Franklin Graham, the “Christian” evangelist, has scheduled a summer tour through Europe appearing at various large arenas, kind of like the Foo Fighters. But, unlike the Foo Fighters, Franklin Graham has been banned from the Liverpool venue for spreading hate-preach, while the Foo Fighters can appear anywhere they want. Everyone loves Dave Grohl.
From the Friendly Atheist: [1]
ACC Liverpool, announced that he would no longer be welcome. They cited Graham’s history of statements which are “incompatible with our values [2]
As it turns out, our LGBTQ friends are far more into love, of any type, than the “preacher.”
Open letter from #Sheffield [3]'s #LGBT [4]+ Communities to @Dgreymbe [5] @SIV_Social [6] calling for the cancellation of homophobic hate speaker Franklin Graham's tour @SheffieldArena [7] #SheffieldAgainstHate [8] pic.twitter.com/F0RqEUWsXo [9]
— Heather Paterson 🏳️🌈 🧜♀️ (@heatherpaterson) January 16, 2020 [10]
This matters, because as the article notes, this is not just a condemnation of Graham, but a forceful statement against hate-filled, Right-Wing Christian theology as a movement unto itself. This “movement” is far too large a fraction of the Trump “base.” Wherever you find hatred of people who are maybe a little “different” than the stereotypical straight white male, you’ll find a MAGA-head.
Graham of course maintains that he doesn’t hate anyone, that he is spreading the word of God so that people can be saved. But, of course, that is ridiculous on its face. Graham charges a fortune to speak to people about being saved, and he endorses Trump policies that cause division and suffering.
One thing we know, Graham will be all snowflakey about it, whining that he’s being so persecuted, you may as well nail him to a cross.
To be clear, Graham can always find another venue. He’s not banned from the city. But Graham, being Graham, will most likely use this as a springboard to pretend like he’s being persecuted for being Christian. (That’s a lie.) Much like his compatriot in hate Steven Anderson (who has been banned from speaking in several countries), Graham believes there should be no consequences for what he says as long as he uses Christianity as a shield.
Right.
The good news is that the venue in Liverpool doesn’t give a shit and saw through all the excuses. The other good news is that the venue will be available if the Foo Fighters are in town. Dave Grohl doesn’t hate anybody.
There is a lesson to be learned in there somewhere.
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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @MiciakZoom