Orson Scott Card Anti-Gay

I’ve posted about anti-gay author, Orson Scott Card, a few times. And now he’s claiming that he’s been attacked, savagely, in an unfair way. I’m not going to get into Card’s past anti-gay record because it would be too long and involved for a short post. But if you do a simple search with his name you’ll be amazed at what you find.

His novels, which I’ve never read and can’t comment on, are being turned into a film and many have been calling for a boycott of the film. Here’s how Card views it:

‘I’ve had no criticism. I’ve had savage, lying, deceptive personal attacks, but no actual criticism because they’ve never addressed any of my actual ideas,’ Card told Deseret News.

I’m honestly not certain what that statement means. It’s a pragmatic issue for me. As a gay man I have no interest in debating my life with Card or anyone else, or offering him criticism. It’s not up for debate, and not with Mr. Card, a fiction writer. I have no interest in debating equal rights with him either. And how I live my life is not up for debate with Card or anyone else who is anti-gay. I don’t care what his ideas are. I don’t care what he believes. But more important, I don’t have to care what his ideas are or how he thinks. I’m not the one trying to discriminate against Card or how he lives his life. And at this point in my life, after being with the same man for over twenty-one years and still not able to get legally married in Pennsylvania, I don’t feel the need or have the inclination to offer Card anything more than total complete dismissal.

So if he expects critical responses he’d better stop waiting. Because some things just aren’t up for debate anymore. I. Want. Equal. Rights. I’m tired of talking about them.

The natural response to anything anti-gay, or to any author or public figure who is stupid enough to discuss controversial topics in public, is to not support their work if you don’t agree with them.

Check out the full article with the link above. It gets better, and the comment thread is interesting.

Gay Friendly Alabama

One huge misconception I’ve always found about the US is that everyone (including Americans) tends to classify certain parts of the US in set ways. It’s like everything between NY and LA is backward, and only those who live in certain places are gay friendly. Of course I’ve exaggerated that to a certain extent. But the geographic stereotypes do exist, and the south usually gets slammed the worst. And when people think of places like Alabama and Mississippi they tend to think homophobia…or at least not as accepting. This article proves that theory dead wrong:

The actors held hands walking down city streets, kissed in a photo booth at a carnival and acted out a marriage proposal in the middle of a crowded waffle house in both states.

 Instead of being met with jeers or abuse, the proposals received scattered applause and not a single derogatory remark.

The sad fact is that you can find homophobia and hate anywhere in the world, from New York City to Southern California. But it looks like things are, indeed, getting better. I’m old enough to remember when it was shocking to see two men holding hands and walking down the streets of Manhattan.