crossposted on Holy Bullies and Headless Monster

(this is a combination of two posts)

Some members of the religious right have gone on record about the recent murder of gay Ugandan activist David Kato:

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And then there is Peter LaBarbera:

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For the record, many of us never felt that Palin was the blame for what happened in Tucson. I personally felt that she got of the blame – unfair it may have been – because of  her gung-ho attitude and reliance on nasty rhetoric. She exploited that image to gain prominence, so subsequently what happened was a classic case of the image backfiring on her.

Lively, on the other hand, isn't such a victim of circumstance.

He was one of the Americans who came to Uganda to hold anti-gay rallies  which pushed all sorts of lies about lgbts. These lies got folks stoked up and led to the infamous “Kill the Gays” bill.

The bill sent everything into a fever pitch, culimating with lgbt Ugandans having definite fear for their lives in the backdrop of rabid homophobes holding marches with children, spreading nasty propaganda about gay sex in churches, and publishing people's pictures in a newspaper while advocating their murders simply because they are lgbts.

Kato was one of those people whose picture was published.

It's sad that Kato's murder is the end result of how one person's hatred can cause a situation that he may not have intended to happen.

And what's sadder is the simple fact that those who should learn from this tragedy, i.e. LaBarbera and company, seem to be ignoring the lesson of pushing hate.

Related post:

Slouching Towards Kampala: Uganda’s Deadly Embrace of Hate – Box Turtle Bulletin's excellent report on the homophobia in Uganda from the beginning to where we are now.

One more thing – I know that some folks may feel the need to write LaBarbera and Barber. If you can't do this in a mature way, please don't bother. Hatred only breeds in places where rationality is absent. We know that LaBarbera and Barber have taken up root in these places. There is no need for us to compound their ignorance.