An Improvement?
Paul Thornton's blog post in the opinion section of the Los Angeles Times suggests that the anti-gay rhetoric coming from the GOP candidates for president may actually be a sign that things are actually improving when it comes to gay rights. I'm not so sure, but he does raise some interesting points when it comes to the homophobia expressed by Rick Perry, Michele Bachmann, Rick Santorum, and even Mitt Romney. Their opinions are not being treated by the press and the public as they have been in the past.
Could this be the biggest gay-bashing election in recent history? Doubtful, since President George W. Bush set such a high bar in 2004. Quite the contrary: Call me an optimist, but I see such highly publicized gay-baiting as a positive development.
Why? Not so long ago, the virulently homophobic views offered by some candidates were treated almost as viable alternatives to the positions taken by less anti-gay politicians. It was as if all those views came from the same menu of Reasonable Points of View Worth Debating. Now, the radical ideas espoused by Bachmann, Perry, Santorum and others are held up not for genuine consideration but for scorn (notwithstanding the last GOP debate in Iowa). Perry's and Bachmann's views aren't weighed against President Obama's "evolving" stance on same-sex marriage; rather, they are simply ridiculed. It says as much about our society as it does the candidates. [Emphasis added]
I realize that many of the anti-gay comments being made by the candidates are offered as red meat to the extremist fringe of the Republican party, the Religious Reich. I also realize that public opinion has moved towards acceptance of gay rights, including gay marriage, even if that movement has been glacially slow. I am not so certain, however, that we have gotten beyond the menu of "Reasonable Points of View Worth Debating" presentation by the press after such events as the recent Iowa debate and the coverage of speeches given after the straw vote. While Mr. Thornton and a few others have held the homophobia up for scorn, most of that is buried deep within the paper or in blog posts which show up on line, but not the paper editions being perused at the breakfast table.
Still, Thornton's post is filled with links which do show at least the start of a change. For that, I am grateful.
Could this be the biggest gay-bashing election in recent history? Doubtful, since President George W. Bush set such a high bar in 2004. Quite the contrary: Call me an optimist, but I see such highly publicized gay-baiting as a positive development.
Why? Not so long ago, the virulently homophobic views offered by some candidates were treated almost as viable alternatives to the positions taken by less anti-gay politicians. It was as if all those views came from the same menu of Reasonable Points of View Worth Debating. Now, the radical ideas espoused by Bachmann, Perry, Santorum and others are held up not for genuine consideration but for scorn (notwithstanding the last GOP debate in Iowa). Perry's and Bachmann's views aren't weighed against President Obama's "evolving" stance on same-sex marriage; rather, they are simply ridiculed. It says as much about our society as it does the candidates. [Emphasis added]
I realize that many of the anti-gay comments being made by the candidates are offered as red meat to the extremist fringe of the Republican party, the Religious Reich. I also realize that public opinion has moved towards acceptance of gay rights, including gay marriage, even if that movement has been glacially slow. I am not so certain, however, that we have gotten beyond the menu of "Reasonable Points of View Worth Debating" presentation by the press after such events as the recent Iowa debate and the coverage of speeches given after the straw vote. While Mr. Thornton and a few others have held the homophobia up for scorn, most of that is buried deep within the paper or in blog posts which show up on line, but not the paper editions being perused at the breakfast table.
Still, Thornton's post is filled with links which do show at least the start of a change. For that, I am grateful.
Labels: Election 2012, Gay Rights
posted by Diane at 3:30 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home