Tuesday, August 9, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Learned a New Term I Wish I Didn't Know
Today I learned a new gay slur from supposed gay-positive punk rocker and part-time lefty radio pundit Johnny Angel Wendell, who, in asserting that Michele Bachmann may be a lesbian on facebook, used the term "daggery." A trip to urbanurbandictionary.com provides a lot of scatological associations that I really could have done without.
Now, I know the standard defense of this behavior, which runs something like this: "It's not actually homophobia, it's meant to be a calling-out of that particular homophobe's hypocrisy, by using their own homophobia against them."
That argument would make a lot more sense to me if I hadn't just been schooled in a new homophobic term by someone who is supposedly anti-homophobe. I singled out Wendell, because he's the latest repugnant example, but this behavior is rampant across the lefty bloggoshpere. If you suspect someone on the right of being a self-loathing gay, poke him or her with sarcastic mock-homophobia.
In my opinion, this does nothing to break down homophobia. It doesn't encourage the supposedly closeted person to open the door, it just sends more hate their way. You are not making an ally, you are not helping that person in any way. Ancillary to that, you put anyone who doesn't know you're being ironic or sarcastic on the defensive as well. There is no positive value in making slurs against any TLGB person, out or closeted, that I can divine. All it does is drive the wedge of hatred and division in deeper.
Now, I know the standard defense of this behavior, which runs something like this: "It's not actually homophobia, it's meant to be a calling-out of that particular homophobe's hypocrisy, by using their own homophobia against them."
That argument would make a lot more sense to me if I hadn't just been schooled in a new homophobic term by someone who is supposedly anti-homophobe. I singled out Wendell, because he's the latest repugnant example, but this behavior is rampant across the lefty bloggoshpere. If you suspect someone on the right of being a self-loathing gay, poke him or her with sarcastic mock-homophobia.
In my opinion, this does nothing to break down homophobia. It doesn't encourage the supposedly closeted person to open the door, it just sends more hate their way. You are not making an ally, you are not helping that person in any way. Ancillary to that, you put anyone who doesn't know you're being ironic or sarcastic on the defensive as well. There is no positive value in making slurs against any TLGB person, out or closeted, that I can divine. All it does is drive the wedge of hatred and division in deeper.
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
A Trick For Opening a New CD
I posted this at youtube a couple of weeks ago, and it has already become one of my most popular videos. It's not that it's so special, it's just that it namechecks Gillian Welch. Still, it's kind of a neat trick, if you find a new, shrinkwrapped CD a pain to break into.
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