are just GAY. GET OVER IT. Homosexuality has existed since the dawn of humanity, and there examples of homosexual behavior in other animals. I don’t happen to be gay, but at least I have brains enough to know that if that’s your thing, then that’s your thing, just like being heterosexual is mine. It’s cool, be gay, find yourself a man or a woman, and be happy. God bless. But there are people who are confused about that stuff, like this guy. I GET IT. Society has produced some strange belief systems over the years.
What really twists my noodle is this: what do these people think they are going to accomplish by verbally assaulting people? No one SCREAMING at me has ever made me want to see their point of view. If you want to push your agenda and beliefs (which is also distasteful to me, but just for the sake of argument, let’s go with it for a second), berating others for not behaving as you think they should isn’t really the way to bring people over to your side. All you do is aggravate folks and make them defensive. This is clearly a lack of proper planning and logistics. And as we all know, PPPPPP- proper planning prevents piss poor performance. Perhaps he would have done better by handing out sodas or cookies. I dunno.
When I told this gentleman I was sober and did not drink or drug, he mocked me and called me a liar (don’t know of he thought I was queer or not- after all, I do have both my ears pierced). This pissed me off, so I quoted some New Testament scripture to him (which he seemed incapable of doing or even responding to). When he kept yelling at me, I called him an asshole and walked away. I let him win, by doing that. I let him engage my primal self, let him touch the anger node of my lizard brain. I should have just laughed or tried to hug him. Oh well. Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the giant hate-filled asshole bear gets you.
I suppose what I’m getting at is I can forgive ignorance, because that can always be rectified. What I cannot forgive is AGGRESSIVE STUPIDITY. Someone took a leak in the gene pool here, and while I’m all for freedom speech (my job is contingent upon it), I’m also all for keeping a mad dog on a leash. Guys like this and the God Hates Fags people are purveyors of violence in a way- they prey on people’s emotions, just wanting to push buttons (like mine), wanting to provoke others into losing their cool. Some people might not just walk away angry. Some people might DO SOMETHING to these people. Then they will have to face the legal consequences. What a bummer. So while I think it’s really dangerous to repress freedom of speech in anyway shape or form by law, I also think it’s ridiculous that people should be allowed to verbally assault folks on the street with no fear of repercussion. There’s such a thin line to walk here…
Keeping freedom of speech in mind, I propose that if you are going to verbally assault people for their lifestyle or beliefs, then you should be required BY LAW to carry a bucket of duct tape with you at all times next to your protest gear. Then anyone that is offended by your ignorance should be allowed to take the duct tape, tear off NO MORE than a one foot section at a time, then apply it anywhere to your body they wish, excluding the eyes, ears, nose, & mouth. There were maybe 2,000 people at our Anaheim show. Can you imagine this dude, duct taped in place, by 2,000 one-foot sections of the silver wonder adhesive? Still screaming and yelling, frozen in place by tape and his impotent rage? Then you have to extricate yourself from the tape, with no help? You got yourself into this sticky situation, now get yourself out. Enforce a little accountability. Then maybe even this moron would think twice before taking his schtick to the streets.
“Well honey, I’m off to protest the faggots and satanic drunks again.”
“Larry, if you come home duct taped again, I’m divorcing you. I mean it.”
I think it’s only fair. I don’t like people screaming at me, calling me a liar, insulting my fans. And I REALLY don’t like STUPID PEOPLE judging me.
Especially when they can’t spell JUDGMENT.
Love this
