This is America. You can say what you want, you can do what you want, and you can love whom you want.
You just can’t tell anyone.
To reiterate: this is America.
We are slipping into a fascist nightmare where the most rotten member of society can infect every facet of life around them. Case in point: the Texas law that deputizes citizens to report anyone who exercises reproductive rights deemed “dangerous” to them.
But ignorance isn’t relegated to red states.
Hatred is also alive and well in New York, where a community member recently ratted out a local teacher. Matthew LaBanca’s offense: marrying his soul mate, who happened to be another man.
The diocese of Brooklyn served Matthew his walking papers for being a caring, compassionate partner to his husband. Truly, so-called religions have plummeted so far from their purported ideals that they now worship at the altar of bigotry rather than supporting a beloved member of the parish.
The church solidified its place in hypocrite hell by issuing the following statement to ABC 7 Eyewitness News:
“Matthew’s contract has been terminated based on the expectation that all Catholic school and academy personnel, and ministers of the church comply with church teachings as they share in the responsibility of ministering the faith to students.”
Welcome to the cult.
Rising above the muck and mire of homophobia, Matthew has always stayed true to his heart. “I wasn’t closeted,” he declares. “I couldn’t live like that, I couldn’t have my voice be silenced.”
And now, Matthew’s moral compass is guiding him to the internet, where he is spreading the gospel of inclusion.
“We’re put on this earth to thrive, to create, to manifest all the wonderful things God has in store for us and that includes the joy of loving and being loved.”
Just when our faith is at risk of faltering, a voice of reason breaks through the cloudbank and illuminates a more righteous path forward. Thank you, Matthew LaBanca. Your humanitarian hymns are music to our souls.
Last modified: October 28, 2021
