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Happens all the time. Perfect example, recently:
Delighted to have my letter posted at Buzzflash.com's mailbag, I eagerly awaited to see what sort of response (if any) I'd get. And I did: it was lamely liberal, essentially trivializing--instead of defending--the noble struggle for queer liberation.
The author is one "Barbara Lee (Barb) Blazyk", out of red-state Georgia. She presents herself as the quintessential progressive, who loves all humanity, and stands for all peoples' rights. She comes out as endearingly cute, a bright light in a dark mire of Republicanism. In truth, she is a SABOTEUR, attempting to destroy any effort by forthright gays to enlighten the hetero masses. (That is: a Republican wolf in liberal sheep's clothing.)
Yet clearly, she is IGNORANT of the plight of our sexual minorities. Typically, her concealed arrogance comes off as the last word on the gay issue. As if EVERYTHING I had just stated was simply the erroneous babbling of a goofball. And THAT is how gay activists are USUALLY treated by many of our liberal factions.
In other words, Babs' reply was a textbook example of my original complaint about phony liberals pretending to care about, and clearly comprehend, the queer issue. I, on the other hand, have no validity in her self-centered world of progressive pabulum.
Now, you will first read my original post, then Babs' reply...and finally, my REBUTTAL to her horrid distortions of my ideas. Which Buzzflash did NOT publish, again proving my claim that the gay issue is GROSSLY suppressed and underrepresented by even the MOST progressively political groups. For they ALLOWED Babs to get away with her trivializing, insulting, anti-queer TRIPE!
Date: March 23, 2006
Subject: Progressives' Tolerance of Homophobia Is Distressing
It is MOST disheartening and frightening to see even the most progressive groups and participants accept homophobic slurs as "okay," when of course they so staunchly stand up against all other forms of bigotry. Over and over again, I read and hear liberals, progressives, and lefties attack evil-doers with defamatory anti-gay terms such as "faggot," "homosexual," and worse.
Everyone knows Bush is no good...he must be queer. Ditto for Muslim fanatics. Our soldiers scrawl homophobic graffiti throughout the Arab world, accusing Muslims of being "fags.". And today's (March 22) BuzzFlash Mailbag comment by Akhil Bhardwaj:
"Scooter means a gay french 2-wheeled object that transports humans from point A to B."
Because the scooter is "gay" means it's bad. And of course, those Anti-American French MUST be queer...like most Western Europeans.
Not a peep out of BuzzFlash! Had the author used an anti-black word like "n*gger," or anti-female like "c*nt", you bet your liberal arse it would be either censored or severely condemned.
Want to end violence on this planet? Starvation? Torture? Fascism? There is only one way through this, to a truly peaceful world: vanquish discrimination against non-hetero minorities. It is this tacitly sanctioned thread of homophobia that runs a red streak through ALL of our present, liberal projects. Such a malicious attitude POISONS any such project because it encourages male-on-male violence no matter WHAT the issue being dealt with.
NO group will EVER win its rights, nor will we have a sane ecology, economy, government or anything else good, as long as people seek liberation while maintaining hatred against a vital segment of its membership. ALL oppressed minorities I know of, STILL vehemently hate and persecuted their own homosexuals and other sexual minorities.
Should I look forward to a healthy ecosystem, based in part on eradicating sexual minorities? I mean, c'mon: I've met and communicated with MANY homophobes who are active members of ecological groups such as Greenpeace, Sierra Club, etc.
No, you don't have to be right-wing to espouse anti-queer dogma. That seems to have also infected most of our liberal movements, including so-called progressive media like BuzzFlash.
Gay people truly have NO real allies in ANY political sphere...we are far more alone in this global jihad against homosexuals, than many "liberals" care to admit. The greatest true conspiracy ever to exist in our troubled history, has been the conspiring of misery, trauma and death of homosexuals in most EVERY society. This has gone on for MANY centuries...but is now destined to come crashing down.
It is way too clear to me, that much of the world's present institutions will go down in flames of ignorance--and other, better ones--shall arise...all based on this sole issue: gay rights. Whether or not you can accept this, is YOUR problem...but let's not fool ourselves into thinking that being on the left politically is any better for queers.
Yet what I see to be true (as a gay activist since 1973), remains suppressed and ignored by even the most progressive media outlets like BuzzFlash. So MUCH heroism in our gay community has gone unreported for the most part.
I think those (too-few) heterosexuals who really ARE supporters of gay liberation, ought to come up with a NEW name to separate themselves from the mainstream (mostly anti-gay) hetero majority. Else, how difficult it will continue to be, for us gays to really figure out which breeders we meet, really WILL defend us, when push comes to shove.
To me, the conclusion is as obvious as the nose on any hetero-supremacist face:
It's the homophobia, stupid!
Zeke Krahlin
San Francisco, CA
Date: March 24, 2006
Subject: So we progressives are anti-gay?? Think again.
Dear Buzzers --
I just read Zeke Krahlin's letter (3/23) in the Mailbag. Yes, I concede that some people who CALL themselves "progressive" and (quite likely) DLC-ers riding the fence are willing to indulge in gay-bashing rants. But don't assume that ALL of us progressives can be pigeonholed into that category. In fact, many of us ARE gay. And those of us who aren't are willing and determined to defend the rights of those who are -- just as many of us fought for civil rights even if we weren't black, fought against unjust/lied-into wars from Vietnam to both of the Gulf fiascos even though women weren't drafted into Vietnam and there is (well, so far) no draft -- but don't count on it after we invade Iran.
