“This guy gives me nightmares” – me
David Barton holding up a finger for each of his deep-seeded insecurities.
It’s not every day that a creationist utters the words “Wesleyan College.” But when they do (and you quickly fact check that they’re not talking about the REAL Wesleyan College in Macon, Georgia), you’re likely in for a hoot.
David Barton is a sad sad man. According to his website (which is really fugly by the way), he is the “Founder and President of WallBuilders, a national pro-family organization that presents America’s forgotten history and heroes, with an emphasis on our moral, religious and constitutional heritage.”
Before I go any further, please see convenient gif at right so that you might know how I feel when I see the phrase “constitutional heritage.”
Mr. Barton’s organization, Wallbuilders, sounds like the name of a support hotline for fragily fragilemen to help them build elaborate emotional barriers (that Mexico might or might not pay for) to cover up deep-seeded insecurities. But in actuality, Wallbuilders spreads a lot of really REALLY fucked up hate speech.
Barton has said that no one will ever find a cure for HIV/AIDS because “God is punishing the gays.” He has also compared queerness to incest. And now, he is looking to write a history curriculum that meets national standards for public schools. According to Barton, the curriculum will meet all the standards, but “it will have a lot of God in it.”
“Okay, wilk, we get he’s a scumbucket who deserves no more influence than my mid-REM-cycle half-farts. But what did he say about Wesleyan???”
Glad you asked. Back in July, Barton thought it would be cool to grandstand about Wesleyan and its policies on gender-neutral housing. Barton stated in a video:
“Only in America, as we’ve become more secular, do we have difficulty seeing what’s obvious about nature…Matter of fact, this is a christian college in the United States, up in the Northeast. ‘Wesleyan University offers housing for every sexual persuasion.’ You may think that ‘LGBT’ is all we’ve got, but no. This christian university has 15 different sexual persuasions.”
He goes on to say that Wesleyan doesn’t offer single-gender housing options. If you feel so compelled, you can watch the video (warning: it will make you mad/sad):
Yes, “persuasions.” No need to correct him, even though he’s wrong. I think he speaks clearly and loudly enough for his IQ of negative infinity to shine through. When I saw this back in July, I thought it inappropriate to give him a platform again, however, this asshole IS AT IT AGAIN.
Thanks to Right Wing Watch, we were informed that Barton was recently on a Periscope broadcast saying “there is a Christian college up in Connecticut—Wesleyan College—[that] offers dorm housing for 15 gender identities and male and female aren’t options.”
He was also recently on a radio program called “Contending for the Faith” asserting the same talking point.
Not trying to ruin anyone’s day, just trying to expose an idiot who is likely not appearing in any Wesleyan students’ newsfeeds. If you’re so compelled, you might consider trying to restart this Facebook page called ‘David Barton is a LIAR‘, hold him accountable on Twitter, and browse the website of a woman who has been “Combating the scourge of Christian nationalism” and debunking a lot of evangelical revisionist historians. NOTE: We have not exhaustively vetted this woman or her website, so if there’s a better org, let us know.
To end: I am including a call for meme submissions. If you want to make memes about David Barton and his fuckery, I will happily update this post to include them. Send them to staff[at]wesleying[dot]org and we’ll post ’em if they’re good.