Would it be wrong for a Catholic to wear a T-shirt that is against Gay-bashing

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benjammin

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How far is too far in supporting Gays. I know that as Catholics we are not to commit hate crimes against them or discriminate them in certain ways, but how far is too far. When I was in college, the Gay Pride club or whatever it was called asked for people to wear purple in order to raise awareness of Gay Bashing and Gays being bullied. I didn’t wear purple because I forgot, but would it be wrong for a Catholic to support such a thing since it dealt with violent bullying of gays and wasn’t to promote things like marriage or gay relationships.

I myself don’t know how to feel about this because even though i’m straight and a devout Catholic, in high school I was bullied and called gay for no reason, and think that even if I don’t agree with the gay lifestyle, people shouldn’t pick on them or bully them, or even use it as a slur (like saying “Thats so gay” ). So would it be wrong to support campaigns against Gay bashing, or does the church see that as supporting the gay lifestyle?
 
benjammin said:
How far is too far in supporting Gays. I know that as Catholics we are not to commit hate crimes against them or discriminate them in certain ways, but how far is too far. When I was in college, the Gay Pride club or whatever it was called asked for people to wear purple in order to raise awareness of Gay Bashing and Gays being bullied. I didn’t wear purple because I forgot, but would it be wrong for a Catholic to support such a thing since it dealt with violent bullying of gays and wasn’t to promote things like marriage or gay relationships.

I myself don’t know how to feel about this because even though i’m straight and a devout Catholic, in high school I was bullied and called gay (as well as fagget, fudge packer and many other terrible things no teen should hear, all while at a Catholic high school) for no reason, and think that even if I don’t agree with the gay lifestyle, people shouldn’t pick on them or bully them, or even use it as a slur (like saying “Thats so gay” ). So would it be wrong to support campaigns against Gay bashing, or does the church see that as supporting the gay lifestyle?
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No it’s not wrong. If I were in your shoes and had the funds I’d create a slightly different color purple shirt, have Catholics against bullies on the front and relevant passages on the back. You would still be supporting the cause and helping send the message to bullies (stop bullying based on a person being a homosexual), but you would stand out enough to ensure your stance against one immorality isn’t viewed as support for another (for clarification I refer here to homosexual activity, not to a person being a homosexual, sin not the sinner).
 
A shirt that is against bashing anyone would be better than a shirt that implies that bashing is only bad when it’s homosexuals getting bashed. Through history, a lot more Christians have been killed for being Christian than homosexuals have for being homosexual. Look at how many Churches have been getting bombed. It seems like almost a daily occurrence in Muslim countries.
 
benjammin said:
So would it be wrong to support campaigns against Gay bashing, or does the church see that as supporting the gay lifestyle?
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Why would the Church support gay bashing? How wouldn’t that contradict everything the Church teaches about human dignity? How is speaking out, even symbolcally, against verbal and physical violence contrary to Christ’s message? How is it in support of a particular “lifestyle?”
 
oldcatholicguy said:
No it’s not wrong. If I were in your shoes and had the funds I’d create a slightly different color purple shirt, have Catholics against bullies on the front and relevant passages on the back. You would still be supporting the cause and helping send the message to bullies (stop bullying based on a person being a homosexual), but you would stand out enough to ensure your stance against one immorality isn’t viewed as support for another (for clarification I refer here to homosexual activity, not to a person being a homosexual, sin not the sinner).
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Well put. As Catholics, we must be sure that our support for people isn’t seen as support for sin.
 
Our society is now blind to the distinction between wrongly discriminating against gay people versus speaking against a damaging lifestyle choice that certain gay people choose to participate in.

Unfortunately, by wearing a shirt that speaks against gay “bullying” it would most likely be assumed, without question, that you’re also against what many people percieve to be the “intolerant, oppressive” christian view on homosexuality as well. This could give scandal to sin since it could further people’s misconceptions about Church teaching and make them feel justified in holding a dangerous attitude in favor of sodomy… especially if they know you are a Catholic.

With all respect, I think it would be immoral for a person to wear the shirt.
 
