I often see anti-gay advocates make tragedies even more tragic when they turn them into hate speech against gays. Ex-gay minister, Stephen Bennett is very good at this. In his latest blog post, he carefully, and skillfully chooses words that try to link homosexuality to child molestation. What is tragic for all of us is the misinformation puts more kids at risk. What is tragic is that this type of distortion perpetuates the myth that gay men are more often child molesters than straight men. It is nothing more than taking a sad and tragic event and making it even more tragic by using it as hate speech.
Stephen Bennett writes on his site:
“Read the story and weep. Weep for the young, innocent little boy whose life was taken in the most heinous of ways, because of two demented and evil homosexuals, a father and son, and a perverted wife and mother. The two homosexual men took turns brutally molesting and sodomizing the child before choking the little boy to death.”
The distortion is subtle, but it is there. Stephen is turning the focus of this tragic story to something that doesn’t even exist in the story. There is no evidence these men were homosexual, in fact the evidence points to them being heterosexual. This older man did not identify as a homosexual man. He was married to the women in this story. It is also not clear from this story if the younger man identified as homosexual. Stephen is calling them “homosexual” men because it fits with his distortion that gay men molest at a higher rate. The distortion gets worse when we realize that when a man molests a little girl, Stephen does not refer to them as heterosexual molesters. Men who are attracted to children are just that, attracted to children. Studies show that those who are attracted to children tend not to care as much about the gender of the child but the availability of the child. It all comes down to the language.
Dr. Gregory Herek explains:
“Another problem related to terminology arises because sexual abuse of male children by adult men2 is often referred to as “homosexual molestation.” The adjective “homosexual” (or “heterosexual” when a man abuses a female child) refers to the victim’s gender in relation to that of the perpetrator. Unfortunately, people sometimes mistakenly interpret it as referring to the perpetrator’s sexual orientation.”
Stephen Bennett continues this distortion by changing the wording in the Fox News Story. Again, the changes are subtle but just enough for the reader to make a false link to homosexuality and child molestation.
The original wording of the story said:
The indictment charges all three family members with murder and child molestation in the slaying of Christopher, whose body was found March 15 inside a trash bag dumped by a roadside.
Stephen changed the wording to read:
The indictment charges all three family members with murder and homosexual child molestation in the slaying of Christopher, whose body was found March 15 inside a trash bag dumped by a roadside.
Notice how Stephen added the word “homosexual” to the charges. There is no such criminal charge as “homosexual child molestation”. This is a distortion of the truth, not the truth. Stephen added these words because he wants you to think that homosexuality is associated with the child molestation but as I have pointed out already, neither of these men appear to have had same sex adult attractions. The older man was married to a women. His adult attractions were not to men. The younger man appears by reading the story not to have had adult attractions but attractions to children.
This story is sad and disgusting. It amazes me that anyone could do that to a child, but I am sickened just as much to see Stephen Bennett try to twist the truth of this story into hate speech against gays. Stephen should post a clarification to clear this up, but we know he will not do that. Mr. Bennett’s actions are immoral and wrong. He has taken this horrible event and turned it into a event about a subject that is not link to it. He also tries to link children being gay because they were molested which is another fact not supported by the science. Mr. Bennett may mean well, but such distortions of the information are more dangerous to children. Society needs real facts to protect children, not made up science from Mr. Bennett. I would ask Stephen to back up his facts, but the truth is…he can’t, so he won’t.
Here are some resources to clarify what the research on child molestation says by the experts. Once you see what child advocates and researchers say about the subject, you will further see how Mr. Bennett is distorting the language to match his hate of homosexuals and his goal of making homosexuality about things to which it is not.
Religious Propaganda of just plain ole hate
The Child Molestation Research and Prevention Institute
Are gays a threat to our children?
Crisis Center (Myths about child molestation)
Penguins, Pedophiles, and Paul Cameron
Facts About Homosexuality and Child Molestation
Technorati Profile-----
March 26th, 2007 at 3:24 pm
stephen’s comments are VILE.
