Injustice Strikes Again

NAR goes after yet another Christian minister with the Speech Code

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[Note: in writing this post, I have reached out to the Virginia Association of Realtors, and the Greater Augusta Association of Realtors. I have not heard back anything. Minutes after publishing, I received an email response from GAAR which I posted as a comment.]

Events have a tendency to cluster. Nothing has happened in the four years since I wrote about NAR’s Speech Code and NAR’s persecution of Brandon Huber, a Christian minister punished by the Association under its new Speech Code for a Facebook post that had nothing to do with real estate whatsoever.

So after the election, when it became obvious that sentiment in the world had changed, I wrote a post asking NAR to repeal the speech code. I was trying to warn NAR about what’s headed their way.

A couple of days later, Inman publishes an Op/Ed by Rachael Hite criticizing my post, with the title “NAR's speech code was enacted to protect Realtors. Why kill it now?” The imagery that Inman used to promote that article, which argues against freedom of speech, is ironic to say the least.

[I have invited Hite to debate me, and she has responded. I hope to have an on-the-record debate about this topic. Perhaps this post will help her figure out what to prepare.]

Within days of Hite’s virtue signaling effort, news breaks that the Injustice League NAR has struck again. This time, the Speech Code is being used against Wilson Fauber, a broker with a 44-year track record as a member in good standing with the Realtor Association, who just happens to be a Christian minister. His crime?

In 2015 — long before the NAR Speech Code was put into place — he posted a verse from the Bible.

He didn’t preach the verse to a gay client. He didn’t refuse to take a listing because the seller was nonbinary. In fact, he didn’t do anything that has anything whatsoever to do with real estate. He did not post saying, “As a Realtor, I believe this verse is true” or any such thing. Fauber didn’t even post his opinion.

Let me repeat for emphasis: Fauber posted a verse from the Bible. Here it is, taken from Fauber’s Facebook page:

[Please note how I can post that, because I am not a Realtor and therefore, not NAR’s little bitch.]

For that thought-crime, Fauber is up for an ethics hearing before his local board, the Greater Augusta Association of REALTORS, on December 4th.

This is injustice. Even worse, it’s a mistake.

The Thought Crime of Wilson Fauber

The full story, I hope, will be told by Fauber himself when I can record a podcast with him. But I will tell you what I know so far, as the context is important.

According to Fauber (and as he posted on Facebook), during his 44 year history as a Realtor in Staunton, VA, he had never been in trouble, never gotten a complaint), and has been a pillar of the local community.

In fact, Fauber was such a pillar of the local community that he ran for Staunton City Council in 2023. His political opponents dug through his social media profiles, until they found the image with the Bible verse that he had posted back in 2015.

His opponents made hay with it, and went hard negative against him. Whether that was the reason or not, Fauber lost the election. A year ago.

Long after his campaign ended, two local Realtors filed an ethics complaint against Fauber for violating of 10-5 and are seeking to get him removed from the Association, which means losing access to the MLS. The way 10-5 works today, Fauber also faces the possibility of getting his real estate license revoked.

It’s one thing to go negative during a political campaign. Politics ain’t a pillow fight, and someone who runs for office has to be prepared for whatever gets thrown his way.

It is an entirely different thing to go after a man’s livelihood after the campaign is over. That is pure malice. It takes a special kind of shitty person Realtor to do this.

Why is GAAR Virginia Realtors Even Holding this Hearing?

The first question that comes to mind is, “Why is GAAR Virginia Association of Realtors even going ahead with this charade?” Shouldn’t they have just looked at the complaint and then thrown it in the trash? [Please see the first comment below from GAAR.]

First of all, Fauber posted that verse back in 2015. Before 10-5 was put into place. When he posted that, there was no Speech Code. Retroactive prosecution is prohibited for a reason. That alone should have led to throwing out the complaint, and a stern lecture to the complainants from the CEO and President of the Association.

