Letters page: are anti-gay letters OK in your community? Uncomfortably, it seems they are in mine.
July 19, 2011 2:37 AM Subscribe
Are letters opposing homosexuality on religious grounds acceptable in your local newspaper?
I am trying to discover if your local paper is likely to publish a letter opposing homesexulatity on religious grounds. Such a letter appeared in my paper, and I thought it totally unacceptable. The newspaper subsequently removed it from the online edition.
I don't want to get into a discussion about the subject of the letter; I am really trying to find out where in the world these views are still considered reasonable to print.
I am trying to discover if your local paper is likely to publish a letter opposing homesexulatity on religious grounds. Such a letter appeared in my paper, and I thought it totally unacceptable. The newspaper subsequently removed it from the online edition.
I don't want to get into a discussion about the subject of the letter; I am really trying to find out where in the world these views are still considered reasonable to print.
Borderline. It's a mildly written letter and not unnecessarily inflammatory. But even then letters pages are partly about stoking up sentiment from people who oppose what has been in the letters pages the day before.
Incidentally, the best response to that letter, should you feel like it, is the age old one about reading the bible literally.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:54 AM on July 19, 2011
Incidentally, the best response to that letter, should you feel like it, is the age old one about reading the bible literally.
posted by MuffinMan at 2:54 AM on July 19, 2011
I think it's OK as it's one person's (ghastly) opinion rather than the opinion of the newspaper itself. IANA media lawyer but I think it fits under fair comment.
posted by hnnrs at 3:15 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by hnnrs at 3:15 AM on July 19, 2011
It totally would depend on the newspaper and their intended audience. My second job is for a chain of small local papers; we consider ourselves 'family-friendly': your kid graduated college or made Eagle Scout? Send us the announcement. Reviews of local theater groups or interviews with local authors/artists? That's right up our alley. In-depth articles on the city council race or the school board? We've got 'em.
We MIGHT consider this kind of letter (it'd be far from a sure thing); this particular one is a relatively mild example of its species. But we'd at least put it under consideration IF there was was a local tie-in --- say if it was a response to something about a local church --- AND the writer was a local resident (we would NOT consider it if it was anonymous, no matter what the subject).
tl:dr; Northern Virginia (just south of DC); maybe.
posted by easily confused at 3:19 AM on July 19, 2011
We MIGHT consider this kind of letter (it'd be far from a sure thing); this particular one is a relatively mild example of its species. But we'd at least put it under consideration IF there was was a local tie-in --- say if it was a response to something about a local church --- AND the writer was a local resident (we would NOT consider it if it was anonymous, no matter what the subject).
tl:dr; Northern Virginia (just south of DC); maybe.
posted by easily confused at 3:19 AM on July 19, 2011
I couldn't find anything overt searching my hometown paper (The Tuscaloosa News), but it is a college town (and the paper's owned by the New York Times).
If the letter bothers you, remember that the best solution to bad speech is more speech -- why not write in your own letter or email arguing against the original one?
posted by Rhaomi at 3:50 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
If the letter bothers you, remember that the best solution to bad speech is more speech -- why not write in your own letter or email arguing against the original one?
posted by Rhaomi at 3:50 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
The newspaper from my hometown (~3,500 population, Midwestern) will print ANYTHING. Poorly-written rants of tinfoil hat-level nuttiness are regular. My Mom still gets it even though she's moved away. She reads it, too, even though the tripe in it makes her angry! I need to get her a bird or something...
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 3:55 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by Green Eyed Monster at 3:55 AM on July 19, 2011
Happens all the time in my local paper, but they publish rebuttals too. Religious freedom is fair game too. There's an ongoing raging debate about the 10 commandments being posted in a rural school (ACLU is involved, those commies). And a recent article about a woman who wants to open an interfaith retreat center in a rural/religious town was pretty interesting ... the reporter made sure to describe the woman as having long hair and being "dressed in jeans and a tie-dyed t-shirt with a peace sign on it" but didn't describe anyone else's appearance.
posted by headnsouth at 4:14 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by headnsouth at 4:14 AM on July 19, 2011
Take it as an opportunity to write a succinct, well-penned counter-argument and send it in.
posted by penguin pie at 4:41 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by penguin pie at 4:41 AM on July 19, 2011
That letter has nothing illegal, does not incite illegal or objectional behaviour, threaten or directly abuse someone.
