A recent front-page post and a Rec-list diary have noted that Joe the Plumber is a homophobe. Nobody should be surprised.
In one, a midday thread, noted that:
Being gay is bad because it's in the dictionary! But some of my best friends are gay, and yes, they're my friends even though I don't let them anywhere near my children lest their gayness rub off and break my kids, and they're totally cool with that! (Joe the Plumber has kids?)
the diary stated:
Yep, here's your everyman folks! Lord knows if you let them "Queers" near your children they might catch "the gay" or something.
With all due respect, Joe's big worry isn't about his kids catching "teh gay."
Sure, they don't want their kids to be gay. But that's not what they are mostly afraid of. You see, these kinds of reactionary conservatives believe that all gays are inherently child molesters. That's their fear.
They worry that if they allow gays around their kids, that one day those same gays--no matter that they might be friends--will be unable to control their innermost desires. Gays, according to the far right, are naturally child molesters. It's in their souls. They're wicked people.
Gays can't help themselves. In they same way that they won't control their gay impulses, gays also can't control their urge to molest children.
That's why Joe won't let his gay friends near his kids. He worries that one day his friends' urges will burst out.
And why would they believe this? Because the right tells them so.
[Names of sites withheld to cut down on search hits]
Here, Here, Here, Here.
And on and on and on.
So, please. Let's be more clear about Joe's fears. Those may be his friends, but as far as Joe is concerned, they are child molesters.