UPDATE, July 19, 2011: Rick Santorum responds to Dan Savage.
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Dan Savage is the creator of the "It Gets Better Project."
Many LGBT youth can't picture what their lives might be like as openly gay adults. They can't imagine a future for themselves. So let's show them what our lives are like, let's show them what the future may hold in store for them.
Savage seems like such a compassionate guy, doesn't he?
He cares about people. He really cares.
Here's the "It Gets Better" pledge:
THE PLEDGE: Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I'll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work. I'll provide hope for lesbian, gay, bi, trans and other bullied teens by letting them know that "It Gets Better."
"I'll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it."
Oh really, Dan?
I think you're a hypocrite. You speak hate. You exhibit intolerance.
On Bill Maher's Real Time, Savage declared his wish regarding Republicans.
DAN SAVAGE: I wish they were all f---ing dead.
Video.
What a horrible thing to say!
Is this appropriate coming from the founder and ultimate moral authority of the "It Gets Better" Project?
Such hate speech reveals Savage to be a serious part of the problem when it comes to achieving peace, love, and understanding rather than part of the solution.
This statement wasn't an unguarded, private moment for Savage. He said this while on a panel of a nationally televised program.
Savage is a terrible role model.
"It Gets Better"?
Bottom line: Savage says don't hate LGBT people, but wish that Republicans "were all f---ing dead."
Disgusting.
What a hypocrite!
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Savage has realized that his ugly, horrible comment has repercussions. It reveals the "It Gets Better" founder to be a fraud.
He wrote an apology on his blog:
I was on Real Time with Bill Maher tonight. I was talking to someone at the party after the show, and they asked me how I thought it went. Okay, I said—and then I told them that I said something really, really stupid, half under my breath, and I was relieved that Bill and the rest of the panel didn't hear it. But folks watching the show at home might have heard it... so... I want to apologize for... um... wishing all Republicans dead.
I don't feel that way. My dad is a Republican. (Well, he says he's an independent, but he hasn't voted for a Democrat since JFK. My dad is a Republican.) I'm fond of Michael Bloomberg and William Weld and Lincoln Chafee, and I wish no harm—save the political variety—on those Republicans I loathe. Even the one Republican I really had it in for once upon a time—Ronald Reagan—managed to outlive my anger.
It was a stupid, rude, thoughtless remark. I regret it and I retract it and I apologize to anyone watching at home—particularly my father (!)—who may have heard me say it. I had a drink before the show—first and last time I've ever done that—but this wasn't a case of, "In vino, veritas."
This was a case of, "In vino, stupidtas."
Why would Savage say something he didn't mean?
I would NEVER say "I wish all Democrats were f---ing dead."
Those words would NEVER come out of my mouth. Absolutely NEVER. Impossible.
It's not about Savage being "stupid" and "thoughtless." You just don't say something like that unless it's in you. It doesn't happen.
It's like Obama's terribly cruel and mocking Special Olympics remark.
It can't happen unless it's in you.
It's good Savage apologized, but you can't put the toothpaste back in the tube.
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Here's more hate from Savage:
*Warning: EXPLICIT LANGUAGE*
After Marc Maron makes some positively inexcusable remarks about Michele Bachmann and her husband, Marcus Bachmann, Savage follows up with this:
DAN SAVAGE: They're grifters and scumbags - the Bachmanns.
...
MARC MARON: I don't want to be crass, but I just hope that Marcus Bachmann takes all that, you know, that rage that comes from repression and denial and brings it into the bedroom with her. I hope he f---s her angrily, because, because that's how I would. And I've thought about it. It's a political statement I'm trying to make.
DAN SAVAGE: Just so you don't get charges of sexism because only Michele Bachmann was involved, I sometimes think about the f---ing the sh-- out of Rick Santorum, just 'cause I think he needs it. It's not just women we're talking about f---ing. It's like, let's bone that Santorum. I'd go for whipping up some Santorum in Santorum.
Savage didn't issue an apology for this. I guess he stands by these comments.
"It Gets Better" Pledge:
"Everyone deserves to be respected for who they are. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I pledge to spread this message to my friends, family and neighbors. I'll speak up against hate and intolerance whenever I see it, at school and at work."
Why would anyone, like the president of the United States, want to be associated with a project headed by Savage?
I fully support the idea behind the project.
Unfortunately, Savage's remarks degrade it.
He reveals that he isn't against hate and intolerance. He foments it.
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