Kevin Swanson and Commander Fred

Last updated on: June 8, 2017 at 6:49 am by Libby Anne

Kevin Swanson and Commander Fred 2017-06-08T06:49:30-04:00 Libby Anne

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

As reported on RightWingWatch:

Radical anti-LGBTQ pastor and radio host Kevin Swanson warned last week that the Hulu series “The Handmaid’s Tale” is a propaganda effort designed to condition Americans to carry out a genocide against conservative Christians.

Yes, really.

“It’s a shocking story and meant for the persecution of Christians,” Swanson said on his radio program. “They create a gigantic caricature of a biblical Christian and then they turn them into rapists, so this kind of thing is propaganda, pure and simple propaganda. This is the kind of thing that happened with the Jews in the 1930s.”

This suggests Swanson hasn’t actually watched (or read) the tale. It isn’t simply a futuristic theocracy, it’s one grappling with massive infertility. It’s clear to anyone watching it that the story is of the futuristic dystopia genre. There’s war, nuclear fallout, and (seemingly global) mass infertility. In other words, this isn’t simply a “what if Christian fundamentalists took over” story.

But while we’re on the subject, Swanson is on record calling for LGBT individuals to be exiled or executed. That’s actually one of the more galling aspects of the show—the summary execution of gay men and infertile lesbians—and it goes unmentioned by Swanson in his diatribe against the show.

It’s curious that Swanson objects to the show because of its depiction of the rape of the handmaids specifically. Swanson doesn’t mention that gay men and adulterers are put to death in the show, or that women are banned from working outside of the home or having their own bank accounts. Perhaps he does not mention those things because, when it comes to Swanson, those things are not caricatures.

On Swanson’s radio show, feminists are called “selfish, narcissistic, family-destroying whores.” And yes, Swanson has called for the death penalty for homosexuals, provided they are first given time to repent. He has also called for lynching Girl Scout leaders (you can’t make this stuff up). Upset by a 2014 Rose Bowl float depicting gay marriage, Swanson wondered “what the Rose Bowl parade would do if we had the stoning of a homosexual along the parade just as an expression of free speech and all that.”

Swanson is on record stating that the “wombs of women who have been on the birth control pill effectively have become graveyards for lots and lots of little babies.” He was involved in the “Birth Control: The Movie” project, which has recently turned its attention to glorifying Anthony Comstock, whom the website states “fought the battle for national purity and won!” What did Comstock do? Oh, that’s right—he banned contraception. It was his laws that kept getting Margaret Sanger arrested.

Swanson is about as close to the pre-Gilead Commander Fred depicted in the Handmaid’s Tale as you can get. As you may remember—if you, unlike Swanson, have been keeping up with the show—pre-Gilead Commander Fred was not happy about the idea of handmaids either; he only accepted it because of the massive plague of infertility threatening society.

When it comes down to it, Swanson appeals to the handmaids to call the show a caricature because he is on record supporting essentially everything else depicted. If Swanson doesn’t like how fundamentalist Christianity is portrayed in the Handmaid’s Tale, he might do well to stop sounding exactly like Commander Fred.

Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism

Kevin Swanson

LGBTQ

Previous Post

June 7, 2017

Right-Wing Media Disagrees on Procedure, Not Just Facts

Next Post

June 9, 2017 Voice in the Wind: The Very Angry Gladiator

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Atheism Evangelicalism/Fundamentalism Family Feminism Homeschool Meta Parenting Patriarchy Politics Purity Quiverfull Social Justice Uncategorized Worthwhile reads

Select a Month February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Who was the first king of Israel?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Saul Solomon Josiah David