ANITA BRYANT WAS ONE RIGHTEOUS BABE. There I said it, and she wasn't a spring chicken in that picture but she was still smoking hot. She was 21 when I was born, and yes I had a little school boy crush on her. Trying to live the Christian life is, was, and will be major hard struggle. Especially in junior high school (called middle school now). I feared for my soul back then, because looking at her caused some stirrings whenever I saw her picture. Longing after women especially Christian was a thou-shalt-not as far as I understood it back then in my awkward age. Like I said the Christian life is hard.
I grew up in the '60's and the '70's. It was okay to have a crush on Raquel Welch which I did and badly. It was okay to have a crush on Lee Meriwether and I did. It was okay to have a crush on Farrah Fawcett, I did. It was okay to have a crush on Cher, I did but doubted that I could keep up with her. Now if I would have said I had a crush on Anita Bryant I might get ridiculed as if I said had a crush on Lillie Munster or Morticia Addams.
What George Washington Carver was to peanuts especially the peanut growers' association, Anita Bryant was to oranges. That's what she came to be remembered as along with another thing which I will get to later.
Bryant was born in 1940 to parents who would soon divorce. She started singing publicly at the age of six even getting some gigs on radio and TV. She become Miss Oklahoma at age 18 and second runner up in Miss America of 1959. At the age of 20, she married Miami disc jockey, and then her career in pop music began. She was best known for Paper Roses.
Before she was pitching oranges and singing about them. She was also a pitch-woman for Coca-Cola, Friedrich Air Conditioners , Kleenix, etc but became best known for Florida Orange Juice. She became their official spokes- woman in 1969. The tag line became:
She was known as squeaky clean, a safe TV personality for the sponsors. She went from Pop to Gospel early in her career and was one of many Born-Again Christian celebrities.
To the Fundamental Christians, the sexual revolution was bad enough, with many of the young thumbing their nose at pre-marital chastity and making out like they're were at a Roman orgy was bad enough, but for homosexuals wanting a piece of the action was beyond horrid and that was the heterosexual youth.
Her career took an abrupt turn in 1977, a Dade County ordinance banning discrimination against gays and lesbians passed. Bryant took a public and prominent role in forging a campaign to repeal it. Bryant stated that she did not want an openly gay teacher (otherwise known as a swish) teaching her kids or propagandizing her children.
She also voiced about pedophilia, and cited a personal ad found in a gay magazine. Her campaign became known as Save Our Children. That got loads of snickers from the political class and the lame stream media. Perhaps they never heard of Harry Hay and the Mattachine Society or don't want us to.
The News and Entertainment media need a new monster to rant and rail against it. There was the campaign to oppose Bryant, and harass her.
The media attacks began in earnest. She was called Hurricane Anita, she become fodder for jokes.
The jokes often got dirty and crude;
Things just heated up:
Though she was able to joke about it, the media didn't care. They just made a note that after praying, her husband gave on the assailants a taste of his own pie. What did they expect him to do? What with an assault on his smoking hot wife.
Still she soldiered on, through the personal and media attacks, and losing her job as Florida Orange Juice pitch woman. She was still smoking hot. Her career was done, but Jerry Falwell, who came down to help her, his career took off. I won't go into her personal life that is none of my business.
We still have media campaigns toward anyone that don't tow the line in regards to the gay life style. Duck Dynasty, the founder of Mozilla, and anyone who questions or criticizes the agenda. We have militant gays suing Christian bakers, Christian photographers, and other business who refuse to endorse gay marriage though they could have taken their business to someone who would be glad to have their money.
I don't care what consenting adults do behind closed, but I don't trust anyone who takes something as personal and private as sexuality and makes it political and public.
She
was painted as a fire breathing bigot (a typical archetype by the corporate media). Was she? Notice in the Barbara Howar interview, that she didn't want witch hunt on gays or invade their privacy. She said she wouldn't disown or cease loving her children if they turned gay. She said God still loved gays though not liking the way they're living.
How does she compare to Westboro Baptist (most likely Calvinist) Church who loudly insist that God hates fags? Did Anita ever picket or protest at funerals? Who would you rather deal with? The WBC or Anita? Who is actually more hateful. Maybe the WBC are the fire breathers more made to order for the lame stream media. Maybe that's what they want. Fire breathing bigots, if it bleeds it leads.
I will say it again, Anita Bryant was one righteous babe. She was smoking hot as well.
