A reader who e-mailed me this USA Today story, on cities in red states vying for gay tourist dollars, suggested calling it "Just shuddup and give us your money." I'd be more charitable. Most of these cities-Atlanta, Ft. Lauderdale, Phoenix, maybe even Dallas-are to varying degrees far more gay-friendly than their states' typical smallvilles and rural areas. It's a positive sign that these cities are marketing to gays, and not so surprising that the religious conservatives are not making a fuss about it.
Actually, I wish they would-if social conservatives demanded
that states start forfeiting income in order to placate their
prejudices, local business interests would turn against them. And
that would be a good thing. So maybe we need to "heighten the
contradictions" (in Marxist parlance) and provoke a self-defeating
rightwing backlash?