One Utah

Chances are good that a gay Utah teen was thrown out of his house by his parents today.  His parents, believing that being gay is sinful, wrong, a choice, and that his just going through a phase, are comforting themselves by reminding themselves that being gay is “un-natural.”  Safe within a system of prejudiced beliefs, their actions will be justified and lauded by their peers - if they talk about them.  Within the queer community, they’ll be recognized as just another set of bigots.

Also, within the queer community, Mary Cheney has been much discussed.  She actively worked on Bush/Cheney 2004, supporting a campaign which has used gay and lesbians lives as political footballs.  She has actively supported a party which continues to legislate against and in ways which have made and will continue to make gay and lesbians lives more difficult.  Certainly, the right wing of the Republican party has engaged in nasty rhetoric that has ramped up rather than reduced prejudice against queer people - and created an environment in which gays and lesbians face active and virulent prejudice and discrimination.

Mary Cheney recently gave an interview in which she declared what most queer folks would like to declare - our lives, our relationships, our families are not political footballs.

“When Heather and I decided to have a baby, it was not going to be the most popular decision ever,” Ms. Cheney said, referring to her partner of 15 years, Heather Poe

She then gestured to her middle — any bulge disguised by a boxy jacket — and asserted: “This is a baby. This is a blessing from God. It is not a political statement. It is not a prop to be used in a debate by people on either side of an issue. It is my child.”

From republicoft:

But the reality is that many of our families will have to live with the aftermath of the administration Mary helped elect, in ways that Mary and her family won’t because — as Robbie said — Mary is not an average lesbian . . .

But she is a Cheney. No matter what amendments or laws pass, she and hers will probably be taken care of. The Cheney name and money will see to that, no matter what the Dobsons of the world seek to inflict on gay families. Not so for the rest of us. Every time a gay family in one of those states [that passed anti-same sex marriage amendments] bears the full brunt of the consequences of these amendments, Mary will have had some hand in it.

I’m unsympathetic with Cheney’s desire for privacy.  She’s worked for an anti-gay political party, supported whole-heartedly an anti-gay administration and said nary a word about their targeting of gays and lesbians for political purposes.  She’s been an active part of the process of making gays and lesbians second class citizens.  For her to now profess a yearning for privacy is ingenuous at best, patronizing at worst.

Cheney money and influence will keep Mary, Heather and baby Cheney in a cocoon, protected from the effects of the world she and her family helped create.  They will hire the best lawyers to guarantee Heather Poe has parental rights.  They will live ensconced in a world of privilege and safety. They will find ways around the legal barriers Republicans have fought to erect.

And yet, I feel empathy for her.  She realizes - and I suspect her father and mother realize as well - that wanting a full life, having a partner you love and who loves you, having a child and raising and nurturing that child together should not be a political statement.  To become a parent, to build a life with one’s partner, should not be a political issue.  It is personal and one should have the right to be unmolested by the government.  Gay and lesbian lives should not be political props.

The right wing culture warriors, however, will never hear that.  The James Dobsons of the world will not let gay and lesbian people lead our lives unmolested.  Our existence is problematic for them and they will continue their campaign to push us out of American life.  The Aaron Tiltons and Paul Rays of the world will seek ways to legislate us out public spaces.  To be gay and lesbian in America has become more insecure in the last few years.

Within living memory, simply being gay and being in public with other gay folks would get one arrested and convicted.  Within living memory, families would send lock their gay children in asylums, forced them to undergo cruel and pointless medical procedures.  Less than 5 years ago, that the Supreme Court held that sodomy laws were unconstitutional.  Prior to that a gay couple could be arrested for engaging in voluntary sexual behavior.  Discrimination against gay and lesbian people is and remains a reality.  In Michigan, the state appeals court held that the state’s anti-gay marriage amendment meant that same sex couples could not receive any of the rights given to married couples - no insurance, no hospital visitation, no legal protections.  Right wing culture warriors have set their sights on gays and lesbians and with the help of people like Mary Cheney (and her family) have succeeded in forcing queer folks into second class citizenship.  And Mary Cheney, and her partner and their child will be protected because of their wealth and connections.  They are public figures and influential people and their actions have harmed other Americans - who live without their wealth and influence.

And for that reason, if for none other, Mary Cheney has lost the right to be left alone, to plead with us to not see her choices as having meaning beyond her own life.  Her personal complicity with the Bush administration’s willing targeting of gays and lesbians has brought with it consequences - from both friends and foes.

Mary Cheney will no doubt be a successful mother.  Her child will grow up in privilege.  She has and will benefit from her parents’ love and support.  But the environment their political friends and allies have created and that they have supported has made life less comfortable and less safe for many gay and lesbian persons. 

I have no doubt that today in Utah, a gay teen has been thrown out of the house by his parents - encouraged and supported by a system of prejudice which taught those parents that the gay child is in error, is rebelling, is sinful, wrong, and damanged goods.  That system of prejudice has been reinforced and strengthened with the willing and able support of the Cheneys.  It is cold out and that gay teenager will be alone and vulnerable on the streets tonight.  That is the strange fruit of prejudice in George Bush’s America.

This entry was posted Friday, February 2nd, 2007 at 4:30 pm and is filed under Bigotry, Equality, Homophobia, National Politics, Privacy, Religious Fundamentalism, Society. Both comments and pings are currently closed.