Beware the Inquisitors

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A sign of what’s wrong with today’s LGBT activism. Jeff Epperly explains how the Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation is attempting to silence non-PC openly gay writers.

9 Comments for “Beware the Inquisitors”

  1. posted by Jorge on

    Actually I’m inclined to agree with GLADD in this case. Mr. Epperly makes FAR too many assumptions in his “given this backdrop, you’d think”–well I’m not giving it because the general public is not so informed. I don’t care that the writer is openly gay. And I certainly don’t care that he’s writing for a closeted gay magazine about a closeted gay TV show, because for one thing this is the first I’m hearing that about either one. Now if it were an openly gay magazine and an openly gay TV show that might be a different story.

  2. posted by esurience on

    You’re right, Stephen H. Miller. Gay people should fight for the word ‘fag’ and ‘faggot’ being used more prolifically. Like the article you linked to does.

    That’ll do us a lot of good.

    You fucking moron.

  3. posted by Jimmy on

    From Vanity Fair:

    Of course, Berk sometimes uses another word that is also delivered by homophobes every day, sometimes with a boot to the head or a trip in a school hallway. For example, on Oct. 10, Berk wrote a post in which he called himself “a dirty queer.”

    Where is GLAAD’s outrage when LGBT writers use this word, which many LGBT people find equally discomforting? GLAAD doesn’t care about “queer” because the LGBT Central Committee issued a diktat decreeing that we are all reclaiming “the q-word” and therefore it’s acceptable in polite company.”

    I think he has a point.

    • posted by esurience on

      “Of course, Berk sometimes uses another word that is also delivered by homophobes every day, sometimes with a boot to the head or a trip in a school hallway”

      Actually, homophobes don’t really use the word “queer”. They do use fag/faggot, they do use ‘gay’ in a derogatory way…. but it’s quite rare that they use queer.

      “I think he has a point.”

      Nope, he doesn’t.

      • posted by Jimmy on

        “Actually, homophobes don’t really use the word ‘queer’.”

        You’ve got to be kidding me.

        • posted by esurience on

          No, I’m really not kidding you. Perhaps it’s a regional thing and in some areas that is the epithet of choice for a gay person but… I’ve almost never heard it used that way where I am.

          • posted by Jorge on

            I’ve heard queer used in a positive way much more often myself.

            I see the possible hypocrisy, but it’s a little different to call yourself a slur than to suggest it’s acceptable to call other people a slur.

          • posted by Jimmy on

            It all goes back to intent, regardless of which a word is used. What struck me about the point Epperly made is that nobody came to me and asked my opinion about the word queer. Some “central committee” at GLAAD, or whoever, decided this for me. Maybe it goes back to ACT UP’s “We’re here, we’re queer, get used to it” motto.

            But, “queer” can be just as insulting if it’s used in an insulting way, same as “fag”. Until words have context, they are just words.

  4. posted by Houndentenor on

    No one has been silenced. But someone who said something stupid was silenced. He was criticized for a stupid comment, said in a stupid way. It’s not as if there was anything worth saying in any of that.

    Freedom of speech includes the right of others to criticize what we say, write and do. Every now and again someone actually acknowledges that they were wrong (how refreshing in this day and age!) and correct the mistake.

    But all of this over a stupid comment that hardly anyone would have ever read without the publicity. And to make it sound as if this is some sort of free speech issue? Ridiculous.

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