The road to hell is paved with good intentions, so the old adage goes.
As time goes on and the values of society change, it's easy to look back and realize some of the things done in the past probably weren't good, even though they may have been done with the best of intentions.
That lesson, unfortunately, has not caught up with everybody.
Evangelical Christian pastor Brian Suavé of Refuge Church in Ogden, Utah posted a tweet regarding women and their bodies.
But the 2022 Zeitgeist caught up with him whether he wanted it to or not.
Dear Ladies,\n\nThere is no reason whatsoever for you to post pictures of yourself in low cut shirts, bikinis, bra and underwear, or anything similar\u2014ever.\n\nNot to show your weight loss journey.\n\nNot to show your newborn baby.\n\nNot to document your birth story.\n\n-Your Brothers— Brian Sauv\u00e9 (@Brian Sauv\u00e9) 1644264912
While modesty in a culture is not inherently wrong, when that call for modesty is only directed at women, it becomes misogynistic.
It also perpetuates rape culture through the message women are responsible for the actions of others because of their clothing. And while many critics of such misogynistic messaging miss it, these types of modesty directives aimed only at women denigrate men as base creatures unable to control their behavior in the presence of anything even mildly attractive or arrousing—painting all men as potential rapists.
Almost immediately, "Dear Brian" began trending across the platform as people across the gender spectrum shared why they thought Suavé should mind his own business.
Dear Brian,\n\nThere is no reason whatsoever for you to post your opinions on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, or anything similar\u2014ever.\n\nNot to share your misogynist thoughts.\n\nNot to reveal your lack of self-control.\n\nNot to document your perverse worldviews.\n\n-The Internetpic.twitter.com/p2WHkUC6xl— \ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 Karus - Bandit of Betelgeuse \ud83c\udf0c \ud83e\udd9c (@\ud83c\udff4\u200d\u2620\ufe0f\ud83c\udff3\ufe0f\u200d\ud83c\udf08 Karus - Bandit of Betelgeuse \ud83c\udf0c \ud83e\udd9c) 1644353887
Dear Brian,\n\nJust because you can't scroll Twitter without a vat of whale oil under your desk doesn't mean the rest of us lack your self control.\n\nSeek help.\n\n-- A guy who's seen them before.— Elie Mystal (@Elie Mystal) 1644359206
Dear Brian, \nThere was no reason whatsoever for you to post this nonsense. \n\nNot to show your misogyny. \nNot to show your "faith." \nNot to show your "morality." \n\nSigned, \nMe— Jaimy Ford (@Jaimy Ford) 1644343877
Dear Brian, this is from my friend Bella who thinks you're a jerk.pic.twitter.com/MAbYMx5M1g— Lorenzo The Cat (@Lorenzo The Cat) 1644368440
Suavé doubled down on his comments following his much-maligned tweet.
Every way they claim to love women is actually vile hatred of women:\n\nThey love women! \nSo they strip them naked and make them PornHub sex slaves.\n\nThey love women!\nSo they abort half a million little women a year.\n\nThey love women!\nSo they erase the very concept of womanhood.— Brian Sauv\u00e9 (@Brian Sauv\u00e9) 1644449845
As @thisisfoster noted earlier, these people are so captured by the demon goddess of total and unhinged sexual self-expression that they can't imagine a man who doesn't look at porn.\n\nSo what do they do?\nThey project their sin onto you.\n\nBrothers: Hate porn.\nBe un-manipulatable.https://twitter.com/ElieNYC/status/1491176705675100161\u00a0\u2026— Brian Sauv\u00e9 (@Brian Sauv\u00e9) 1644430597
The pagan cancel culture is extraordinarily cunning in their use of lies.\n\nSee how she insinuates that I said women are the source of men's problems? An obvious lie to anyone with 6th-grade reading comprehension\u2014and she knows it.\n\nDon't be manipulated by liars.\nChuckle at them.https://twitter.com/moorehn/status/1491462829861482507\u00a0\u2026— Brian Sauv\u00e9 (@Brian Sauv\u00e9) 1644430195
But users would not be held down.
Over 19,400 people have quoted Suavé's original tweet to tell him in no uncertain words to "f**k off."
Dear Brian\n\nThere is no reason whatsoever for you to ever tell women what they can and can\u2019t do. \n\nSincerely\n\nFeminismhttps://twitter.com/brian_sauve/status/1490781210909446146\u00a0\u2026— Natasha Devon \ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udc99 (@Natasha Devon \ud83c\udf08\ud83d\udc99) 1644440900
Because a man told me not to. https://twitter.com/brian_sauve/status/1490781210909446146\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/pdiLCdjaMr— danielle\ud83d\udc05 (@danielle\ud83d\udc05) 1644436429
Hey Brian! I\u2019m not responsible for your sin. You\u2019re an absolute sickness in society https://twitter.com/Brian_Sauve/status/1490781210909446146\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/SaCCq0LQyU— \u2744\ufe0fTarryn Fisher (@\u2744\ufe0fTarryn Fisher) 1644430712
I\u2019m sorry who asked? https://twitter.com/brian_sauve/status/1490781210909446146\u00a0\u2026pic.twitter.com/AfT84s0c5O— \ud835\udcd5\ud835\udcf5\ud835\udcf8\ud835\udd00 \ud835\udcea\ud835\udcf7\ud835\udcf0\ud835\udcee\ud835\udcf5\u10e6 \ud83d\udd1c \ud835\ude3d\ud835\ude50\ud835\ude46\ud835\ude50 (@\ud835\udcd5\ud835\udcf5\ud835\udcf8\ud835\udd00 \ud835\udcea\ud835\udcf7\ud835\udcf0\ud835\udcee\ud835\udcf5\u10e6 \ud83d\udd1c \ud835\ude3d\ud835\ude50\ud835\ude46\ud835\ude50) 1644428744
Undeterred, Suavé has continued to release a stream of transphobic, misogynistic and homophobic posts and comments mislabeled as "Christian Love" via his Twitter account.