Hatred, Denial, And The 'Gay But'

Something remarkable took place this week. Richard Posner, (left) a conservative federal appeals court judge, a man appointed by Ronald Reagan, (genuflect here) who looks and sounds like he came from central casting in response to a request for a cantankerous jurist, asked the attorney defending Wisconsin's same-sex marriage ban if hatred of gay people isn't the real genesis of the law. Even better, he didn't ask it like a man looking for an answer. He asked it like a man making an accusation.

It isn't everyday you get to hear a federal judge demand a gay rights adversary recognize for the record what the gay community has always known. Irrational, unreasonable hatred of gay citizens has allowed them to be assaulted, arrested, disrespected, deprived of their human and civil rights, and treated like second class citizens. That's the destructive energy that fuels the states' marriage equality prohibitions. If that isn't hate, what is?

Judge Posner: What concrete factual arguments do you have against homosexual marriage?

Mr. Samuelson: Well, we have, uh, the Burkean argument, that it’s reasonable and rational to proceed slowly.

Judge Posner: That’s the tradition argument. It’s feeble! Look, they could have trotted out Edmund Burke in the Loving case. What’s the difference? There was a tradition of not allowing black and whites, and, actually, other interracial couples from marrying. It was a tradition. It got swept aside. Why is this tradition better?

Mr. Samuelson: The tradition is based on experience. And it’s the tradition of western culture.

Judge Posner: What experience! It’s based on hate, isn’t it?

Mr. Samuelson: No, not at all, your honor.

"No, not at all your honor"? I don't hate gay people. I'm just standing here before you trying to keep them from the pursuit of happiness that is every American's birthright. 

There seems to be a new strategy afoot by the anti-gay forces, who for years have been successful at depriving gay Americans of equal treatment by vilifying them. For the last half century, since the time when Harvey Milk urged gays to "come out, come out wherever you are," every passing year makes that character attack less productive. It was one thing when gays could be cast as deviants and criminals and mentally ill, but people don't like their sons and brothers and friends called names and disrespected. As a result, the traditional "God hates fags" rhetoric has been softening. Gay rights opponents are transitioning to a new, more devious posture. The words may sound kinder, but the message is not. 

The same politicians, pundits and priests who once stood proudly and proclaimed their opposition to gays with words like "abomination", now preface their anti-gay remarks with a phrase like: "I don't hate gay people, but..." or "I have nothing against gay people but..." I named this tactic the "gay but" a few years ago after Rick Santorum was ballsy enough to speak those very words on camera.

What you need to remember about the "gay but" phenomenon is that what comes after "I don't hate gays but..." is usually an example of the hatred the speaker has just denied.

The Penguin Dictionary of Psychology defines hate as a:

"deep, enduring, intense emotion expressing animosity, anger, and hostility towards a person, group, or object."[2] Because hatred is believed to be long-lasting, many psychologists consider it to be more of an attitude or disposition than a temporary emotional state.

So do we know anyone who fits that "deep enduring hostility" description? How about the two anti-gay presidential contenders pictured at the top of this page: Rick Santorum, who compared gay sex with bestiality and Mike Huckabee, who blamed gays for the Sandy Hook massacre? Not so long ago, both of those gentlemen were proud to be leading the homophobe circus parade.

Surprise! Rick Santorum still thinks gay marriage must be fought like the terrorism that gave us 9/11, but Rick Santorum 2.0 does not hate gays. Here's what he said:

"I have nothing, absolutely nothing against anyone who’s homosexual. If that’s their orientation, then I accept that..."

And do you know who else doesn't hate gays? Mike Huckabee. Yes, he still doesn't think gay people should be able to marry or adopt, but here's what the new and improved Mike Huckabee said at the Iowa Faith and Freedom convention:

“I’m not against anybody. I’m really not. I’m not a hater. I’m not homophobic. I honestly don’t care what people do personally in their individual lives..."

These new "I have nothing against gays" demurrals seems to be catching on among conservatives. Of course, the truth is the hatred is still there, and it's not hard to find. It's usually on display on the other side of that "gay but".

I don't hate gays but... I don't think they should be allowed to marry.
I don't hate gays but... I don't think they should be able to adopt.
I don't hate gays but... I don't think school children should know they exist.
I don't hate gays but... I don't think they should receive healthcare benefits for their partners.
I don't hate gays but... I think an employer should be able to fire him if he finds out.
I don't hate gays but... I don't think religious people should have to serve them.
I don't hate gays but...I think they should remain celibate.
I don't hate gays but... I think they should stay in the closet.

Can you imagine what these guys would be like if they did hate gays? (That was sarcasm, don't leave me angry comments.)

Every one of those "I don't hate gays" statements is an oxymoron. A contradiction in terms: I don't hate gays but... here's how I hate gays.

As you become aware of the new talking points by the same old talking heads, you will find they will often the follow the "gay but" by a religious excuse.

"I don't have anything against gays but the bible says..."

This is yet another oxymoron. If you feel you must not bake a wedding cake for a lesbian couple because of the bible, then, yes, you do have something against gays: your religious denomination of choice. That excuse is like being tried for a lynching and claiming it wasn't your fault because you're a member of the KKK and that's what they instructed you to do. So drop the "I have nothing against gays." You do. You can choose to follow one of the many churches out there worshiping a god that doesn't ask believers to hate anyone. Yes, I said hate. Many excuses have been proffered over the centuries, but denying someone his human rights is never an act born from respect.

Judge Posner asked an audacious question about the genesis of the same-sex marriage ban:

"It’s based on hate, isn’t it?"

"No, not at all" answered Wisconsin Assistant Attorney General Timothy Samuelson - and then came the "gay but". Mr. Samuelson told the Judge his very good reason for keeping loving couples from marrying is because of "experience".

