How Dare Pete Buttigieg Work With The Salvation Army To Help The Poor, Sniffed The Narrow-Minded Critics
[guest post by Dana]
Pearl clutching because a gay mayor joined with a Christian organization to help raise money for those in need. Dear God, what fresh hell is this:
Pete Buttigieg is drawing criticism after pictures of him volunteering for the Salvation Army, which has historically opposed gay rights, recently resurfaced on social media.
[…]
In the photos, Buttigieg is seen standing outside Peggs restaurant in South Bend, Indiana, where he is the mayor, for the Red Kettle Ring Off, an annual charity initiative during which public officials compete to raise money for the Salvation Army. While the photos were from 2017, Buttigieg, who has surged to the top of many polls of Democratic presidential candidates in Iowa, has been participating in the event since at least 2015, according to local news reports. He also held an event at the Salvation Army in South Bend last year.
Enter the angry and aggrieved, upset that a gay man would brazenly break rank and volunteer his time with a Christian organization to help raise money for those in need. Some “concerns”:
I know the photos are two years old, but still, I can't help but wonder if Mayor Pete just looks at what LGBTQ activists have been working on for years and then chooses to spite it (e.g. Salvation Army, Chick-fil-A, queer media in general, etc.). https://t.co/zSYzlRLrOX
— Zack Ford (@ZackFord) December 4, 2019
“Apparently race issues aren’t the only thing @PeteButtigieg is slow to grasp,” one tweet read, referring to past comments Buttigieg made about the lack of educational role models in low-income, minority neighborhoods. “What is his excuse for not realizing the Salvation Army is homophobic?”
“We in the #LGBTQ & others are nuanced,” wrote one user. “The act of service to others doesn’t mean the absolution of another’s hate to others.”
The irony, of course, is that Mayor Pete was doing what every other mayor in America would do, if asked. In other words, he was serving his community, he was reaching out to others, he was acting on behalf of those in need in a non-discriminatory manner.
Apparently, in certain communities, working alongside those with whom you may not agree should cancel out and supersede any noble call to help others in need. Screw you, poor people! Funny how the those who have benefited in some way from Buttigieg’s work with the Salvation Army haven’t been complaining… Maybe, just maybe when you are homeless, hungry, alone, and simply have no fight left after being worn down by the grinding struggle of life, from whom and where that hot meal, warm coat, and comfort comes doesn’t really matter all that much. It’s just so damn easy to criticize from the cushy, lofty thrones of the smugly privileged. How shameful it is that these critics believe themselves and their cause to be what is most important here. And how blind to not see that a gay man volunteering to work with the Salvation Army is, ironically, an illustration of loving one’s neighbor, and thus a witness in itself. Clearly the mayor and the organization understand that this isn’t about them. Their’s is a greater calling embracing an outward focus on others. That should be celebrated.
In a recent interview with Out, Director of Communications David Jolley clarified the Army’s mission with regard to the LGBT community:
[T]he Salvation Army has “evolved [in its] approach” to serving the LGBTQ+ community. “As we build and remodel emergency shelters and transitional housing across the country, we consider ways to help LGBTQ+ individuals feel safe and cared for,” he said. Jolley cited a Las Vegas dorm that exists exclusively for transgender individuals, a San Francisco detox facility for patients with HIV/AIDS, and the organization’s work with transgender sex trafficking victims in Baltimore.
In addition, the organization makes it clear that all are served. You can read more about their LGBTQ outreach here, as well as watch a number of testimonials from gays who have been helped by the Salvation Army:
Serving suffering humanity without discrimination: Oh, that all communities would do likewise.
(Cross-posted at The Jury Talks Back.)
–Dana
Eating their own to own the Christians.
Dana (643cd6) — 12/4/2019 @ 10:34 pmButtegieg was right to support the Salvation Army. Dana, I hope you don’t mind a longer cut-and-paste from the Commander of the Salvation Army, but the guy just makes too much sense, and it’s long past time to push back against the cultural Marxists trying to cancel them.
Of all places, The Babylon Bee best criticized Chick-Fil-A’s bad decision to withdraw their financial support of the SA.
Paul Montagu (00daa1) — 12/4/2019 @ 10:48 pmGlad you posted that, Paul Montagu. Thanks.
Dana (643cd6) — 12/4/2019 @ 10:53 pmExcellent post, Dana. When I was a toddler, my father suffered a bankrupcty. Prominant among those who came to our family’s aid was the Salvation army who brought warm clothes and food.
felipe (023cc9) — 12/5/2019 @ 4:17 amSorry, I was too old to be a toddler – I was in Kindergarten.
felipe (023cc9) — 12/5/2019 @ 4:23 amSpanish, Italian, Maltese, Arabic, Dari Persian, and French as well as English.
So, of course, Trump will accuse him of caring more about foreign countries than his own.