First of all, what happened to that child was wrong. I read the article and was very upset. My prayers continue to be with the child’s family.
But as you said, Joe, to assume that those two men were gay is clearly using the tragedy for the purpose of homophobia.
You will notice how he downplayed the woman’s role in the entire thing.
March 26th, 2007 at 6:27 pm
I agree–his comments are vile.
I would like to know why Stephen thinks homosexuals are also child molesters. He was once a homosexual, so is he revealing maybe more than what he really wants to when he keeps harping on and on about this issue?
March 26th, 2007 at 8:55 pm
It’s even more sad when one realizes that if the victim was a little girl, Stephen probably wouldn’t have written about it.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:31 am
Good point Pink Pitbull.
How much attention do they draw away from the real causes of such horror?
..They will never forgive themselves.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:53 am
I still contend that people like Mr. Bennett do more harm than any good they think they are doing. By giving people misinformation that muddy the waters and create myths. Those myths put other children at risk.
March 27th, 2007 at 12:50 pm
That is a good point: did Bennett himself engage in the abuse of a child back when he was gay?
So if HE was an exception, might not that be true of gay men in general?
This is how prejudice becomes extremely hypocritical and contradictory.
There is a not very nice term in law enforcement for people like him.
A know it all busybody, who knows nothing and confuses the public so that their attention is placed on the wrong target, and can result in MORE violence, instead of less.
The people who killed this child are in custody and will receive what they deserve.
But those gay men and women who are innocent, will ultimately will pay a heavy price for Bennett’s irresponsible bleating.
And not only gays and lesbians, but the assumed HETEROSEXUAL abusers of children, rarely make Stacy Harp, Sonja Dalton’s or DL Foster’s articles.
I POINTED Foster into the direction of Atlanta’s (his hometown) newspapers regarding Atlanta as a sex tourism destination, with female prostitutes as young as ten and twelve being used as sex slaves.
I pointed also to, an unemployed father of three little girls, ages 9, 7 and 3-sexually abusing them, filming it, and putting it on the net for users of child porn.
Guess what?
Foster never mentioned it, nor spoke on the abuse of children in general by adults.
Whether it’s from teachers having affairs with their underage students, to heteros hurting THEIR OWN children!
The great myth of heterosexuals as ideal parents, in their minds, must be maintained.
Despite stories like the one Bennett is talking about.
I despair at the suffering of this child prior to his killing.
Law enforcers consider people like Bennett VERY unhelpful.
In the extreme.
It makes the job harder and more complicated.
The data bases I could access point out with clarity who is most responsible for sex crimes, period.
Not just intra gender crimes, but across the board.
And it’s no wonder they get away with it more, people like Bennett.
He WISHES that gay men were exactly as he’s made them up to be.
His wishes, however are not reality. If I could get to Bennett, I’d tell him so.
He’s not getting his information from law enforcement records.
He’s getting it from his own biased mind and that of others just like him.
It’s disgusting, it really is.
A little baby girl (18 mos old) was shot in the face by drive by night before last, and last night, she died.
I know for sure, it wasn’t a gay person who did it.
And it never is.
The real dangers on our streets…and our own homes are not gay people. Not nearly in the sense that Bennett wants to project.
A gang member’s bullet will find you whether you’re in your home or not.
And Bennett should tell the truth and I asked this question of DL Foster as well.
Were he on a public street, and a young same gender couple were walking behind him, holding hands.
Would he really fear them so much, as another two young men walking slowly behind him in baggy clothes, looking squinty eyed at him and his family?
Which scenario would REALLY concern him and those in his entire neighborhood.
Who should he REALLY be afraid of?
Exactly.
In terms of the way a peace officer would assess it.
A neighborhood would be a lot better off with the loving gay couple than a gang member.
And gay people have no immunity from gang members or any other casual thug either.
This family Bennett is talking about were seen as a family, and they lived in a trailer park.
Is he so invested in spying on his presumed hetero neighbors as he’d want the gay people to be spied on?
Law enforcement cares about credible evidence.
Apparently, Bennett does not, nor does he feel obligated to.