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Monday, July 19, 2004

Non-baseball: Callin' them like he sees 'em

The California legislature once again failed to agree on a budget proposal last week. The state budget is now over two weeks late and both parties are starting to point fingers. This week's sticking point is the Democrats desire to divert tax dollars from local governments into the state coffers.

This prompted the Governator to call Democratic senate leaders "girly-men":
"If they don't have the guts to come up here in front of you and say, 'I don't want to represent you, I want to represent those special interests, the unions, the trial lawyers ... if they don't have the guts, I call them girlie men," Schwarzenegger said to the cheering crowd at a mall food court in Ontario.
For me, the term "girly-men" has always meant just one thing- a man who is a coward, a wuss, or gut-less. That's the only way I've ever heard the term used, and that was certainly the meaning implied by Mr. Schwarzenegger. That was not how certain Democrats took it:
...State Sen. Sheila Kuehl said the governor had resorted to "blatant homophobia."

"It uses an image that is associated with gay men in an insulting way, and it was supposed to be an insult. That's very troubling that he would use such a homophobic way of trying to put down legislative leadership," said Kuehl, one of five members of the Legislature's five-member Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender Caucus.

[snip]

Assemblyman Mark Leno, a San Francisco Democrat who is chairman of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus, said he was glad Schwarzenegger didn't repeat the "girlie men" remark Sunday, saying it was "as misogynist as it is anti-gay."
Once again, I have never heard the term "girly-men" used to describe homosexuals. It was not used to describe homosexuals in this case, nor in it's original context (Saturday Night Live). Anyone who claims to be offended by what they view as a homophobic slur from the Governor is either a) completely ignorant of popular culture, or b) lying through their teeth for political gain. Guess which one the Democrats are guilty of.

This is nothing more than a shameful ploy- the Democrats are using this to smear the Republican Governor as a gay-basher. Falsely labeling someone as a homophobic gay-basher is just as morally reprehensible as labeling a homosexual a "queer" or "fag." It's got to be one of worst things you could possibly say about a politician.

Now, I won't debate that the term "girly-men" is misogynist- it definitely is. Women have a genuine beef here. But even then, let's take Schwarzenegger's quote at face value. He was kidding. No one quotes an SNL sketch in a serious manner- especially the Governor of nation's largest state.

I suppose it was not in the best taste and shouldn't have a place in civil political discourse, but we all know that this is what political campaigning in this country has sunk to. Everyone does it- John Kerry has implied on several occasions that George W. Bush is too stupid to be president, and that Dick Cheney is really in control. I'm sure each one of these so-called "offended" legislators has ridiculed an opponent at some point in their political careers. No one was offended when Arnold dissed Arianna Huffington during the recall election. In other words, they really need to drop the fake indignation.

I'm having a real hard time believing that any of these people are genuinely offended. If they are, it brings up an interesting question: should someone have the right to be offended by something that they clearly don't understand? Think about it- anyone could misconstrue any quote as an insult. "Hey, nice car." "What the hell is that supposed to mean!?" Really, if anyone should be offended it's Mr. Schwarzenegger. He's the one who's getting unfairly bashed here.

UPDATE: I've gotten a couple of e-mails on this, so allow me to clarify. When I say that the Democratic legislators have no reason to be offended, I am referring to the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Caucus, not the female legislators.

A homosexual claiming that the term "girly-man" (a term that is in no way a reference to homosexuality) is offensive is like if I were to declare that the word "teal" is offensive to people named Richard. From now on, when you use the word teal, you are "Richard-bashing," a practice that is very offensive to me.

Doesn't make any sense, right? Well, that's exactly the point.

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