# Dr. James Dobson, I PIT thee! **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [February 3, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081 "2005-02-03T00:27:05Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/1 "2005-02-03T00:27:05Z")
I hereby commit to the PIT one Dr. James Dobson. I also tangentially pit the press which seems to think they need obtain a quote from him on _any_ social issue: most recently, on the deleted “Postcards from Buster” episode which included a daughter of lesbian parents in Vermont. [Link](http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Tolerance%20Turmoil). Also: > [@](#): > > -An attack by some conservative leaders on a pro-diversity initiative of the We Are Family Foundation that features a video starring scores of cartoon characters, including SpongeBob SquarePants. The true agenda, said Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, “is to desensitize very young children to homosexual and bisexual behavior.” > > Dobson, bristling at mocking commentary about his reference to SpongeBob, has posted a lengthy explanation of his concerns on the Web site of his Colorado-based Christian ministry. The problem, he says, was not the video itself, but the We Are Family Foundation’s use of a “tolerance pledge” mentioning sexual identity and its ties to other groups supporting gay rights. > > Tolerance and diversity “are almost always buzzwords for homosexual advocacy,” Dobson wrote. “Kids should not be taught that homosexuality is just another ‘lifestyle’ or that it is morally equivalent to heterosexuality.” Why do I pit him? Because I’ve encountered his bullshit ideas about morality since I was a little kid (the church I grew up in showed Dobson movies) and the man won’t be happy until this country is a totalitarian theocracy, where people are free only to be the kind of Christians he thinks we should all be. Also I pit him because he turns every moral issue into an Apocalyptic, “the country is going to hell in a handbasket” kind of dilemma. “Tolerance” isn’t going to ruin the country or anything else, neither is an increasing acceptance of homosexuality, Dr. Dobson. There is no gay agenda, and there is no conspiracy to force you to accept homosexuality yourself, nor to foist it on your family. The bile you spew has caused more than enough rampant hate and ruined lives; I fail to see how gay marriage could come close to matching the social harm of the intolerant, moral superiority you advocate. I hate the bastard. I hate his smarmy, sanctimonious crap. I hate that he is the self-styled family conscience of America. He is a bigot. He doesn’t understand the first thing about what liberty means, or what a free society is, or the ideals of religious freedom that were part of the foundation of this country. I’m so sick of his bullshit, which amount to, “I believe the Bible says ‘X’, and so our government should legislate ‘Y’, and it should enforce the teaching of ‘Z’, and I’m going to raise bloody hell until it does.” Most of all, I pit him for his utterly lacking any ability whatever to show true Christian love. Lastly, I pit the present administration for allowing such self-righteous ignoramuses to have such great political power. There’s a special place in Hell reserved for people like you, Dr. Dobson, and others of your ilk: people who think they know God and represent him, but in fact only represent their greedy, deluded, power-hungry selves. Unfortunately, I don’t believe in Hell, but this is one of those times when I kind of wish I did. ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/2 "2005-02-03T00:40:33Z")
> [@Dr. James Dobson](#): > > I’m sure you can see, now, why I expressed great concern about the intention of the We Are Family Foundation in using SpongeBob and company to promote the theme of “tolerance and diversity,” which are almost always buzzwords for homosexual advocacy. Ain’t it the truth? > [@Some fag-enabler](#): > > Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Amen. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/3 "2005-02-03T00:56:17Z")
How dare you quote Christ’s words to a Christian!? 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Larry\_Mudd](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f14d63/32.png) [@Larry\_Mudd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Larry_Mudd)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 1:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/4 "2005-02-03T01:04:51Z")
The apostle Paul, to be clear. Still… ---
**Author:** ![betenoir](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/258eb7/32.png) [@betenoir](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/betenoir)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 1:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/5 "2005-02-03T01:36:00Z")
The problem, he says, was not the video itself, but the We Are Family Foundation’s use of a “tolerance pledge” mentioning sexual identity and its ties to other groups supporting gay rights. Which i have references somewhere or other on this board… Basical it says I will respect all people regardless of religion, race, sex…any other difference from me…and :eek: sexual orientation. How horrible. Now let’s think about this. There are few quotes in the bible that seem to be opposed to homosexuality. There are several thousand quotes that are that are deeply and vehemently opposed to whorshiping any god but the right god. If we’re going to talk about sins! Well that’s that big one right there. Much bigger than taking another guy’s thingie up your yahoo. But somehow asking kids to respect Hindus or Buddists on Jews is ok (even thought they are going straight to hell) but asking them the respect homosexuals is evil. Feh. Anyway…kind of a hijack. Just something i had to get offf me chest about the whole “tolorance pledge” thing. Please go back to pitting Dobson. He deserves it. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/6 "2005-02-03T02:44:52Z")
> [@Larry Mudd](#): > > The apostle Paul, to be clear. > > Still… Oops! My bad. Well, Paul was supposedly divinely inspired, right? And doesn’t Dobson quote him a lot when condemning homosexuality? As you say, still… ---
**Author:** ![Good\_Egg](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/96bed5/32.png) [@Good\_Egg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Good_Egg)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/7 "2005-02-03T03:24:35Z")
If only his son or daughter had turned out gay. He’s a bigot, plain and simple. :mad: ---
**Author:** ![Homebrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Homebrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Homebrew)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 4:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/8 "2005-02-03T04:32:58Z")
> [@Good Egg](#): > > If only his son or daughter had turned out gay. He’s a bigot, plain and simple. :mad: That didn’t help [Randall Terry](http://www.advocate.com/new_news.asp?id=12057&sd=04/15/04). ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 4:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/9 "2005-02-03T04:48:02Z")
