Lyle Shelton defends controversial Nazi Germany comparisons
Image: Lyle Shelton. (Picture: David Alexander; Star Observer)
THE Australian Christian Lobby’s (ACL) managing director Lyle Shelton has defended a blog post in which he compared the growing support for same-sex marriage and the Safe Schools program to Nazi Germany in the 1930s.
In the highly contested blog post, Shelton stated that by moving towards same-sex marriage, Safe Schools Australia’s ‘gatekeepers’ were causing “unthinkable” things to happen, just as Germany’s ‘gatekeepers’ did during the Holocaust.
Advocates and members of the LGBTI community were quick to respond, condemning Shelton for his comments.
this whole nazi business would all be a huge spectacle if pathological reactionary @LyleShelton had any credibility to lose
— thomas violence (@thomas_violence) May 31, 2016
https://twitter.com/tallpunksteph/status/737272944284467200
https://twitter.com/margot_fink/status/737813251153612800
The thought came to Lyle after reading the recent obituary of a German expatriate, Fritz Stern, who had said that Hitler’s rise was owed less to his personality and more to the “weakness” of those who opposed him.
Speaking to the Star Observer, Shelton said he was disappointed that people on Twitter were quick to conflate outrage.
“If people are thinking that I think same-sex marriage is going to cause a Holocaust, that’s ridiculous,” he said.
“What I’m saying is that when you’ve got harmful ideologies there are consequences, and future generations will think how did this happen, why are children being taught that gender is fluid in schools?
“When people don’t speak out and oppose harmful ideologies there are bad consequences.”
Lyle added that it was the silence of Germany’s ‘gatekeepers’ he was drawing a comparison to, not the atrocities that occurred in Nazi Germany.
“I was making the point about people being silent when bad ideologies are given airplay in society – of course gay marriage isn’t like the Holocaust, but what is similar is the silence in 1930s Germany and the inability of good people to confront bad ideologies,” he said.
“How did good people go along with something as extreme as Nazism when it resulted in such a catastrophe?
“Right now, future generations will ask where the ‘gatekeepers’ were to stand and say [same-sex marriage and Safe Schools] aren’t actually based on science, it’s not true.”
With an upcoming federal election and potential $160 million plebiscite on marriage equality this year, the rights of LGBTI people around the country will increasingly become a matter of public debate.
This will include the future of Safe Schools in Australia, with state governments at odds over whether or not it should be mandatory in the classroom.
After his blog post was published, a number of community advocates called Shelton out for the damaging effect his language could have on younger LGBTI people in Australia, particularly in the lead up to the federal election.
Heartening to know @LyleShelton's hate will not win. Marriage equality is inevitable. But the damage he'll do along the way is terrifying.
— Jill Stark (@jillastark) May 31, 2016
https://twitter.com/Rob_Stott/status/737785170611183616
But it IS fluid. Like… It is. 100%. You don't get to say it isn't. Because it is. Lyle. LYLE.
— brendan maclean (@macleanbrendan) May 31, 2016
It’s amazing. All so-called Christians like Lyle have to do is edit out – or ignore – the anti-gay prejudice in the bible…and no one will ever have anything negative to say about Christianity again.
But the haters hate gay people so much that they just can’t let it go.
Anti-gay discrimination is a cancer in the Christian religion.
Younger people like ourselves don’t believe that we’ll get into the kingdom of heaven if we mistreat or segregate gay people. That kind of thinking belongs to older generations. And as soon as these people like Lyle die out, we can get on with the business of being good again.