Second, Standard of Practice 10-5, the Speech Code, as illegitimate and as evil as it is, says the following:

REALTORS® must not use harassing speech, hate speech, epithets, or slurs based on race, color, religion, sex, handicap, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender identity.

That’s the entire actual rule. It actually prohibits harassing speech based on religion. We’ll come back to that one.

By NAR’s own guidance on how to interpret SoP 10-5, we have this:

While the overall focus of Standard of Practice 10-5 is on what might be loosely termed “offensive” or “discriminatory” speech, Hearing Panels should be clear that the Standard of Practice is narrowly limited to conduct related to the requirements of equal professional service and that a REALTOR® refrain from being a party to a plan or agreement to discriminate on the basis of the protected classes of Article 10. [Emphasis added]

There is zero claim anywhere that Fauber’s posting of a Bible verse is related to equal professional service, or that it shows that he is party to an agreement to discriminate. Not even an allegation was made that Fauber refuses to work with the LGBT+ community.

Were Fauber actually a homophobic Realtor, one imagines that 44 years of history of helping people buy and sell houses would reveal some kind of discrimination, some kind of failure to provide equal professional service. Nope! Nada.

Furthermore, we get the following clarifications from the NAR guide:

Standard of Practice 10-5 is not focused on types of speech that might be subjectively deemed “offensive” or “discriminatory” by one person and not another.

The Standard of Practice is based on very particular types of speech that are directly connected to the protected classes of race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, national origin, sexual orientation or gender identity under Article 10.

Only the use of harassing speech, hate speech, epithets and slurs based on the protected classes of Article 10 are prohibited. The terms “harassing speech,” “hate speech,” “epithets,” and “slurs” can be commonly understood by use of a dictionary as well as other easily available references. [Line breaks and emphasis added; bolded italics in original]

A verse from the Bible is not an epithet, a slur, or harassing speech. It is not threatening, intimidating and is not a denigrating joke. A verse from the Quran… like say An-Nisa 16, might be considered threatening and intimidating, but not Leviticus 18:22.

However, the Guide contains some seriously over-broad language: “The display or circulation of written or graphic material that denigrates or shows hostility toward an individual or group based on a protected characteristic.”

For there to be a violation, Leviticus 18:22 would need to be seen as “written material that denigrates or shows hostility (loosely interpreted) toward homosexuals.” There is no other way to interpret this.

If NAR wants to classify the Bible as harassing speech or hate speech, it should do so explicitly. The Christian members of NAR deserve to know where their trade organization stands. After that, NAR probably should articulate its opinions on the Quran and the Hadith as well.

Even if NAR is out of its mind with the woke mind virus, one imagines that Greater Augusta Association of Realtors would not be. Augusta County just voted for Donald Trump by 48 points: 73% to 25%.

The President of GAAR is Ms. Becky Morrison, who proudly served this country as a Marine and attended Grace Christian School. Her favorite word is agape, a deeply Christian word. How in the world does an Association led by this woman persecute a Christian minister for the thought-crime of posting a Bible verse?

[After publication, I received this from GAAR:

The Virginia Association of REALTORS (VAR) handles Professional Standards matters for the Greater Augusta Association of REALTORS (GAAR) and has primary responsibility for administration of enforcement procedures concerning the Code of Ethics of the National Association of REALTORS (NAR).  Consequently, GAAR does not receive and resolve complaints against a REALTOR.

Furthermore, pursuant to Statement 19 (Confidentiality of determinations rendered in ethics and arbitration hearings) of the Statements of Professional Standards Policy, “(t)he allegations, findings, and decisions rendered in ethics and arbitration hearings are confidential and should not be reported or published by the Board, any member of a tribunal, or any party under any circumstances except those established in the Code of Ethics and Arbitration Manual of the (NAR) as from time to time amended.”

GAAR will issue no further comment on this matter.]

Yet, here we are.

Yeah, Let’s Preserve That

Which brings us back full circle — in a way — to Rachael Hite’s ill-conceived, poorly argued, and badly timed Op/Ed.