It's as unfair and unjust to categorize progressives as it is to discriminate against gays, African-Americans, women, the poor, etc., etc. (No, this isn't a personal attack on Zeke; I'm simply pointing out that judging entire groups on the basis of some outrageous examples is...well...prejudice. And prejudice is wrong, whether it comes from the left or right, the evangelical Christians or the Catholics or the Jews or the Muslims or us secular humanists. Or, for that matter, from African-Americans who hate whites, and vice versa.
Personally, I wanted "Brokeback Mountain" to win as best picture. I, too, smell a whiff of anti-gay bias here. But it's still unfair to condemn whole groups of people for the prejudice of a few of them. (Hell, I'd vote for Republican Olympia Snow or Independent Jim Jeffords -- my favorite, of course, is still Russ Feingold -- long before I'd vote for fence-sitting, wind-sniffing DLC/Republican lites like Hillary, Kerry, et al. (and PLEASE, anyone in CT, get Joe Lieberman out of the Senate! And NOT because he's Jewish -- but because he's sucking up to the Repukes, big time!)
Again, no personal attack intended. But I think it's wrong to accuse progressives, as a group, of being anti-gay. We aren't.
Barbara Lee (Barb) Blazyk
Athens, GA ("Oh, Canada!")
(Remember: this is my rebuttal which was NOT published in Buzzflash's mailbag!)
Date: March 25, 2006
Re: So we progressives are anti-gay?? Think again.
Ms. Blazyk's failed critique of my decrying the foot-dragging and negligence of all liberal factions regarding gay rights, is a typical smear by self-proclaimed "true" liberals, that only serves to further marginalize and trivialize the plight of sexual minorities.
For one, it is obvious she does not even BOTHER to read one friggin' gay newspaper (online OR off). Else, she'd totally AGREE with my outraged position. I like to joke that we queers could announce a global revolution (and overthrow) of our heterosexist overlords, right there on the front pages of our own gay rags...and since even "liberal" breeders never READ our papers, they'd remain CLUELESS up to the day of Ultimate Victory when homosexuals rule over all.
For two, she TRIVIALIZES the extent of homophobia in our present state of affairs. If gay hatred were simply the force of a straggling FEW, we wouldn't now have the entire DEMOCRATIC PARTY dropping the gay rights issue, for fear of losing the upcoming 2006 and 2008 elections.
As to her comment re. Brokeback Mountain: "I, too, smell a whiff of anti-gay bias here."
A whiff? JUST a whiff? The dang story OPENS with an extremely VIOLENT incident of gay bashing unto death...and ENDS with the implication of same.
In essence, the most powerful message in that movie above all others, is that "gay love equals tragedy": queers get the loneliness, grief, terrorism and death they deserve!
You call THAT a whiff? Whatsamatter: you have no olfactory nerves? I call that a BIG, STINKIN' PILE OF HOMOPHOBIC DUNG! Of course, smarmy "pro-gay" liberals are doting all OVER this film, which ulterior motive is to APPEAR gay friendly while remaining uninterested at best.
Yes, and our "progressive" President Clinton signed the notorious DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act): the most egregious piece of homophobic bigotry EVER passed by a sitting prez! Really, DOMA is a cloak for justifying a gay pogrom...in that it actually means that we queers are a serious THREAT to Hetero Amerikan Family Values. Else why create a national law in hetero DEFENSE?
DOMA opened the doors for the Republicans/Fascists/Fund ies to INCREASE gay bashing by now being able to point their fingers at a "progressive" Democrat (Prez Clinton) who also sees homosexuals as a threat.
Due to society's sexphobia--with homosexuals representing the GREATEST offense (even worse than raping/murdering a woman)--we homosexuals are in a uniquely horrid position from which to seek our liberation. For unlike all other minorities, we have no base support from family OR church. And these two factions have been TANTAMOUNT towards the success of all other civil rights issues.
Thirdly, it still REMAINS a fact, that in over 90% of Amerika's map, gays continue to live under a reign of terror 24/7. The remaining 10% have better odds of some semblance of a decent life...but it's still akin to a crap shoot or a lottery. For even in Gay Mecca where I've lived since 1973, anti-gay hatred and bashing is as prolific as anywhere else.
I therefore STRONGLY disagree with her claim that "it's wrong to accuse progressives, as a group, of being anti-gay. We aren't."
Oh yes you are! Ignorance of the Gay Truth is no excuse. I suggest you, Ms. Blazyk, incorporate in your obviously DAILY reading of progressive news, one or two GAY news sources...before blathering your ignorance, thus costing more innocent gay lives. Here are several:
Bay Area Reporter
http://www.ebar.com/
Washington Blade Online
http://www.washblade.com/
Planet Out
http://www.planetout.com/pno/...
Gay Wired
http://www.gaywired.com/daily...
These are all online sources. That way, you won't have to embarass your liberal friends by displaying a QUEER newspaper on your coffee table, alongside Mother Jones, Ebony, The Nation, and Rolling Stone.
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