I am of the belief that different world views can coexist as long as they are not ethically inconsistent. Religion is not inherently antithetical to LGBTQ+ people, unless, by handpicking the parts of their doctrine that suit them, individuals make their religious beliefs incompatible with other human beings whose only sin is trying to live their lives in peace and loving whom they love.
If you are on the side that thinks it is reasonable to be intolerant, prejudiced, and even harass people who are doing absolutely nothing to hurt others – as much as you may want to push the narrative that they are – you will always be unequivocally in the wrong.
Many of us have had bad neighbors but this married couple received a letter in their mailbox that makes the phrase “bad neighbors” sound like an understatement. Judging by the unhinged letter, the couple living across the street assumes the worst about them without even knowing them, and solely because they are lesbians.
Crow, going by @enbyofcrows on TikTok, has documented the terrifying experience of receiving the most unwarranted passive-aggressive letter that can also be considered a threat. She has even created a playlist featuring the regular updates she has been posting on this messy but still developing situation.
Leave them alone, for Christ’s sake!
Crow’s neighbors belong to the Steadfast Baptist Church, which, according to the letter she received, is one of the “growing number of new, independent, fundamentalist Baptist churches spreading across this country.”
In 2023, The Dallas Morning News reported that the church’s new location in Cedar Hill, Texas, was being the focus of public protests. This occurred the year after the church was kicked out of two locations in Tarrant County for violating lease terms with their violent and hate-fueled rhetoric.
In a subsequent video, Crow lists what actions she has taken in response to the threatening letter. One of them was joining the Facebook group of the people responsible for forcing the church out of its previous locations. She was told by some of its members that the letter she received may not have actually been from her neighbors but from someone protesting them. If true, Crow rightfully called such an unexpected possibility “equally wild.”
Indeed, the letter’s wording is a bit on the nose, employing some of the same phrases featured in The Dallas Morning News article and the church’s own website, which does defend that homosexuality should be punished with the death penalty.
In another update, Crow explained that her neighbors responded to an anonymous online post written by her wife wherein she details the stressful situation. In their reply, they claimed not to be the ones behind the letter.
To a netizen who accused her of “backpedaling,” Crow decided to share some evidence in the form of her neighbor’s online comment on her wife’s post.
The day after she posted this video, Crow relayed to her followers how the couple has since filed a police report maintaining “that someone is sending letters out in their name.”
It may be true that they were not the ones behind the threatening letter, however, a clip shared by Crow proves that the letter’s contents are not a misrepresentation of this church’s beliefs:
As of this writing, Crow’s latest update on this situation was posted on Sept. 10, informing that there have been no major developments in the case.
To a commenter advising her and her wife to move for their own safety, Crow had to explain why that is not an option:
This couple, who hasn’t done anything to harm anyone, should not be the ones obliged to uproot their life because they live next to intolerant religious fundamentalists who think they shouldn’t be allowed to even exist. When we are not in the wrong, we should not be the ones forced to stop being ourselves or run away. It’s not Crow and her wife who need to change their ways, but the people who have cherry-picked parts of The King James Bible to flaunt as their banner while completely disregarding others of moral significance like “love thy neighbor.”
Published: Sep 22, 2024 09:27 am