Speak American!
noel (f22371) — 12/5/2019 @ 4:44 amI see it from the opposite direction. You cannot serve both the 2.5% of the population which are LGBTQ and the 97.5% which are not. Or to put it another way, both government and gonads. Buttigieg should not be elected or appointed to any public office.
nk (dbc370) — 12/5/2019 @ 4:49 amLike Pete, I too learned seven languages. But, unlike him, my memory isn’t sufficient to recall six and a half of them.
noel (f22371) — 12/5/2019 @ 4:54 am“You cannot serve both the 2.5% of the population which are LGBTQ and the 97.5% which are not. Or to put it another way, both government and gonads.” nk
But, I thought you said the government was nuts.
noel (f22371) — 12/5/2019 @ 5:02 amOr… did you mean that everybody in South Bend is gay, nk?
You often confound me and I am not sure which of us to blame.
noel (f22371) — 12/5/2019 @ 5:09 amOr… did you mean that everybody in South Bend is gay, nk?
Nope, just the opposite. I’m sure the overwhelming majority in South Bend, just like the rest of America, is not LGBTQ. So you have a situation of the tail wagging the dog.
nk (dbc370) — 12/5/2019 @ 5:14 amPete would be the “Tail wagging the dog”. Hmm. I will have to think about that, nk.
So, logically speaking, you’re saying that Trump is like the dingleberry wagging the dog?
noel (f22371) — 12/5/2019 @ 5:23 amThe Mayor of South Bend is relatively sane and relatively moderate, and generally likeable. Therefore it is essential for the purposes of the hard Left that he be politically destroyed. Hence these sort of attacks.
Kishnevi (e95dc4) — 12/5/2019 @ 5:45 amA vote for or against Pete Buttigieg is a plebiscite on the Salvation Army vs. LGBTQ. Cast your ballots!
nk (dbc370) — 12/5/2019 @ 5:47 amThe Salvation Army is not just another “Christian Organization.” And to call it a “non-governmental organization” is simply damning with faint praise. The Salvation Army is a church. And it is a church I am proud to help with my [admittedly meager] financial support and volunteer hours though I am not a member.
Gryph (08c844) — 12/5/2019 @ 5:48 amI personally disagree with the SA stance on LGBT stuff but I recognize they serve *everyone* regardless and do amazing work. I think most sane people can see this. But there is a lot of misinformation floating around out there about them only helping straight people. nonsense.
JRH (52aed3) — 12/5/2019 @ 6:37 am16. That’s kind of my point. You might as well say that you disagree with the Roman Catholic stance on LBGT stuff, or the WELS stance on LBGT stuff. Traditionally, Christianity has considered unchaste sexual activity of any kind to be sinful. [Yes, I know this is changing for better or worse]
Gryph (08c844) — 12/5/2019 @ 7:12 amYou might think that “nuanced” people would understand that cooperating with people you don’t completely agree with might change their minds about some areas of difference.
Radegunda (7d930a) — 12/5/2019 @ 8:31 amWELS are the “hard core” Lutherans (Wisconsin synod) – my daughter was in a WELS school from Pre-3 through Kindergarden (3 years) and I have nothing but kind words to say about the experience and how it prepared her for stellar performance in her current Catholic elementary-middle school.
urbanleftbehind (5eecdb) — 12/5/2019 @ 8:56 amIt’s not as if they’re cutting off their noses to spite their faces, they are however perfectly willing to cut off others’ noses to spite their faces.
Jerryskids (702a61) — 12/5/2019 @ 10:00 amDemocratic party is getting tired of gay activists pushing to hard.
asset (276037) — 12/5/2019 @ 1:05 pm19. Truth. My cousin is an ELCA pastor (Evangelical Lutheran Church of America), and it saddens me to see how far down the SJW rabbit hole that the organization has fallen.
Gryph (08c844) — 12/5/2019 @ 2:28 pmIt will be interesting if little Pete gets the nomination and the Falwell types go after him. You know, considering that their friend Donald seems to have cornered the market on about six of the seven deadly sins.
And I looked up a whole bunch of virtues too…. and how does Trump do on that front, Rev. Falwell? Humility, kindness, abstinence, chastity, patience, liberality, diligence, prudence, temperance, courage, justice, love, hope, faith and charity.
noel (f22371) — 12/6/2019 @ 7:28 amThe Reverend Falwell died in 2007. Jerry Jr. is not a reverend, he is a lawyer and college administrator.
As for Trump, he will still have a good claim on the title of first LGBTQ President. GBTQ, at least.
nk (dbc370) — 12/6/2019 @ 7:38 amYea. I get it. Trump is appointing Pro-Life judges so he is excused from being a decent person on any other level. Right? Except that is a false choice, isn’t it? Pence, and just about every other Republican, would do the same thing.
I support appointing Pro-life judges but I also recognize that if Roe is overturned tomorrow, the issue will likely revert back to the individual states as it was before Roe. On the other hand, if this President is successful in obliterating the rule of law, then things will be dire indeed.
noel (f22371) — 12/6/2019 @ 7:44 amYes, nk, I believe that is right. Its Mr. Jerry Falwell and Rev. Franklin Graham. I sometimes confuse the two Trump enablers.
noel (f22371) — 12/6/2019 @ 8:28 am