Gay Rights Activists at White House Flip Reagan’s Picture The Bird

Ronald Reagan can be argued to be one of the greatest Presidents that this nation had.  Certainly he is the greatest President in my lifetime.  He was the man that helped end the cold war.  He was the man that faced down the Soviet Empire and caused its eventual collapse.  He was the one that helped to bring this country to an economic boom unlike any other we have seen.

That is what makes it all the more disgusting what happened recently at the White House.  A group of gay and lesbian activists had been invited to the White House by the Obama Administration for a first-of-its-kind gay pride reception.  People took the opportunity to get their pictures taken in various places in the White House.  For many of us, we would take the time to get a picture that was respectfully posed in front of something, whether it be some obvious decoration or a picture of a previous President.  For these activists, they took special advantage by posing in front of Ronald Reagan's picture, flipping him their middle finger.

This is part of the liberal establishment that is constantly preaching tolerance and telling people time and again not to hate.  Some of these very same people take great pains to hate President Reagan, blaming him for things like the outbreak of AIDS, which makes as much sense as blaming George W. Bush for the latest outbreak of flu, but then that doesn't seem to stop this crowd.

Matthew “Matty” Hart, the national director of public engagement at Solutions for Progress, posted the picture on his Facebook page.  He captioned the photo, "F*** Reagan" and later said,

"Ronald Reagan has blood on his hands. The man was in the White House as AIDS exploded, and he was happy to see plenty of gay men and queer people die. He was a murderous fool, and I have no problem saying so."

This person being the national director of public engagement for an organization is clearly showing that he knows very little about how to engage the public in a way that shows anything but serious disrespect.

You will note that I am not posting the pictures here because I believe that they are profane.  If you are interested, The Weekly Standard has the pictures along with some additional material from this situation.

I have a lot of trouble with this.  First, I wouldn't dream of flipping the bird at anyone or anything in the White House.  I have too much respect for the establishment and the position of President to do that.  It is well documented that I am not a fan of the current occupant of the White House, but I would still address him and treat him with the respect and honor that the office deserve.  Second, I see Reagan as a man that was the right person for the times he was leader of this nation.  Ronald Reagan turned a down time, like the late 70's into one of our most memorable times in the 80's.  He was the kind of President that would have been elected again and again had he had the freedom to have more than two terms.  He was well-liked and was a man that genuinely enjoyed being around people.  He loved the American people and loved serving this nation.  I doubt seriously that he rejoiced over the death of any people, regardless of what group they belonged to.  To show this level of disrespect knocks people down in terms of respect in my eyes.

If you believe strongly in a certain way of life, that's fine.  If you want to get others to listen to you so you might persuade them that your way makes sense, you need to show respect, no matter where you are or what you are doing.  To do this shows a lack of respect for the country rather than Ronald Reagan.  The White House is our house and I personally take offense that this was done.