David French, who is an anti-Trump former Republican, self-described Libertarian and Evangelical, was a member of an very “conservative” church that he had to leave for two reasons: his anti-Trump views weren’t tolerated, and his adoption of an Ethiopian child triggered the other members’ racism. French relates the tale in the NYT [that gift link is from Paul Campos at LGM]. Here’s what happened at the church school:
The racism was grotesque. One church member asked my wife why we couldn’t adopt from Norway rather than Ethiopia. A teacher at the school asked my son if we had purchased his sister for a “loaf of bread.” We later learned that there were coaches and teachers who used racial slurs to describe the few Black students at the school. There were terrible incidents of peer racism, including a student telling my daughter that slavery was good for Black people because it taught them how to live in America. Another told her that she couldn’t come to our house to play because “my dad said Black people are dangerous.”
The hook for the piece is that his church convention’s panel on toxic polarization featuring French was cancelled. You can read the whole thing, but the “I was so surprised” tone of the essay is really a “Who’s being naive, Kay” moment. I mean, what staggering level of naivete is required to not understand the beliefs of these so-called Christian evangelicals?
French’s record is far from spotless. To pick one glaring example, he reversed his anti-LGBTQ and anti-trans positions in, checks Wikipedia, November, 2022. This means that — until less than 2 years ago — French, like his former church congregants, believed that some fellow human beings were lesser and should be cast out of his church. He used his Harvard Law education and platform provided by a number of big publications to justify his bigotry. In addition, his wife is a ghostwriter for conservative assholes including Sarah and Bristol Palin, noted anti-bigotry and pro-LGBTQ advocates.
In other words, here’s a man who, until very recently, wanted a group of innocent people who showed no hate towards others to be denied the supposed grace and salvation of his precious sky fairy. Now he’s on the receiving end of a little taste of what he so recently wanted for others, and we’re supposed to fall all over ourselves in sympathy. Perhaps when he heads to his nearest Pride celebration and sets up a foot washing station, I’ll start showing a little more concern for his plight. Until then, he can cash his check for his Sunday Times Op-Ed and go the fuck away.
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