The Gay Thread

[SzczerbiakManiac]

Have you heard about this Andrew Shirvell psycho?
Anderson Cooper 360 interviews the nutjob
More of AC360 discussing obvious closet-case Shirvell with CNN Legal Analyst Jeffrey Toobin
Jason Jones on The Daily Show interviewing him

[Ghoulish Delight]

As much as I do think he's a nutjob with SOME sort of personal issue, the "he's a closet case" stuff irks me. Call him an asshole and a bigot, because that's what his actions make him out to be. But playing the "closet case" card just smacks of using sexuality as a means to shame someone. "Oh yeah? Well you're fag!"

I'm sure people feel it's a "taste of your own medicine" kinda thing, but I still don't like it.

[innerSpaceman]

I think it's a case where, quite seriously, I've seen dozens upon dozens of gay mens' gaydar go off when he speaks. Maybe he's not, and I'm sure the theories that his motivation is scorned-loverhood are way off base. Closet case may just be vengeful thinking, but there IS such a thing as gaydar - and it often works.

In any event, the Daily Show had the best run-in with Shirvell. He did not seem to get that he was the brunt of their joke, and he's an idiot as well as a closet case.

It's a very funny piece, and the place that seems to come up first on a google search to view it is here.

Enjoy.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

I am not saying "ñah ñah ñah you're a homo too." It may be a cliché but it's often true that the guy who screams "fag" the loudest turns out to be one. Ted Haggard, Eddie Long, George Rekers, Mark Foley, Larry Craig, Bob Allen, Glenn Murphy Jr., and countless Catholic priests come to mind. This is such a classic case of that* it's almost laughable. I honestly think Shirvell is attracted to Armstrong and doesn't know what to do with himself. Look at Shirvell's actions. He's singled out this one gay kid, is stalking him, and is totally obsessing over him.


*I'm blanking on the psychological term... displacement? sublimation? projection?

[Ghoulish Delight]

Oh, I understand all that. I just still don't like it as a response. I mean, isn't the whole point that one's sexuality is one's own business? That no one should be ridiculed because of their sexuality? Criticizing this guy for publicly demeaning someone because of that person's sexuality...by publicly demeaning him about his sexuality? Doesn't jive. And make no mistake, making armchair clinical diagnoses of psychological flaws like projection is demeaning.

[Alex]

Plus, I think it is a certain amount of confirmation bias. Yes, there have been many cases of anti-gay mouthpieces who turn out to be gay themselves. And each time that happens they immediately become a "prominent" anti-gay mouthpiece regardless of how prominent they were before (some were very, some not so much). Considering there are hundreds, if not thousands, of anti-gay activists I'm not sure it even counts as a real trend.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

I don't see it that way. If I was picketing, stalking, and created a blog devoted to pointing out how fat one guy is, wouldn't you say something like, "Uh dude, you're fat too." That's not mocking me because I'm fat, that's pointing out the ridiculousness of my behavior.

[SzczerbiakManiac]

...and the Awesome Mom of the Week award goes to this lady!

[Alex]

Originally Posted by SzczerbiakManiac

I don't see it that way. If I was picketing, stalking, and created a blog devoted to pointing out how fat one guy is, wouldn't you say something like, "Uh dude, you're fat too." That's not mocking me because I'm fat, that's pointing out the ridiculousness of my behavior.

No, because I have no idea if you're fat (I have no idea what you look like, for a long time I thought that basketball player avatar you had was you). So for me, it'd be me saying "well, since you're so mean to fat people you must be fat yourself."

Besides, personally, the self-loathing gaybasher is not a person that increases my opposition to them, but rather tends to increase my empathy for them (while not lessening my disagreement). Which I think is the opposite intended result when someone says "and I bet he's queer too!"

[Cadaverous Pallor]

Originally Posted by SzczerbiakManiac

I don't see it that way. If I was picketing, stalking, and created a blog devoted to pointing out how fat one guy is, wouldn't you say something like, "Uh dude, you're fat too." That's not mocking me because I'm fat, that's pointing out the ridiculousness of my behavior.

Being fat is a visible public fact, as much as one is a brunette or tall. Being gay is a personal fact. Part of what is troubling about being called gay is that someone is treading on your personal ground.

Maybe he is gay. Maybe he's bisexual. Maybe he has had lovers, maybe he's a virgin. Maybe he was abused as a child. Maybe he's battling his own internal war. You don't know him, and he's probably a lot more complicated than one three-letter word. Calling him gay dismisses him as much as it dismisses anyone else. If you don't want this for yourself, don't propagate it. Call him a crazy asshole instead.