The problem is that a homsexual pride group is running the event, so showing support for them in this one area is implicitly showing support for the more sinister items on their agenda. Also, some of these groups (like the one on my campus) define standing up for traditional marriage as “bullying,” so wearing that shirt would probably send a message against authentic values.
Speaking out against bullying is good, but anything involving a pride group comes with too many side-effects…

Edit to add:
For those of you that think you can seperate the anti-bully message from the rest of what the group advocates, I don’t think you understand how these pride groups work. When they speak out against bullying, they are not just trying to end bullying; they are also trying to associate the rest of their ideals with this one positive thing, and in the process imply that anyone who opposes anything they do is somehow in favor of bullying.
 
benjammin said:
How far is too far in supporting Gays. I know that as Catholics we are not to commit hate crimes against them or discriminate them in certain ways, but how far is too far. When I was in college, the Gay Pride club or whatever it was called asked for people to wear purple in order to raise awareness of Gay Bashing and Gays being bullied. I didn’t wear purple because I forgot, but would it be wrong for a Catholic to support such a thing since it dealt with violent bullying of gays and wasn’t to promote things like marriage or gay relationships.

I myself don’t know how to feel about this because even though i’m straight and a devout Catholic, in high school I was bullied and called gay (as well as fagget, fudge packer and many other terrible things no teen should hear, all while at a Catholic high school) for no reason, and think that even if I don’t agree with the gay lifestyle, people shouldn’t pick on them or bully them, or even use it as a slur (like saying “Thats so gay” ). So would it be wrong to support campaigns against Gay bashing, or does the church see that as supporting the gay lifestyle?
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Is it wrong to be anti-Death Penalty? Does supporting anti-Death Penalty mean you are supporting murderers and rapists? Don’t forget, there are two issues here. One you must support, the other you must not support.
 
benjammin said:
How far is too far in supporting Gays. I know that as Catholics we are not to commit hate crimes against them or discriminate them in certain ways, but how far is too far. When I was in college, the Gay Pride club or whatever it was called asked for people to wear purple in order to raise awareness of Gay Bashing and Gays being bullied. I didn’t wear purple because I forgot, but would it be wrong for a Catholic to support such a thing since it dealt with violent bullying of gays and wasn’t to promote things like marriage or gay relationships.

I myself don’t know how to feel about this because even though i’m straight and a devout Catholic, in high school I was bullied and called gay (as well as fagget, fudge packer and many other terrible things no teen should hear, all while at a Catholic high school) for no reason, and think that even if I don’t agree with the gay lifestyle, people shouldn’t pick on them or bully them, or even use it as a slur (like saying “Thats so gay” ). So would it be wrong to support campaigns against Gay bashing, or does the church see that as supporting the gay lifestyle?
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I would be very careful in wearing any t-shirt such as “Catholics against bullying” or a message supporting anything that can be misconstrued as being supportive of gay rights to school.
It is one thing to step up and defend someone being picked on, it is another thing to provoke trouble, no matter how good your intentions may be.
Some of the previous people have suggested such things as a t-shirt saying “Catholics against Bullying”. If you did such a thing, you had better be prepared to defend yourself, both physically and intellectually.
I can almost guarentee you, that in most High Schools today, you would be called to task by your teachers or the administration. They would accuse you of trying to cause trouble…and I will bet you that in the school yard at lunch time, or as you leave the school, a fellow male student will try to assault you!
As I implied before, it is far better to discuss/argue the issue with your fellow students- even bringing the subject into a class discussion, than doing something that would create a situation detrimental to your studies…
 
oldcatholicguy said:
No it’s not wrong. If I were in your shoes and had the funds I’d create a slightly different color purple shirt, have Catholics against bullies on the front and relevant passages on the back. You would still be supporting the cause and helping send the message to bullies (stop bullying based on a person being a homosexual), but you would stand out enough to ensure your stance against one immorality isn’t viewed as support for another (for clarification I refer here to homosexual activity, not to a person being a homosexual, sin not the sinner).
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Good advice. But I would also pray on whether or not wearing such a shirt in a school environment is going to be conducive to fruitful dialogue. As others have said, groups like those you mentioned DO try to make the anti-bullying argument into a pro-gay “marriage” argument. I’ve seen it repeatedly. And if you are going to make a very public statement that goes against that kind of thought, you need to be prepared for and aware of the possible consequences.

I have my own personal history with bullying. I feel torn when I can’t support campus groups that promote “it gets better”-like campaigns to end bullying and/or prevent suicide because of bullying because I KNOW the objective they’re ultimately trying to pursue is ending opposition to gay “marriage.” Because in their minds, there’s no difference between taunting, hurting, teasing, humiliating, mocking, and harassing a person because they have SSA and stating that marriage is between one man and one woman.

Just more of our “laissez-faire,” anything goes society.
 
