The above quote of Rupert Everett's does rather make the point. The whole idea of being 'tolerated' is hardly akin to being anything like loved and wanted, or held in esteem and with pride. The idea that as gay and lesbians we should settle for 'tolerance' when it comes to citizenship is ludicrous. It clearly establishes a second class status, which when wants a home or a job or to marry just won't 'do'. Whether one likes homosexuality or not is not the point; when you are designated 'second class' it's OK for those designated as 'first class' people, those who think they are "first class", like Ann Coulter, to call whomever they please a 'f-----t'. Not acceptable in my book. The only one who gets to call me by that word is me, as a way to 'own' this derogatory and negative concept. I used to think it was OK to use it amongst a group of gay men, jokingly, but I think considering the current climate of inclusion (none) that it isn't; and that as a group, we homosexual gentlemen need to make it clear that you - and you, and you, and you - cannot call us names, and especially not this particularly offensive word.
Words can never hurt me is such a childish untruth - though the reply to verbal taunts is of course to pretend - PRETEND - they have no effect; but frankly, I remember being called nasty names eluding to my sexuality quite clearly: each instance from grade-school on is etched like laser monograming in my memory. Words do hurt. They do injure. They cause harm. My word! If they didn't, pundits like Coulter would be out of a job!
I CAN take a ribbing. I can laugh at gay jokes and be amused by depictions of gay men in all our foibles and stereotypes. We need to be able to laugh at ourselves, to take a joke with good humor and to not take offense where none is given. But, whoa, when offensive is not only given, but delivered with a good couple of sharp, hard twists of the knife, well, then we had all better stand up, be counted and shout loudly: "NO WAY"!
Coulter calling John Edward's a f-----t, presumably because of his statement saying that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is antiquated and harmful,( not only to gays and lesbians wishing to serve, but to our country in need of those who WANT to serve ), is one of those attacks which must get a "No Way!" from all of us: Gay and Straight, Democrat and Republican. Why? Because it damages ALL of US.
This is an attack which is multi-barbed deliberately to injure as many people as possible simply to please a core of frustrated, angry bigots who must hate to enjoy living. Coulter can pander to these people as much as she wants, and I can assure you she will continue to do so. (I don't think she has the capacity to either learn about or understand anyone with whom she disagrees; not anymore, and that is a sad thing for her. Really.)
But, while I can write in this blog that I disagree with Coulter, that I don't think much of her misuse of whatever education she has achieved and even that I actually feel a strong dislike for the woman, despite the fact I know her only from her political jargon; well, it is very, very different than calling her, say: a vile, man-eating little C*#T. (I typed it out, and realized I couldn't leave it in print - I guess Ms. Coulter will relish what she'll mistake in me as the ineffectual musings of a F#GG*T). I can't call her THAT and remain a fully vested human being.
If I'd left it there to read who would have been injured? Coulter? Hardly! ( And I can tell you she hates that word in the way every woman hates it, and maybe more so because... because she will see an element of ownership in that description. ) If it were even so simple as my calling her that name where only she could hear it, doing so would injure gravely. I honestly would have a difficult time not saying it to her, but if I did, if I did such a low, miserly, nasty thing I would regret having done so, even to the She-Devil. But more than that, the word injures all women, demoralizes and strips women of their dignity and equality - and that's why using it against Ms. Coulter, however tempting, isn't worth it. Because, even she, Ms. Coulter, is created in the image of our Creator, and so deserves, despite all her profoundly immoral words and actions, to be seen as a human being and of value.
Your opponent has value. To God. To a husband or a wife. To a son or a father. Value. And that is why using words like 'F#@@*T'or N#@@%R or K#@E or C*#T is hateful, is harmful and is without any doubt, completely unacceptable in the language of our political speak. They are not 'jokes' or 'humorous', they are vile and dehumanizing.
If we fail to see what is human, even in our enemy, than we fail to be human. And, well, I don't need to expound on what happens when a group of us stops being human, but I'll throw out a few words:
"Guantánamo" "Serbia" "Auschwitz" "Dachau" "Rwanda" "Chechnya" "Bosnia" "Darfur"and it goes on and on: will Ms Coulter and her ilk be responsible for the list coming to include "America"?