First of all, Hite calls herself a “proponent of free speech” but with friends like her, free speech doesn’t need enemies. She claims “The ethics code is there to put a lid on unprofessional behavior, prevent hate speech and ensure the Realtor legacy, not to punish or put a muzzle on agents.”

Right. So let’s look at what she considers proper prevention of hate speech. Let’s start with the Brandon Huber situation, which Hite addresses.

Hite simply fails to engage with the central problem of the Brandon Huber case. I pointed out that what Huber was “convicted” of was a social media post about an event at his church that would “expose the LGBTQ Agenda that Controls our Lives and Kills our Liberty.” That violated 10-5 according to his Association.

Try as I might, I see nothing in Hite’s article where she claims promoting an event at one’s church is hate speech. She gets sidetracked and shows Huber retweeting some other pastor’s tweet because… to her, that is hate speech and harassment.

Maybe Hite can explain what is so egregious about Greg Locke’s tweet. Seems like a political opinion to me, with which you can disagree, which you can argue against, which you can loudly condemn… but which you cannot silence as “hateful speech.” The antidote to hate speech is better speech. Don’t like something? Tell them why they’re wrong.

What’s worse, Huber didn’t say anything. He just retweeted Locke’s tweet. So retweeting is now hate speech in Hite’s world? Yeah, tell me more about how you’re a free speech advocate.

What about Leigh Brown?

In his recent post, Hahn points out Brown’s tireless efforts to help those impacted by Hurricane Helene in North Carolina. He says she has single-handedly thrown her whole heart and soul into relief work.

While that is true, Brown also created a video encouraging people to arm themselves for personal protection. This fearmongering rhetoric may have come from good intentions, but it also created issues for government relief workers who were threatened at gunpoint by fearful residents.

Try as I might, I see no claim by Rachael that she was there in the mountains of Western North Carolina herself trying to help those who lost everything to Helene. How the hell would she know that what Brown posted was “fearmongering?”

Here’s the actual video that Brown posted.

leighthomasbrown

A post shared by @leighthomasbrown

Brown says that a county sheriff told her that people need to carry with the safety off, because those without water and food are desperate. Were you on the ground, Rachael, to know that Brown was “fearmongering?” If not, if you don’t know jack shit other than some media report you read from the comfort of your couch… how dare you?

We then get the real reason, the real hate:

Surely, Brown has good intentions and has done many good things for her local and real estate communities, but the meshing of her religious beliefs and her ultra-conservative viewpoints makes some people uncomfortable and has professional consequences.

Never mind that Leigh Brown says not one word about Christianity, about God, and about her religious beliefs in that video. Hite knows Leigh is a Christian, and her religious beliefs and “ultra-conservative” (as if Hite would know what the difference between “conservative” and “ultra-conservative” is), and that is the true crime in her mind.

This is hateful speech, harassing speech, based on Leigh’s religion. The term “ultra-conservative” is an epithet, a slur, based on Leigh’s religion.

If Leigh’s Christian faith motivated her to get off her ass, organize relief efforts, drive to devastated areas, deliver water, diapers, supplies, and actually help people… maybe what we need is more meshing of religious beliefs by Realtors, not less.

If Hite herself hasn’t gone into the mountains, actually helped people in need, she ought to have a tall glass of STFU and apologize to Leigh Brown.

After that tell me more that 10-5 is about hate speech, not about silencing conservatives, and not about punishing Christians. (By the way, try as I might, putting my Google-fu skills to the maximum, I can only find instances of NAR going after Christians and conservatives. How strange.)

Fact is, Leigh Brown’s real crime in the eyes of Hite, of NAR, and the woke mob that runs NAR today is that she is a conservative Christian.

Nonetheless, Hite gaslights her readers with this nonsense:

The code was created to stop hate speech because many agents chose not to exercise thoughtful self-control in managing their online public reputation and said hateful things to and about protected classes.

Posting a verse from the Bible is saying hateful things, and retweeting is harassment. Relaying warnings from law enforcement about looters is lacking “thoughtful self-control.” Somehow “meshing religious beliefs and ultra-conservative viewpoints” is harassment.

