Two articles elsewhere caught my eye today:
Mnartists.org has an interview with Abigail Garner, author of Families Like Mine: Children of Gay Parents Tell It Like It Is. Garner has been a strong voice for children of LGBT parents, reminding us, for example, that our children, of any sexual orientation, can be the victims of homophobia. “Kids,” she says, “depending on their developmental stages, are going to be comfortable about being out in different ways and different times. It’s not a political issue for them — it’s not an issue of shame. It’s a matter of safety.” In the interview, Garner discusses her development as an activist and a writer, and shares some of the wisdom from her life and her book.
Elsewhere, Terrance at Republic of T segues beautifully from a narration of taking his son to the library and aquarium to an excoriation of ultra-conservative Michael Savage, who has called same-sex parenting “child abuse.” Terrance explains:
Now, I don’t normally pay much attention to Michael Savage, or spend much time here responding to his comments. But I think it’s worthwhile because however extreme he may be, Savage is part of a conservative media noise machine that keeps him employed because he says the things that conservative leaders can’t say, and in a way that they couldn’t get away with.
His words on Savage apply equally to columnist Ann Coulter, who this week called presidential candidate John Edwards a “faggot.” The Human Rights Campaign is asking people to contact the Universal Press Syndicate and ask them to stop running Coulter’s column. “Would so many of our elected officials and members of the news media be so indifferent if Coulter had gone on a racist, anti-Semitic tirade?” HRC asks. They also say:
Last night, Coulter defended herself on Fox News by saying ‘faggot isn’t offensive to gays’. Wrong! We all know the truth is that ‘faggot’ is a loaded word. It is a weapon used to demean and wound our community. And perhaps she should explain to the tens of thousands of gay kids, whose personal safety is too often threatened, that when they are called ‘faggot’ in school hallways and playgrounds, it isn’t anti-gay.
True, but reading Garner’s interview reminds me that HRC should amend its words. It’s not just the gay kids, but the kids—both LGBT and straight—of LGBT parents who are threatened by Savage and Coulter and their ilk. Kids like Zack. Our kids. All of them.
E-mail Universal Press Syndicate. Write to your local paper if it carries Coulter’s column, and tell them to stop. Don’t let Coulter get away with calling “faggot” a “schoolyard taunt.” Similarly, don’t let people say the phrase “That’s so gay” is acceptable because it “enjoys widespread currency in youth culture.” There will be schoolyard taunts as long as there are schoolyards, but we as adults cannot sit idly by if we see them happening, and allow children to grow up without a sense of respect for others. (Side note: the children who taunted another about her Mormon background in that story should be disciplined in like measure.)
Defending our children. Teaching respect. That’s something truly, proudly, “so gay.”
