Traditional Anglicanism in America
Greg Griffith
Calling out Coward: Where’s the Proof of ‘Attacks’?
Peter Ould notes the smear campaign begun by "Changing Attitudes," the joint English-Nigerian gay advocacy group, in which CA insinuates that "conservative Anglicans," by opposing the views of CA, are somehow complicit in violence against gays and lesbians. Bottom line: CA's letter is detestable, and my already-low opinion of Colin Coward and his sock-puppet Davis Mac-Iyalla has sunk even lower.
Now comes this press release from the Archbishop of Canterbury's office in which +Rowan writes:
The threats recently made against the leaders of Changing Attitudes are disgraceful. The Anglican Communion has repeatedly, through the Lambeth Conference and the statements from its Primates' Meetings, unequivocally condemned violence and the threat of violence against gay and lesbian people. I hope that this latest round of unchristian bullying will likewise be universally condemned.
Let's leave aside for a moment the unasked question: Is there any indication that the "violence" allegedly perpetrated against the gays and lesbians in question was done by "conservative Anglicans?" I don't expect Colin Coward to ask that question, but I do expect the Archbishop to lift at least a finger or two in the pursuit of that answer. Yes, I realize that +Rowan's statement doesn't accuse "conservative Anglicans" of violence, but he knows good and well that that's the context in which he issues his statement.
No, forget that question. What I want to do, and please pardon my French, is call bullshit on the whole thing. So far, here's what we've been offered as "proof" of the "attacks," a post at this ridiculous anti-Akinola web site.
The blog entry contains an account of violence at a funeral in Nigeria, and directly accuses the Anglican church in Nigeria of orchestrating the attack:
“The next thing I saw was a mob group who were there to attack me. They started slapping and punching me, kicked me on the ground and spat on me. I have never known fear like I knew when they were brutalizing me. I thought they were going to kill me there and then. While beating me they were shouting: ‘You notorious homosexual, you think can run away from us for your notorious group to cause more abomination in our land?’ Those who attacked me were well informed about us so I suspect an insider or one of the leaders of our Anglican church have hands in this attack.”
Accompanying the entry is a photograph of "some of the young men of Changing Attitude Nigeria." My question is: Where are the police reports? Where are the photos of the victims' injuries? Judging from the numerous photos posted online at various sites over the past few years, there is no shortage of digital cameras among the Changing Attitudes folks in Nigeria. Are we to believe that at a gathering of this size, a beating which caused injuries that nearly resulted in death to someone, no photograph was snapped of the "mob group"? No one took a photo of the man's injuries? If the injuries were so severe, shouldn't the man have been taken to some kind of medical facility? Shouldn't that facility have some kind of report describing the man's injuries and the treatment he received?
And, are we really to believe that the "mob group" not only made ridiculous statements like the one above, but also ones like this...
“We will not rest until we silence you and any who join you to pollute the land with the abominable act of homosexuality. You are perverts who go around corrupting and inducting young people into our evil society. We will kill you and it will be a favour to the country. Nigeria will not contain you or any other person that practices homosexuality.”
...and that someone in the "terrorized" crowd was able to record the statements with such accuracy? I don't buy it. Not for a second.
Sorry, Colin and Davis, and sorry to all their stateside allies: Absent something resembling real proof of these "attacks," I'm proceeding from the assumption that it's a fraud, and that the Archbishop has been suckered into releasing a statement on an "attack" that never happened.
Posted April 09, 2008 at 11:53 am
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