www.byzcath.org Forums General Discussions Town Hall 'The Way Miss California Answered Her Question Lost Her The Crown

This question should never have been asked at a pagent like this. It is totally ridiculous. And, to think that someone was able to make the decision. This woman is entitled to her opinion and just because it doesn't agree with some, she gave the right answer...well shut up rose.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. -- Miss North Carolina Kristen Dalton may have been crowned Miss USA 2009 on Sunday, but on Monday, it was Miss California Carrie Prejean's answer to a question about same-sex marriage from celebrity blogger and pageant judge Perez Hilton that was the night's biggest story.

During the show, Perez asked Carrie, "Vermont recently became the fourth state to legalize same sex marriage. Do you think every state should follow suit? Why or why not?"

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"Well I think it's great that Americans are able to choose one or the other. Um, we live in a land that you can choose same sex marriage or opposite marriage and, you know what, in my country and in, in my family, I think that I believe that a marriage should be between a man and a woman," Carrie said to a mix of boos and applause. "No offense to anybody out there. But that's how I was raised and that's how I think that it should be between a man and a woman."

Carrie's answer to the hot button question cost her the crown - at least according to Perez.

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"The way miss California answered her question lost her the crown, without a doubt!" Perez told Access Hollywood after the pageant. "Never before that I'm aware of has a contestant been booed at Miss USA."

Keith Lewis, Co-Executive Director of the Miss California USA and Miss California Teen USA said in statement to Access Hollywood that he respects Carrie's opinion, even if it differs with his.

"I am proud of Carrie Prejean's beauty and placement at the 2009 Miss USA pageant. I support Carrie's right to express her personal beliefs even if they do not coincide with my own," Keith told Access. "I believe the subject of gay marriage deserves a great deal more conversation in order to heal the divide it has created."

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PerezHilton.com initially reported that Keith was "personally saddened and hurt" by Carrie's comments. Keith told Access he did not release a statement to the celebrity blogger.

A rep for Shanna Moakler , who inherited the Miss USA title in 1995 when Miss USA Chelsi Smith was crowned Miss Universe, told Perez that she "supports Keith's views 100%."

On Monday morning, Miss California talked to Billy Bush for "The Billy Bush Show" and Access Hollywood. To listen to Billy's interview where Carrie revealed that a member of her family is a gay rights activist, CLICK HERE!
http://omg.yahoo.com/news/perez-hil...her-question-lost-her-the-crown/21528?nc

I agree with you Pani Rose.

This is just one more example, perhaps, of how Christian belief is being persecuted in this country. It is sad.

Perhaps today's persecuted do not face death of body as the martyrs of the USSR and of the Roman Empire did for *believing* in Christ, but they face death of livelihood for believing in Christian principles.

Alice

The homosexualists are grinding away at decency and religious freedom. I suppose one could say "no one needs to be in a beauty pageant" but this is just one in thousands of examples of the way we are being attacked by the pagan world.

CDL

Miss California can be my Miss USA because she was brave enough to stand up there on that stage in front of millions of people and stand up for what is right. She knew her answer would probably be unpopular and she said it anyway. Good for her! Perez Hilton really irks me. I can't stand his rag of a website and that's all I'm going to say about that.

I disagree.

Not winning a beauty pageant is not persecution. Also, not winning a beauty contest is not the same thing as being prevented from earning a living. I'm sure that Miss California has many more job prospects than Miss Palestinian Christian.

Conservative Christianity is now a minority view in America. That means it is not the prevalent view -- so conservative Christians who are vocal about their views on controversial subjects probably aren't going to win beauty contests. But it also means that conservative Christianity is a tolerated minority view (among many others) -- so we are not being persecuted.

We are being tolerated but disregarded. We are not the dominant group anymore. We are a minority group within a larger and superficially Christian culture.

If we feel that we have an inherent right to be in the dominant position of society, then being merely tolerated might feel like being persecuted. But it's not persecution.

The real issue is: How shall conservative Christians live in a society in which they are a minority?

Giving a public witness that was sure to be rejected, like Miss California did, is noteworthy and even laudable.

Complaining that the expected consequences happened -- secular disapproval and losing a beauty pageant-- is not productive, and it is a lot like whining. Instead, we need to *expect* that kind of reception for our views and to prepare for it.

Conservative Christians should serve as missionaries to our own culture. We should imagine that we are missionaries to a strange and secular nation -- because that is what we are now.

To have a deep impact, then, we have to bear a deep witness. And that will not always be welcomed. But disagreement or even disapproval from the larger culture is not persecution. And we have to be able to make the distinction in order to be effective.

-- John

I am bold enough to suggest that a so-called "beauty contest" is itself inappropriate, in general and especially for Christians. The very idea of "judging" women as though they were horses on parade, and having the women submitting to this absurd process wearing rather less than ordinary modesty would suggest is abhorrent. There is nothing wrong with wearing a (decent) bathing suit in a place where people swim - but even then we quite properly deplore the conduct of people who stare and leer at those who are swimming. For women to parade on stage to invite such spectators to stare and leer at them is unspeakable.

