Another bad actor here was Garden State Equality, the LGBT activist group whose head, Christian Fuscarino, is on the outrage team. Last year Fuscarino was on stage with some of these same Pastors, and nearly summoned the courage to bring up their Churches’ stance on gays. He should have, but he chickened. Last week he teamed with them again, knowing they believe the same as Shuttlesworth. But the mob targeted only Shuttlesworth, therefore so did he. Garden State Equality has an anti-bullying campaign. Maybe you should attend one of the meetings, Fuscarino.
Fuscarino had an ugly display of Christo-phobia while Shuttlesworth was here, but also showed a callous disregard for the black community. It was selfish. Mr. Fuscarino, let me tell you and the 3 Pastors what is meant by “Black Lives Matters:” You have 10 fingers. If one is cut and bleeding, at that moment, that finger matters. Not that the rest don’t, but that finger needs particular redress. Shuttlesworth saw that poor blacks in Asbury’s Westside both matter and need redress. But Garden State Equality couldn’t stand the sight of some marginalized group getting attention on a day they were not. Selfishly, it must always be about them. So they tore at a Pastor bearing gifts – poor blacks receiving those gifts be damned. The City Council helped. I know none of you intended racism, but reckless actions have unintended consequences, like de facto racism. #InstitutionalRacism?
Fuscarino is useless to gays anyway. After Omar Mateen pledged his support to the Islamic State and killed 49 at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Garden State Equality immediately issued a statement of solidarity – with Islam. The International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) recently reported there are 8 countries in the world that put gays to death and 5 more who legally can, and all 13 use Islamic law to do it. They reported zero non-Islamic country killing gays.
ILGA doesn’t bring that up because they are Islamophobic. ILGA doesn’t bring it up to say all Muslims are bad. Simply put Mr. Fuscarino, no LGBT advocate should show “solidarity” with Islam with that being the state of their world, while also viciously attacking a Christian who says gay sex is a sin. Your loyalty lies not with gays, but with the Democrat talking point that believes votes can be gained by calling everyone else Islamophobic. So you pledged solidarity to Omar Mateen’s inspiration and threw gays not under the bus, but off the roof (the preferred method for killing gays in 13 countries).
Probably the hardest part to understand was criticism of a Pastor giving away money, when criticism is usually reserved for Pastors asking for money. When the owner of Johnnie Mac’s bar walked around Asbury last Christmas handing out tens of thousands of dollars in gift cards, all these same people praised him. Shuttlesworth was simply doing the same in June. Is this hatred because he is a preacher? Asbury Park was named after a circuit preacher, much like Shuttlesworth is one. What has happened to this City?
I telephoned Pastor Shuttlesworth. I found a man who was magnanimous toward his haters. Even the government. He spoke only of his thrill to be able to preach to the people in Asbury Park and lift them. I tried to bait him into complaints about his detractors and he would only express his love for them. He praised our police. He rarely brings up homosexual sex in his sermons. It is unfortunate that became the hyperbolic scream of his Asbury Park protestors. He told me he is used to it. In today’s world, wherever he preaches, an anti-Christian bias appears in protest. He still loves them.
That conversation made me reflect upon the state of Asbury Park. Since when do we believe that people are only one thing? It is wrong to label people “all good” and “all bad.” It is wrong to find one thing we disagree with about someone, then label them “all bad.” Certainly someone who holds one trait we dislike can have a thousand others we do. Certainly a person with whom we disagree with in one area is also capable of many good deeds. Isn’t that the point of diversity, even multiculturalism? What happens to love if one disagreement triggers hate?
To the 3 Pastors, I ask you to recall the story of Cyrus from the Bible – which reveals to us that God will even call upon a heathen to do good works. You could have supported Shuttlesworth in his quest to help the poor while disagreeing with him in other areas.
So what can be done? Someone could file a complaint with the State Department of Community Affairs against the City Council. This isn’t the first time this has happened in Asbury. Last September the outrage team held a rally that protested a political party, where only officials from the Democrat Party were allowed to speak. It turned into a rally against white people, America and the President. Yet two of the sponsors were the Asbury Park School District and The Asbury Park Housing Authority, and they had officials on stage. Government entities can’t do that! Government entities can’t join political rallies! Asbury’s constant mixing of Government and activism is out of control.
Maybe if the Publisher of the only daily newspaper around here wasn’t so busy accepting community service awards from the very same people that he should be investigating/reporting about, he might file a complaint with the DCA.
But forget that complaint. I hate seeing people jammed up. I say to the City Council there is a better way. Start by issuing a withdrawal of your government statement. Apologize to Shuttlesworth for how he was treated as a visitor. You can stay away from his ministry, but like the Pastors, you owe an apology to his humanity. Unlike the Pastors, I have higher expectations of you and believe that you will. The other thing that you MUST do is avoid letting activists use the Government as a tool. It’s illegal. Stop it. Tell the outrage team the City Council is going to take a break from the constant protests in town. Leave activism to the activists.
All that’s left is for me to ask Pastor Shuttlesworth to pray for me, because I know what happens when someone holds a minority view in this City these days. Instead of inspiring dialogue and healing, I’ll receive hate, public humiliation and excoriation. The gentleness and love Blue Bishops once held for each other is gone, replaced by gentrifying newcomers whose spirit is based not upon compassion, but ill-will and glory-seeking.
I hope instead the outrage team will reflect upon my motto: Politics is a tiny part of who we are – never let it stop you from enjoying the rest of a person.
Tommy De Seno is an attorney, a journalist and a contributor to the website Ricochet.com