Hollywood has spent more than half a century railing against the anti-communist blacklists of the 1950s that prevented some people from working in the movie industry.
Woody Allen, George Clooney, and countless other celebrities have produced films purporting to show how evil the blacklist was; upbraiding those who were silent while it was imposed.
But now a new blacklist has been drawn up, and it's led by the left. The latest victim is the O'Connor family, which owns Memories Pizza in Indiana. They had been silent on the controversy regarding the state's religious freedom law, but were known to be devout Christians.
A local TV station sought them out and asked them how they felt about Gov. Pence's "religious freedom" law. Crystal O'Connor said her establishment would serve any customer who walked in the door. But she acknowledged that "If a gay couple came in and wanted us to provide pizzas for their wedding, we would have to say no. We are a Christian establishment."
That set off a firestorm the family says brought death threats. One high school coach was suspended for suggesting the restaurant be burned down, and the attacks on social media were often intense and graphic. The restaurant was forced to close its doors, at least temporarily.
Tammy Bruce, a gay activist and former head of the Los Angeles chapter of the National Organization for Women, is appalled by what happened. Now a talk show host with libertarian and conservative sensibilities, she appeared on Fox News to denounced what she called "a frenzy" and "a wolf pack" attacking the O'Connors.
"For me to turn around in the 21st century and see that this is what we were fighting for, so we could condemn people who were different, and with whom we disagree, it is the antithesis of what every civil rights movement was about," she told host Tucker Carlson. "There is a lot of fear in the gay community, if you do speak up in this regard . . . The gay liberals have turned into bullies, when our work is to stop that kind of behavior. "
I know Bruce, and she is brave to stand up for tolerance that goes both ways. She has seen the mob operate in California after voters there approved Proposition 8 prohibiting gay marriage. Many activists were bound and determined to hound anyone who supported the measure.
Scott Eckern, artistic director of the California Musical Theater in Sacramento, the state's largest nonprofit performing arts company, donated $1,000 to the "Yes on 8" campaign. Protests from the producer of the Broadway musical "Hairspray" and others soon forced him to resign.
Similarly, Los Angeles Film Festival Director Richard Raddon was forced to step down after it was revealed he had donated $1,500 to "Yes on 8." The festival's organizer put out a statement blandly saying, "Our organization does not police the personal, religious or political choices of any employee, member or filmmaker." Behind the scenes, however, many of the festival's board members pressured Raddon to resign.
Nor was the modern-day blacklist confined to entertainment. Marjorie Christoffersen, manager of the famous Los Angeles restaurant El Coyote, resigned after her restaurant was subjected to a month of boycotts and demonstrations because she had contributed $100 to the campaign against gay marriage.
Christoffersen, who had been with El Coyote for 26 years, insisted her stance had nothing to do with prejudice against gays, but rather with her Mormon faith. That didn't impress the blacklisters.
Fellow employees at El Coyote vouched for her kindness to gay employees, including personally paying for the mother of an employee who died of AIDS to attend his funeral. That didn't matter either. And neither did the fact that the managers of El Coyote sent $10,000 to gay groups to "make up" for Christofferson's contribution. The boycott continued, and the resulting slowdown in business forced Christofferson to leave.
All this prompted Charles Karal Bouley, a former columnist for the gay publication The Advocate, to point out "Americans have the right to be wrong . . . Even Barack Obama said marriage was between a man and a woman at a time when we needed his voice on our side on equality. He let us down, too, remember, and many of you still gave him a job."
At least the Hollywood blacklist targeted those who either professed communist sympathies or refused to sign loyalty oaths. Some gay activists are one step away from claiming that if someone disagrees with them, they shouldn't be allowed to work anywhere.
The original Hollywood blacklist never went that far, but you won't see any movies made about the current intolerance mounted against Christian bakers, florists, or photographers who prefer not to participate in gay weddings.
John Fund is an expert on American politics where politics and economics and legal issues meet. He previously served as a columnist and editorial board member for The Wall Street Journal. He is the author of several books, including "Who's Counting: Bow Fraudsters and Bureaucrats Put Your Vote At Risk." He worked as a research analyst for the California Legislature in Sacramento before beginning his journalism career as a reporter for the syndicated columnists Rowland Evans and Robert Novak. Fund also is a Newsmax TV contributor — More Info Here. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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