I've always heard that Asheville, N.C., is that state's most liberal area. (My best friend from DC's parents lives there and I had a great time visiting them a number of years ago.) So I was a bit surprised when I heard from a reader down there that there's actually a huge anti-gay megachurch in the city. (Not exactly sure why I was surprised: I suppose everything -- including liberalism and tolerance -- is relative in the South.)
What was bothering reader Mike, however, was far more surprising. It seems the Biltmore Baptist Church was sending out postcards touting a new online "teaching" series that greatly resembled the style and tone of "Modern Family" -- so much so that at first glance, the reader actually thought the card had come from ABC.
The plot of the latest episode -- which I don't actually see uploaded yet -- is enough to send even Cam and Mitchell into a tizzy:
"Dad loses job due to the recession; Mom misses school play due to a scheduling mishap; Teenager in fender-bender; Son's marriage in turmoil; Family cat runs away; Learning to beat the cycle of craziness."
Someone alert Jim J. Bullock's agent that a dream role is waiting in the wings
Mike writes:
It made me angry to see this church take a free ride on Modern Family's success and good will, especially given that B-Baptist preaches a lot of hate about gay people, so I forwarded this on to Disney/ABC in hopes that their flesh-eating legal department will shut 'em down.
Hypocrisy is the first word that comes to my mind when talking about an anti-gay church modeling its online series after a very pro-gay television series. Yet one look at Biltmore Baptist's worked-out, frosted-tipped leader, Bruce Frank -- who cites "great-looking" children as what he thinks of when describing his idea of a perfect family(!) -- has me thinking their little church series is -- big surprise -- even gayer than anything ABC could dream up. I smell a cameo by Ted Haggard (I'd watch your back, Bruce, Ted might wanna "massage" it).
4 comments:
They'll claim parody.
And let's notify the British Broadcasting Company too while we're at it.
Honey girl, Chapel Hill is the most liberal town in North Carolina, second most liberal is Durham. Chapel Hill is so liberal that when they asked Jesse Helms to support the NC State Zoo, his reply was: "If you want a zoo, put a fence around Chapel Hill." I kid you not.
Jesse's in de cold, cold ground. Where he belongs.
Actually, the church and its various campuses are "near" Asheville, not "in" Asheville. As soon as one leaves Asheville's city limits, it can get rather conservative rather quickly!
-- Asheville resident
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