UNCG Alum: Homosexuality is “brazen perversity”
by Matt | June 27th, 2006 |UNCG alumnus Jason Crawford, long the thorn in the side of UNCG’s LGBT and straight allied student community, has written a letter to the editor of UNCG’s campus newspaper, The Carolinian.
In the letter Crawford takes the time to not only attack UNCG’s LGBT students, but also our straight allies, the entire LGBT community and the columnist who wrote a very entertaining, satirical piece on Fred Phelps’ recent “protest” at the Southern Baptist Convention in Greensboro.
At one point in the letter, Crawford calls out the columnist for being fair-minded and inclusive of the LGBT community. In the process, he makes a horribly anti-gay statement that I assume he picked up from church (either that or it has come from his own internal homophobia):
Luke’s past columns show he makes no effort to hide that he sees as harmless the most brazen forms of perversity, i.e. homosexuality (emphasis mine).
Many people remember Jason Crawford as nothing more than a loud-mouth, anti-gay bigot who did everything in his power to make sure everyone he come in contact with knew, number 1, that he wasn’t gay and, number 2, gay people are the scum of the earth.
During one Student Government meeting, Crawford had the audicity to push for the removal of school funding for UNCG PRIDE!, the campus LGBT and straight ally student group. Crawford can also be thanked for the creation of the College Republicans’ “Morals Week,” something which was first established as an anti-gay alternative to PRIDE! Week, although it has now become more of a week to showcase Republican ethics (cough, cough) and beliefs.
It is astonishing that this guy still thinks he has some sort of influence on the UNCG campus. Unless he is donating thousands of dollars to the University, he really doesn’t have much to say about anything. He just needs to let go and move on.
I’m sure there are plenty of gay folk to hate and harass where ever he is living now. We don’t need him or want him at UNCG. Tolerance of other’s opinions can only go so far and intolerance, discrimination and prejudice are not values on my list of topics to tolerate.
12 Responses to “UNCG Alum: Homosexuality is “brazen perversity””
I am so glad you posted about this. I read it earlier today on The Carolinian’s website and was absolutely appalled. It never ceases to amaze me how small-minded some people really are.
By Brook Taylor on Jun 27, 2006
I’m so glad our new opinions editor is already qualifying others’ views as small-minded. In case she’s forgotten, Crawford was always good at doing exactly what’s gotten her into her new position: making people talk. If nothing else, he made people realize that not everyone at UNCG is a tree-hugging, gay-loving hippy, and that perhaps there are other viewpoints that do in fact exist. This is no different than the crap she’s been allowed to publish: regardless of how tasteless most of it was, it made people see another point of view.
Thanks, Brook, I can’t wait to see the diversity of opinions that make it onto your page this year.
By Ryan on Jun 27, 2006
So… Ryan… we can see how you feel about Brook… What do you have to say about UNCG’s homegrown homobigot?
By Matt on Jun 27, 2006
Ryan - What upsets me about Crawford’s letter is not so much the fact that he doesn’t approve of homosexuality. Even though I strongly disagree, he is still entitled to his own opinion and also the right to express it.
As for you questioning my abilities to publish a variety of opinions in my section, you are way off. This is exactly the kind of letter I would run, if only for its ability to spark discussions such as this one. It’s just ridiculous to think that I would only feature opinions that I agree with.
What specifically appalled me about Crawford’s letter and made me determine his small-mindedness was how he slammed Luke for being accepting of gay people. To disagree with something personally is one thing, but to knock other people for having tolerance is quite another.
By Brook Taylor on Jun 28, 2006
Crawford’s letter (and a lot of his public comments and columns while at UNCG) express a clear belief that some things should not be said, that some opinions should not be voiced, that some people should not be heard - specifically, those things, opinions and people with whom he disagrees politically or religiously.
It’s the expression of that belief that lost Crawford a shot at being Opinions editor years ago, when he applied. It’s opposition to that view, and the belief that even those things with which we disagree or which we may personally find distasteful should make it into the paper if well expressed and relavant to students, that got Brook the job - not the ability to make people talk. Chris Lowrance and Kevin Harvey, both former opinions editors, were not controversial personalities when they held the job and that’s not a qualification.
Crawford has the right to write this sort of letter - and the responsibility, if it’s what he feels. But he - and those who agree with him - should realize that were the editors at the Carolinian ever on board with their view that things they found distasteful, religiously or politically offensive shouldn’t appear in the paper’s pages letters like theirs - and the sort of columns we printed from Crawford, Rouse, Westmoreland and others, would never have seen the light of day.
By Joe Killian on Jun 29, 2006
Taking a sidebar, I find it hilarious that College Republicans last semester tried to make fun of the College Democrats for copying their Morals Week, when they copied PRIDE in the first place.
By Luke Mcintyre on Jul 4, 2006
Yeah, Luke… it is funny… ironic even. Who would have thought the Morality Police would have used an idea from the “immoral ones”?
By Matt on Jul 5, 2006
If youre going to bash him (which is no better than what you blame him for doing) then atleast tell the whole story… you forgot to mention the fact that he (thankfully) got the Treasurer for PRIDE expelled by posting his police record online!
By David on Jul 11, 2006
Michael Bishop’s expulsion has nothing to do with his letter to the editor. Also… Crawford’s posting of Bishop’s record wasn’t a service to the community. It was an attempt to attack PRIDE.
By Matt on Jul 11, 2006
Well, if you want to be technical that’s fine. In the same technical way though, we must agree that Jason’s activities in the student government years ago has nothing to do with the letter either.
And i hope we can all agree that we don’t want a criminal representing any of our clubs, or governments at UNCG. So it was in fact a service to the campus.
By David on Jul 12, 2006
Matt,
The responsibility for Bishop’s expulsion rests on me not Jason. Jason as the Spartan News “owner” only consented to its publication. I researched the story, wrote it, and gave the final order to publish it.
It wasn’t an attempt to attack PRIDE. I felt that Bishop’s record needed to be printed because we had the most powerful SGA chairman convicted (by his own plea) of intentionally possessing child pornography, not to mention the probation violations and the criminal complaint that accused him of contributing to the delinquency of a 16 year old boy.
Blame me not Jason.
By John K. Rouse on Jan 24, 2007
Wow… we sure are delving back into some history here. Jan 24, 2007, today… all the way back to June 2006 (yeah, really, not a long time ago, oh well).
My original point stands. Crawford allowed it to be published (i.e. “by posting the… online, Crawford…”).
Either way (and I hate to say this John), I agree with you John. In fact, I told Mr. Bishop myself that if he were to undergo impeachment proceedings within the Student Senate, I would have been forced to vote for impeachment and for removal. It was clear at the time that he had broken the law.
However, I still feel as though the actions of you and the Spartan News was an attack on PRIDE!, vieled as an attempt to “expose the truth.” And… you can’t blame me for feeling that way, given the past history between you and Mr. Crawford and PRIDE!, you and Mr. Crawford and I and the general, not-so-happy relationship between Mr. Crawford, you and Student Government.
By Matt on Jan 24, 2007