August 7, 2008
LGBT DUers: You Can’t Call Out the Homophobes — But We Can
Normally, I breeze by the homophobic garbage on Democratic Underground, partly because I don’t haunt the halls of DU anymore (unless I’m tipped off to a particularly interesting meltdown going on in real-time), and mostly because I don’t see the point in torturing myself watching my people battle those hopelessly (and happily) entrenched in their own bigotry. I wasted six years battling the “Some of my best friends are gay, so I’m an expert on what’s homophobic and what’s not” brigades myself, and it was, indeed, a complete waste of time I could have spent doing something, anything, more productive… like trying to teach goldfish to drive.
Hearing there was something of a meltdown going on (again), I ran across a post by a gay DUer I’ve long liked and respected, who (for the umpteenth time for any LGBT DUer) pointed out the pervasive compulsion to label George W. Bush, or Karl Rove, or pretty much any right-winger as “gay.” This is different from outing a right-winger who really is gay (or at least a verifiable down-low type like Larry Craig); this is the Everyone We Hate is Gay syndrome, and it’s ugly, and extremely offensive to gay people.
After reading the usual “I don’t see any homophobia, so it doesn’t exist” replies from DUers who either have a serious memory disorder, or feign blindness to the neverending stream of homophobia right in front of their keyboards, I thought I’d ever-so-helpfully dredge up a few examples of what they’re “not seeing”… which, apparently, is too herculean a task for the Google-impaired.
Here are 1) the original post in question, and 2) two of the nastiest, most insensitive replies:
LeftCoast Donating Member (1000+ posts)
Mon Aug-04-08 02:57 PM
Original messageI’ve been around here for years and it just never stops. Virtually every foul Republican is referred to as “gay”. It happens over and over. It’s against the rules and the mods do try, but it never ends. Why?
They say that doing the same thing over and over but expecting a different result is the definition of insanity so I don’t know why I keep expecting it to change.
I don’t know what to do, but I don’t like how DU makes me feel.
devilgrrl Donating Member (1000+ posts)
Mon Aug-04-08 03:08 PM
Response to Original message15. Virtually every foul Republican is referred to as “gay” - By whom?
Quit painting everyone with one brush stroke please.
kestrel91316 Donating Member (1000+ posts)
Mon Aug-04-08 03:21 PM
Response to Original message22. Do you always make shit like this up?
I have been here quite a while and can’t recall a single instance of a Republican being called gay for the hell of it. Now, if they are gay AND closeted AND a homophobe, I can see that.
You probably wanna run back to FR if you wanna concoct fables out of whole cloth.
For these “I can’t recall” folks (who can never again claim that DUers just don’t do this sort of thing), here’s a memory-refresher (and this, my friends, only scratches the surface):
2003
• Arnold Schwarzenegger is gay
• Tony Blair is still a nancy-boy
• Is Condoleezza Rice a lesbian?
2004
• George W. Bush was a crossdressing cheerleader, so he’s gay (and Laura is a man)
• If Bush is gay, is that what made him an alcoholic, too?
• Dick Cheney is “a repressed gay,” and Lynne Cheney is a lesbian
• It doesn’t matter if George W. Bush is gay, as long as smearing him as being gay helps John Kerry
• Kenneth Starr is a nancy-boy
• Brit Hume is a scum-sucking coward nancy boy
• Tucker Carlson is a pansy-ass, bow-tie wearing little nancy boy
• Tony Blair is still a nancy-boy
2005
• George W. Bush is bi, and so is his father
• George W. Bush is a repressed homosexual
• George W. Bush is gay, because he was a cheerleader, and his parents had him “de-gayed”
• George W. Bush is gay, and doing it with Jeff Gannon
• Jeff Gannon is George Bush’s gay love slave
• George W. Bush is gay, and so was Hitler
• Rush Limbaugh is gay… and so are Hannity, Bush, Rove, Santorum, and McClellan
• Prince Charles is a nancy-boy
• Tucker Carlson is a nancy-boy
• Harriet Miers and Condoleezza Rice must be lesbians
2006
• Victor Ashe is proof that Bush is gay
• …and a “very odd subtext” proves it
• Karl Rove is gay, and so are all the single men in the Bush administration
• Karl Rove is a nancy-boy who will get raped in prison
• Rick Santorum is a self-hating, gay, homophobic, limp-wristed nancy boy
• Dennis Hastert is gay, because, after all, he was a wrestling coach
• Ann Coulter is a gay transsexual
• Phil Mickelson is a nancy-boy
2007
• Is the GOP unintentionally gay?
