LGBT activist John M. Becker posted audio of Michelle Shocked’s recent outburst at Yoshi’s in San Francisco, and transcribed the important bits.
Shocked claims her words were misinterpreted and insists “I do not, nor have I ever, said or believed that God hates homosexuals (or anyone else),” but you be the judge.
Shocked’s message of hate, which came during her encore, starts in at around 4:36 (emphasis ours):
MS: So it’s not too late. You can jump into this Jesus gang anytime you want. But, um, I was in a prayer meeting yesterday, and you’ve gotta appreciate how scared, how scared folks on that side of the equation are. I mean, from their vantage point — and I really shouldn’t say ‘their,’ because it’s mine, too — we are nearly at the end of time.
And from our vantage point, we’re gonna be, uh, I think maybe Chinese water torture is gonna be the means, the method — once Prop 8 gets, uh, instated, and once, um, preachers are held at gunpoint and forced to marry the homosexuals, I’m pretty sure that that will be the signal for Jesus to come on back.
At one point, she seems to dare the audience to call her a bigot (5:40):
MS: If someone would be so gracious as to please tweet out, ‘Michelle Shocked just said from stage, God hates faggots.’ Would you do it now?
She then responds to blogger Matt Penfield, who live-tweeted the show, about the likelihood that fans were going to talk about her comments.
MS: I ain’t scared. I ain’t skeered. This is not a tribunal, this is one woman’s opinion.
And it’s fun. It’s a lot of fun. I am so committed to loving each and every soul in this room tonight that I could not come here and ignore you. I could not come here and pretend that I was above the conversation, and I couldn’t pretend that I was beneath it either. I had to join it.
Um, that’s the kind of stuff the crazy guy who shouts Bible verses on the N train says to us.
At this point the audience is confused and pissed off. It seems like Shocked might get back to singing, when a woman shouts:
I hope you get wise, Michelle, and realize that there’s nothing to fear. There’s nothing to fear. Everybody is deserving of your — whoever your God is — his love.
By the 7:42 mark, Shocked has gotten angry (Becker says she “literally hisses” :
MS: I am sick of Christians filled with hypocrisy, hiding behind the symbol of the cross.
Audience member: Come on, show it. Show your true self. Come on!
Audience member: I’m confused. Can you clarify? Say what you mean. Come on, Michelle. What are you so afraid of?
MS: I believe that the word of God is just what it says it is: the truth.
By the 8:15 mark, audience members have started walking out, at which point Shocked begins praying in Spanish.
MS (16:07): Oh, don’t bother to applaud, it’s not needed. [applause] I don’t think I can handle all the adulation right now.
Audience Member: That’s because you don’t deserve any.
Audience Member: Everyone should get up and leave. That was rotten! That was a horrible thing to say, if that’s what you believe…
Audience Member: Somebody over there thinks she means something different. Maybe you’ve been confusing.
MS (16:31): I’ve got a question for y’all. It’s a sincere question: how are you enjoying reality so far?
Audience Member: It’s not your reality…
MS: Sucks pretty much, doesn’t it?
Audience Member: It’s her reality, not ours…
MS (interrupting): You can’t have both.
Audience Member (continuing): Don’t come to San Francisco saying that shit.
MS: ‘Don’t come to San Francisco saying that shit.’ Let’s take that note. I just got a tweet, it said ‘Don’t come to San Francisco saying that shit.’ Where do I go to say that shit?
Audience Member: Uh, Arkansas?
Audience Member: Wow, that’s so weird. You’re so weird.
MS: Yeah, it is weird.
Audience Member: Your reality is tweets?
MS (interrupting): This is not my choice.
Audience Member (continuing): Your reality is tweets. According to this show, we spent like 20 percent of the show on tweets, 80 percent was a show, and 40 percent was homophobia.
Audience Member: Get her out of here!
And then the Yoshi’s management intervenes (17:18):
Yeah, I’m sorry ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for joining us tonight at Yoshi’s.
MS: You’re pullin’ the plug, you’re givin’ me the hook y’all.
Audience Members: Hell no! Go on! Sing!
Shocked tried to continue performing for the remaining audience members, but Yoshi’s management started shutting the venue down around her. Passing the hat around for donations, she finally ends her swan song by saying, “God bless us, everyone.”
Sorry, Michelle—it’s kind of hard to misinterpret what you were saying. Shocked has become increasingly erratic and reactionary since being born again some years back. And sadly, as some commenters have suggested, it does seem like she was suffering from some kind of episode that night.
We can have sympathy for that, but to go to the media and defend such statements in the clear light of day? That’s simply inexcusable.
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