The current advertisement banner of the New York Times website reads, “Dan Savage sends hope to millions of bullied teens.” If you click on the banner, you will watch a short encouragement to gay teenagers that “It gets better.” They may feel picked on and bullied around school, but if they just hang on they’ll see that their lives will improve.
I’m against bullying of any kind, which is why I oppose the hypocrisy and hate speech of Dan Savage. Savage, who is gay, was offended by Rick Santorum’s opposition to gay marriage, and he got even by creating a despicable definition for the term, “Santorum.” Savage threw up a website for his new definition and encouraged his followers to link to it. Enough of them did so that now, if you Google the term, “Santorum,” the first entry that comes up is Savage’s vile definition (something related to anal sex between homosexuals).
If “a good name is more desirable than great riches” (Proverbs 22:1) then Savage has inflicted incalculable personal harm upon Rick Santorum. I can’t imagine having my name smeared in such loathsome fashion, especially if I was beginning a campaign for president. And rather than call Savage to repent and attempt to right this wrong, most of his supporters, such as Stephen Colbert, merely laugh with him at his clever prank.
It is clever, but it’s also mean, cowardly, and the worst kind of bullying. If Savage gave a moment’s reflection to his own anti-bullying campaign, he would realize that he is egregiously guilty of the very thing he says he’s against. Stop the hate speech, and our national dialogue will “get better.”
Mike Wittmer 
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