Against Heterophobia

I've noticed a shift in my feelings toward straight couples. Though I would never have described my feelings as phobic, they could be...dismissive. I'm not talking about humor or teasing, but a psychologically veiled dismissal that I'm still trying to parse.

Was I jealous of the ease with which I assumed they could date and marry? Was I trying to reduce the value of the traditional family to justify myself? Was I simply trying to cope with being different?

I've been thinking about my place in the world. Listening to different opinions is something I value; I don't want to get stuck intellectually.

YouTube Recommendations: Shameless Edition

I could talk about how YouTube and new media are a revolution in communication, but instead I'll try to summarize my favorite creators in one sentence.

Reviewers

FanboyFlicks: This subdued Canadian humorously describes terrible films, many of which you've probably never heard of.

I Hate Everything: Despite the dour British exterior, IHE manages to provide thoughtful criticism of questionable movies, video games, and cultural trends.

JonTronShow: One of my first loves of YouTube, JonTron has amassed a significant catalog of hilarious video game and film reviews with ever increasing production quality that make his uploads worth the wait.

ralphthemoviemaker: Ralph is a talented filmmaker with a sarcastic wit who reviews films, especially ones that deserve harsher criticism.

Sardonicast: This is a movie podcast with Ralph, IHE, and YMS that is too good for this world.

videogamedunkey: A remarkably creative video game reviewer that uses absurdism and satire to make his point far better than a literal review ever could.

YourMovieSucksDOTorg: The sharp witted YMS is the best movie reviewer I've seen, making incredibly entertaining and well-edited content from even the most terrible films.

Breitbart Readers Own the H0mos

I read the comments on a Breitbart article that criticizes the 2017 film Call Me By Your Name for depicting a romance between two bisexual men ages 17 and 24. I may not have found the levelheaded conversation to be had about legal consent, but I did find something that invokes a wonderment all its own.

Homowood

The film industry? Not fans, Breitbart readers:

Whenever and ANYTIME homosexual scene just appears in the middle of a movie and/or a series....my channel gets changed. [...] They only throw scenes like that in to try and assimilate people, that things like this is "okay"....but it's not and NEVER has been!

The first response noted that "I am the same, I instantly shut off that repulsive vomit-inducing filth." Another joined in,

"...if a series we are watching, decides midstream to throw a gay couple in, like SuperGirl, for example, thats it. Channel is turned. Me and mine will NEVER think homosexuality is normal! God doesn't make mistakes!!

Well, one could perhaps argue that he did, dear commentator. Another reader described similar sentiments:

Boycott, no need for cable, save some money, I cut mine two years ago, haven't see a theater Movie in a few years. All Marxist Propaganda, and Anti White inserted in nearly every film, sitcom, commercial. Degenerate homosexual agenda to capture more little boy, Trans Freaks, I've tuned out, other than Tucker Carlson, free on YouTube at my convenience.

Well, it's nice that she gives Tucker Carlson a pass.

No worries, evil Western media is "being replaced by Bollywood and anime." Indeed, "It's funny a lot of people don't realize how many strong conservative values are represented in some animes." My mistake - I didn't realize the gayest export of Japan was chocked full of conservatism, but there you have it.

"Stupidest Ideology" Continues to be Goal of Gay Debate

Article 1: "Piers Akerman: Hypocrisy is the Winner in the Same Sex Marriage Debate"

This is a fascinating emotional appeal from conservative columnist Piers Akerman. He throws out a populist line about the Australian public, who will soon vote on marriage equality, having a longer memory than gay rights advocates credit them. There is some irony here, since he goes on to make a number of arguments that anyone paying attention to the gay rights debate could easily debunk.

a) Marriage equality is equivalent to discarding traditional marriage

He cites Masha Gessen (mistakenly printed as Marsha in the article) and her ideas about how marriage should change or be discarded. To my eye, Masha is advocating for typical feminist/leftist ideas. Conservative news sources pounced on this and interpreted it as the MYSTERIOUS AND POWERFUL GAY LOBBY admitting their true intent. Assuming that support for gay marriage is equivalent to extreme feminist propaganda is naive at best.

