I just e-mailed the following letter to Pastor Hamlin, at pastor@greenbeltucc.org, with a cc: to the Miss Greenbelt Pageant organizers, at natasha@missgreenbelt.com, christine@missgreenbelt.com (they list no other contact information on their web site, at http://www.missgreenbelt.com/ )
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Dear Pastor Hamlin:
I write to you because you are listed as a supporter of the Miss Greenbelt Pageants. As a church and religious organization with clear pro-marriage equality stances, I would like to know why you are supporting this clearly anti-LGBT organization and one of its start spokespersons, Little Miss Greenbelt, Sarah Crank.
A few days ago, 14-year old Little Miss Greenbelt, Sarah Crank, who is home-schooled by her very anti-LGBTQ Concerned Women for America lobbyist mother, told the Maryland state legislature, and I quote, "It would be the best birthday present ever if you would vote no on gay marriage." and "People have the choice to be gay, but I don’t want to be affected by their choice.", as well as " I don't want any more kids to get confused about what's right and OK."
Sarah's mother, who serves as her sole educational resource and life coach, has been lighting up the blogosphere trolling articles which have reported about this travesty of child abuse, proudly proclaiming her daughter's pageant title.
I would like to know why you, as a supportive and pro-LGBT church and religion, are sponsoring this expulsion of hatred.
I ask that you immediately withdraw your sponsorship of the Miss Greenbelt pageant and condemn the words, intent, attitude, meaning, and sentiment of the hatred espoused by Miss and Mrs. Crank. If you do not do so, I would be happy to bring your support of this hate-spewing, homophobic organization and its spokespersons to the Central Atlantic Conference of the United Church of Christ.
Thank you for your time and consideration. I do hope that you will do the right thing and continue to spread and share the joy and love of Jesus Christ, instead of supporting and promoting the ignorance and hatred that those such as the Miss Greenbelt Pageant and their spokesperson, Sarah Crank, choose to falsely ascribe to the teachings of love from Jesus Christ and God.
Very sincerely yours,
-Peter C. Frank
Wow! Imagine how surprised I was to read your blog and find out what a homophob and hate-spewer I am! Mr. Frank, before YOU spew hate you should get all the facts. I have been a volunteer for the Miss Greenbelt Pageant ever since my daughter( who supports same sex marriage as do I) was a queen. I became active in the pageant because it's different. The girls aren't judged mainly on beauty but rather on community involvement and accomplishments. I enjoy watching the girls build confidence and self-esteem over the course of the pageant. In the years I have helped, I have seen lesbian contestants, gay judges, contestants with same sex parents, the addition of a boys division in our youngest age group, and girls on federal assitance. ALL were welcomed with open arms. The women who run this pageant are good people and don't deserve the label you have attached to them or to myself! I volunteer BECAUSE it's inclusive. I am saddened that in your war against a 14 year old girl and her family you would like to take down an organization that provides scholarships and a positive enviornment to so many girls. Do you think that the pageant should grill the young girls about their political beliefs and then weed out the ones they don't agree with? sounds pretty unfair to to me. Did it ever occur to you Mr. Frank that the MGB pageant was unaware of her speech ? She was not wearing her banner or crown and never mentioned her title at any point during it. Obviously it was not a sponsored pageant event. How can you live in new York and know the people you are personally attacking? I will continue to support LGBT rights but remember this, tolerance goes both ways Mr. Frank and your blanket statement was deeply insulting.
ReplyDeleteFrances Fendlay
Hi Peter. I feel for you, the young girl's testimony really is upsetting. I'm reading about this too, and i can't find a vid, but only an audio of her testimony, so it could very well be that no one from the pageant organizers really knew she was going to do this, and she may not have bothered using the title during the testimony, but I don't actually know. However, this is pretty messed up. I do not envy the organizers of this pageant right now. If it were me I'd consider asking her to give up the crown, but it depends on whether or not you think of promoting hateful discrimination should be respected as a political opinion.
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, I was anti-gay at age 13 too...for about a month. Then I let my bangs grow out, realized hate is ugly, and grew up. Sadly, the girl's mother is a lobbyist for anti-gay groups, so I actually kinda pity this child, she gets hate messages 24/7 on this subject at home, and is homeschooled so she recieves no other input from anyone else. Maybe one day, she'll get to leave home and realize there's a larger world full of people who don't OCD on hate.
What I really, really don't get is, she says quite clearly at the end of her testimony that she lives in Bowie. Which, is not Greenbelt. And she is homeschooled, so she doesn't attend a school here. Did she move recently? Or did she lie about where she lived in the first place? Or are there no rules on residency? --Susan S.
AUTHOR'S RESPONSE TO MS. FENDLAY:
ReplyDeleteMs. Fendlay: Unless you are affiliated directly with the pageant and can speak on their behalf, your words do not persuade me.
FIRST, If the pageant had been unaware of their spokesperson's intentions, they very easily could have distanced themselves from such hatred by issuing a statement disavowing themselves of Mrs. Crank's views.
SECOND, you obviously didn't read my post for if you had done so, you would know that I am not attacking Sarah Crank but rather, her mother, Kathleen Crank. Kathleen is the one who outed her daughter as a pageant title holder. Were it not for Kathleen Crank's proud boasting of her daughter being the spokesperson for the Miss Greenbelt Pageant, I never would have known about it.
THIRD, tolerance does NOT go both ways. One need not be tolerant of INtolerance. Besides, I don't want, or need, your tolerance. What I DEMAND is to be treated EQUALLY under the civil laws of this nation. While I thank you for your support of LGBTQ issues, I would ask you to please read what I've written before responding.
Perhaps you, Ms. Fendlay, can get the pageant's organizers to respond, since you are so closely associated with them, and issue a statement (that I will gladly publish here and in other places) condemning the Cranks' statements and views. Unless and until they do so, they support the views of their spokesperson by virtue of their silence. Perhaps again, Ms. Fendlay, you should read up on the Rev. Niemöller and his (in)famous statement made during the second world war.
SUSAN,
I'm not quite certain how that works out. And yes, I do pity the poor girl. It's quite unfortunate that she's being subject to only one side of the argument and not taught the critical thinking and analytical skills so many students (whether home-schooled or not) lack today.
As I've stated in my response to Ms. Fendlay, if the organizers of this pageant were unaware of Sarah's intentions, then they immediately should have issued a statement distancing themselves from such views. To date, they have not done so and thus, by their silence, one can only infer their agreement therein.