Daily Xtra: Dallas gaybashings leave Toronto gay man shaken (Trigger warning)
Mother Jones: Ted Cruz's Dad Says It's "Appalling" to Have a Gay Mayor
Huffington Post: 6 Things You Should Know About Alabama's Chief Justice Roy Moore
Christian Science Monitor: Roy Moore: the Alabama judge who 'relishes' gay marriage fight
Think Progress: What It’s Like To Escape Ex-Gay Therapy — And Then Defeat It
Right Wing Watch: Meet Marco Rubio's 'Religious Liberty Advisory Board'
The article about the gaybashings in Dallas was a bit disturbing (and indeed deserving of a trigger warning). As someone who probably falls under the LGBT umbrella himself, I've never been a victim of this kind of violence myself, though I've had a few close calls over the years that have been very frightening. I also have a brother who was bashed once, though not because he was gay (rather he told some guy to kindly STFU during a movie, and had said arsehole confront him afterwards, and try and kick his head in). That said, it was still a very traumatizing experience for everyone in the family - it made us all realize just serious assault can be.
ReplyDeleteLike the author of the piece, I've been to Texas myself (San Antonio and Austin in my case), and I'd agree with him that, while it's quite a nice place, it can be a bit odd as well. During my own time there, I noticed that people's religiosity could be quite overt, and also that a lot of Texans loved their guns (I'll never forget the guy I overheard on the bus one day telling someone else he was practically praying some young punk would be silly enough to try breaking into his house, simply so he'd be able to shoot someone with a clean conscience)!
Unfortunately, hate crimes against gays have been a not uncommon occurrence where I live as well; indeed, one of our most famous unsolved murders is that of a gay university professor called Dr George Duncan, who, in 1972, drowned after being thrown into the River Torrens (the main river passing through Adelaide) by persons unknown.
One thing that disturbs me is how some religious (and not so religious) folk think gaybashing is a positive good (insofar as it helps "enforce public morals" or somesuch nonsense). For example, I used to follow this conservative blogger who seemed quite reasonable, until the day I read a post of his in which he lamented that it was no longer socially acceptable for "effeminate" men to be beaten up. I never had too much time for him after that...* I also found this even more disturbing post by some other tosser, who advocated gaybashing (and other forms of violent bullying) as an excellent means of "enforcing social norms". So disturbing did I find that individual's rant that I submitted it to Fundies Say the Darnedest Things, where it was not only featured, but also ended up in the Top 100! (Not surprisingly, while this wanker had no problem with people he didn't like being violently assaulted, he was quick to whine and cry about "Christian persecution" - the TRUE evil in society today, obviously.)
*Since then, he seems to have descended into total, gibbering crankdom, so I'm probably not missing much staying away from his blog!
Zosimus -- I'm sorry to hear that your brother experienced violence, and I'm sorry that you nearly did as well. These macho, violent types are schoolyard bullies all grown up.
DeleteIt's disheartening that some people still condone homophobic and transphobic violence, despite all the trauma and fear it creates. Are we a civilized society or not? Are we a society that respects human rights or not?
Which conservative blogger are you referring to? I used to enjoy Rod Dreher's blog years back, but I lost interest when he made a hard right turn.
Thanks for the kind words of commiseration. The blogger I was referring to was a rather obscure one called The Social Pathologist (although he often comments on other people's blogs as "Slumlord") - his whole shtick is that modern society is sick, and it's his job to diagnose its (many) maladies and suggest a cure for them (invariably some mix of hardcore Catholicism and "alt-right" politics). Apparently he's an Australian family doctor in his day job, which is a bit alarming given his views on LGBT folk and various other minorities, as well as the fact that he's a big fan of assorted pick-up artist bloggers who advocate behaviours towards women that often amount to rape and other forms of abuse. As I said, he used to be sort of reasonable, but now he's pretty much turned into the embodiment of crank magnetism - he seems to have really gotten into that whole idiotic "neoreactionary" movement, which he's convinced is on the verge of sweeping away Western liberal democracy (or somesuch foolishness). Not someone I really bother with any more!
ReplyDeleteZosimus -- I can see why! Oh, and I wouldn't seek care from a doctor who looks down on LGBTQ people and women.
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