In issue21
Funny or not?
WANDA KILLED ’EM!
Wanda Sykes, the lesbian comedienne who came out in the aftermath of California’s Preparation H (aka Prop. 8), made her long-awaited appearance at the annual Correspondent’s Dinner at the White House. She minded her Fs and Ns (words she was told not to use) and still got grief when she took a shot at Rush Limbaugh. As she criticized the newly self-appointed spokesman for conservatives everywhere for his wishing President Barack Obama would fail, Wanda quipped that she wished his (Rush’s) kidneys would fail. It was apparently an act of unspeakable evil, even though Rush himself had recently commented on British Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s relationship with President Obama by saying, “If he keeps this up throughout the G-20, Gordon Brown will come down with anal poisoning and may die from it.” I guess anal poisoning is funnier or more socially acceptable that kidney failure. Detractors should rest easy knowing Sykes will soon be losing a lot of sleep – her wife recently delivered twins.
OH NO! GAY MARRIAGE!
Now that 5 out of 50 U.S. states (almost 6, with New Hampshire teetering on the edge) allow same-sex marriage and the tide of public opinion is turning, right-wing nutjobs are getting nervous and pulling out all the stops. Let’s ignore for now that the term “gay marriage” is intended to be an inflammatory, fear inspiring term for marriage equality (or equal rights, as some may call it). Let’s examine the rationale of those who think it’s reasonable to use legal means to deny people (not just Americans) basic human rights and equality under the law. Take, for example, Bill O’Reilly (please!). In recent remarks he said, “”[Y]ou would let everybody get married who want to get married. You want to marry a turtle, you can.” Queerty.com also reports that O’Reilly had also suggested “gay marriage could ultimately allow for a person to marry a goat, duck, or dolphin.” What is the conservative obsession with bestiality, anyway? There are also those who use subtext, innuendo and sleight of hand to say what they really mean to say. In the Sun-Sentinel last month, Alva James-Johnson seems to imply that those that want to get gay married should move somewhere else if they don’t like Florida’s laws and that those that remain, fight and perhaps even get gay married somewhere else are somehow violating the law: “I must obey the laws while I’m in the boundaries of Florida. And I have two options: I could go through the proper channels to have the laws changed. Or I could move to a state that better reflects my values… And until then, we should all live within the law.” I hate to tell Mr. O’Reilly and Ms. James-Johnson this, but laws criminalizing same-sex relationships have been found to be unconstitutional by the U.S. Supreme Court. We are not the fringe; we are not the outsiders. We are yours brothers, sisters, children, cousins, grandparents, parents, neighbors and other members of your community that are being treated like trash by the likes of you. Nothing you can say makes that right.
DON’T ASK…
There’s been a lot talk lately, both in the blogosphere and the mainstream media, about the perceived failures of the Obama administration to deliver on promises made to the LGBT community. While the talk did start around the 100 day mark, a point in time by which President Obama was apparently supposed to smite from existence Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell (DADT) and the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA), provide universal healthcare, fix the economy, cure cancer and prove he could walk on water, new indicators show there may indeed be some foot dragging going on. Even after Obama promised to change the policy in a handwritten note to Second Lt. Sandy Tsao (who outed herself to him), the recent news of Knight Out member Dan Choi being discharged for violation of DADT doesn’t sit well with a lot of people. In the numerous discussions being held it’s widely believed that legislative action is necessary to end DADT, but that Obama could issue an executive order stopping enforcement at any time. Others are reading between the lines and noting the change of rhetoric, from the initial promise to end DADT to the newly crafted promise to change the policy. Regardless of promises made, 2LT Tsao expects her discharge paperwork this week. This begs the question…
WHAT DO YOU THINK?
Seriously, we want to know what you think. Whether it’s DADT, DOMA, Bill O’Reilly being for same-sex marriage before he was against, or any other topic you’ve read about in The Situation, our new web site is equipped to handle discussion and commentary on our content. Visit HotspotsMagazine.com/Situation and join the conversation!
