Friday, April 24, 2015

IF YOU'RE NOT STRAIGHT, WHITE, AND MALE, THAT'S HOW REPUBLICANS EXPECT YOU TO ACT

This New York Times story about Ted Cruz sure seems like a gotcha:
Senator Ted Cruz has positioned himself as a strong opponent of same-sex marriage, urging pastors nationwide to preach in support of marriage as an institution between a man and a woman, which he said was “ordained by God.”

But on Monday night, at a reception for him at the Manhattan apartment of two prominent gay hoteliers, the Texas senator and Republican presidential hopeful struck quite a different tone.

During the gathering, according to two people present, Mr. Cruz said he would not love his daughters any differently if one of them was gay. He did not mention his opposition to same-sex marriage, saying only that marriage is an issue that should be left to the states.

The dinner and “fireside chat” for about a dozen people with Mr. Cruz and his wife, Heidi, was at the Central Park South penthouse of Mati Weiderpass and Ian Reisner, longtime business partners who were once a couple and who have been pioneers in the gay hospitality industry....
But on the right, this isn't considered a gotcha at all. Here's Paula Bolyard at PJ Media:
If you’re a left-leaning reporter who believes that the only reason half of Americans oppose same sex marriage is because they’re hateful bigots who are acting out of raw animus, events and statements like this cause you all kinds of cognitive dissonance and consternation. All good leftist reporters believe in the deepest recesses of their hearts that mean-spirited Republicans who disagree with the push for same sex marriage never, ever associate with gay people -- unless they’re snooping around in their bedrooms....

This may come as a surprise to reporters at the Times, but Senator Cruz -- like most Republicans -- has gay friends (and supporters) and he’s willing to engaging in dialogue with people with whom he disagrees. And guess what? This is not newsworthy.
When thinking about people outside the party's core demographic (straight white men and their wives who are either Christians or right-wing Jews), Republicans don't seem to have animus or hate, necessarily -- they just want members of these outside groups to quietly accept the back of the government's hand. They think that's perfectly reasonable -- they believe gays and blacks and Hispanics and other non-favored groups should want to be Republicans even though Republicans want to deny them rights. A backlash against gay marriage? Extra hurdles in the pursuit of voting rights? A hard line on immigration? Republicans think minority groups should masochistically embrace these policies.

The odd thing is that some minority-group members do. Republicans, for instance, expect all black people to be like Clarence Thomas and Allen West and Mia Love (those who haven't seen the light are said to be on "the Democrat plantation"). In the case of gay people, Republicans expect a reaction like the Facebook message posted yesterday by one of Cruz's hotelier friends:
The fact that Senator Cruz accepted the invitation to my home was a step in the right direction towards him having a better understanding of who I am and what I believe in. We spent most of the time talking about national security issues and in particular the challenges from ISIS, Iran, and defense of Israel -- these are issues for which we did find common ground. However, i did not shy away from the opportunity to ask the Senator about social issues, in particular marriage equality, and made it clear that I completely disagree with him on that issue.
In other words: I'm just so thrilled to have talked to him about his belief that I'm a second-class citizen.

Republicans don't really hate you if you're not a straight white Christian. They like you -- as long as you know your place.

7 comments:

Ed Crotty said...

as long as you know your place.

Exactly - the thing that conservatives want to "conserve" and "preserve" is a hierarchy where straight white men and their wives are at the top. And the most critical thing about minority Republicans is that they respect and not challenge that. The biggest threat to "conservatism" is that we all be treated equally - their entire purpose is anti-democratic (small "d"). Their nostalgia for the past is based on everyone "knowing their place"

Victor said...

"Gay," is the new "black."


GOP Politician:
'No, I'm now intolerant.
I have some gay/black/Hispanic (fill-in the blank _________________________) friends...

Clif M. said...

This seems like a fitting place to leave this gem of a video from my local County Sheriff: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uBi3g-T306k&feature=youtu.be

The Sheriff very much wants Blacks to know their place. He starts by taking issue with the term African American, because he personally doesn't identify as Welsh American. It only gets better from there.

Steve M. said...

Wow.

At the end of the clip, he invokes the notion of "superpredators" -- an idea that gained currency just before a massive nationwide drop in crime. Even the principal advocate of the superpredator idea, John DiIulio, repudiated it years ago.

paulocanning said...

Something which has been missed?

Quote:

"Ian Reisner is a powerful New York hotelier who made headlines recently when a young gay man died in the bathtub of his penthouse, the victim of an apparent drug overdose after spending the night partying with Reisner, 46."
http://www.queerty.com/why-were-antigay-crusader-ted-cruz-and-gay-hotelier-ian-reisner-hanging-out-at-reisners-pad-20150423

There have always been rich queens perfectly willing to throw everyone else under the bus and who are tolerated by other rich people - and who can get away with everything else that other rich people get away with.

[cough] Roy Cohn [/cough]

But those rich queens hate, truly hate, the real activists, always have - with one exception, the days of Act-UP.

I'm sure you know what I mean Steve.

Steve M. said...

Yes, that's a curious aspect of this story -- though if these guys are looking to cozy up to powerful pols in order to shield themselves in situations like this, you'd think they'd cozy up more to someone more likely to win the nomination (or at least someone with more friends in government -- not that many people, even Republicans, like Cruz).

M. Bouffant said...

never, ever associate with gay people -- unless they’re snooping around in their bedrooms
Or snooping around in their wallets.