The Kansas City area was aglow after hundreds of young people seemed to have "won" a protest showdown with the Crazy-Ass Kansas Phelps Gang.
I assure you, the only people who won were local newsies.
Sure, money for AIDS research was collected and a lot of people might even deserve to pat themselves on the back but in the end, the Phelps Clan received the attention they so desperately crave . . . But even noting media savvy shown by the Phelps Clan is cliché.
Instead, I think we need to explore the real possibility that middle-class suburban white people are intrinsically drawn to seek attention for their own Dudley Do-Right ways simply to provide a contrasting view of white culture. Put simply, middle of the road white people just might need the Phelps clan in order to make their own privilege seem just a little bit more acceptable.
Certainly, no one can claim that Missouri or Kansas is a place that's exceptionally tolerant of LBGT lifestyles or community. Where where masses of protesters when a Show-Me State Lawmaker was recently discriminated against because of her sexuality?
I guess we all need an excuse to pat ourselves on the back and the Phelps clan makes white privilege seem somehow more acceptable as long as it is in opposition to its most repugnant manifestations. Logic dictates that the best way to deal with a Phelps protest is to ignore it and it should be noted that media coverage was actually exacerbated by the indignant and naive (but well meaning) response.
But make no mistake, reaction to the Phelps bunch doesn't bring out the best in people . . . In fact, such ardent denial of open bigotry and hatred only raises suspicions as to the guilty consciences that feel the need to highlight their opposition . . . To paraphrase, "they might protest too much."
Naturally Jeannette Mott Oxford wants to portray her exclusion from a House committee on prejudice against her sexual orientation. As someone who has been active in LGBT politics around the state and has worked with Mott Oxford on a few occasions, I can attest that anyone who works with her can surely find more reasons to oppose her than her sexual orientation ... like, for instance, her duplicitness and her under-handed dealings.
ReplyDeleteBecause of actions by Mott Oxford and the St. Louis LGBT Democratic club that supports her, efforts to form a statewide LGBT Democratic caucus were sunk. Her actions created a rift between Missouri's LGBT activists that have yet to heal.
So don't believe Mott Oxford when she plays victimized bulldyke. Even in the gay community she's not well respected and known as "that St. Louis bitch."
If you think that Phelps speaks for anyone but himself and his asinine followers, you are sadly mistaken. Lumping them in as representative of "white middle class" is such broad brushing that it defies logic. Frankly, I expected better of Tony.
ReplyDeleteAnd showing the cast of Friends as somehow atypical WASPs is just another way for Tony to show his own ignorance of white America.
"white America"
ReplyDeletelolz
I was hauled off by the cops and put in a holding cell for a couple of hours for protesting against Phred Felps.
ReplyDeleteNot quite Nelson Mandella's story, I grant you.
But if you look at Phred's rationale for his insanity it's not all that different from Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson's explanation of why God gave us 9/11.
I still have family at that high school and I talked to them about the protest. I believe the kids genuinely wanted to show support for the gay homecoming king they elected last year. I think it was more about standing up for him and his family and displaying tolerance than alleviating white guilt. If it was a bunch of people my age or older I would concede that's a likely motivation, but most of these kids are 17 or younger.
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