It’s no surprise that conservatives co-opted the Chick-fil-A situation as a matter of free speech so that they could portray themselves as the victims. Despite their eager — if not snide — willingness to support the restaurant chain because it gives millions of dollars to anti-gay hate groups and ex-gay ministries, they are now trying to disassociate from the label that they are even anti-gay. Writing on behalf of a coalition of anti-gay organizations (including a litany of hate groups), the Media Research Center claimed today that the media’s accurate descriptions of Chick-fil-A’s positions constituted a “smear campaign” of “hate speech”:

On Thursday morning, the networks continued their smear campaign against Cathy as an anti-gay bigot and Chick-fil-A’s Christian principals as hate speech. CBS This Morning’s anchor Charlie Rose vilified patrons as anti-gay, stating that “thousands went there to eat and to make a statement – a statement against same sex marriage.” On Friday morning, Good Morning America’s Steve Osunsami similarly slandered Chick-fil-A and its leadership, mischaracterizing Chick-fil-A’s pro-traditional marriage stance as a “fight against gay Americans and gay marriage.”

It’s one thing to spin “oppose same-sex marriage” as “defend traditional marriage” — as almost every marriage equality opponent does — but it’s quite another to act as if they mean different things. In almost every media interview with participants in “Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day,” they expressed that they opposed the freedom to marry, and that that was exactly why they felt the need to support Chick-fil-A. There’s nothing “slanderous” about Rose or Osunsami calling a spade a spade, and the liberal media bias is a myth to begin with, especially when it comes to religious perspectives on LGBT issues.

Chick-fil-A very much acts against the interests of LGBT people, as do its defenders. Just because they identify their ideologies as “Christian” makes them no less anti-gay bullies. Despite Brent Bozell’s desire to continue appropriating Christianity and patriotism for social conservatives, it’s hardly accurate to describe Chick-fil-A supporters as “proud Christians or free speech patriots.” Anti-gay is anti-gay, and it’s the LGBT people and allies who’ve lost ties with friends and family because of their obstinate positions against equality — or who feel less safe in their communities because of what they witnessed on Wednesday — who have been hurt the most.

The National Organization for Marriage is still boycotting General Mills for its support of marriage equality. Who knew? Though objections to Chick-fil-A’s anti-gay policies warranted national media coverage, little attention has been paid to NOM’s incredibly paltry “dump” campaigns. Yesterday NOM published a reminder that it hasn’t given up, with a new reason for conservatives to oppose General Mills: it will be promoting health! Here’s NOM’s Jonathan Baker:

General Mills has launched a new website, in cooperation with America Online and Everyday Health, hosted and staffed by the liberal Huffington Post news site. General Mills’ new website, called Live Better America, will offer what you might expect: recipes, nutrition and healthy eating tips from General Mills designed to appear “authentic” (read: “we want readers to believe these are real articles, not an advertising effort designed to boost our sales and products”).

Why would a company do this? The Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal asked that very question of General Mills. The response was that General Mills wanted to expand beyond food into lifestyle issues. The General Mills blog gives additional information that should give us pause: in addition to things like recipes, healthy eating, fitness and diet and nutrition—things you would expect a food company to cover—the site will cover mind and body issues and relationships. Look for these lifestyle, mind and body, and relationship articles to start off in a very benign manner (who thinks we don’t need a little more exercise?), but expect before long a transition into a renewed effort pushing for the redefinition of marriage and family in subtle and not so subtle ways.

Regardless of what NOM believes about marriage, same-sex couples are still going to have “mind and body issues and relationships” to deal with. If this new General Mills-sponsored project happens to give advice that is inclusive of the experiences of LGBT people, the worst that might happen is straight people learn something from it. NOM can actually only be objecting to one of two possibilities: that General Mills might acknowledge LGBT people exist or that it cares about them being healthy. It’s unclear which objection is more odious.

And how does NOM encourage its supporters to help the General Mills boycott? By continuing to support Chick-fil-A. Even NOM knows its effort has no legs, and after all, nothing promotes healthy lifestyles quite like eating more fried chicken.

After denying a 13-year-old student admission last year because of his HIV status, Milton Hershey School — a private boarding school founded by the chocolate tycoon to support lower income and socially disadvantaged youth — is reversing its decision. The school is now offering admission to HIV-positive students as well as updating their policies to be more sensitive to HIV-related issues.

The school denied admission to the 13-year-old, who has lived with HIV all his life, based on concerns about “chronic communicable diseases that pose a direct threat to the health and safety of others.” The student’s parents filed a lawsuit on his behalf, alleging the school violated the Americans with Disabilities Act by denying entrance to their son.

Milton Hershey School President Anthony Colistra issued a statement yesterday to say that, after consultations with the Justice Department, the school has changed its mind. In his statement, Colistra also pledged his support for a broader effort to accommodate HIV-positive individuals at the school:

Our new process is already in effect. We are issuing a new Equal Opportunity Policy clearly stating that the school treats applicants with HIV no differently than any other applicants. We are also developing and providing mandatory training for staff and students on HIV issues and expanding our current training on Universal Precautions [steps to prevent HIV infection].

The case inspired national protests against the school as activists pushed for an end to institutional discrimination against HIV-positive individuals. Although the Milton Hershey School’s reversal is welcome news, the boy’s lawyer has maintained that the school’s admission offer will not put an end to the lawsuit.

The Illinois Family Institute, an anti-gay hate group, wants to make sure kids are kept in the most sheltered environments possible, free from any hint that being LGBT might be okay. In a new document called “Challenge, Teachers, Not Books,” IFI’s Laurie Higgins encourages parents to pull their kids from any classroom where either the teacher supports a gay-straight alliance, uses LGBT-inclusive reading materials, or indicates support for LGBT students:

If  parents have children who have already gone through the school or have already completed a year or more, they should ask those children and/or their friends or friends’ parents which teachers are known for bringing their politics into the classroom or who displays a “Safe Space” sticker, the inverted pink triangle, the rainbow flag, or the lower case Greek letter “lambda” on their desk, classroom door, or wall. Students usually know who the liberal, activist teachers are. Liberal teachers develop reputations, often as the “cool” teachers.

Then parents should call or email the appropriate department chair and/or their child’s counselor, and politely insist on a schedule change, explaining that they will not permit their child to be in the classroom or under the tutelage of  any teacher who has made their liberal politics known in school.

This document offers a clear explanation why the Southern Poverty Law Center designated IFI a hate group. This organization sees LGBT people only as “liberal politics,” not as whole individuals with real identities. “Safe space” stickers make a world of difference to young people who may be struggling to understand a non-heterosexual or non-cisgender identity, because in those classrooms, they know that the teacher has their backs. They might never approach the teacher, but just knowing that they can allows them to focus on their studies instead of worrying how they are perceived and treated in the classroom. Trivializing young people’s lives by trying to hide them from a part of the world they may very well be a part of is not only harmful, but it also defeats the entire point of the educational experience.

(HT: Friendly Atheist.)