Dan apologized on The Slog for his speech at the National High School Journalist Conference. However, he still stayed true to the message about Christianity.
Here's some of his statement:
I'm not guilty of saying anything that hasn't been said before and—yes—said much better. What is "bullshit" in this context but "upwards of a thousand lies" in modern American English? And while those slamming me most loudly for "pansy-assed" may be on the right, they are also in the right. I see their point and, again, I apologize for describing the walk-out as "pansy-assed." But they are wrong when they claim that I "attacked Christianity." There are untrue things in the Bible—and the Koran and the Book of Mormon and every other "sacred" text—and you don't have to take my word for it: just look at all the biblical "shoulds," "shall nots," and "abominations" that religious conservatives already choose to ignore. They know that not everything in the Bible is true. All Christians read the Bible selectively. Some read it hypocritically—and the hypocrites react very angrily when anyone has the nerve to point that out.
Go here for the rest
I agree with what Mr. Savage stated in his speech. I do believe he should have chosen his words with care. This was, after all, a high school audience. At least half, if not more, were minors. Mr. Savage is an adult. His judgment was flawed. He, of all people, should understand that Christian extremists would attack whatever message he delivered. His inappropriate vocabulary merely gave to them exactly what they wanted all along. He played right into their hands.
ReplyDeleteAs to the student walkout: they left peacefully and without disrupting the speech. They were within their rights. It wasn't that large of a group. Mr. Savage should simply have ignored the walkout. They wanted their action to attract attention. Once again, he reacted exactly as the bigots hoped.