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 9^th, 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 16^th 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.

LYING PROF DOUBLES DOWN: April 17 tweet by Sinclair Community College professor Kate Geiselman, who made up a preposterous “effing” quotation by guest speaker Peter LaBarbera to humiliate him and make him look like an angry “homophobe.” LaBarbera said “effing” only to relay to the audience that one of its members had angrily used the real F-word to attack his speech. Pro-family attorney Charles LiMandri has written Geiselman and Salon Magazine to demand an apology and retraction. 

In this post:

1. 2-minute video of Sinclair Community College professor-led “walkout” [begins at :16 point of video];
2. Part One and Part Two of YouTube videos of Peter LaBarbera’s talk at SCC, sponsored by the Traditional Values Club;
3. Copy of April 24 web post by SCC professor Rebecca Morean on Salon.com, backing up the “effing” lie told by fellow SCC prof Kate Geiselman in her Salon hit-piece against LaBarbera;
4. Go HERE to read AFTAH attorney Charles LiMandri’s letter to Geiselman and Salon.com demanding a public retraction and apology.

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Dear AFTAH Readers,

Refuting a leftist lie is hard work, but it must be done.

Below is the video of the Sinclair Community College walkout on my speech at the Dayton, Ohio college April 9, 2014–provided by the Traditional Values Club, which sponsored the talk. As you can see, the professor-led walkout began right after I started speaking–and ironically, after I had commended the audience for demonstrating true tolerance by listening to a dissenting viewpoint!

Note that I did not come even close to uttering the quotation absurdly attributed to me by SCC writing professor Kate Geiselman in the liberal online magazine Salon. Geiselman accused me (the “antigay bigot” in the headline) of responding recklessly to the walkout: “You’re leaving? Are you ‘effing’ [substituting for the F-word] kidding?”

Below is a transcription of my remarks at the podium as the professor-led walkout begins–painstakingly produced by pro-family writer Gina Miller [see Miller’s excellent piece on the controversy on Barbwire.com HERE]:

“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…”

[See my attorney Chuck LiMandri’s letter demanding a retraction and apology from Geiselman HERE.]

Constructing a bogus narrative

Honestly, I think the admittedly hard-of-hearing Geiselman heard me say “effing”–I was merely relaying a barb from a man in the audience who hurled the real F-bomb to denounce my talk–and then used that to concoct a bogus narrative casting me as the angry “homophobe.” Later, Professor Rebecca Morean, who can be seen leading the walkout in the video below, repeated the Geiselman’s lie [see graphic at bottom of this article]. Morean has boasted about her role in the walkout.

What these politicized professors–who greatly dishonor their noble profession–fail to appreciate is that real tolerance and diversity were on display at their college that day, between conservatives like me and the few liberals (including some students) who did not take part in Morean’s cowardly exercise in leftist groupthink. We went back and forth on the homosexual issue, and perhaps emerged with the same views with which we came–but also with greater understanding of the other side’s position. In other words, we had a civil, lively, yet respectful discussion at an institution of higher learning. Imagine that. –Peter LaBarbera, AFTAH

Read the Traditional Values Club’s description of their YouTube video of the professor-led “walkout” below. The walkout begins at :16 point of video; notice Prof. Morean standing up and signaling the mass exodus:

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