Prejudice remarks against any group should not be tolerated. When Don Imus made a potentially racist remark, he was almost chased from the airwaves. This is why it shocks me when people are forgiven for saying hateful things about another large group of American citizens: homosexuals.
Robert Knight, director of the Media Research Center's Culture and Media Institute, was quoted in the Washington Times as saying allowing gays in the military would lead to another “Pearl Harbor moment.” Talk radio host John Quinn claimed that gay sex causes AIDS, and as such homosexuals should have to pay more for health insurance. Newt Gringrich, speaking as a Fox News analysis claimed "I there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion." Another radio host played this bit of “comedy” -"Now remember, this Erection Day -- Election Day, vote for Barney Frank for President. I'm Barney Fag -- uh, Frank and I approve this massage -- message."
Is it acceptable for media figures to call homosexuals “fags” or accuse gay rights activists of “fascism?” It is acceptable in to come to the conclusion that homosexuals in the army would cause another Pear Harbor style attack? In my opinion, no. But then again, I do not own any TV or radio networks.
Well, I think Gringrich had a right to express his concern for the preservation of traditional marriage.
Comedians have a really warped perspective of humor and they make fun of everyone. I think you'll see comedians joking about every one and everything. That's not to say it's right, but I don't see how making fun of homosexuals is homophobic.
I don't see the sense in the Pearl Harbor one, though. What was the logic behind that one?
BTW, I totally agree with your first sentence. That's why Joy Behar ticks me off:
http://progressiveu.org/blog/50520-good-know-im-demented
RESPECT LIFE
http://progressiveu.org/blog/respectlife
"It is poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."
~Mother Teresa
a step further. Since comedians are aloud to make fun of everyone for everything, what if he had gone after Sarah Palin or Hillary Clinton for being a woman? Would that not be sexist? What if he had gone afte Obama or Sec of State Rice because of their being African American? Would that not be racist?
and there is a fine line between voicing concern for marriage, and calling homosexuals "fascists" as Gringrich has done over and over again.
"How can we win where fools can be kings" Muse
Those people (named in your blog) are asshats, but so are the people who like them.
Many of the things some conservatives and Christians call us in the name of "morality" are the very same things the Third Reich used as justification for the Holocaust.
When I visited the Holocaust museum in Israel a couple of years ago, I got very scared, because as I read the propaganda that Hitler put out, I recognized it. Hitler told the German people that Jews were immoral, unnatural, carriers of disease, a mistake, that they were organizing to gain control of the government and that they must be stopped or the German way of life would be threatened...hmmm. Sound familiar? Seems like I might have heard/read that about gays and lesbians somewhere. After those seeds were planted, he then began gradually removing basic rights from the Jews.
THIS is why we fight so hard. We have to. Our lives may depend on it someday.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
True, they would be sexist, but the Constitution protects everyone's right to be sexist and racist under the First Amendment.
Americans have the right to be stupid. It's up to the rest of us to educate them.
Denied their right to be stupid. I simply expressed my right to call them on what they said.
"How can we win where fools can be kings" Muse
I'm sure that somewhere some time, a comedian has made fun of a woman and more likely than not, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have both been made fun of. I'm sure Obama and Rice have both been made fun of, too, and some have probably been racist remarks. The way comedians, the media, entertainment, etc works is by taking a current issue and expanding on it. In the case of comedians, it's making fun of it. The homosexual movement is a pretty big discussion right now and the comedians probably would have to be insane if they didn't make fun of it. That's not to say that it's right or not offensive. If they were making fun of the Church, I'd be offended depending on what was said. If they made fun of homeschoolers, I'd probably be annoyed but laugh. But my main point is that these people make fun of everyone, so making fun of homosexuals does not make them homophobic. It makes them jerks who will do anything for money.
Well, I'm not sure of the context of his statements, so I'm not going to really comment further on that.
RESPECT LIFE
http://progressiveu.org/blog/respectlife
"It is poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."
~Mother Teresa
I'm sure that somewhere some time, a comedian has made fun of a woman and more likely than not, Sarah Palin and Hillary Clinton have both been made fun of. I'm sure Obama and Rice have both been made fun of, too, and some have probably been racist remarks.
You're right. They all have been. And those remarks have been equally disgusting. It's one thing to mock a person. It's a totally different thing to use a term or stereotype which goes against an entire group. You were upset when a woman on the view refered to homeschoolers as demented. Why does it not offend you that this guy called a United States senator a "fag"
But my main point is that these people make fun of everyone, so making fun of homosexuals does not make them homophobic. It makes them jerks who will do anything for money.
No, this guy isn't making fun of everyone, and its not even a matter of making fun of a movement. He was attacking Barney Frank, not because of a policy, but because he was gay. Hence, he was making a homophobic statement.