I just figured out what the other side means. From the article: > [@](#): > > The conservative camp has responded vehemently: By all means, teach children to respect other individuals, but do not cross the line and teach them that homosexuality is acceptable. It’s not quite as bad as it sounds. I think what they’re trying to say is that they are scared that the schools are telling the children to go forth and have sex with people of the same sex. It’s still ignorant, but it’s at least a step ahead of where I thought they were. I think they have some major misconceptions about what we want to teach the children and why. I think there needs to be more communication between the two sides, maybe they can eventually be persuaded. ---
**Author:** ![Zap\_Rowsdower](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/3da27b/32.png) [@Zap\_Rowsdower](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zap_Rowsdower)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/10 "2005-02-03T04:49:53Z")
He is a disgusting person in my opinion. I know many atheists and non believers who are much better “Christians” than he will ever be. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 4:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/11 "2005-02-03T04:53:10Z")
I believe there is a homosexual agenda-to be treated like fucking human beings with equal rights. How dare they! ---
**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 4:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/12 "2005-02-03T04:56:46Z")
> [@Good Egg](#): > > If only his son or daughter had turned out gay. He’s a bigot, plain and simple. :mad: Thbft. Didn’t stop Phyllis Schlafly no way no how. ---
**Author:** ![infamousmom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/d6d6ee/32.png) [@infamousmom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/infamousmom)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 4:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/13 "2005-02-03T04:58:25Z")
> [@Homebrew](#): > > That didn’t help Randall Terry. Randall Terrorist’s kids are adopted. Which goes along with my perennial question as to why the worst, most violence-prone, murderous anti-abortionists almost all seem to be men who never fathered children of their own. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 5:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/14 "2005-02-03T05:51:07Z")
> [@](#): > > The true agenda, said Focus on the Family founder James Dobson, “is to desensitize very young children to homosexual and bisexual behavior.” I still can’t see how that’s a bad thing… ---
**Author:** ![rjung](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/45deac/32.png) [@rjung](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rjung)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 7:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/15 "2005-02-03T07:09:09Z")
> [@](#): > > The conservative camp has responded vehemently: By all means, teach children to respect other individuals, but do not cross the line and teach them that homosexuality is acceptable. “We believe in tolerance – but only for the right things!” :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Knowed\_Out](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/knowed_out/32/7380_2.png) [@Knowed\_Out](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knowed_Out)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/16 "2005-02-03T15:23:40Z")
Snark A couple of decades ago, I worked in a place that had gospel radio on all the time. I remember Dobson’s show, along with Talkback with Bob Larson, and a few other similar transmissions from Mars. I always thought Dobson could have been Goerring in another life. He was insidious in the way he’d casually portray certain aspects of society he didn’t approve of as implicit dangers to America. For instance, he never referred to Roe vs. Wade by name. He called it “The year the Supreme Court allowed the unprecedented slaughter of millions of unborn babies” in everyday, casual speaking jist. I also remember how he used to support the Star Wars defense system with scripture. God WANTED us have it. and they wonder why religious zealots fly planes into towers… ---
**Author:** ![CynicalGabe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/3e96dc/32.png) [@CynicalGabe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CynicalGabe)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 8:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/17 "2005-02-03T20:01:14Z")
He and Falwell don’t have pilot’s licenses do they? Oh wait, they play the parts of the crazy religious leaders who tell their followers to go die for their faith. Chickenhawks. ---
**Author:** ![5\_time\_champ](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/278dde/32.png) [@5\_time\_champ](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5_time_champ)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2005, 8:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/18 "2005-02-03T20:23:31Z")
So, I guess we can now formally add Dobson to the Axis of Evil along with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson. ---
**Author:** ![Zeriel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/58956e/32.png) [@Zeriel](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zeriel)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/19 "2005-02-04T15:03:17Z")
The saddest thing about this, to me, is that Dr. Dobson is actually capable of being a damn sensible guy once you strip off the veneer of Christianity. Seriously. I got one of his books from an aunt for a high school graduation present. I’m thinking, “what the hell is this?”, seeing as I went from Catholic to areligious-theist without stopping by any of the Protestant churches. But I read everything. At least once. It turned out to be some solid advice for a college-bound kid, relationship- and ethics-wise, not preachy, rational arguements for everything alongside the (generally glossed-over) scriptural arguements… I had a lot of respect for the guy when all I had of his was that one book. Too bad in reality, he’s a gaping, flaming asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [February 4, 2005, 4:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081/20 "2005-02-04T16:15:48Z")
Yeah, I think he did once have some a few fairly reasonable and informative things to say about familial issues, maybe 25-odd years ago. Since then, well, let’s just say the man is drunk on (perceived) power and (actual) wealth. His ego is inflated like the Goodyear Blimp. It’s funny how such things bring bigotry and other ethical problems to the fore, when previously such might have been disguised by politeness and decency. But then, who knows, maybe he really was once polite and decent. I suppose it’s possible. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dr-james-dobson-i-pit-thee/288081.md?page=2)