Yes.
And we will also be responsible. Responsible for allowing her, and those like her, to go unchallenged. There are no words which cannot be given the power to injure mortally and destroy utterly. And Ms. Coulter is awfully proud of the ones she uses to do just that. Let's remind her we don't like it: "NO WAY!"
Words can never hurt me is such a childish untruth - though the reply to verbal taunts is of course to pretend - PRETEND - they have no effect; but frankly, I remember being called nasty names eluding to my sexuality quite clearly: each instance from grade-school on is etched like laser monograming in my memory. Words do hurt. They do injure. They cause harm. My word! If they didn't, pundits like Coulter would be out of a job!
I CAN take a ribbing. I can laugh at gay jokes and be amused by depictions of gay men in all our foibles and stereotypes. We need to be able to laugh at ourselves, to take a joke with good humor and to not take offense where none is given. But, whoa, when offensive is not only given, but delivered with a good couple of sharp, hard twists of the knife, well, then we had all better stand up, be counted and shout loudly: "NO WAY"!
Coulter calling John Edward's a f-----t, presumably because of his statement saying that "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" is antiquated and harmful,( not only to gays and lesbians wishing to serve, but to our country in need of those who WANT to serve ), is one of those attacks which must get a "No Way!" from all of us: Gay and Straight, Democrat and Republican. Why? Because it damages ALL of US.
This is an attack which is multi-barbed deliberately to injure as many people as possible simply to please a core of frustrated, angry bigots who must hate to enjoy living. Coulter can pander to these people as much as she wants, and I can assure you she will continue to do so. (I don't think she has the capacity to either learn about or understand anyone with whom she disagrees; not anymore, and that is a sad thing for her. Really.)
But, while I can write in this blog that I disagree with Coulter, that I don't think much of her misuse of whatever education she has achieved and even that I actually feel a strong dislike for the woman, despite the fact I know her only from her political jargon; well, it is very, very different than calling her, say: a vile, man-eating little C*#T. (I typed it out, and realized I couldn't leave it in print - I guess Ms. Coulter will relish what she'll mistake in me as the ineffectual musings of a F#GG*T). I can't call her THAT and remain a fully vested human being.
If I'd left it there to read who would have been injured? Coulter? Hardly! ( And I can tell you she hates that word in the way every woman hates it, and maybe more so because... because she will see an element of ownership in that description. ) If it were even so simple as my calling her that name where only she could hear it, doing so would injure gravely. I honestly would have a difficult time not saying it to her, but if I did, if I did such a low, miserly, nasty thing I would regret having done so, even to the She-Devil. But more than that, the word injures all women, demoralizes and strips women of their dignity and equality - and that's why using it against Ms. Coulter, however tempting, isn't worth it. Because, even she, Ms. Coulter, is created in the image of our Creator, and so deserves, despite all her profoundly immoral words and actions, to be seen as a human being and of value.
Your opponent has value. To God. To a husband or a wife. To a son or a father. Value. And that is why using words like 'F#@@*T'or N#@@%R or K#@E or C*#T is hateful, is harmful and is without any doubt, completely unacceptable in the language of our political speak. They are not 'jokes' or 'humorous', they are vile and dehumanizing.
If we fail to see what is human, even in our enemy, than we fail to be human. And, well, I don't need to expound on what happens when a group of us stops being human, but I'll throw out a few words:
"Guantánamo" "Serbia" "Auschwitz" "Dachau" "Rwanda" "Chechnya" "Bosnia" "Darfur"and it goes on and on: will Ms Coulter and her ilk be responsible for the list coming to include "America"?
Yes.
And we will also be responsible. Responsible for allowing her, and those like her, to go unchallenged. There are no words which cannot be given the power to injure mortally and destroy utterly. And Ms. Coulter is awfully proud of the ones she uses to do just that. Let's remind her we don't like it: "NO WAY!"
No comments:
Post a Comment