The wrath of the righteous Ken Hutcherson

"Hate the sin and love the sinner" is a phrase well known to many. What happens when we take this philosophy and combine it with an adult who has a bully pulpit and an immature and barely-developed sense of self? What if the purported "sin" also happens to be a useful rallying cry used to unite and manipulate little-minded people through hate? Do we wind up with a man who rants and rails against himself? Do we wind up with a "hate thyself and disguise it as hating a sin?" Do we have yet another living example of this in the self-proclaimed leader of the Antioch Bible Church - the "Reverend Ken Hutcherson"? Is the Rev. Ken Hutcherson a gay man, living in denial and hatred of himself? Smart money is on the "yes" vote.

There are prominent examples throughout history of people hating themselves so immensely that they focus all their outward efforts on proclaiming the evils of people in the particular membership group (ethnicity, sexual orientation, beliefs, religion, etc) of which they want to deny that they, themselves, are a member. Of course, when your own immutable identity involves that very item, there is an inherent conflict presented - often expressed in the private life acting out, while the public persona does everything possible to discriminate against the same class of people. Many would agree that the energy spent in this public manifestation of hatred is actually done so in a misplaced belief that if you say it loudly enough and scream often enough, your inner being will change. We have all seen often enough that those who hate the most publicly and viciously are often nothing more than sad and conflicted people running away from themselves. So this brings us back to the question of much speculation recently - Ken Hutcherson. Hutcherson is a former NFL player with the Dallas Cowboys. Perhaps he was hit in the head one too many times?

Hutcherson came to the public's eye several years ago when he decided that his true calling in life as a "minister" was to expose the evils that the homosexual agenda pushes. This would include things like equal rights and equal access to partner healthcare, fair treatment under tax laws of our civil government, and the protection of children and the family in all of their shapes and sizes. Since his calling after the NFL was to become a minister, he must have spent lots of time reading the Bible and coming to the conclusion that Jesus's ultimate message, when boiled down to its bare essence, was to spend your life and energy on ministering to the sick, helping the homeless, fighting for equality, and loving thy neighbor as thyself. Oh wait - that's actually the conclusion that most normal people come to. Sorry, I was momentarily confused. Hutcherson came to the conclusion that he should ignore those tenants and instead, build a church around discrimination and hatred. And what better way to hide from yourself and issues you don't want to face, than to try really hard and preach really loudly about the evils of someone who is gay. Because, as we all know, if you say something often enough, it becomes true.

Or to put this in perspective in a different light, Ken Hutcherson and his devoted followers have consciously chosen to ignore the fundamental precepts of the Christian religion. For example, in an annual counting of Seattle-area homeless (2006), the "Seattle-King County One Night Count of Homeless" reported that "1,946 unsheltered people were counted during the 3 hours of the Street Count; 2,463 people were being served by emergency shelters; and 3,501 were in transitional housing." This all during ONE three-hour counting block of ONE night in January. The City of Seattle publishes a Guide to Providing Meals for the Homeless and Hungry that states there are "over 30 emergency meal programs in Seattle." Seattle also fits the national trend, according to recent report detailing the number of people who self-identify as lonely. The study shows that 1 in 4 people now say that they have "no one to discuss important matters" with. 25% of our neighbors are lonely! And prisons? Isn't visiting the imprisoned a work of mercy? Washington State reports there are over 16,000 inmates currently in confinement in state prisons. Many more are confined in county jails. Is Hutcherson’s church one of the groups trying to address any of these real problems facing our communities? Nope. But, I'm glad they're spending time, money, and effort trying to actively allow landlords to kick gay people out of rental units. That seems like a great use of resources.

In 2006, Ken Hutcherson came afoul of the Securities and Exchange Commission when he encouraged people to buy up lots of Microsoft stock and then to sell it all together on May 1, in order to affect a Microsoft stock crash. Two things he slightly overlooked: (1) Manipulating stock prices is illegal - and encouraging others to participate becomes stock fraud; and (2) with a market cap of about $308 BILLION and about 9.4 BILLION shares outstanding, Ken and his little group of followers had little chance of making a blip on the radar. Luckily, he's spent the last two years scheming and has come up with a new and improved plan - form a corporation that will amass stock in Microsoft and then demand the company to reverse its equal treatment of its employees. The corporation has now been formed and its public petitions are underway. Its strategy is outlined on its website, Anti Gay Network (AGN): "By becoming Microsoft’s largest unified moral voice, people with strong values and a basic understanding of the difference between right and wrong, the AGN strongly believes people can make the difference in Microsoft and other companies like them. By appealing to people everywhere, the AGN believes Microsoft could and should rethink their position to do what’s right for their shareholders instead of investing their time and money to evoke their individual will over God’s will for causes unrelated to their core business. The risk they take is far greater than any possible gain." He also spoke at the Microsoft annual shareholder meeting, stating "I could work with you, or I could be your worst nightmare, because I am a black man with a righteous cause, with a host of powerful white people behind me. And I'm insane." (okay, the last part was my own)

Hmmm.. anyone else thinking the priorities of this guy are misplaced? I can't help but think of recent examples in the spotlight of people whom Hutcherson reminds me of tremendously. People who carry on secret lives, living out the very actions they so publicly condemn.

People like:

• Senator Larry Craig, a former Idaho Republican Senator, who had been a prominent anti-gay crusader. His tirades quickly stopped when he was arrested - and pled no contest - to soliciting sex in a men's bathroom in 2007.
• Rep. Ed Schrock, a two-term Virginia legislator, who lobbied succesfully to maintain the US military's don't-ask-don't-tell policy, which prohibits openly gay members of the military. Rep. Schrock dropped out of the race for his third term when a recording surfaced from a dating service where he reportedly was looking for a male date.
• Mayor Jim West, a conservative Spokane Washington mayor and former state legislature, had spent most of his 20 years of public service vetoing measures for equal rights for gays, initiating legislation to outlaw gays from holding jobs as teachers or day care providers, formally defining marriage to exclude gays, and manoeuvring legislation to kill anti-discrimination laws from reaching votes. He fell into trouble after being caught in a sting offering to trade young men City Hall jobs in exchange for sexual favors.

The list of these people goes on and on. Is anyone else thinking he's just one more sad man to add to this list?

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