Also, since it seems to be in response to an article, it highly probably that it was one of the more publishable letters they received on the subject.
posted by missmagenta at 4:41 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Also, since it seems to be in response to an article, it highly probably that it was one of the more publishable letters they received on the subject.
posted by missmagenta at 4:41 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
This sort of thing is the stock in trade of the local newspaper letters page, and any editor with any sense will print stuff from nutters in the hope of kicking off a nice little controversy, especially if (as seems likely) it's representative of other letters in the postbag. Fiver says that in the next issue someone (probably a nice local Vicar) will rebut this letter, and the thing will froth along for a few weeks. If it really kicks off, the paper will get to write a piece about the controversy, that basically wraps up old letters to the editor - free news!
When it peters out, a nutter will write in about immigrants, or the EU, or wheelie bins, or dog poo on the town pavements and the cycle will begin again.
This is a reason to love the local press, not a reason to be appalled - it's useful to know that a member of your community is an odious homophobe, and heartening to learn that other members of your community won't let that sort of crap stand (note that this letter is in response to a letter in favour of diversity in the church). Plus, the green ink brigade going nuts on the letters page is a much better read than the usual 'Local man rears prize-winning budgie' stuff on the news pages.
So, yes, my local papers on the Wirral and in Liverpool would print a letter like this - as would all the national papers I read - and I think they are absolutely right to do so, for free speech and entertainment reasons.
posted by jack_mo at 4:44 AM on July 19, 2011 [4 favorites]
When it peters out, a nutter will write in about immigrants, or the EU, or wheelie bins, or dog poo on the town pavements and the cycle will begin again.
This is a reason to love the local press, not a reason to be appalled - it's useful to know that a member of your community is an odious homophobe, and heartening to learn that other members of your community won't let that sort of crap stand (note that this letter is in response to a letter in favour of diversity in the church). Plus, the green ink brigade going nuts on the letters page is a much better read than the usual 'Local man rears prize-winning budgie' stuff on the news pages.
So, yes, my local papers on the Wirral and in Liverpool would print a letter like this - as would all the national papers I read - and I think they are absolutely right to do so, for free speech and entertainment reasons.
posted by jack_mo at 4:44 AM on July 19, 2011 [4 favorites]
The Houston paper is an interesting one to look at, because we have a large gay community, but we also have lots of mega-churches that preach in the tone of the letter you show. We still have "letters to the editor" and I would have thought they would publish such a letter, but I cannot find even one example. Letters to the editor about homosexuality seem to be in the vein of supporting gays in the military (here), and supporting our mayor (who is a lesbian) and her appointment of a transgender lawyer to the municipal court (here).
To give the other side, though, the online version of our paper also has a "comments" section below most articles. This is a free-for-all where you don't even have to publish your name. As an example, there was an article about the Pride Houston parade now being the second-largest parade in Houston. 150,000 people participated in the parade, and 19 people commented on the article. Ten of those 19 comments were blocked by the paper, so they must have been pretty abusive. The ten that remain show the full range from complete support, to indifference, to religious-based rejection.
tl;dr: I think our paper does not publish these as "letters to the editor" but does allow them in the comments to articles.
posted by Houstonian at 4:50 AM on July 19, 2011
To give the other side, though, the online version of our paper also has a "comments" section below most articles. This is a free-for-all where you don't even have to publish your name. As an example, there was an article about the Pride Houston parade now being the second-largest parade in Houston. 150,000 people participated in the parade, and 19 people commented on the article. Ten of those 19 comments were blocked by the paper, so they must have been pretty abusive. The ten that remain show the full range from complete support, to indifference, to religious-based rejection.
tl;dr: I think our paper does not publish these as "letters to the editor" but does allow them in the comments to articles.
posted by Houstonian at 4:50 AM on July 19, 2011
highly probably that it was one of the more publishable letters they received on the subject.