• George W. Bush is a gay nancy-boy
• George W. Bush is a wimpy, nancy-boy ex-cheerleader who can’t stay on his bicycle
• Karl Rove is gay, and doing it with Jeff Gannon
• Karl Rove is gay, and doing it with Jeff Gannon, again
• Lindsey Graham’s first name might have made him gay
• Hillary Clinton is a lesbian… who had an affair with a Muslim Pakistani*
• Hillary Clinton is not a lesbian — she’s too “smart,” “intelligent,” and “strong” to be a lesbian
• Condoleezza Rice is a lesbian
2008
• George W. Bush and Karl Rove are gay
• George W. Bush is gay and his favorite prostitute is Jeff Gannon
• Fred Phelps is gay, because he wears “gay outfits”
• Hillary Clinton is a lesbian
• Hillary Clinton is a lesbian
• Hillary Clinton is a lesbian
• Hillary Clinton is a lesbian… who had an affair with a Muslim Pakistani (redux)
And the winner of the Most Offensive Asshat on DU in 2008 (So Far) Award goes to “kurtboss,” who — to the credit of the DU admins — has since been banned:
kurtboss (361 posts)
Mon Aug-04-08 09:05 PM
Original messageMcCain is Gay– The Nuclear Option of Negatives (and it will work)
Okay, let’s just make clear that there is nothing wrong with being Gay, however employing this strategy does make use of the negative cultural stereotypes about homosexuality. It’s exploiting it…but, to a good end.
So, here’s the deal. I want opinions. I don’t know if he’s really gay, but it doesn’t matter. This is hardball politics. A war, healthcare, the economy, etc all ride on this election…so it’s probably worth getting dirty for a couple months. I believe this can destroy his chances for victory by putting this seed of doubt in the minds of bigots.
1. The GOP Evangelicals HATE gays
2. Obviously easy to exploit McCain’s obsession with Obama–it’s practically pathetic at this point and noted everywhere in the media
3. He’s in the Navy. Village People anyone? It gets awfully lonely on ships.
4. To tie this up for you…McCain is already questioned by the Evangelicals and absolutely requires they turn out for him in droves. It’s his weakness.
How to attack it? Viral email. Youtube some effete moments put together…perhaps the infamous hug?? McCain is pretty pro-gay as GOP guys on policy isn’t he??? Check out the four photos below in what my FIRST and only google image search turned of of McCain hug
As for transphobia (or: Everyone We Hate is Transgender), there are far too many references to “Mann Coulter” to waste my time listing them all; see for yourself.
Ditto Ann Coulter’s adam’s apple.
Don’t even get me started on the “prison rape is funny” posts — or the “Gays will lose us the next election! / Gays lost us the election!” scapegoating that happens every two years, like clockwork.
* While Hillary Clinton is not a right-winger, she is loathed as much as Bush, Rove, and all the rest by a substantial portion of DU. Remember, the ploy is called Everyone We Hate is Gay.
Filed under: Condoleezza Rice, Democrats, Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, Gay Republicans, George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, Hate Speech, Hillary Clinton, Homophobia, John McCain, Karl Rove, Mike Huckabee, Mitt Romney, Random Bigotry, Random Stupidity, Republicans, Rick Santorum
