Two men in suits smile for a photo in front of a floral arrangement and a bust sculpture.

On Defense: Christian hypocrites and men with big beards (and small testicles?)

By Johnny Trlica

Commentary: Two distinctly different groups of people were playing defense the past two weeks. One group gets their feathers ruffled any time their bigotry is called out while the other group got their balls in a wad over a scientific report.

‘Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator.’

Pete Buttigieg’s campaign is heating up in a large field of candidates running for the Democratic nomination for president. His improbable presidential drive has been generating noteworthy buzz, positive headlines, and large crowds.

The openly gay mayor of South Bend, Indiana is an unabashedly self-confessed Christian, married, and is not afraid to speak about his religion or sexual identity. And that is making a lot of Christians uncomfortable.

At a recent LGBTQ Victory Fund brunch, Buttigieg told the crowd, “If you had offered me a pill to make me straight, I would’ve swallowed it before you had time to give me a sip of water. It’s hard to face the truth that there were times in my life when, if you had shown me exactly what it was inside me that made me gay, I would have cut it out with a knife.”

“Fortunately, there was no knife and no pill,†Buttigieg said. He followed that by pointing out that because then he would not have met his husband, Chasten, who has made him a better person, and their marriage has moved him closer to God.

“That’s the thing that I wish the Mike Pence’s of the world would understand. That if you have a problem with who I am, your problem is not with me. Your quarrel, sir, is with my creator,†said Buttigieg.

Vice President Mike Pence got defensive about Buttigieg’s comments.

“He said some things that are critical of my Christian faith and of me personally. He knows better. He knows me,†Pence said.

“I’m not interested in feuding with the Vice President,†Buttigieg said. “But if he wanted to clear this (feud) up, he could come out today and say he’s changed his mind that it shouldn’t be legal to discriminate against anybody in this country for who they are.â€

Buttigieg made more headlines by questioning President Donald Trump’s professed belief in God lies in direct contrast with his behavior.

“I can’t believe that somebody that was caught writing hush money checks to adult film actresses is somebody they should be lifting up as the kind of person they want to be leading this nation,†he said on Meet the Press.

Buttigieg denies his comments were an attack on religion.

“I don’t have a problem with religion, I’m religious; too,†he told Ellen DeGeneres. “I have a problem with religion being used as a justification to harm people.â€

The fact that Buttigieg can talk openly about his faith is a breath of fresh air for a Democratic candidate. That he does it as a gay man makes him authentic. The fact that he is willing to call out the hypocrisy of the Christian right makes him worthy of consideration for his party’s nomination.

For too long Democrats have allowed the GOP to be the party of God and family values. The party that is led by a man who openly mocked a disabled reporter, cheated on all three of his wives, instituted a policy of separating immigrant families, locking children in cages and a host of other deplorable actions, lost the mantra of family values a long time ago.

The GOP has turned a blind eye to all of Trump’s vulgarities and in doing so condone his actions. Having a Christian capable of and willing to engage their hypocrisy has put them on defense. It will be interesting to see them oppose a gay candidate for that reason alone while defending their “porn star president,†as Buttigieg refers to him.

Play ball!

On April 10, Houston Rainbow Herald posted on its Facebook page a story with the headline, “Showy big beards linked to having smaller testicles.†It was the most engaged with article of the week and put a few bears, cubs and otters on defense.

In a study that explored the link between the sizes of testicles and other physical male attributes linked to mating, researchers at the University of Western Australia and the University of Zurich suggests males with “showy†masculine attributes, such as beards, may have smaller testicles than the males of other species, reported GayStarNews.com.

The study suggests alpha males will demonstrate their superiority to others by growing large manes or other attributes specific to their species, like large manes, horns or teeth. These features come at the expense of testicle size and sperm production. In other words, the showiest males have the smallest testes.

Comments posted on the post ranged from the comedic to defensive. One reads, “Buy stock in Gillette because a lot of folks are going to be buying razors.†Another stated, “Well, I can say for certain….. this is not true in my case.†Then there was, “I have a small beard… do the math….â€

For those who actually read the article and not just the headline (you know you’re guilty, too), you’d have found it to be flattering to our bearded friends. Alpha males in all species are characterized by large, flowing beautiful manes, robust intimidating horns or virile facial growth.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the position of the MONTROSE STAR.
Johnny Trlica is the manager of the Houston Rainbow Herald Facebook page, your source for the latest LGBTQ news and information. Contact him at [email protected].

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