
SALON SPREADS A LIE: the liberal online magazine Salon became the conduit for Kate Geiselman’s absurd “effing” lie. See AFTAH attorney Charles LiMandri’s letter demanding a retraction and apology from Geiselman HERE.
Thank you to my friend and conservative columnist Gina Miller for deconstructing this libelous Salon piece based on an absurd lie concocted by Sinclair Community College professor Kate Geiselman. We hope that she and Salon do the right thing and retract this story.–Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH
See pro-family attorney Charles LiMandri’s letter demanding a public retraction and apology HERE:
Watch the videos of the walkout and LaBarbera’s SCC speech HERE
Gina Miller writes:
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Salon Publishes Libelous Hit Piece on Peter LaBarbera
By Gina Miller
Spring has sprung with a vengeance on Americans for Truth About Homosexuality’s Peter LaBarbera, although it’s not Spring’s fault, nor is it Mr. LaBarbera’s. The vengeance comes from anti-Christian activists and purveyors of “tolerance” and lies who have caused Mr. LaBarbera quite a bit of trouble since April. After being invited to Canada to speak to a pro-life group, and overcoming efforts to block his entry into the country, he was then arrested there for “trespassing” while he was standing for free speech on a public college campus, a charge which was later changed to “mischief” and is still pending. You see, our neighbor Canada has laws against “hate speech,” and they consider telling the truth about homosexual behavior to be “hate speech,” and that’s why they targeted Mr. LaBarbera.
On April 9th, just before he left for Canada, he was invited by the Traditional Values Club to give a speech at Sinclair Community College (SCC) in Dayton, Ohio on the topic of the radical homosexual movement. A couple of intolerant, pro-homosexual teachers, who are apparently obsessed with hatred for the Traditional Values Club, organized a large walk-out of his speech, which he handled with an abundance of grace. One of the teachers, Kate Geiselman, subsequently decided to write a column, published on April 16th by Salon.com, which calls him an “anti-gay bigot” in the headline. In it, she claims he was “angry” at the walk-out, and as the teachers and students filed out of the room, she declares that he said, “You’re leaving? Are you effing kidding?”
One small, but important detail, however: Peter LaBarbera never said that, which makes her column pure, actionable libel. He did say “effing,” but it was in response to a heckler who flung the actual F-word at him during the walk-out, and Mr. LaBarbera was repeating to the audience what he heard the guy say (replacing the guy’s F-word with the euphemistic “effing”) in illustration of the “tolerance” of those walking out.
Another of the teacher collaborators, Rebecca Morean, posted a comment at the Salon column, stating in part:
LaBarbera certainly said “Effing.” I, and many others heard it, as we were the first to eject ourselves. I’d rather be accused of saying that btw than being a bigot. Odd sense of outrage. There are other tapes, and the fact that the one posted means he didn’t say it is silly. The mic wasn’t by his face.
Another small, but large, detail: a two-minute clip of the walk-out reveals that Mr. LaBarbera was holding the mic and speaking into it the entire time, so the mic was indeed “by his face.” It would appear that Ms. Morean is not concerned with telling the truth, because videos of it also reveal what Mr. LaBarbera said, which does not include, “You’re leaving? Are you effing kidding?”
Here is what he said, as transcribed from video recordings:
“I suppose this is a walk-out. Well, this is, this is what I say, not, not even people willing to hear from the other side. I think this is, this is regretful. [heckler interjects F-word] ‘Your message is ‘effing’ garbage,’ that guy just said. Yeah, yeah this is a shame, but, well, those of you who remained are exhibiting true tolerance… I mean this is—this is the Left in action; I’m sorry. You know, tolerance for me but not for you. Don’t even want to hear a viewpoint. That’s their right, and I just think it’s immature…”
So, a heckler flings the real “F-word” at Mr. LaBarbera, and he responds to the heckler by saying, “‘Your message is ‘effing’ garbage,’ that guy just said.” This is quite a different story than what Ms. Geiselman claims, as does Salon in publishing her column.
I also obtained statements from witnesses who were in the audience and testified that Mr. LaBarbera did not say what the two teachers claim.
Al Giambrone, a co-founder of the Traditional Values Club, wrote:
I was present for the entire event… I was sitting in the third or fourth row on the end seat next to the center aisle directly behind one of the instructors who lead the walkout. I had a perfect view and was well within earshot of Mr. LaBarbera (even if he hadn’t had a mike) when the walkout occurred. I paid careful attention to his reaction and what he said when they walked out because I was curious to see how he would handle it. I knew it was coming. I was quite impressed by the way in which he responded, by his presence of mind and by his effective but respectful demeanor, not only during the walkout but through the entire event. At no time did I hear him use any inappropriate language nor did I see him display any contentious reaction even when hostile members in the audience gave him what many would consider good reason to do so.
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