Absolutely - when I worked for a local paper, any vaguely controversial topic would garner tons of letters, many of them roughly at the level of YouTube comments, some disturbing enough to be passed along to the police. With a postbag like that, whoever's in charge of the letters page is duty bound to print one of the sane letters on the topic. (This was twenty years ago, admittedly, when the nutters' main outlet was the local rag.)
posted by jack_mo at 4:52 AM on July 19, 2011
Absolutely - when I worked for a local paper, any vaguely controversial topic would garner tons of letters, many of them roughly at the level of YouTube comments, some disturbing enough to be passed along to the police. With a postbag like that, whoever's in charge of the letters page is duty bound to print one of the sane letters on the topic. (This was twenty years ago, admittedly, when the nutters' main outlet was the local rag.)
posted by jack_mo at 4:52 AM on July 19, 2011
If the only "reasonable" opinions are the ones you agree with, then I would submit that the problem is not with the newspaper or the letter that they chose to print.
posted by DWRoelands at 4:52 AM on July 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
posted by DWRoelands at 4:52 AM on July 19, 2011 [2 favorites]
My hometown newspaper, the Union Leader, is an independent and deeply conservative newspaper. The letter you posted is on the less inflammatory side of many of the letters they publish. There's one guy who writes every few months some screed about how the gays are destroying the country and we all need to turn to Jesus - it always ends "Wake up, America! The enemy is within!" Or people who want to send all of "those people" back to the country they came from. And so on and so forth.
Fortunately, it's an opinion page and they want people's opinions! Rather than demand the removal of an opinion that you (and many other people) find objectional, you should write a rebuttal and send it in! An opinion page is there to share opinions, even if they're offensive. There should be a style sheet or something in your paper saying what is and isn't allowed. Participate in the conversation.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:03 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Fortunately, it's an opinion page and they want people's opinions! Rather than demand the removal of an opinion that you (and many other people) find objectional, you should write a rebuttal and send it in! An opinion page is there to share opinions, even if they're offensive. There should be a style sheet or something in your paper saying what is and isn't allowed. Participate in the conversation.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:03 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
I forgot - New Hampshire (east coast USA but not the liberal bit). They would have published it, and I support that even though I think the letter is pretty gross.
posted by ChuraChura at 5:05 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by ChuraChura at 5:05 AM on July 19, 2011
Response by poster: Thank you all. I am getting the overall idea that letters like the example are acceptable in regional US papers. That is what I wanted to know. I should have been clearer. When I stated "I thought it totally unacceptable" I was referring to the views of the writer not the decision to publish. My reaction to the decision to publish is one of being uncomfortable.
posted by priorpark17 at 5:24 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by priorpark17 at 5:24 AM on July 19, 2011
I live in a Midwestern college town. They'd totally publish that, although honestly they run a lot more "Jesus hates abortion" letters than "Jesus hates gay people" ones. (I checked, and there are currently two "Jesus hates abortion" letters on their webpage.) I also think that most people realize that the letters to the editor of the local paper are not representative of local opinion and that some of the writers are either fanatical or literally mentally ill.
posted by craichead at 5:38 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by craichead at 5:38 AM on July 19, 2011
Yeah, I see garbage like that in local/regional papers everywhere I go in the US. It's certainly something that appears regularly in Raleigh, NC.
posted by mediareport at 5:39 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by mediareport at 5:39 AM on July 19, 2011
I would be surprised to see that in the Metro, here in London. Ultimately, it's an editorial decision, and an editor is going to select the letters that they think either reflects the opinions of, or are of interest to, their readership.
The fact that this specific example was pulled from the web, presumably after complaints, suggests the editor misjudged his audience this time. That, or it was deemed a mistake to allow an unsupportable statement like the one in that last paragraph to slip through. (Opinion is clearly subject to less rigorous burdens of proof but I'm assuming there is still a rather blurry and flexible standard for this content.)
posted by londonmark at 6:22 AM on July 19, 2011
The fact that this specific example was pulled from the web, presumably after complaints, suggests the editor misjudged his audience this time. That, or it was deemed a mistake to allow an unsupportable statement like the one in that last paragraph to slip through. (Opinion is clearly subject to less rigorous burdens of proof but I'm assuming there is still a rather blurry and flexible standard for this content.)
posted by londonmark at 6:22 AM on July 19, 2011
This is not quite the same thing, but both of my alumni magazines (from universities in Southern Ontario) fairly routinely print homophobic letters to the editor. These usually come after an article dares to mention something queer-positive happening on campus. A couple of years ago, after one of them published an issue with a cover story about Pride, the letters were quite awful... so awful that one LGBT alumnus was moved to make a massive donation to the sexual diversity studies program in response. Which was pretty cool.