I didn’t realise that gays had such ulterior motives. Do we have any proof of these statements before we all embarrass ourselves by accusing people of untruths?
 
benjammin said:
How far is too far in supporting Gays. I know that as Catholics we are not to commit hate crimes against them or discriminate them in certain ways, but how far is too far. When I was in college, the Gay Pride club or whatever it was called asked for people to wear purple in order to raise awareness of Gay Bashing and Gays being bullied. I didn’t wear purple because I forgot, but would it be wrong for a Catholic to support such a thing since it dealt with violent bullying of gays and wasn’t to promote things like marriage or gay relationships.

I myself don’t know how to feel about this because even though i’m straight and a devout Catholic, in high school I was bullied and called gay (as well as fagget, fudge packer and many other terrible things no teen should hear, all while at a Catholic high school) for no reason, and think that even if I don’t agree with the gay lifestyle, people shouldn’t pick on them or bully them, or even use it as a slur (like saying “Thats so gay” ). So would it be wrong to support campaigns against Gay bashing, or does the church see that as supporting the gay lifestyle?
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I think if you wear that shirt, people might think you are encouraging tolerance of the homosexual lifestyle.
 
Qoeleth said:
I think if you wear that shirt, people might think you are encouraging tolerance of the homosexual lifestyle.
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I guess I can kind of see that now, but I still want to show that i’m against bullying of any kind. Even if someone is gay, they shouldn’t be beat up or made fun of. Sadly, I don’t think the church communicates it well. I know when I was bullied, the school turned a blind eye, and unfortunately it continued until I made a huge mistake. I don’t blame the church or school for it by any means, but honestly I think a lot of the kids who did call me gay or what have you thought it was okay through the church, even if they didn’t practice their faith like i did. All it would have taken was a priest or teacher to say something like Being against gay marriage doesn’t mean making fun of them or calling them names or spitting at them or what have you.

Sorry for the slight rant, but i just had to say it. That being said, I love my church and agree with her 100%, I just wish people could see the more tolerant side, rather than calling us bigots or trying to change us.
 
As others have said, what impression would you be giving if you wore that? You might be coming against bullying, but you could also be supporting the same sex “lifestyle”.

I think the term is “sin of scandal” where you do or do not do something innocently enough and people get the “wrong end of the stick”. LIke say you “live” with your bf/gf but you’re not actually having sex, people, especially in this day and age, will think you are. So, if you’re known as a Catholic then people will think you’re being hypocritical or that cohabitation and fornication is not a big deal.

The same in this instance.

Frankly though, I think you should just leave it alone. Its too big a can of worms, but I’d be impressed if you could find a tee shirt that says “I’m Catholic, and support that marriage, as ordained by God and mirrored in natural law is between one man and one woman, thusly procreative and unititive. Do not think that procreative means procreation. BTW, its a sin to be mean to those suffering from same sex attraction but it is not helpful for them, or society, to try and redefine marriage to something it is not, just to make them feel better about themselves”.

As for bullying, lots of people get bullied, kids and peopel in general are very good at picking up the weaker members of the social cluster. I have a “swear” word in my last name. I got bullied like you wouldn’t beleive, but so did the kid with the big ears, and the fat kid, and the kid who was poor…heck, making you feel guilty for not wearing a purple shirt is kinda bullying.

This’ll probably come as uncharitable, but really, people today are too soft, they need to suck it up and get over it. There’s always going to be people who are mean and nasty, welcome to the consquences of sin.
 
NeedsMercy said:
I didn’t realise that gays had such ulterior motives. Do we have any proof of these statements before we all embarrass ourselves by accusing people of untruths?
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No need for proof. When it comes to sin, one should always seek to err on the side of caution.

Especially since the sin of scandal can be so grave in the eyes of our Blessed Lord that it would be better if a person were tied to a millstone and thrown the bottom of the sea then they were to be guilty of causing just one soul to fall into sin!
 
Earlier, I advised against it, because it could seem like advocating a pro-homosexual position.

But reflecting further, and given your motives, it would be possibly be a courageous thing to do.

Personally I wouldn’t do it, but then, I am also quite homophobic. To be honest, I haver never liked any of the homosexuals I have encountered- and often found them to be bullies, given to material luxury, and malicious (especially those among the clergy).

But, on the other side of the coin, there must be many who themselves are bullied, and especially many who are not even homosexuals, but are mistken for such.

Well, I congratulate you on considering the issue deeply, and am confident you will decide the best thing. Follow your conscience.
 
Dakota_Roberts said:
Guess we should all get some pyres just to be cautious
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Or just think about what effect your actions might have, rather then requiring absolute proof that something will cause harm.

The path to heaven is narrow and few will find it.
 
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