Some further thoughts on the gays struggle for acceptance. In "Gay in NJ", I said:
"I think gays do a disservice to their cause by using the courts to attempt wholesale change. I think this is because they are ultimately trying to impose moral acceptance as well as legal acceptance. I think I am like a great many Americans: while I support gay rights, I find gay sex repulsive. Does that make me a bigot? Maybe. Should the gay community care. No."
In a broader context, Jonah Goldberg in NRO discusses Dinesh D'Souza's contention that American culture does not always win the hearts and minds. But I think the issue is deeper and more complex than that. The imposition of culture, whether by accident or design, can provoke a visceral reaction. You need not look past our shore to see it. Agree or not, the movement to amend states' constitutions to define marriage as between a man and a women is the backlash against the imposition of gay marriage on the general populace. Further, you might see the rise of Evangelicals as a reaction to the imposition of a certain moral culture by Hollywood, coastal liberals, etc. on the rest of us.
I think the vast majority of people are willing to NOT impose their moral vision of the world on you, so long as you reciprocate. Liberal cultures (small "l" liberal) run up on the rocks is when they seek to impose their "culture" on an unwilling audience. The gays have run into that in the US and the US has run into it abroad.
Coming back to Hardaway's reaction, he may find gay sex disgusting. I do not believe he has anything to apologize for that. But to make the leap from "yuck" to "hate" is reprehensible.
No comments:
Post a Comment