“We tell the truth about homosexual behavior.”
That’s what Bryan Fischer, radio talk show host and American Family Association employee, says to explain his opposition to Mix It Up at Lunch Day sponsored by The Southern Poverty Law Center.
Set for October 30, Mix it Up encourages kids to engage in conversation over lunch with someone who’s not in their usual clique of friends. It encourages them to break out of their usual friendships and talk with different kids. Nerds talking to jocks, cheerleaders talking to brainiacs, black kids talking to white kids, American kids talking to kids from other cultures and countries, Muslims talking to Christians and, gasp, straight kids talking to the gay kids. The hope of the SPLC is that such bridging of the usual lunchroom social gaps will result in fewer incidents of bullying—because once you get to know someone, it’s harder to be mean to them.
The AFA, of course, smells a gay agenda in all of this.
“No one is in favor of anyone getting bullied for any reason, but these anti-bullying policies become a mechanism for punishing Christian students who believe that homosexual behavior is not something that should be normalized,” said Fischer, who is, of course, the head bully at AFA, spouting his hateful lies about the LGBT community daily on his radio show.
I suspect there is one truth Bryan Fischer does know about “homosexual behavior,” which is why he’s so adamant about shielding young minds from it. The truth he knows is this: If kids, or anyone for that matter, meet an actual gay or lesbian person and gets to know them, they will know that Fischer and groups like the AFA have sold them a pack of lies about the “homosexual agenda” or “lifestyle.” Because if people really took the time to “mix it up” and meet actual living, breathing gays and lesbians, they would see that there is no substantial difference in how they live their lives. They work, they play, they vote (or not), they love, they hate, they go to church (or not), they debate politics, they watch The Voice (or Glee), and they usually have an opinion on who they like best, Snookie or Honey Boo Boo.
Also, if we can embrace each other despite our differences then Fischer is out of a job and the AFA, and other organizations of their ilk, will have to close up shop. And Fischer can’t let that happen.