CHRIST IS RISEN!

Fr. Serge

Amen, Padre.

Father, bless. I agree, I hate the idea of beauty pageants; I think pageants for children are the worst though.

I agree. I remember watching them as a child -back when TV fist came about in black and white - and being in awe of the women. That is then, this is now. We put away childish things.

I have come across those pagents for kids on the TV. Oh, my! To subject a child to that, to me in many ways, is cruelty. A child will live what you teach them. I can't imagine the confusion that child faces when they would really rather be outside playing in the sandbox than on a stage getting googled and geered. So very sad!

Still, the fact is she was there, and that question was really not appropriate. The fact that the pagent no longer seems to have the national recognition it once did, and is under the 'authority' of who knows who. I guess it is to be expected. All in all, it really was a purposeful political question. And as expected by those involved, gave them additional sounding boards for the heritical speeches. Sadly, they have been in this state so long they no longer can sense the lie that has taken place about them. God have mercy on us all. May we, along with God's holy angels and saints intercede for people who have fallen or never knew Christ, and bring them to fruition in Christ Jesus.

Of course the question was inappropriate - but since the organizers had the bad taste and poor judgement to organize such an event, there is no cause for shock that they would have the bad taste and poor judgement to permit such a question (which certainly has no possible connection with
"MIss California's" pulchritude or lack thereof).

Fr. Serge

Why was the question inappropriate? On the one it's wrong to have women parade on a stage to be viewed as objects, but it's also wrong to ask them a question about a serious current topic?

I imagine that it is inappropriate because it is, by its expectations, a loaded question. But so are the questions that would allude to "world peace", if such questions enter the field and the contestant answers that she hopes that all dictatorships are crushed so that freedom will reign through the strength of arms. That may get boos and gasps too, and definitely not a win.

I am not a fan of beauty contests. No answer to the questions can be as profound as they are presented to be. It's like high school debate as far as meaning is concerned.

I am surprised by Miss California's answer. The trouble came for her because she broke protocol and stated her opinion rather than resign herself to the expectation, which "all good ladies" should do.

Yes I do. It is to be about the work they see that needs to be done, how they would handle certain works. I think the question was a 'set up'. Sorry, but it makes me angry. It is just another case of homosexual agenda being played out. There are many other things that are important in this world, children for one. Why not ask something about them?

Well, I think that this whole 'pageant' thing is very much a part of American culture...

I think that the question was inappropriate, because it is almost obvious what answer was expected to be heard, and how it would impact the contestant. I agree with Pani Rose TOTALLY--it was indeed as set up to promote the 'gay agenda' and to punish those who do not go along with it.

Since the contestant is there to win for the sake of school scholarship or future career, it is kind of sad *for her* that she would need to be put in that kind of a situation.

On a related and silly sidenote:

This is silly, but our Archdiocese youth groups around the country (GOYA) hold or used to hold 'pageants' for Miss GOYA of certain geographic areas--The girls wear gowns, have escorts and answer questions while representing the youth group of their 'parish'....so you guessed it, when I was 15, though I could have cared less, I was voted and coaxed by the rest of the group to be the representive of our parish. The question of the night was "what adult do you admire the most". Every girl answered "my mother", and while I love my mother, I honestly answered "Archbishop Iakovos" (because I really, really did admire him with youthful idealization at the time for the strides he had made in putting my jurisdiction on the map, marching with Martin Luther King, etc., etc...) Since my family wasn't into church politics, I had no idea what the church 'political winds' of that particular time were...

Yup, they were against him!!

I was totally politically incorrect and scandalous in my answer! They probably thought I responded like that on purpose!!

The crowd of adults that were gathered there could be heard quietly gasping in anger, and needless to say, I did NOT win!! LOL!

(So much the better, as far as I was concerned)...but it just goes to show you how a 'politically incorrect' answer could have devastated me if I had cared to be there and had cared to win...

As an adult, I see all this as folly. Like Pani Rose, however, as a little girl I was enthralled by watching the beautiful and graceful women represent states and countries in televised pageants...

Alice

Alice what an awesome story. I can see now, how it is good for you to be a moderator here, at 15 you were going against the tide.

This was posted on Fox News, she may well be busier now, than if she had been crowned...

Exclusive: Carrie Prejean Says 'God Was Testing My Faith' With Gay Marriage Question

Monday , April 20, 2009


Carrie Prejean is the most famous runner-up in Miss USA history.

In an exclusive interview with FOXNews.com's Courtney Friel, Miss California says her phone has been ringing off the hook with people offering her support after she took on a question about gay marriage on Sunday night's Miss USA telecast.

"I have no regrets about answering [judge Perez Hilton] honestly," she said in one of her first interviews following the show, where she answered that she was against gay marriage becoming legal in California. "He asked me for my opinion and I gave it to him. I have nothing against gay people and I didn't mean to offend anyone in my answer."

In her interview, Prejean talks about being "tested" by God, the outpouring of support, and the first thing she and her family did after the show. (Hint, it involves ketchup and mustard.)

http://www.foxnews.com/printer_friendly_story/0,3566,517228,00.html