It was just your normal morning on WIP. Angelo Cataldi was interviewing a babe whose main claim to fame, given Angelo’s audible drooling on the microphone, was her bust size. Since I had tuned in during the middle of the conversation, I never did find out whether he was interviewing her as a contestant for Miss WIP, Miss Wing Bowl or as an applicant for Mensa. But I was guessing it wasn’t the latter. Suddenly, the conversation turned serious.
Angelo alluded to a recent shameful incident where a restaurant wait-staff member had designated two customers on their tab as "the Jew couple." Miss Airhead commented she didn’t see the problem. After all, if the two people were Jewish what could be wrong about designating them "the Jew couple." Cataldi interjected that apparently the couple wasn’t necessarily Jewish and, to his credit, both he and his sidekick, Rhea Hughes, added the waiter was dead wrong to do what he did. But that didn’t stop Miss Airhead. She was intent on proving being labeled "the Jew couple" was no worse than if she was labeled "the blonde." After all, I’m blonde, she added.
The conversation ended with Miss Airhead convinced the couple should have taken no offense; that, at worst, this was once again a case of political correctness gone wild. Miss Airhead had inadvertently stumbled onto a truth.
These days, bigotry is rearing its ugly head again. Prejudice always has been with us, but there was a time when it went underground. Even bigots were ashamed of expressing their venom in polite society. Now, the bigots have crept out of their holes in the guise of fighting the excesses of being politically correct. One could imagine Miss Airhead having no problem pinning the Star of David on the shirts of Jews because, after all, they are Jews aren’t they? And, later that same day on WIP, another similar discussion proved my theory.
WIP host Mike Missanelli was attempting to explain to his audience why the Phillies should not have allowed an anti-gay banner at its third annual Gay Day. A group grimly named Repent America hung a banner in the stands that read "Homosexuality is a sin. Christ can set you free." According to The Daily News, there was a minor incident at the ballpark when some fans tried to stand in front of the banner to prevent it from being seen and some of the Repent America crowd tried to stop them.
Missanelli’s point was simply that the Phillies don’t normally allow critical banners in their ballpark, so what were they doing caving in and allowing the anti-gay sign? The paper’s account seemed to confirm Missanelli’s stance. Apparently in 2003 at Vet Stadium, the Phils ordered Repent America to take down its sign. Michael Stiles, the Phils’ vice president of operations, is quoted in the article as saying he agrees the Repent America banner was offensive, but, by giving gays "a platform," the team had to abide by the First Amendment and allow the banner. Stiles also claims the Phillies’ policy regarding critical banners is more liberal than it was in 2003.
With all due respect to Mr. Stiles, that’s a load of you-know-what. During the first two seasons, I’ve been to about 30 games at Citizens Bank Park and have never seen a critical banner. Is Stiles telling us the Phillies would allow a banner asking for the firing of Ed Wade? There’s enough disaffection with the Phillies that they could hold Critical Banner Night and award prizes for the best zingers. So why was it OK for the gay-bashers to hang their banner?
Well, Stiles did throw in that bit about the First Amendment. Let’s see, the First Amendment says you can trash your homosexual guests, but you can’t try to suggest the most timid general manger in baseball get fired. Is that what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he wrote the Bill of Rights? So, if the Phillies decide to hold Irish Night, the ball club will protect the rights of bigots to bash four-leaf clovers? Maybe the next time they hold a night in honor of some church group, they’ll allow atheists a protest banner? And what was "the platform" the Phillies had allowed gays – the right to openly be seen? The right for a gay choral group to sing the National Anthem?
The local Repent America-types complain it was the Phillies who had a gay political agenda forced upon them. See that’s the problem. Being openly gay in America to these idiots is equal to having an "agenda." Cower in the closet and there’s no problem. Were the Phillies conducting gay marriage ceremonies at second base? If so, I missed it.
Here’s what I find offensive: I find it offensive Repent America and some other gay-bashers use Christ to excuse their bigotry. If Repent America-types were hanging in the Garden of Gethsemane when they arrested Jesus, they would have fingered him for the suspicious guy with long hair and sandals who wasn’t married.
