489
you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
view the rest of the comments
this post was submitted on 30 Oct 2023
489 points (96.9% liked)
politics
19138 readers
3549 users here now
Welcome to the discussion of US Politics!
Rules:
- Post only links to articles, Title must fairly describe link contents. If your title differs from the site’s, it should only be to add context or be more descriptive. Do not post entire articles in the body or in the comments.
Links must be to the original source, not an aggregator like Google Amp, MSN, or Yahoo.
Example:
- Articles must be relevant to politics. Links must be to quality and original content. Articles should be worth reading. Clickbait, stub articles, and rehosted or stolen content are not allowed. Check your source for Reliability and Bias here.
- Be civil, No violations of TOS. It’s OK to say the subject of an article is behaving like a (pejorative, pejorative). It’s NOT OK to say another USER is (pejorative). Strong language is fine, just not directed at other members. Engage in good-faith and with respect! This includes accusing another user of being a bot or paid actor. Trolling is uncivil and is grounds for removal and/or a community ban.
- No memes, trolling, or low-effort comments. Reposts, misinformation, off-topic, trolling, or offensive. Similarly, if you see posts along these lines, do not engage. Report them, block them, and live a happier life than they do. We see too many slapfights that boil down to "Mom! He's bugging me!" and "I'm not touching you!" Going forward, slapfights will result in removed comments and temp bans to cool off.
- Vote based on comment quality, not agreement. This community aims to foster discussion; please reward people for putting effort into articulating their viewpoint, even if you disagree with it.
- No hate speech, slurs, celebrating death, advocating violence, or abusive language. This will result in a ban. Usernames containing racist, or inappropriate slurs will be banned without warning
We ask that the users report any comment or post that violate the rules, to use critical thinking when reading, posting or commenting. Users that post off-topic spam, advocate violence, have multiple comments or posts removed, weaponize reports or violate the code of conduct will be banned.
All posts and comments will be reviewed on a case-by-case basis. This means that some content that violates the rules may be allowed, while other content that does not violate the rules may be removed. The moderators retain the right to remove any content and ban users.
That's all the rules!
Civic Links
• Congressional Awards Program
• Library of Congress Legislative Resources
• U.S. House of Representatives
Partnered Communities:
• News
founded 1 year ago
MODERATORS
My 2 cents that no one asked for… mentioning, or hypothesizing that he’s “secretly gay,” is meant to further articulate the degree of absurdity around his views. I do not believe it’s meant as a which hunt or an insult.
Its not 4D chess, it's reactionism. Its subconsciously trying to find a reason for peoples douchosity, failing, and falling back on pointing out something that might get the other side to react just as emotionally.
It is still using "gay" as an insult and is a direct insult to all the people who are STILL "in the closet" because they are afraid of what people like mike johnson will do them if they pursue their own happiness.
This is right up there with "I am not insulting gay people, I am insulting motor cyclists" in terms of tone deafness that is largely indistinguishable from bigotry.
There are so many other ways to shit on this asshole. Let's pick one that doesn't attack our LGBTQ+ friends?
If you see someone on the street saying "Fuck you gay boy" to someone, is your first reaction "Good job. You take that power back"?
Or is it "What the fuck? Did I walk through a wormhole and end up in Arkansas again?"
When "diffus(ing) their power" is indistinguishable from bigotry: it is bigotry. It is great that you don't mind. The people who put up with that shit just hear another voice spewing the same hate.
Then maybe wait for evidence and witnesses before accusing an asshole of being gay because... he is an asshole and it would be funny?
While I agree that it's important to have a basis for making a claim, I don't think it was put forth here because Johnson "is an asshole and it would be funny". It was put forth because there's an observable history of the loudest conservative homophobes eventually being outed as self-hating homosexuals. The focus here is on the secretly part, not the gay part.
Again, what basis is there for him being gay other than "he is an asshole and conservative assholes are often secretly gay"? Which is "he is gay because he is an asshole"
And if the issue is just that he has secrets? Say he has secrets. But that wouldn't be as "insulting" as calling him gay. So no, the focus is not on "secretly"
Also, as mentioned: Plenty of gay folk are still afraid to "come out" because of bigots like johnson. So is this also an insult to them for having "secrets" or whatever nonsense you are using because you can't stop calling people "gay" as an insult?
Commenting on an observed phenomenon isn't calling him gay to be insulting.
https://youtu.be/simV1ZXFsxI?si=aPymVlw5xjSQAmrw
Gay closeted Republicans railing against gay rights is a fucking trope at this point. If it was a movie, we'd shit on the writers for being lazy.
The statement was made not because he's being an asshole in general. It was because he's being an asshole specifically targeting gays having equal rights. He could simply be a heterosexual asshole, but it's not implausible that he has homosexual arousal and he expresses that with vocal homophobia (which would likely be due to his religion saying those impulses are sinful). There have even been studies on the phenomenon, such as here, which states:
So it's quite reasonable to take the research data that affirms the phenomenon and apply it individuals we see being very outwardly homophobic and presume that those individuals may be secretly gay.
Absolutely. That's why I will always vote against candidates who espouse such bigoted rhetoric.
Johnson, and other conservatives, would perceive "secretly gay" as an insult, but advocates for equal rights should not, because there's nothing shameful about one's place on the spectrum (assuming all parties are consenting adults). I did not perceive the comment to be insulting Johnson with an accusation, but rather asserting a potential context for his homophobic rhetoric and legislative agenda, and thus a reason to vote him out.
Its not entirely uncommon for homophobes to later come out as bi. They mistakenly assume their experience is universal and that sexuality is a choice for everyone as it is for them. Their hatred is deep reactionary denial of their own nature.