LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth |
Dr. Laura's Comments are Answered by GLAAD |
Laura Schlessinger today restated her position regarding gays and lesbians as part of her monologue on "The Dr. Laura Show" syndicated radio program. The rambling 15-minute diatribe against "political homosexual activist groups" covered topics ranging from an explanation of her conversion to Orthodox Judaism, her about-face on tolerance for homosexuality, and her vehement denials of hatred toward gays and lesbians. Schlessinger again reiterated her claim that she has been quoted out of context (full transcripts of her remarks, including the text of this broadcast today, are available at www.glaad.org) and that "What I did say is that when an individual is not so drawn to a member of the opposite sex, in biology, that's some kind of error. Because it doesn't result in reproduction." She concludes her commentary with a rebuke of those who have characterized her as hateful: "I have no hate. I have hate for people who lie, and so have hurt you. So, if you're gay and you heard that I said that, and you walked around thinking 'I am an error,' they did that to you. I never did." "Schlessinger clearly has a revisionist view of history," says Joan M. Garry, executive director of the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD), "especially the history of her own words. GLAAD has not manufactured quotes for her and we have been extremely careful to quote her in the context of her transcripts. "I do believe the timing of her monologue is a direct response to the stream of advertisers defecting from her programming. She is desperate to backpedal from a situation she so clearly and willfully created. Her hand has been caught in the cookie jar and now she would have us all believe she is an innocent who was framed. She is neither innocent nor has she been framed by anything other than the context of her own words, much as she might like to disavow them." The Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) is dedicated to promoting and ensuring fair, accurate and inclusive representation of individuals and events in all media as a means of eliminating homophobia and discrimination based on gender identity and sexual orientation. |
LETTERS From CAMP Rehoboth, Vol. 10, No. 12, Aug. 25, 2000. |