Experience? What does that even mean? Trust us, we've come across their kind before and we learned from that experience society will collapse if we allow them to legally make a life with the person they love?

Anti-gay Tenn. lawmaker behind ‘Don’t Say Gay’ bill defeated in reelection bid

An anti-gay Tennessee state lawmaker who has spent much of his legislative career sponsoring anti-LGBT bills, and who once blamed AIDS on a gay man having sex with monkeys, was soundly defeated Thursday in his bid for a second Senate term.

State Sen. Stacey Campfield (R-Knoxville) garnered on 28 percent of the vote in Thursday’s GOP primary, losing to Richard Briggs, a Knox County commissioner, reports The Tennessean.

Campfield, first elected to the state House in 2004, and to the Senate in 2010, has a long history of controversial statements and anti-gay legislative initiatives.

Campfield, a 46-year-old confirmed bachelor, has also said homosexuality is a “learned behavior.”He repeatedly sought to ban teachers from mentioning or discussing gay issues in public schools through his failed “Don’t Say Gay” legislation. In 2012 he drew fire after telling a satellite radio host that HIV and AIDS originated from a gay airline pilot having sex with a monkey and that it was nearly “impossible” for AIDS to be contracted through heterosexual sex.

Earlier this year, Campfield compared the insurance requirement under President Barack Obama’s health care law to the forced deportation of Jews during the Holocaust, writing in a blog post that “Democrats bragging about the number of mandatory sign ups for Obamacare is like Germans bragging about the number of mandatory sign ups for ‘train rides’ for Jews in the 40s.”

Following his defeat Thursday, Campfield posted on his blog a video of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” under the subject line, “That was fun.”

Conservative ‘Christian’ Says President Obama’s Execution Should Be Worse Than Being Drawn And Quartered\

Conservative rage against President Obama just reached its most dangerous levels yet, and the Secret Service really needs to do more than investigate these bloodthirsty animals.

Stephen Steinlight works for the Center for Immigration Studies and unsurprisingly, he’s a Tea Party loving conservative “Christian” who wants to see President Obama killed. Not just killed, but publicly executed in the bloodiest, most brutal and painful way possible.

During a speech to the Highlands Tea Party on July 17th, Steinlight repeated the call for Obama to be impeached, a call that has also been made by the likes of Sarah Palin who claims God supports impeachment. But Steinlight didn’t stop there. He also called for President Obama to be publicly executed, and suggested that the method be worse than hanging or being drawn and quartered.

We all know, if there ever was a president that deserved to be impeached, it’s this guy, alright? And I wouldn’t stop. I would think being hung, drawn, and quartered is probably too good for him.

 Here’s the video via Raw Story.

For those who don’t know what being drawn and quartered means, this conservative “Christian” is saying that tearing President Obama into four separate pieces via tying him to four horses isn’t a good enough form of execution to satisfy him. He apparently wants Obama’s death to be even more gruesome and cruel.

This is perhaps the most deplorable and disgusting thing ever uttered by a conservative about President Obama. To be blunt, Steinlight should be arrested or at the very least fired from his job. This is totally unacceptable speech that will only drive conservatives closer to actually trying to make it happen for real and comes on the heels of ‘Moms With Guns’ founder Kathy Perkins calling for an assassin to kill Obama on Facebook.

Conservative fervor to actually put Obama to death has reached a fever pitch in this country and it only gets worse every day. They are desperate to get President Obama out of office and they’re willing to do so by any means necessary. At the same time, the more conservatives fantasize and obsess over killing Obama, the bloodier and more tortuous the method of execution gets. It’s especially disturbing since these people have the gall to say these things and call themselves “Christians” at the same time. This madness will not end unless authorities or voters start taking this kind of talk more seriously. Every time a conservative talks about killing the president, it’s a threat to national security and the political discourse. It’s the way conservatives stoke rage in the hope that one of their own will actually follow through and carry out the crime. It’s their way of trying to provoke fellow conservatives into overthrowing the government with a bloody coup just because they want their own way. It’s dangerous and shouldn’t be tolerated in a civilized society by anyone. Law enforcement authorities shouldn’t tolerate it and voters shouldn’t tolerate it either. Forget impeachment. THIS is what should really inspire Democrats to vote in 2014.

An open letter to the people who hate Obama more than they love America

I meet you all the time. You hate Obama. You hate gay people. You hate black people, immigrants, Muslims, labor unions, women who want the right to make choices concerning their bodies, you hate em all. You hate being called racist. You hate being called a bigot. Maybe if you talked about creating jobs more than you talk about why you hate gay people we wouldn't call you bigots. Maybe if you talked about black people without automatically assuming they are on food stamps while demanding their birth certificates we wouldn't call you racist. You hate socialism and social justice. You hate regulations and taxes and spending and the Government. You hate.

You like war. You like torture. You like Jesus. I don't know how in the hell any of that is compatible, but no one ever accused you haters of being over-committed to ideological consistency. You like people who look like you or at least hate most of the things that you hate. You hate everything else.

Now, I know you profess to love our country and the founding fathers (unless you are reminded that they believed in the separation of church and state), but I need to remind you that America is NOT what Fox News says it is. America is a melting pot, it always has been. We are a multi-cultural amalgamation of all kinds of people, and yet you still demonize everyone who is not a rich, white, heterosexual christian male or his submissive and obedient wife.

You hate liberals, moderates, hell, anyone who disagrees with Conservative dogma as espoused by Fox News and Rush Limbaugh. You hate em.

Well, here are the facts, Jack. If you hate the Government then you are unqualified to manage it. If you hate gay people more than you love America than you should take your own advice and get the hell out. There are several countries that are openly hostile to gay people, but they are full of brown people and you don't like them much either from what I understand. It looks like you are screwed, but that's not what I am here to tell you.