posted by sevenyearlurk at 6:23 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by sevenyearlurk at 6:23 AM on July 19, 2011
My hometown newspaper (I don’t live there any more) would not only print letters from readers about the biblical immorality of homosexuality, they’ll print opinion columns – by paid writers – saying the same thing. The opinion columns and reader letters also regularly include Tea Party screeds, point-by-point rehashes of episodes of the Glenn Beck show, climate change denials (because God controls the climate and he wouldn’t let anything bad happen to the planet and anyway humans have dominion over the planet and it exists for us to rape at will), and impassioned pleas for institutionalised protestant Christian prayer at local public schools. Out of all the regular editorial political writers, I think there is only one who is not at least two of the following: a protestant religious fundamentalist, a Tea Party Libertarian, or just plain nuts.
I now live in Leeds, England, and I've read some pretty right-wing/borderline racist anti-immigrant letters from readers on the few occasions I've picked up the Yorkshire Post. I wouldn't be surprised to see a letter opposing, for example, gay partnerships on religious grounds. It wouldn't bother me. I'd just lump them in with the anti-immigrant nutsos and hope the people who can cancel out the votes of these folks, will (I can't, as I'm not a citizen), and be glad that I live somewhere where even nutsos are free to express their nutso opinions. I'd be more upset to find that these sorts of opinions were censored - better that they're out in the light, as far as I'm concerned.
posted by cilantro at 6:40 AM on July 19, 2011
I now live in Leeds, England, and I've read some pretty right-wing/borderline racist anti-immigrant letters from readers on the few occasions I've picked up the Yorkshire Post. I wouldn't be surprised to see a letter opposing, for example, gay partnerships on religious grounds. It wouldn't bother me. I'd just lump them in with the anti-immigrant nutsos and hope the people who can cancel out the votes of these folks, will (I can't, as I'm not a citizen), and be glad that I live somewhere where even nutsos are free to express their nutso opinions. I'd be more upset to find that these sorts of opinions were censored - better that they're out in the light, as far as I'm concerned.
posted by cilantro at 6:40 AM on July 19, 2011
Missouri; Springfield; Publish
Homosexuality is still seen as an evil by a significant part of the population around here, so if our paper refused to publish such opinions, it would rightfully be called censorship. If the censored party made it a cause célèbre, our paper would loose subscribers and it would reinforce the paranoid "liberal media" meme.
I'm pissed off by such letters, and would never support censoring them.
posted by General Tonic at 7:07 AM on July 19, 2011
Homosexuality is still seen as an evil by a significant part of the population around here, so if our paper refused to publish such opinions, it would rightfully be called censorship. If the censored party made it a cause célèbre, our paper would loose subscribers and it would reinforce the paranoid "liberal media" meme.
I'm pissed off by such letters, and would never support censoring them.
posted by General Tonic at 7:07 AM on July 19, 2011
There's also an art to picking a letter that's crazy, but not SO crazy the writer seems unreasonable. I used to work at a paper and when we'd get 20 offensive racist letters on some topic, we'd be very careful to pick one where the writer didn't sound obviously insane but where the arguments were clearly crazy, offensive, and wrong. Then we'd have our choice of 200 beautifully-written rebuttals coming in the next day.
You're sort-of obligated to reflect community opinion, but you can definitely give people enough rope to hang themselves.
Letters gold was when a prominent but offensive community leader wrote something crazy offensive and inflammatory, whose head was so far up his ass he had no idea it was inflammatory. You just run it without comment and let him enjoy the ensuing shit storm. And feel a lot of schadenfreude about it.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:12 AM on July 19, 2011 [3 favorites]
You're sort-of obligated to reflect community opinion, but you can definitely give people enough rope to hang themselves.
Letters gold was when a prominent but offensive community leader wrote something crazy offensive and inflammatory, whose head was so far up his ass he had no idea it was inflammatory. You just run it without comment and let him enjoy the ensuing shit storm. And feel a lot of schadenfreude about it.
posted by Eyebrows McGee at 7:12 AM on July 19, 2011 [3 favorites]
I am getting the overall idea that letters like the example are acceptable in regional US papers.
To clarify what I said above: letters like this absolutely acceptable for publication in the UK press, both regional and national. You see letters like this in the Guardian, for goodness' sake, let alone the Sun or the Ruraltown Argus & Courier.
