[Reposted from Facebook a couple evenings ago]<\/p>\n
The Narcissism of Today\u2019s Homophobia<\/a><\/p>\n Insightful deconstruction of the motives behind homophobes like Bizzle (who put out an anti-gay version of Macklemore\u2019s \u201cSame Love\u201d, the controversial Best Song nominee that was performed at the Grammys as a dozen or so couples, including some same-sex couples, were married on-stage). <\/p>\n \nBizzle\u2019s rap contains all the usual anti-gay bugaboos: gays are uncontrollably lusty; they\u2019re like pedophiles; they violate God\u2019s rules and summon his wrath; they trounce my religious freedom to persecute them; and now they\u2019re becoming violent\u2014oh, but by the way, while I hate their sin, I love them and just pray they\u2019ll become straight like me. Indeed, what\u2019s most marked about today\u2019s homophobia is what a clear expression of narcissism it is, along with how unrigorous its rationalizations are. Homophobic people seem unable to see past themselves, to transcend their most rudimentary emotions and arrive at a place that\u2019s often reachable only if we apply a modicum of reason\u2014often spurred by empathy\u2014to challenge old mental habits.<\/p>\n Instead, homophobes assume that the only natural way of being, for everyone, is straight like them\u2026.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n The essayist goes on with examples from Peggy Noonan and the Duck Dynasty guy (and he could well have added moralistic dimwit Kirk Cameron, given his reaction to the Grammys).<\/p>\n \n… The reduction of gay identity to sexual desire, and the refusal or inability to think rigorously about the basis of right and wrong beyond a provincial attachment to religious dogma, have blinded many to the use of simple reason. … And as I\u2019ve argued before, for too many, homosexuality remains the one thing Americans consistently claim is immoral without ever giving a reason why.\n<\/p><\/blockquote>\n My take on this: conservatives, who seem to be overwhelmingly Christian, can\u2019t get their minds around the fact that there are people in the world who are different from themselves. Recognition of this fact, in the popular media, throws them into a tizzy. It conflicts with their assumed privilege that their worldview is the only one that should be acknowledged. And to show these \u2018other\u2019 people might actually be *happy* makes them outraged. How can they be happy? Don’t they realize they are *sinners*!?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" [Reposted from Facebook a couple evenings ago] The Narcissism of Today\u2019s Homophobia Insightful deconstruction of the motives behind homophobes like Bizzle (who put out an anti-gay version of Macklemore\u2019s \u201cSame Love\u201d, the controversial Best Song nominee that was performed at … Continue reading