LTTE to boston gLobe from a very, very proud bigot

[sniffa]

Fired for homophobia? That's fascism
November 16, 2006

WHILE I agree that John DePetro went too far in his comments on Grace Ross, what disturbs me more is Gina Fried's Nov. 8 letter, "Power of words (and radio stations)," in which she wrote that DePetro "was rightfully fired" for revealing homophobia on his WRKO talk show.

Since when should people be punished for being homophobic (assuming the word means that one disagrees with homosexuality, thinks it's morally wrong, and says so publicly)? Using that definition I am homophobic and proud of it. My church is homophobic; my children are homophobic; everyone I know is homophobic. So what? To say that we should all be punished for our beliefs is the worst kind of fascism. It's un-American.

Heaven help us if the world of Gina Fried ever becomes a reality.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/letters/articles/2006/11/16/fired_for_homophobia_thats_fascism/

[WilliamPitt]

1. Where you been?

Haven't seen ya in a while.

[sniffa]

2. hiding out

and maiLing powder to jon stewart.

:hi:

[WilliamPitt]

5. FREEPER!!!111

[Rockholm]

3. What a tool.

[gollygee]

4. He wasn't fired for his beliefs

It sounds like he was fired for being an asshole on his show and alienating viewers.

A private company doesn't have to retain bigots. If they were forced to, *that* would be fascism.

[sniffa]

6. but i'm bigoted, my church is bigoted

and everyone i know is bigoted. if we're not aLLowed to express our bigotry, it's fascism!

there's been quite a few LTTE's regarding the same sentiment over the gay marriage ban.
this is not a democracy if we can't discriminate!!

[gollygee]

7. "If I can't discriminate, you are discriminating against me!"

yes that's some odd logic there.

[tpsbmam]

8. Actually, if they can't express their bigotry.....

then it IS fascism. I want them to be able to express their bigotry -- that's what the 1st Amendment is all about. As much as I hate what they have to say (and many, many things about them), I support their right to say it.

When it becomes fascism is when their bigotry becomes policy and potentially amendments to our Constitution, as it has under Shrub and our current crop of Rethugs.

[mondo joe]

12. To the contrary: the 1st amendment regards government infringement of free

speech.

NOTHING about it requires an employer to subsidize someone's free speech. And requiring them to do so would indeed be fascism.

[tpsbmam]

13. I guess I didn't state my point well.....

didn't reply to the right post, or you didn't read it right. That's exactly what I was saying. I'm defending the idiot's right to speak his mind in the LTE, as bigoted as it is. The company can do what it wants (as I said in my other post).

[mondo joe]

15. Understood. Thanks. :-)

[Rockholm]

22. Using the public airwaves is an issue.

[wicket]

23. Well said!

:kick:

[ovidsen]

17. We'll always have bigots!

Frankly, I'd rather see them spewing nonsense and venom in public like this, rather than in secret. I'm serious about that. It's their 1st Amendment Right to look really stupid, and if it keeps them too busy to commit real violence, all the better.

It actually does more good than harm. The undecideds will reject the arguments of letters like this for what they are. Expressions of mindless bigotry. Two points for us.

[tpsbmam]

11. Exactly......

If it was mandatory for bigots to be fired, Limbaugh would have been gone long ago. The stations that air him and the company that employs him have decided that they're okey dokey with airing this particular bigot.

The other company wasn't okay with it. It's a private company and they're entitled to set their own policies (within our laws). You think AAR wouldn't fire (e.g.) Randi Rhodes if she all of a sudden had an alien invasion of her brain and she suddenly started spouting Limbaugh type crap? She'd be gone in a flash.

[AllieB]

9. I read that on the train this morning and nearly spit my coffee up

He's a piece of work. A quick google of the guy will show his other activities, namely that writes religious books, he's a Buchananite, and he gets quoted in local newspaper stories about immigration:

http://www.bbotw.com/author.asp?FirstName=Ralph&LastName=Filicchia

http://www.greenspun.com/bboard/q-and-a-fetch-msg.tcl?msg_id=000nzZ

Activists, Opponents clash at Immigration rally:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2005/05/02/activists_opponents_clash_at_immigration_rally/

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/west/2006/10/disconnect_in_w.html

A Buchananite speaks - Pat Buchanan supporter's critique of Republicanism
http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1252/is_n6_v123/ai_18150270

:puke:

[bicentennial_baby]

10. Holy jeebus....He makes Miguel whatshisname sound tame

:wow:

merci for posting that tripe, love :loveya:

[sniffa]

16. guanipa is the name

and i'd Love him to get a reguLar coLumn. his insane rantings need to be pubLished more often than a weekLy LTTE.

hmmm, come to think of it, the Last LTTE he wrote was 2 weeks ago, where he mocked the LiberaL democrat party, and boasted how they were gonna get their asses handed to them 11/7.
i wonder why he hasn't written since? :D

:loveya:

[bicentennial_baby]

18. ah, yes, Miguel Guanipa, beloved Republicant...

I wholeheartedly agree...I bet he's too busy stocking his cellar for the inevitable terrarist invasion... :D

[Rockholm]

24. From beautiful Whitinsville. Pathetic tool.

[SmokingJacket]

14. "Everyone I know is homophobic"

Either he lives in a hermetically sealed "bigotworld" or he is sorely deluded.

[AllieB]

21. I think Watertown has a sizable lesbian population

he would have to be living in a bigot bubble not to notice.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

19. Homophobia - Merrian-Webster

this tool needs to pick up a dictionary..

Homophobia - irrational fear of, aversion to, or discrimination against homosexuality or homosexuals.

[Ellis Wyatt]

20. read it again

That definition is three separate things.

An irrational fear
or
an aversion to
or
descrimination against.

He was picking option #2; an aversion to.

While he's obviously wrong in his "aversion" to gay people, he's right that it's facist and wrong to fire people just for thinking that being gay is wrong/disgusting/a choice/an abbononation, etc.

However, the radio station can fire someone for whatever reason they like within the law, and saying something that brings bad press and makes your station look stupid, is a valid reason. As is taking a position that the station disagrees with.

The writer of this LTTE was making it seem like the guy was fired because he's not a rainbow flag waiving supporter of the gay lifestyle, which is not true.

I like the host's ignorant answer for why he didn't do anything wrong. The guy apparantly got fired for saying something like "someone should tell that fat lesbian to shut up". His response was something to the effect of: "Well, I've see her; She's obese. And she lives an alternate lifestyle; she's a lesbian. So what's the problem here?"

[wicket]

26. DePetro called someone a fag on the air back in July

More info here. I guess the radio station was just tired of dealing with his shit.

[wicket]

25. My church teaches us to love everyone

And it ordains gays. Try as I might, I can't find anywhere in the bible where Jesus says we should love everyone except for gay people. If heaven needs to help anyone, it's Mr. Ralph Filicchia.