On Ben Carson's Non-Apology Apology For Equating Being Gay To Bestiality and Pedophilia

Dr. Ben Carson is a Tea Party darlin’, so you know he’s not a favorite of mine. And while he is a brain surgeon—let’s not discuss that particular oxy-moron—he’s also quite the pundit that FoxNews likes to trot out when they want to bash Obamacare, Obama, the liberal media and, of course, The Gays.

Carson, if you don’t know, was really a nobody until a couple of months ago, when he gave a speech in front of President Obama at the National Prayer Breakfast and called for a regressive tax system that would punish the poorest Americans.

Yeah, so brain surgeon? Not so much. But this week he made an appearance on Sean Hannity’s Witch-hunt, or whatever that show is called and decided that the world needed to know his feelings on same-sex marriage:

“My thoughts are that marriage is between a man and a woman, it’s a well-established uh, fundamental pillar of society. No group, be they gays, be they NAMBLA [the North American Man/Boy Love Association], be they people who believe in bestiality, it doesn’t matter what they are, they don’t get to change the definition. So it’s not something that’s against gays, it’s against anybody who wants to come along and change the fundamental definitions of pillars of society. It has signifcant ramifications.”

Oh did he really pull out that old chestnut where he compared being gay to being a pedophile or an animal fornicator? And, one would wonder, if Carson, a Black man, might have uttered the same foolishness back in 1967 regarding the Supreme Court ruling in Loving v. Virginia, a decision that redefined the same “fundamental pillar of society”, i.e. marriage, as something that could not be inhibited by race.

Now, Ben Carson does know that his antiquated, outdated, and disgusting views put him at odds with every major medical association in the country, but he remains resolute that marriage not be redefined because it has never been redefined ever and is the exact same institution it was thousands of years ago when men could have hundreds of wives.

But, Carson found himself in the middle of a firestorm over his Gays = Bestiality/Pedophilia stance. And then he decided that, being a brain surgeon who apparently missed that trip to Oz to actually get a brain, he ought to apologize for his remarks because, as most people understand, just because you are gay doesn’t mean you want to have sex with children or dogs, and just because you want to have sex with children or dogs doesn’t mean you’re gay.

So Carson apologized; sort of:

“As a Christian, I have a duty to love all people—and that includes people who have other sexual orientations—and I certainly do, and never had any intention of offending anyone. What I was basically saying—and if anyone was offended I apologize to you—but what I was basically saying is there is no group…I wasn’t equating those things, I don’t think they are equal. If you asked me for an apple and I gave you an orange, you would say ‘well that’s not an orange.’ And then I’d say well there’s a banana…’that’s not an apple either.’ And there’s a peach…’that’s not an apple either.’ But it doesn’t mean that I’m equating the banana and the orange and the peach. In the same way, I’m not equating those things.”

Huh? First off, let’s deal with that whole “I’m a Christian and I love everybody” bull. See, I don’t get how saying someone who has a different sexual orientation is also some who would be a child- or animal-f**ker. I don’t see the ‘love’ in that statement; I see bigotry, ignorance, and hate.

Secondly, this whole “I’m sorry if…” nonsense. There is no ‘if’ in what you said; you offended people, and unless and until you offer a sincere apology, which should sound something like “I’m sorry I said the wrong thing. I’m sorry I offend anyone. I’m sorry I don’t have two active brain cells to rub together before I speak” you ought to keep quiet. That’s an apology. What Carson did was say ‘If I bothered you, well, I don’t care.’

But some folks do care, and some folks aren’t going to sit by and let Carson’s brand of Ignorant Speech go unchallenged: a group of medical students from the graduating Johns Hopkins University’s School of Medicine, class of 2013, are circulating a petition urging the university to withdraw its invitation from Carson, who is scheduled to deliver the keynote address during the ceremony this spring. To his credit, however, probably realizing his speech would be a disruptive event, Carson has said he would step down from his speaking engagement: “Absolutely, I would say that this is their day, and the last thing I would want to do is rain on their parade.”

And his colleagues at Johns Hopkins are equally disgusted by his remarks. Professor Todd Shepard, co-director of the university’s Program for the Study of Women, Gender, and Sexuality, said “I don’t think most people at Hopkins think what he says on this subject matter. They make him look nasty, petty, and ill-informed. It doesn’t tell us anything about his amazing abilities as a surgeon. It does remind us, however, that those abilities do not mean we should listen to what he says in any other domain.”

Here’s the deal: you can be against same-sex marriage because this is a free country where you have the right to your opinion, but, for the love of whatever it is you believe, please base your opinions on fact and not conjecture. And don’t demean the LGBT community with insults and degradations. Find a voice, right or wrong, and find a fact that will boost your opinion.

But, please remember, Dr. Carson and all those who think like he does, marriage has changed and changed and changed over the last thousand years or so, and it changed again as recently as the late 60s. So quit playing that tired card, and quit insulting our community and our intelligence.