I ran across this column today, but more specifically, this image (which unfortunately won’t embed).
I’m no prude, and I tend to, as many people do, make jokes that probably shouldn’t be made. But there is something about making a joke, and then taking that joke and turning it into an image, whether a sign or a t-shirt, that crosses a line for me. There’s something deliberate, and certainly more overt about that. And even if you really don’t see yourself as homophobic, and maybe you’re even a strong supporter of gay rights, but to wear something like that, it becomes an emblem of something that is actually pretty inappropriate, and irresponsible.
Imagine being the 13 year old kid at the Sox/Cubs game last weekend secretly dealing with his own confusing sexuality. Even if his parents are the most supportive people in the world, in that moment the world confirms to him that he will, for as long as anyone can tell, be thought of as little more than a punch line. And a bad one at that.
ADDED: Katie Rogers alerted me to many more homophobic, racist, and anti-disability t-shirts from this company. I wouldn’t give their site the traffic, but hopefully people on the North and the South sides can come together to consciously boycott this company.
I’ll talk to people at HRC and see if we can get some field people in Chicago to get involved. I’ll keep you posted.
According to an interview with Christianity Today, posted on HuPo:
“I’ve had some friends that are actually homosexual. And, I mean, they know where I stand, and they know that I wouldn’t have them anywhere near my children.”
My question is, why are these people your friends?
BTW, this is my first opportunity to create a Joe the Plumber tag. Let’s hope it’s the last.
Filed under: Uncategorized | Tags: Dept. of Homeland Security, extremism, homophobia, Janet Napolitano, Pat Robertson
“…somebody whose sexual orientation is somewhat in question.”
So what we know is that the authors of the Department of Homeland Security’s report on right wing extremism potentially gaining new recruits after the election of Obama are either left-wingers or gay.
Sounds to me like Pat Robertson just got a couple more recruits with that message.
