Date: Sat, 02 May 1998 11:06:43 -0500 From: ACTION ALERT Moderator Subject: ACTION ALERT: Reggie White (more bigotry) [ Moderator Note: Mr. White recently spoke at an anti-gay rally in a Michigan town that is seeking to overturn an ordinance that would ban discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The fact that he is taking his bigotry on the road indicates he has become an anti-gay activist-- not merely voicing his religious beliefs. ] [ submitted by GLAAD ] *** SUMMARY *** Reggie Continues To Preach Bigotry The media continues to follow the Green Bay Packers' Reggie White after his March 25 statement to the Wisconsin State Legislature, in which he compared gay people to "liars, cheaters and backstabbers." On an April 27 20/20 interview he claims to "hate the sin/love the sinner," while his wife accuses CBS Sports of dumping White because of pressure from something called "the sodomite community." White also stated that in calling homosexuality a sin he is "speaking out against things that are hurting our children, and killing off our people. If people think that's a contradiction and that's hate, they need to take it up with God." On April 24, the Wall Street Journal claimed "Minister White is in fact in big trouble for having said, 'Homosexuality is a decision, not a race,'" ignoring his assertion that tolerance of gay people was harmful to America or his comparison of gay people to "liars, cheaters and backstabbers." Greg Cote in the April 27 Miami Herald provided a different perspective, saying, "Disappear, Reggie White." Cote says, "Reggie White has shamed himself. Worse, he has shamed that which he would wrongly hold before him as a shield: His religion." White is using attacks on the gay community to influence political issues by speaking before the Wisconsin Legislature. In addition, White is currently joining anti-gay radical religious groups in an attempt to repeal a non-discrimination ordinance which protects people from being fired or thrown out of theirs home simply on the basis of their sexual orientation. In the United States, something called the Separation of Church and State allows White to hold his divisive and ignorant views, however disappointing and destructive they may be. Many people of faith, including Coretta Scott King and Rev. Jesse Jackson, disagree with White. Yet White not only believes his view of God is the only right view, he seems to feel it is a justification to deny basic human rights to gay people. *** ACTION *** Ask the Wall Street Journal why they glossed over the issue in their commentary and commend the Miami Herald for calling White on his hypocrisy. Also, ask Nike and S.C. Johnson & Son why they continue to subsidize White's political campaign against gay people through their sponsorship of him. Contact: … Nike Corporation Consumer Relations, phone: 800.344.6453, e-mail via WWW: http://www.nike.com/talktous/ … S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. Consumer Relations, phone: 800.558.5566, e-mail via WWW: http://www.scjohnsonwax.com/crc_form.html … Paul Steiger, Managing Editor, Wall Street Journal, 200 Liberty St., New York, NY 10281-1003, fax: 212.416.2658 (fax machine gets turned off at 4pm EST), e-mail: letter.editor@edit.wsj.com … Larry Olmstead, Managing Editor, Miami Herald, One Herald Plaza, Miami, FL 33132-1693, fax: 305.376.8950, e-mail: HeraldEd@herald.com -- _____________________________________________________________________________ * ACTION-ALERT is a moderated mailing list. * * To subscribe to ACTION-ALERT, send mail to: majordomo@vector.casti.com * * In the mail message, enter ONLY the words: subscribe action-alert * * To unsubscribe to ACTION-ALERT, send mail to: majordomo@vector.casti.com * * In the mail message, enter ONLY the words: unsubscribe action-alert * * Words in the Subject: line are NOT processed! * * List Information: http://www.qrd.org/qrd/electronic/email/action-alert * _____________________________________________________________________________