“The attacks on freedom of thought start with language. Those who do not resign themselves to accept ‘homophilia’ … are charged with ‘homophobia’.” –Cardinal Giacomo Biffi
Writing for Townhall.com, May 20, 2013, Matt Barber brings to our attention an internal document of the Department of Justice (DOJ), which reeks of the thought tyranny of George Orwell’s prescient Nineteen Eighty Four.
Barber is a constitutional law attorney, the Vice President of Liberty Counsel Action, and the Associate Dean and Adjunct Assistant Professor of Law at Liberty University School of law.
The document, emailed to DOJ managers in advance of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) Pride Month, was leaked to the Liberty Counsel by whistleblowers within the DOJ.
As Barber notes, “The document is chilling. It’s riddled with directives that grossly violate – prima facie –employees’ First Amendment [right of freedom of speech] liberties.”
The document “LGBT Inclusion at Work” provides a litany of Do’s and Don’ts to DOJ managers, such as the following relatively benign instructions:
- Do use inclusive words like “partner,” “significant other” or “spouse” rather than gender-specific terms like “husband” and “wife.”
- Do speak up against derogatory jokes or comments when you hear them.
- Do use a transgender person’s chosen name and the pronoun that is consistent with the person’s self-identified gender.
- Don’t assume all employees are (or a particular employee is) heterosexual.
- Don’t use words and phrases like “gay lifestyle,” “sexual preference,” or “tranny” that are considered by many as offensive.
In all, there are 19 Do’s and 5 Don’ts, among them are some that are far from benign but are downright sinister, reeking of Thought Police. They include:
- Do assume that LGBT employees and their allies are listening to what you’re saying (whether in a meeting or around the proverbial water cooler) and will read what you’re writing (whether in a casual email or in a formal document), and make sure the language you use is inclusive and respectful.
- Do “Attend LGBT events sponsored by DOJ Pride and/or the Department, and invite (but don’t require) others to join you.”
- Do “Display a symbol in your office (DOJ Pride sticker, copy of this brochure, etc.) indicating that it is a ‘safe space.’”
- Concerning how to respond if an employee comes out to you, the DOJ document states: “Don’t judge or remain silent. Silence will be interpreted as disapproval.”
In other words, the only acceptable behavior toward lesbians, gays, bisexuals, and transgenders is no longer just tolerance or acceptance, they now demand OUTSPOKEN (verbalized) APPROVAL.
As Barber, an attorney, observes:
That’s a threat. And not even a subtle one.
Got it? For Christians and other morals-minded federal employees, it’s no longer enough to just shut up and [...] live your life in silent recognition of biblical principles (which, by itself, is unlawful constraint). When it comes to mandatory celebration of homosexual and cross-dressing behaviors, “silence will be interpreted as disapproval.”
This lawless administration is now bullying federal employees – against their will – to affirm sexual behaviors that every major world religion, thousands of years of history and uncompromising human biology reject.
Somewhere, right now, George Orwell is smiling. [...]
Is this the DOJ or the KGB? “[A]ssume that LGBT employees are listening …”? And what are “LGBT allies”? If you disagree with the homosexual activist political agenda, does that make you the enemy?
Yes, in any workplace, language should remain professional, but who defines what’s “inclusive”? Who decides what’s “respectful”? If asked about “LGBT issues,” for instance, can a Christian employee answer honestly: “I believe the Bible. I believe that God designed sex to be shared between husband and wife within the bonds of marriage”? Or is that grounds for termination?
[...] Are you kidding? Does this administration really think it’s legal to induce managers to “attend LGBT events,” or to “display pride stickers” against their will? That’s compulsory expression. That’s viewpoint discrimination.
That’s unconstitutional.
[...] This “DOJ Pride” directive is but the latest example of the “progressive” climate of fear and intimidation this radical Obama regime has created for Christians, conservatives and other values-oriented folks, both within and without the workplace.
H/t FOTM’s christy
~Eowyn
