OK. So Senator McSenile was toeing the party line with that little q and a the other day. (He even managed to work in the piece of disinformation "we’ve proven that both parents are important" into the answer. Not one single reputable study substantiates that canard.) They don't call it the "Straight Talk Express" for nothing, you know. Then Senator McSame did a tight 180 when he started getting flak (oh dear not again...flashback, flashback, flashback) from some gay rights groups. He said it's really an individual state issue and was not proposing a federal ban on gay adoptions. Uh-oh.
That got the Family Research Council's knickers in a twist. So they went after Senator McSenile for not willing to keep those poor orphans out of the clutches of those sick pervert bastards. Even if it means they have to stay in the warm comfy environment of a state-run orphanage. What true loving followers of Christ these folks are, aren't they?
We have now officially begun the quadrennial right-wing parlor game, "Get the Gays". Alas and alack, the novelty of the game wears thinner with each successive round.
As with every other issue that the Repugnicans are running on, they are behind the curve. They really do need to pay more heed to recent polls on all of the issues. They still think that if they keep shouting louder and louder maybe people will see the truth. Their brand of truth, that is. They still think the gay card is a winner. They have gotten so desperate to insert this into the current campaign that the other day on Faux News, Andrea Tantaros, a third-string GOP "strategist", used the term "fancy lad" to describe Barack Obama. Yeah, huh-uh, Obama's a Muslim, anti-American, unpatriotic, and gay I get it. Pathetic.
But let's concentrate on the gay thing. To simply label these people homophobic is too facile and also incorrect. They are not afraid of gays and lesbians. They're afraid of the gay or lesbian that may be lurking within themselves.
Case in point. Why do some in the military react with such fear and loathing at the thought of openly gay fellow service members? Because they're scared to death that they'll get a boner if they catch one of the gay guys peeking at them in the shower room. Omigod, the shame and horror of it all! Their macho butch self-image would be destroyed forever. Their deepest fear would be realized. What a load of crap.
The fear of the unknown also plays an enormous part in the perpetuation of the irrational fear that these people have for gays and lesbians. And like most kinds of ignorance, it is handed down from generation to generation. As the song from South Pacific goes "You've got to be taught to hate..." But that too is losing it's influence on how "straights" view "gays". Familiarity does not breed contempt but rather understanding and acceptance. As the myths and stereotypes are gradually disproved, with each succeeding generation, Americans are realizing that one's sexual orientation is no more a matter of choice than is the color of your skin or your eyes.
So, my guess is this is probably the last hurrah for this particular right-wing device to divide and conquer by spreading lies and fear. Oh, by the way, it loses a lot more impact with each new right-winger who gets caught with his penis in the wrong orifice.
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