Never post in the same place too many times in a row. If I've found a really sweet spot I'll hit it for a couple of days, then wait a couple of days before hitting it again. I don't mind the notion of someone lying in wait for me - in fact I kind of like it - so long as they never actually catch me. Most freewaysides are veritable no-man's lands, so it's usually easy to see if anyone's around.
Most of the hate mail I get comes via e-mail, and those who make death threats are usually careful to do so using passive verb tenses, such as "The person who made these signs should be murdered." or "I hope someone slits your silly fag throat." (Note the use of the term "silly" before "fag", indicating the sender probably has some issues of their own on that front. Don't worry, I mentioned it.)
At least half the hatemail I receive uses the term "fag" or "faggot" to describe me, which is odd given the utter lack of sexual content, homoerotic or otherwise, in my signs. It'd be interesting to explore the sexualization of the political debate in this country, and I'd love to hear from some of you Freudians out there on this topic. I think one of the major drawbacks to being a "family-values" Republican is that your sexuality is unnaturally constrained to marriage, generally for the sake of procreation and, (someone correct me if I'm wrong here) usually kept to standard-missionary-in-the-dark, whereas sex among liberals, as we know, is a 24/7 nonstop anything-goes bacchanalian fuckfest. Given this obvious disparity, it's not hard to see how sexual tensions might get projected into the political realm.
12 comments:
Is that note sittin' on a big ol' cowpie?
in "precarious lifes", by judith butler, she talks about the use of homofobia as part of the demonization of sadam´s regime. now i don´t remember in what terms. but it is, i think, somehow related with your hate mail.
I've never been confronted by anyone while blogging. Sometimes I have to walk past a homeless man who sleeps on a pedestrian overpass. I often get a horn honk, a thumbs up, or a "jump!".
Republican sex isn't necessarily missionary style in the dark, just ask Jeff Gannon.
If only all liberal sex was that dirty. If only! Wait, I mean of course it is! We're all filthy sluts! YES!
It's funny that they call you a communist since Bush is the one using the same tactics as communist countries. Do you think they understand irony?
If a person believes Bush in light of all the evidence against him, and his own admission that he did go to war on faulty intelligence...
Seems to me that person isn't "thinking" too much.
During the Guckert/Gannon hoopla, I read an interesting post (I think it was on KOS) by an older gay who claimed to be an inside-beltway type. I think I remember his main point being that for gay men of a certain age, closeting is key and it's just too late for them to change. The right offers the kind of structured belief that appeals to one who is secretive, etc. It makes sense and I just wonder if that entire attitude is just handed down and picked up as "cool" by the younger males, along with their schoolyard impulse to call any enemy a fag. It's really indicative of either the lack of proper words/intelligence to make one's argument OR fear of having no argument to make, thus the ready insult to fling.
You wrote:
(someone correct me if I'm wrong here) usually kept to standard-missionary-in-the-dark, whereas sex among liberals, as we know, is a 24/7 nonstop anything-goes bacchanalian fuckfest. (endquote)
Heck, yeah, that's why I haven't posted signs yet... Back to it, tough stopping long enough to type this.
I enjoy your signs. They and you are creative. Thank you for caring and doing something about it.
freewayblogger: you rule man/woman. and as for the homophobia, well, when your arguments suck, name calling is all you got left, and yeah, the names they choose definitely say more about their insecurities than anything else.
If it is a man calling you "faggot", and it probably is, their mentality exists only in two dimensions - kind of like a Madonna/Whore complex, but for men. The same way a woman is either a 1.whore or 2. saint, a man can only be 1.tough or 2.gay. "Tough" of course is shorthand for emphasis of action over thought, emotions over analysis. In this mans world few emotions are allowed. Anger, hatred and ensuing agression are about it. That makes for a narrow world view. The same way a good woman who likes sex irrevocably becomes a whore, a good man who likes to think, about something besides aggressive behavior, becomes a faggot. There just isn't room for much beyond that in their limited thought-universe. There are two types of Bush worshippers -the very well off, who don't bother calling anyone names, they don't give a shit - and the very poorly off,who haven't quite figured out yet their enemy is not the liberal, the foreigner,the minority, the woman, or the homosexual. But Bush tells them it is so they believe it. They haven't figured out that Bush and his policies are the reason they can't afford college for their kids. By the time they do, it will be too late. Unless people read your signs! So keep it up!
I suppose you can take some solace in the fact that this person can actually read your message. And, incredibly, write a reply of his(likely)/her(just as likely in a country with Ann Coulter, Michelle Malkin, et. al.) own! Bravo (or Brava)!
Post a Comment