"How can we win where fools can be kings" Muse
Did I say I wasn't offended? I do recall stating that just because it's how the guy makes his money, it doesn't make it ok or non-offensive. Personally, I think a lot of the comedy shows are ridiculous and crude, and I wouldn't watch (most of) them if you paid me. I don't know much about Barney Frank, so I couldn't tell you whether anyone has grounds to be offended at him being called a fag or not. However, the word fag is a word used in reference to an openly homosexual male. Demented is not commonly used for homeschoolers, it's commonly used for people who have lost their minds. Thus, I find a greater issue with the homeschooled one.
I didn't mean he was making fun of everyone at that time. I meant that he ultimately makes fun of everyone over a period of time. Also, if Barney Frank has done something lately to get himself in the news, then he's probably going to be made fun of by the comedians. He's homosexual, so naturally, that's going to be something that would be made fun of. It's wrong, but what I disagree with is that it's homophobic.
RESPECT LIFE
http://progressiveu.org/blog/respectlife
"It is poverty to decide that a child must die so that you may live as you wish."
~Mother Teresa
There's a difference between making fun of someone's character traits, such as being gay, and using someone's character traits as an insult. making fun and insulting are not the same thing. Here's an example:
Saturday Night Live did a bit this week about the auto makers asking for money. They lampooned Barney Frank by impersonating his voice in an exaggerated manner, but not in a stereotypically gay manner. It sounded like Barney Frank, just goofier. They also had the Barney Frank character suggest to the auto makers that he would like to see a plan to produce innovative new cars, specifically, gayer cars. It was funny, because it was not calling anyone a f*g or f***ot or pervert. It would be unfunny if someone came on SNL calling Black people the n-word, but it was very funny when Ludacris and T-Payne lampooned hip hop AND White musical culture through the white rapper named Blizzard.
"Never go with a hippy to a second location."
~Jack Donaghy
http://www.progressiveu.org/blog/ediblewoman
[quote=respectlifeI don't know much about Barney Frank, so I couldn't tell you whether anyone has grounds to be offended at him being called a fag or not. [/quote]
regardless of who the person is, using a hateful word is offensive. This is why I used the "demented" example. When you use a word which is meant to insult an entire group of people-be it a racial slur, derogatory term about women, an anti-gay word, or simply a put down of homeschoolers- it's usually uncalled for. This wasn't comedy. This was attacking a man simply for being a homosexual.
"How can we win where fools can be kings" Muse
I'm a free speech extremist. Those people are allowed to say whatever they want, so long as nobody else is threatened with physical or material violence. I don't care if it's declarations that "gays have AIDS," depictions of Mohammed in a Dutch cartoon with a bomb in his turban, or Neo Nazis marching through an Ohio neighborhood against the black community, they're allowed to do it. Doesn't mean we have to agree, and by the same coin, we also can exercise our right to free speech and speak out against all of them. In a way, isn’t that what we’re doing right now? You take away their rights to free speech, and your right to express disagreement is also curtailed.
Your post is entitled "Homophobia in the media," but I think that mainstream media is not homophobic. Anyone want to watch "Queer Eye for the Straight Guy?"
not once did I say I wished to deny their right to say these remarks. I simply said I don't aprove of what they said.
"How can we win where fools can be kings" Muse
To answer your question, then, I say it's okay for media figures to call people whatever they want. Media outlets are mostly private corporations. Ultimately, their fate lies in our hands, so if we disagree with them, we should stop watching them. Their ratings will fall, advertisers will walk, and then they'll be paying for whatever they said.
why do you suppose Don Imus was almost chased from the airwaves for comments about "nappy headed hos" but commentators are forgiven for calling people "fags." I find it interesting what's forgivable in our culture and what is "to far"
"How can we win where fools can be kings" Muse
Now that's a good point about perhaps some sort of double standard in the media. I didn't really get what you meant by homophobia in the media until you clarified that.
I think that race is a sacred cow that is far more likely to get people angry than homosexuality. All the same, despite the fact that the reaction to Imus' comments was heated and he's considered a racist now, he did get his show back. In the end, the racist comment was overlooked just as much as the homophobic comment.
I don't understand the need people express to look down upon other people. It enrages me. The media just makes it okay for others, but it's not!
Living is easy with eyes closed, misunderstanding all you see.
Is it right of the government to accuse anyone protesting against President Obama of being racist? Is it right when people supporting the soldiers are accused of fearmongering and trying to kill "innocent" people? Is it right for many Americans to say that illegal immigrants are destroying the economy by taking their jobs? Is it the right of anyone to insult micheal jackson now that he's dead? Or is the media to blame for constant coverage in the first place? Fact of the matter is, I wouldn't care about anything i heard on any major TV station, radio station, or newspaper, because no matter how they deny it, they are all slanted and biased towards one side or another. It's annoying, it's making important matters worse, and it's getting old. Debates over homosexuality are only a small part of the picture.
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"Put your best foot forward, just watch what you step in..."