Yes, by all means, let’s preserve that.

At least, let’s preserve that until Hite can be brought up on ethics charges for violating 10-5. I don’t know what else to call her Op/Ed other than hate speech based on religion. Let’s preserve that until the self-righteous inquisitors at Missoula Organization of Realtors and GAAR can be brought up on charges for harassment of Christians, a protected class under Article 10 … oh … and Federal law.

To echo Hite’s sneering tone, as an American, Hite is free to hate Christians; as a Realtor, she should incur penalties under the Code of Ethics for her Inman column which clearly harasses people based on their religion, a protected class.

Not Merely Wicked, but Stupid

What makes Hite’s column so terrible isn’t simply that it is evil, which it is; what makes it so terrible is that it is a mistake. It is a stupid mistake that goes directly to the heart of what I wrote.

Hite claims that the reason why the Speech Code was adopted was because of the Summer of Love:

The rule was enacted in 2020 after Realtors engaged on social media and in public with hateful speech that was harmful to the Realtor brand and could be interpreted as fair housing violations. Language was especially inflammatory around Black Lives Matter, LGBTQ+ issues, and personal choice around COVID-19 vaccination and masking protocols.

Because of that, she entreats NAR to “never even consider repealing the speech code.”

Maybe in Hite’s mind, it’s still Summer of Love, when everybody bent the knee to the “mostly peaceful protestors.” Maybe she still thinks BLM stands for Black Lives Matter, not Buy Large Mansions.

But that was the core of my warning to NAR. It isn’t 2020. The Summer of Love is long over. We saw the truth about BLM, about Antifa, about race-grifters like Robin D’Angelo. We have entered a new era in American politics. Donald Trump won 312 electoral votes, the popular vote, the House and the Senate. And the culture has changed.

The American people are not buying your bullshit, Rachael, and they’re certainly not behind your effort to censor and discriminate against people of faith. That you hate Christians, that NAR hates Christians, is plain to see, but it’s 2024, not 2020. Trump and his Free Speech Warriors are taking power, not Harris and the bend-the-knee crowd that you are so eager to join.

Which is why I wrote:

But I would settle for a quiet repeal for the sake of self-preservation. The last thing that NAR needs in 2025 is a lawsuit by the Trump DOJ for antitrust violations and I am convinced that an organization with a goddamn Speech Code is going to draw the wrong kind of attention from the new Trump administration.

People can react quickly to changed circumstances. In the 36ish hours since the election results were announced, we have heard that Jack Smith at the DOJ will drop all charges against Trump. Hamas has called for an immediate end to the war in Gaza. It doesn’t take a genius to feel what’s coming in the air tonight and every night thereafter for years to come.

NAR should react quickly as well. Before the end of NAR NXT on November 10th, leaders should hold whatever emergency meetings they need to, and twist whatever arms they need to, in order to repeal SoP 10-5 and get rid of the Speech Code.

Since people who put Speech Codes into place have no morality and no ethics, I was appealing to their instinct for self-preservation. You can hate Christians all you want, but maybe avoid the thunderbolt coming from the new DOJ?

Wake up the smell the fucking coffee.

Or don’t.

Because the case of Wilson Fauber just might be the first tremor in the Accountability Tour headed your way. The culture has changed. Augusta County is 3:1 Republican to Democrat. Virginia is barely a blue state after 2024:

Virginia will be even more Republican after Elon Musk, Vivek Ramaswamy and D.O.G.E. are done with the federal workforce. And Christians and conservatives are self-censoring less and less; a few are actually standing up and fighting back. Normal American values — like free speech — are being reasserted.

And if the diverse team around Trump, many former Democrats, are united in any single thing, it is hatred for censorship and impediments to free speech.

So go ahead and preserve your speech code. Let’s see how that story ends.

Haters are gonna hate, hate, hate. Time is coming when we all are going to shake it off.

-rsh