I
remember reading about another guy who lost something
he worked hard for and wanted badly. His name was George
Wallace, and he wasn’t fond of metaphors. "I
was out-niggered,” he said to his finance director
in 1958, after losing a race for governor of Alabama to
John Patterson. “And I will never be out-niggered
again.”
Nearly
fifty years separate Lopez’s words from Wallace’s.
Fifty. But it’s just a millisecond on a timeline illustrating
how far we haven’t come in the fight for human rights.
Lopez’s
choice of words only proves how far the small-minded and
unreasonable have come in their efforts to appear politically
correct. His remarks are no less offensive to gays today
than Wallace’s were to African Americans half a century
ago. Lopez might not have included the words, ‘I was
out-fagged,’ in his press release, but his choice
of metaphor makes it clear he was thinking along those lines
and that he’ll do his best to not be ‘out-fagged’
again.
His
best, of course, means the worst for the gay community and
everyone else interested in true equality. It means we have
to pressure politicians like Arnold Schwarzenneger to be
reasonable and forward thinking--to govern with an eye on
the big picture, rather than fixed to a peephole.
The
womanizer who once said, “I can look at a chick who's
a little out of shape … if she's a good fuck, she
can weigh 150 pounds, I don't care,” has gotten in
touch with his inner-conservative and now focuses his eyes
on a new, more moral prize. The meathead who once proclaimed,
“Gay people are fighting da same kind of stereotyping
dat bodybuilders are … I have absolutely no hang-ups
about da fag business...” is now a governor with more
than a few hang-ups about gay people.
Schwarzenneger
is behaving more like Pavlov’s outwitted dog than
a governor of the people. And his reaction to Lopez’s
hissy fit proves that.
There’s
a whole world beyond the righteous peep show Schwarzenneger
is so enamored with, yet he keeps dropping all his coins
into one slot. Sanctity of marriage? Ka-ching! Biblical
sexual purity? Ka-ching! Traditional values? Ka-ching!
The values of Lopez and his Christian conservative allies
are, indeed, traditional. American history is tarnished with
the proof and steeped in the “family values” of
racists and hypocrites like Strom Thurmond. And no amount
of “white”-washing will turn such double-dealers
into men of integrity.
Now,
before your write to tell me that it’s not fair or accurate
to equate the African-American fight for equality with the
gay and lesbian fight for equality, understand this: I’m
not saying it’s the same, I’m saying it’s
similar—too similar to ignore or invalidate.
The
south might not be stained with the blood of queers, but
we bear the scars of a wronged people nonetheless. We, too,
have been and are still discriminated against by people
who claim moral superiority, who profess an absolute understanding
of something mysterious as God’s will and intent.
We, too, are told that our love is unnatural and will harm
children. The closet might not be a cotton field, but it’s
no picnic being a slave to shame.
Republicans—southern
republicans, especially—can ignore the deeds and words
of their predecessors all they want, they can deny a kinship
of thinking and attempt to distract voters with other issues,
but all the double talk in the world can’t erase history.
African
Americans, Native Americans, Asian Americans, and everyone
else victimized by racial inequality in U.S. courts can
discount comparisons made of their fights to the gay rights
battle, but history speaks louder than their embarrassment.
If
you won’t take my word for it, take Texas
representative Senfronia Thompson’s. Earlier this
year, she spoke to the Texas Legislature about why that
body shouldn’t put an anti-gay marriage measure into
the state constitution. Her speech was emotional, honest
and potent.
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