So much GOOD news lately...for which to be thankful.
The skating special...the upcoming Spamalot run on Broadway...the entertaining "Are You Smarter Than a Fifth Grader" appearance, that netted the Bubel/Aiken Foundation $300,000...the BAF golf tournament...a new publicist...the surprise appearance at Harvard on behalf of UNICEF, and at the special educator's conference in North Carolina...the Christmas tour...
Oh, and something about a NEW CD coming next year...? Yeah, all exceptionally GOOD stuff!
It occurs to me that ever since Clay told the world he was moving on from the petty media bashing, that well,....he truly has. He is living his life, fulfilling his potential, making a difference. It also occurs to me that I have seen very little "bashing" of Clay in the legitimate media of late. Sure, the anonymous bloggers and miscellaneous "anti-fans" are still out there spewing their sewage, but they are of no relevence to Clay's life, or mine. In fact, most people outside the Clay Nation are not even aware of them.
No doubt there are still those lazy and untalented "journalists" in the legitimate media who will occasionally fall back on the practice of filling up their space and building up their word count and hits with unoriginal comments about Clay; but perhaps some of them have moved on as well.
Perhaps some of them have realized that the public ridicule of a self-confessed heterosexual male, using gay-based comments as insults, is really just a way to publicly ridicule all gays. Somewhere along the way, it has sadly become socially acceptable to gay bash a straight guy that is perceived to be gay. The unenlightened and homophobic public takes out its rage and contempt on him and others because they subconsciously want to bash all gays.
However, once a gay man comes out publicly, their hate speech becomes non politically correct, even punishable; witness actor Isaiah Washington losing his job for his homophobic slur against fellow actor T.K. Knight.
Clay has served long enough as the media proxy for homophobic bashing of gay men; to be harrassed and ridiculed for something he is not, on behalf of those who are not MAN enough to face off against true, OUT gay men for fear of being labeled "homophobic." Unexplainedly, some of the gay media are often the worst offenders.
After all, the true meaning of "homophobia" is "fear of homosexuals." Surely the gay media isn't afraid of itself. Is it?
I think what some of the unenlightened are truly afraid of isn't gay men. Perhaps what they are really afraid of is Clay himself, and what he represents.
More to come.
touchstone (n) a basis for comparison; a reference point against which other things can be evaluated
©touchstone 2007
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
2 comments:
Very true, enough is enough. Time for the subversive gay-centric comments about Clay and others, including Barry Manilow, to stop.
It's not cool, guys. In fact, it's neanderthal. Grow up.
Kudos!
The unenlightened and homophobic public takes out its rage and contempt on him and others because they subconsciously want to bash all gays.
However, once a gay man comes out publicly, their hate speech becomes non politically correct, even punishable
That is a great point - very true, although I question the "subconscious" part in many cases. Several of the people I know that give me grief about being a fan are quite open about being anti-gay (or rather, are open about it around people they know, but not in public).
I look forward to Part 2 of this. :-)
Post a Comment