I am not a hypocrite

[Guy Fawkes]

Let's say a male Republican spends his entire senate career making homophobic statements and pushing a socially conservative agenda. Then one day the rumor mill starts to turn- he's single, never married, no kids... what's going on? His relationships aren't with minors, pages, or secretaries... they're with consenting adult men.

Now, this man is a hypocrite. But I am not. "Outing" him is in direct violation of my beliefs: I believe in personal privacy, I believe in gay rights, and I believe that a person's sexuality is their own business if they don't want to make it public.

I refuse to take part in the "so-and-so is gay" rumors. I find these allegations- regardless of their basis in truth (which is usually nil)- tasteless. And people who explain away their own cognitive dissonance with "Well, s/he is a hypocrite, so it's ok for me to be, just this once..." make me worry about politics in the United States.

Say what you will.

[OPERATIONMINDCRIME]

1. I Say I Agree With You 100%. Becoming A Hypocrite To Spite A Hypocrite Is

just plain stupid.

I'm with ya.

:toast:

[William769]

2. You are absolutely right!

I used to post here on a regular basis, but in the past couple of weeks I have been scarce.

The hypocrisy here is worse than the other side for the simple reason is coming from supposedly our own side. Sorry but two wrongs don't make a right.

[sarge43]

3. Agree with all your points. Also,

they're hypocritical about so many other things, why bother.

Besides, outing always seems to be a subtle form of gay bashing.

[liberal N proud]

4. The difference is that you don't run around projecting your lifestyle on

others and making homophobic statement intended to deflect any suspicions.

What makes them a hypocrite is the fact that they are proclaiming how bad the gays are when they are secretly practicing duel lifestyles. They go on a witch hunt while they are witches themselves.

They are more the exposure of the total sham of republican party than anything else.

Their sexuality shouldn't be an issue but they have made a point to be so anti-homosexual that they made it about the sexuality.

[SammyWinstonJack]

8. !

:thumbsup:

[tuvor]

5. So some hypocrisies are more equal than others, I guess.

What other hypocrisies do you think should remain unexposed?

And what do you propose be done instead? Doing nothing is not acceptable. (And please don't say "win elections". That means sucking it up for two years, and hoping your side wins.)


Edited to add: Oh, by the way...I'm not a hypocrite, either.

[Warpy]

6. I disagree

because these public homophobes and private gays are in a position to hurt us all---and they are.

If outing them will deprive them of the support of a corrupt party, I'm all for it.

After all, when out party elects gays to office, we KNOW they're gay, and they work for all of us.

I don't give a rip what anyone does with his or her body in the off hours except when it represents a huge disconnect between what they are passing as LAW and who they really are.

In other words, the judgment is made on voting records, not just gleefully pointing at all the men my admittedly faulty gaydar sets off.

It's the hypicrisy and the harm. Never forget that.

[PurpleChez]

11. I agree.

I also agree with the folks farther up who objected to outing. But you make the very important point that, in the sort of situations described here, the outing is being done in order to disarm dangerous, hateful people who bring pain and misery upon others in order to maintain political power. Call me a hypocrite, but I think such people forfeit their expectation of privacy.

[TankLV]

16. Absolutely right

What these particular hypocrits do is pass legislation and laws that directly HARM the rest of us.

They use their very power to harm - themselves!

If they pass anti-gay laws, I DEMAND they be outed and removed as quickly as possible.

[mondo joe]

7. I don't think orientation is private in that way.

If you want your orientation kept a secret, then keep it a secret.

Don't go out socializing with your boyfriend, or cruising gay bars, and assume anyone who sees you is obliged to not say anything.

[Buzz Clik]

9. I agree with you 100%. Any other position would be hypocritical...

... ESPECIALLY for a Dem.

[mondo joe]

10. It's only hypocritical if it's contrary to your beliefs.

It's not to mine.

I believe a free press is obliged to inform the electorate, and not to be complicit in keeping secrets.

[tuvor]

14. Do you even know what 'hypocritical' means?

[The Brethren]

12. "Say what you will."

ok I will. I respect and understand that it's a violation of your beliefs to "out" another gay person, for the reasons you stated. However, it's a not a violation of mine. Nor have I ever witnessed a politician of either party whose personal life was guaranteed privacy once they became involved in politics. So not only do I not support hypercritical gay republicans, but I also don't care for double-standards: if it is ok to openly disclose, discuss and judge a straight politician's personal life, as it has done many times before, then why is it ok to protect a gay republican because they might be offended?

And when it comes to homophobic people, I could care less about their "privacy", especially when they are in a position of power to pass laws, etc, that can affect my life. At that point, their privacy...their feelings, their jobs even and so on ..go right out the window as far as I'm concerned. My privacy - regarding laws that decided who I can love and marry, what I choose to do with my property, if I can keep my job and my home, etc matter to me first and foremost, not worrying that I should try and cover up a gay repugs' privacy. If gay repugs want to complain about their rights to privacy, then they can start by openly making sure every way they can that their party stays the hell out of mine.

I can also tell you that if my partner and I were in a gay club and I saw a local repug politician, city official, etc. there hitting on people of the same sex who has spoken up against gay people and our rights and was in the closet, by the next day I would be singing about it like a canary to every person I could. I won't tolerate hypocrisy, esp. from gay repugs.

[The Brethren]

13. forgot to mention

likewise, if a gay repug wants to "out" myself in return including in person....by all means, I've been out of the closet my entire adult life. Also, I find trying to protect gay repugs' privacy hypercritical in itself.

[pooja]

15. Who cares? Being gay isn't some evil vicious thing. You can't

catch gay. Also, when did the world become so crazed with sex 24/7? Don't get me wrong, I love that aspect of my marriage... but my marriage is filled with a lot more than just sex. Its time to stop focusing so much on sex. Its only 1 part of lots of things in life. Can we just stop talking about sex? I can't believe i just said that.