Wall Street's Woes Blamed On Gays

Christian fundamentalists are suggesting gays and lesbians are to blame for Wall Street's woes, a frequently made charge in the wake of national calamities.

In a September 25^th blog post titled The Nation Will Right Itself If It Fixes Sex, Christian Civil League of Maine Executive Director Michael Heath writes that the financial crisis facing Wall Street is a symptom of America's sinful sexual culture, including the acceptance of gay unions.

“Our crisis is a symptom, not the cause,” writes Michael Heath. “I am not saying I know whether this financial crisis is God's judgment or not. It is not for me to know that definitively.”

Heath goes on to list policy changes that would make God “crack a smile,” including: End abortion rights and defund non-profit groups supporting it, amend state constitutions to ban gay marriage and eliminate domestic partnerships and civil unions for gay and lesbian couples, and end discrimination against private religious schools and homeschools.

A related post by Center for Immigration Studies Executive Director Mark Krikorian at the National Review's website pushes a similar theme, this time focusing on Friday's failure of WaMu.

Krikorian suggests the big bank failed because it was too accommodating to minorities, including gays, African-Americans and Hispanics.

In his September 26^th post titled Cause and Effect?, Krikorian writes, “I really thought this was a joke, but it's not. WaMu's final press release, before it sank beneath the waves.”

The press release lists the general accomplishments of WaMu in diversifying its workforce, including earning a perfect score on the Human Rights Campaign's Corporate Equality Index – a rating indicative of the gay-friendliness of a company's official policies.

“Diversity is an integral part of cultivating a welcoming, innovative and dynamic workplace here at WaMu,” the release reads. “We are proud to be recognized for the opportunities and benefits we offer to all our employees, including the specific efforts we have made to engage Hispanics and the GLBT [gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender] community.”

Blaming gays and lesbians for disasters big and small is nothing new.

Fred Phelps, the founder of the Westboro Baptist Church, blamed gays and lesbians for hurricane Katrina, the deadliest and costliest hurricane in U.S. history that led to years of dystopia in New Orleans. “New Orleans, symbol of America, seen for what it is: a putrid, toxic, stinking cesspool of fag fecal matter. ... Pray for more dead bodies floating on the fag-semen-rancid waters of New Orleans.”

And in 2001 televangelists Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson blamed terrorists attacks on New York's World Trade Center and the Pentagon (the 9/11 attacks) at least in part on gays and lesbians.