THE WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD
(apologies to Keith Olbermann)
Aaron and Melissa Klein
The anti-LGBT owners of an Oregon bakery were not fined simply for refusing to sell a wedding cake to a same-sex couple - they were ordered to pay $135,000 in damages for intentionally causing their would-be customers emotional distress. The case has attracted widespread media attention since the couple first filed their complaint in January 2013, and that is largely through the efforts of Aaron and Melissa Klein, the owners of Sweet Cakes by Melissa. After the Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries handed down the order last week, Aaron Klein claimed the ruling was an example of the “persecution of Christians” in the U.S…. [T]he ruling shows the bakery owners had made Laurel and Rachel Bowman-Cryer the victims of persecution and makes clear the payment was compensation for damages and not a fine or civil penalty, reported the blog Love, Joy and Feminism. The ruling shows the Kleins “brought the case to the media’s attention and kept it there by repeatedly appearing in public to make statements deriding” the couple who filed the complaint.
Call this a case of not knowing the entire story…and then realizing that knowing the entire story makes things even worse. For the better part of two years, Aaron and Melissa Klein have cried and pouted, painting themselves as the victims of “anti-Christians persecution” to anyone who would listen…usually the Right-wing media. They weren’t “discriminating” against anyone, they claimed- rather merely exercising their God-given right to refuse participation is what they view as an abomination before God.
Yeah, about that….
I don’t reject your Christ. I love your Christ. It’s just that so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ.
- Mahatma Gandhi
As the BOLI ruling makes clear, the $135,000 penalty assessed the Kleins was about more than simply refusing to bake a wedding cake for a same-sex couple, an action in and of itself a clear violation of Oregon law. If that was as far as things went, the Kleins might have been able to portray themselves in a more sympathetic light. As it turns out, not only did they refuse to bake a cake- something they would have done for a heterosexual couple- they went out of their way to persecute the couple. Aaron Klein published the Bowman-Cryer’s address on his Facebook page, an act almost certainly intended to encourage harassment of the couple. At the very least, the Kleins showed profound disrespect for the privacy of a couple who wanted nothing more than a wedding cake, or failing that, their rights under the law honored. The Kleins revealed themselves to be the embodiment of what their surname means in German- small.
Yep, Aaron and Melissa Klein were only doing EXACTLY what Jesus would do, right?
“It was foreseeable that this attention would negatively impact (the Bowman-Cryers), making (the Kleins) liable for any resultant emotional suffering experienced by (them),” the agency found.
Not only that, as the blog explains, the bakery owners shared the couple’s personal contact information - which led to death threats that nearly caused them to lose custody of their foster children….
Rachel Bowman-Cryer said she and her wife received a steady stream of threats that continued as the Kleins promoted their side of the case in national media appearances.
She testified that state adoption officials told them they were responsible for keeping their two foster daughters safe from those threats, and they feared they could lose custody of the girls — who they have since adopted.
For the Kleins to claim they’re being “persecuted” for taking a principled stand based on “sincerely-held religious conviction” is as ludicrous as it is disingenuous. They took an active role in encouraging the harassment of the Bowman-Cryers, up to and including death threats.
This is what Jesus taught? That getting called out for being a bigot allows you to claim “religious freedom” and harass those who dare question your self-perceived “right” to discriminate against those you deem “less than?” Given what the Bowman-Cryers were forced to deal with because of the Klein’s actions, I’d have to wonder if pressing criminal charges isn’t an option.
At it’s most basic, this isn’t about persecution or religious freedom or “sincerely-held religious conviction.” It’s about common, garden variety thuggery, carefully packaged and sold as “persecution of Christians,” a patently dishonest and disingenuous argument. Instead of being honest about the prejudice and homophobia, they claimed “religious freedom,” as if Jesus Christ preached that it was acceptable to discriminate against those who lifestyle and sexuality one finds abhorrent.
Christianity isn’t about hatred or discrimination. It’s not about self-righteous arrogance and self-superiority. Jesus preached love, acceptance, tolerance, and inclusion…evidently not things the Kleins nor their supporters recognize, perhaps because they’re inconvenient and don’t dovetail with their prejudice. That’s not reflective of the teachings of Jesus Christ; that’s the worst sort of self-righteous hypocrisy and intolerance. The Kleins portrayed themselves as victims of persecution directed at Christians, all while they laid the groundwork for their supporters to threaten the lives and well-being of the Bowman-Cryers.
What would Jesus do? I wouldn’t ask Aaron or Melissa Klein; their cherry-picked cafeteria Christianity is about the Gospel in the same way Lance Armstrong is about integrity. It’s not about following the teachings of Jesus Christ in order that they might help make the world a better, more peaceful place; it’s about holding themselves above others. As “Christians,” the Kleins are illustration of the truth of Gandhi’s words- “so many of you Christians are so unlike your Christ.”
When people ask why I don’t believe in God, I could point to this as a perfect example. I want no part of a faith tradition so willing and able to twist and bastardize the teachings of the Savior they claim to worship. When those who call themselves Christians seem to know less about Christianity and living a Christ-like life than an avowed nonbeliever like myself, that’s not a faith tradition; that’s an excuse for hypocrisy and self-righteousness camouflaged as misdirected piety and hyper-religiosity.
Is it any wonder I want no part of that sort of hypocrisy and judgmental intolerance?
