Jindal stopped at Liberty University over the weekend in order to tell the young freethinkers there about the First Amendment and what it means to them.
Jindal felt right at home. A Hindu-turned-”evangelical Catholic,” he knew how to package his First Amendment defense for maximum appeal to clean-cut Christian conformists. Anti-gay bigotry was recharacterized as an expression of traditional Christian views. Discriminating against homosexuals by denying them jobs or goods and services — that’s simply practicing one’s religion.
As the demons in this travesty of New Testament theology, Jindal ominously evoked a vast liberal elite, intolerant of religious-based speech that also happens to be anti-gay. You see it’s the free speech crowd — not the censors at a place like Liberty U — who are the small-minded one in Jindal’s world. The “politically correct crowd is tolerant of all viewpoints, except those they disagree with,” he opines in a press release from the governor’s office. (Your tax dollars at work!) It’s a switcheroo tactic he used to defend anti-gay comments by Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson, much like the “liberals are the real racists” meme that the right has been peddling so hard recently. Bigotry seems more justified if you see yourself in the oppressed group.
Last weekend, the St. Louis Rams made history by selecting 2013 SEC Defensive Player of the Year Michael Sam in the seventh round of the NFL Draft. Sam becomes the first openly gay football player to be drafted in the NFL. At first glance, this may seem to you like progress. But apply a little Jindal logic and you'll see the "real bigots" are Christian athletes who, of course, will never recover. They'll always have Twitter, though.
"@livinglegend_44: Y'all praise Michael Sam for being gay but y'all mocked Tim Tebow for being a Christian. Smh
#Society"valid point
— Scott Shanle (@scottshanle) May 12, 2014
That's former Saints linebacker Scott Shanle expressing solidarity with Florida State linebacker Demarcus Walker who clearly knows what's what.
You see, Tim Tebow was going to be the Jackie Robinson of Christian athletes. Unfortunately, thanks to the unrelenting scorn of the godless hordes who comprise American football fandom, he was never given the chance break down the barriers to Christian participation in professional sports and showcase his remarkable talents. Because of this tragedy we may never see an openly devout professional athlete in our lifetimes.
And now that one openly gay player has been picked in the final round of one draft, Christians everywhere are under assault. The "double standard" at work is intolerable. Or at least that's the gist of the article Saints tight end (no snickering, please) Benjamin Watson links to here.
This is my homophobic rant against Michael Sam | Page 2 of 2 | The Matt Walsh Blog http://t.co/VqkGEjKWoC via @po_st
— Benjamin Watson (@BenjaminSWatson) May 13, 2014
Saints linebacker Curtis Lofton added his voice by manually retweeting Watson's tweet.
RT @BenjaminSWatson This is my homophobic rant against Michael Sam | Page 2 of 2 | The Matt Walsh Blog http://t.co/UOY3lveT2t via @po_st
— Curtis Lofton (@CurtisLofton50) May 13, 2014
If you look through that thread, you'll notice that Lofton was applauded for having "the courage to express your opinion" via this retweet of someone else's approval of another person's opinion.
In any case, as you can see, Jindal's lecture on the "real victims" of religious discrimination does not fall on deaf ears... for better or for worse.
Oh and one more post-script. John Barry has been in the news a lot this year as Bobby Jindal's primary foil regarding the oil and gas industry's culpability for destroying Louisiana's coastal wetlands. It's worth pointing out, also, that Barry's most recent book is an examination of the historical roots of American religious freedom. As fond as Jindal is of this topic, perhaps we should see about getting him a copy.
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