Support for marriage equality is an expansion of the definition of marriage. It does not nullify or discard traditional marriage. Indeed, if traditionalists were a bit smarter, they could easily ride the marriage equality train with the goal of strengthening all marriages, lowering the rate of divorce, and advocating for responsible sexual conduct. 

b) Gay marriage will have impending negative consequences

Rights and Rulers: An Examination of Antigone

Now that I'm doing graduate work, I may as well share a few of the highlights. In this essay, I explain why I believe that Antigone was right to defy the government to bury her brother Polynices.

The Oedipus Trilogy, written by the great ancient Greek playwright Sophocles, concludes with one of the greatest civil and moral dilemmas of ancient literature. Following Oedipus infamous marriage to his mother Jocasta, and subsequent descent into despair, his and Jocasta’s four children attempt to live in the shadow of their parents’ legacy. Eteocles and Polynices, rather than ruling jointly or sequentially, kill each other in battle. Their sisters Ismene and Antigone, watch as their Uncle Creon honors the loyal Eteocles and condemns Polynices to rot outside the tomb of his ancestors as punishment for rising against his brother. Antigone, however, decides that her brother’s body will not be desecrated while she still draws breath.

Each character in Antigone explains why he believes the titular character is justified her in the burial of her brother—with the exception, of course, of the obstinate Creon, who does not yield until it is too late. In his eyes, his word is unchangeable law. Even the timid Ismene admits that Antigone is right, but that the living need her as well as the dead.

Grrr, Poopy Gay Wars

As soon as the Supreme Court ruled that gay marriage was a national institution, all sorts of "it's not enough" posts popped up among the more liberal corners of my social media. At first, I was puzzled. Wasn't this the goal? Won't everything else sort itself out? Maybe.

I'm going to reproduce a microcosm of the kinds of negativity that the visibility of gay people can provoke. Mind you, this doesn't have anything to do with marginalizing or persecuting religious people. It's just people getting pissed off that gay people might simply appear in things they like. This story begins with Mark Hamill, the Luke Skywalker actor, giving a pretty generalized response to the question, "Is Luke Gay?"

“I’d say [Luke's sexuality] is meant to be interpreted by the viewer,” Hamill said. “If you think Luke is gay, of course he is. You should not be ashamed of it. Judge Luke by his character, not by who he loves.”

The reactions to Hamill's relatively benign statement are galling:

• "Please don't ruin Star Wars more."
• "Boycott Disney NOW."
• "Why are these 'people' and I use this term loosely...ruining everything I grew up looking up to and respecting as a kid?"
• "...the homosexual mental disorder is spawned by Satan."
• "homosexuality is a disease and ruined rainbows for me."
• "Between this and Marvel's constant push for diversity retconning characters into having new sexual preferences and races and genders, I'm quite done with everything Disney is touching."

My existence is a disorder spawned by Satan? If I were a character in a story, would that "ruin it" for you? I'm not even fully a person to you? It takes all types, but one wishes it didn't.

LlamaCare: The Fight for Equality

According to the AP (All-Powerful ones), SCOTUS (the Supreme Counts of The United States) have decided to overturn the President's landmark legislature LlamaCare, despite cautioning voices from dissenting Counts and famous actors.

Justice Wholly Toledo has viciously decried LlamaCare, citing statistics. This strikes me as a basic misunderstanding of the role of a Supreme Count. They are supposed to figure out what all the big words in the Constitution mean, not cite statistics. That's what pundits and sports announcers do.

Worse however is the discrimination against Llamas inherent in this controversial decision. Some say that LlamaCare makes people pay for healthcare they don't use, but how is that even an issue? Why is money such a big deal when the government can just print more of it and give it to us?

How could you deny a face like that?

As always, it's the silly ReTublicans causing the stir in this debate. They want llamas to pay for their own health care, arguing that healthcare is a privilege not a right. (What about my right to privileges, huh?) Thankfully, DemoBrats bravely assert that llamas are incapable of getting off their proverbial llama couches and getting a job good enough to provide health insurance. Only DemoBrats are willing to pay the money necessary to keep llamas from feeling like they've been discriminated against.

And that's what's at stake, isn't it? No one cares about letting people get good doctors, it only matters that politicians can say with a clear conscience that he has done his bit to get every llama has been insured. And nothing is worth so much as giving a politician a legitimate talking point.

Show your support of LlamaCare by using the hashtag #savethellamas on Twitter and Pinterest. We will not be silenced until more people get free stuff.