Everyone is asking me: What does DADT repeal mean for the gay-marriage debate? I will tell you: I don’t know.
I’ve always believed that marriage is a distinctive issue, that it cannot simply be folded into “gay issues” generally, that it’s quite possible to be pro–gay rights generally and still to support marriage as the union of husband and wife.
Well, yeah, if it’s 1994 and stuff. Is it?
However, the inability of those who opposed DADT repeal to kill this bill in the lame duck, even in light of the strong opposition to repeal from troops in the field, is an example of the growing mismatch in culture power — the power to name reality, the power to determine which stories get told and whose feelings count.
When the 58 percent of Marines putting their lives on the line for this country who say “this is going to make our life harder” have so little weight in public debate…
Oh, Maggie, almost 80% of the American public supports repeal, and that 58% Marine number was a complete outlier in a wide-ranging study that showed that the majority of the military, especially the young ones, truly do not care about serving with openly gay people. Your readers may be stupid, but jeez.
So anyway, Maggie thinks we’ll have gays serving openly but “protect marriage” all the same because
I can’t really believe we are going to end up like Europe. But then I’m an optimist.
An optimist about upholding discrimination. Put that on her tombstone, please: “Maggie Gallagher was an optimist when it came to upholding irrational discrimation.” But please, Lord, not any time soon; grant her a long life so that she may see her life’s work crumble in front of her eyes.
Maggie Gallagher is a c*** and a waste of flesh. She’s a X-ian who only follows those tenets palpable to her prejudices. Hey, Maggie, whatever happened to not not being unequally yoked with an unbeliever.
Interesting that Obama will sign it on the Winter Solstice. Springtime for justice and gays, Winter for maggie and hate.
ps…I wish we *were* more like Europe!
It is interesting that she goes to such pains to state she’s not a bigot, that she’s not opposed to gay rights–a sure sign that she is.
Oh Maggie, in Europe it is not so bad. And you can be friend here with Bishop Andreas Laun (20-30 years less lifetime) and Christl Ruth Vonholdt (Ex-Gay-”Helper”).
regards from Vienna / Austria / Europe
Fg68at–Ich war in Salzburg und Wien, sie sind ganz wunderschön. Ich könnte dort sehr gern wohnen!
“is an example of the growing mismatch in culture power — the power to name reality, the power to determine which stories get told and whose feelings count.”
Poor mHaggie. Once upon a time str8, white Christians controlled the narrative and if they didn’t like something, it didn’t happen. Now instead of listening respectfully, more and more Americans refuse your version of reality! What’s a poor hatebag to do?!
I don’t understand what the right-wingnut obsession is with bashing Europe. Okay, Europe is no “land of milk & honey.” They have problems we know this, but what’s so wrong about having guaranteed job security for working mothers & fathers? What’s so wrong controlling pay disparities between executives and unskilled labor? What’s so wrong with ensuring everyone has access to healthcare? I don’t get it.
Also, these Christianists who don’t believe in the separation of Church and State should look to Europe. Most of the countries in the EU have institutionalized their churches and we see how well THAT’s working out. Careful what you wish for.
Jealousy, Nick, jealousy. They imagine, often quite correctly, that Europeans are smarter and more sophisticated than they are.
Moreover, this is combined with the fact that “Murrikan Exceptionalism” is so drilled into people’s heads that a lot of poorly traveled Americans truly believe that Europeans live in squalor. HGTV is very hard for them when they do House Hunters International, I imagine.
Europe might be slightly more evolved than America in some ways, but at least over here it would be declared unconstitutional to ban the construction of minarets (Switzerland) and ban women from wearing headscarves (France). Also, while living in Rome, never did I see more swastikas and aryan right symbols spraypainted on buildings. Fascism exists at the fringes but is still quite a real possibility.
While America has racial problems, at least over here the “melting pot” aspect of our culture is a given. In Europe jingoism, racism, and xenophobia are just as bad, if not worse, because they are not used to the melting pot concept.
Emily, when countries ban minarets and head scarrves its because they are too concerned with the melting pot.
Si on finissait comme en Europe, ca ne me derangerait pas le moins du monde!
“I can’t really believe we are going to end up like Europe.”
You mean, civilized?
The whole fear of Europe is really strange–of course Maggie’s probably never been out of the USA. But this strange arrogance and dismissal of the rest of the world is just really telling about these people.
Oh Maggie, “the power to name reality, the power to determine which stories get told and whose feelings count”. You are exactly right. YOUR discursive powers are slowly waning and fading slowly into the shadows. No one is listening. No one will hear the faint sound of the NOM tour bus sputtering down some country road to an empty lot where a few old white folk turn up their hearing aids one last before their batteries run out for good.
Oh Maggie, what a slow ignominious end.
Oh Maggie, why not choose life. Choose happiness. Choose love. Choose acceptance. Afterall, we’ve got all the best tunes, the best style, we love life. It’s a brighter day every day. It’s our world now. Our reality. It’s our story. Our feelings that society listens to.
Oh Maggie. We will think of you and Anita Bryant as you sit in old age together with the other hate-mongers gnashing on soft foods and contemplating a life wasted on hate and an unforgiving God who loves his LBGT children and looks with displeasure at those who would abuse them.
Oh Maggie.