Dude, really? Just admit it: homophobes dying off like dinosaurs.
I was listening to a really terrific radio documentary by Michigan Public Radio’s Lester Graham the other day when I heard something right at the very end that made me about pee in my pants because it was so hilariously delusional. It was a statement from noted homophobic bigot Gary Glenn, president of the American Family Association of Michigan. He actually seems to believe that you become homophobic as you age.
I’m not kidding. Like going bald or something.
LESTER GRAHAM: Polling shows most of the opposition to gay marriage is among older people while younger people tend to accept the idea. That leads some to believe that overturning Michigan’s gay marriage ban is inevitable. But Gary Glen doesn’t believe that.GARY GLENN: I think it was Winston Churchill who quipped that “if you were under 30 and you weren’t a liberal then you didn’t have a heart but that if you’re over 30 and you weren’t conservative then you didn’t have a brain”. So, whatever polling data may show about young people today, I don’t think necessarily translates into what they’ll think of issues like this when they’re older. So, we’re confident that people will keep the Marriage Protection Amendment in place.
This is a man who lives in a world of delusion where everyone is a hateful, homophobic bigot like himself. When confronted with data that suggests that the next generation of Michiganders doesn’t give a flying flip about who someone loves or who someone has sex with, the only way he can fit that into his warped, intolerant worldview is to make up something to explain it. In his case, he has to pretend that homophobia is something that comes about through experience and wisdom.
The reality is, of course, quite different. Homophobia is taught just like hate in all forms is taught. As time passes, fewer and fewer people are teaching their children the bigoted ways of thinking put forth by small-minded men and women like Gary Glenn.
I would love to be in the same room as Gary Glenn on the evening of November 8th, 2016 when he is forced to confront the reality that a majority Michiganders are not homophobic bigots like he is and have overturned the archaic same sex marriage ban that he championed. That would be a joy to see.
You can listen the entire excellent piece by Lester Graham titled “Unequal by law: Being gay in Michigan” HERE.
UPDATE: Take the poll:
[poll id=”5″]