Eg., a quick Googling throws up this letter to the Guardian in which the letter-writer says "As Christians, Jesus calls us to hate sin, but love the sinner and God's word makes it clear that homosexual activity is sinful." (less overtly homophobic than the letter you link to, perhaps, but the sentiment is the same).
posted by jack_mo at 7:18 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
To clarify what I said above: letters like this absolutely acceptable for publication in the UK press, both regional and national. You see letters like this in the Guardian, for goodness' sake, let alone the Sun or the Ruraltown Argus & Courier.
Eg., a quick Googling throws up this letter to the Guardian in which the letter-writer says "As Christians, Jesus calls us to hate sin, but love the sinner and God's word makes it clear that homosexual activity is sinful." (less overtly homophobic than the letter you link to, perhaps, but the sentiment is the same).
posted by jack_mo at 7:18 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Oh, god yes. (Hartford Courant here.) Usually they're directly in response to an issue--for instance, on Father's Day the paper ran a lovely story about a gay couple who have several adopted kids, two bio-kids (through egg donation and surrogacy from their sister-in-law, and lots of foster kids cycling through. I knew when I read it that there'd be some nasty letters complaining about featuring a non-God-approved lifestyle on Father's Day, and sho nuff. (Sorry that they're not available for linkage.) An 11-year-old subsequently schooled them in a beautiful follow-up letter saying that God would not approve of the letter writers' bigotry.
I've been annoyed at the Courant before for giving a platform to the Family Institute of Connecticut (I WON'T link to them so you can Google if you like) for commentary--not just letters, although those have certainly been there--about issues such as gay marriage or transgender rights (both of which have been enacted despite the FIC's howling). I've wondered previously if they felt they had to do things like that from KKK representatives, or somesuch, during the civil rights struggles in the 1960s. That's certainly what the FIC airings feel like.
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:34 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
I've been annoyed at the Courant before for giving a platform to the Family Institute of Connecticut (I WON'T link to them so you can Google if you like) for commentary--not just letters, although those have certainly been there--about issues such as gay marriage or transgender rights (both of which have been enacted despite the FIC's howling). I've wondered previously if they felt they had to do things like that from KKK representatives, or somesuch, during the civil rights struggles in the 1960s. That's certainly what the FIC airings feel like.
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:34 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Here we go--found the original letter and the 11yo's response.
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:44 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by dlugoczaj at 7:44 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Our local very queer very liberal weekly here in Austin would regularly publish bible-based anti-gay letters from one writer in particular, though I haven't seen any lately. He was generally considered a crank, but hey, so was Paul, IMO.
posted by Gilbert at 8:28 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by Gilbert at 8:28 AM on July 19, 2011 [1 favorite]
Memphis, Bible Belt. Hardly a week goes by without one. When LGBT issues are in the news, there are several, sometimes the whole page is filled with them.
posted by raisingsand at 9:20 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by raisingsand at 9:20 AM on July 19, 2011
I'm from a Midwestern college town.
The local paper will print almost anything in its letters section as long as it doesn't contain overt racism (subtle racism is fine) or slurs.
People who are overtly racist are considered cranks, but people who are overtly homophobic are not. Whether or not it's okay to disapprove of homosexuality is still seen as a legitimate topic for debate in mainstream political thought, and so overt homophobia makes it into the local paper quite regularly.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:13 AM on July 19, 2011
The local paper will print almost anything in its letters section as long as it doesn't contain overt racism (subtle racism is fine) or slurs.
People who are overtly racist are considered cranks, but people who are overtly homophobic are not. Whether or not it's okay to disapprove of homosexuality is still seen as a legitimate topic for debate in mainstream political thought, and so overt homophobia makes it into the local paper quite regularly.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 10:13 AM on July 19, 2011
Same here as raisingsand, except Nashville. Gays are the Satanz letters to the editor are a dime a dozen in most US newspapers except perhaps the big stuffy liberal big-city papers.
posted by blucevalo at 11:48 AM on July 19, 2011
posted by blucevalo at 11:48 AM on July 19, 2011
Thought you might be interested to see that the letter in your paper made the news. Obviously it was a controversial decision
posted by Laura_J at 11:21 AM on July 20, 2011
posted by Laura_J at 11:21 AM on July 20, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
UK; Bath; Publish
posted by priorpark17 at 2:44 AM on July 19, 2011