here, queer, get used to it

Gay book ban goal of state lawmaker

i shouldn't be surprised at yet another example of sexual panic in the red state south, but there is something about the thoroughness of his ban that makes me rear back in alarm. it's not that his homophobia compels him to ban gay marriage (which is to be expected from a semi-rural ignoramus) but that he wants to erase homosexuality entirely. he wants it not to exist. he wants it to be nonrepresentable. he wants there to be a huge hole where he can dump homosexuality and bury it.

let's be clear. he's not merely saying that homosexuality gives him the skeeves; he's saying gay people skeeve him out so much he's willing to make sure all representations of them disappear. that's what these people want. that's their desire boiled down to its essence. it's not enough that they don't want gay people to marry. they don't want gay people to exist.

the article gets the whole thing wrong. we shouldn't be focusing on censorship or book burning. yes, yes, yes, that's awful but it's not the point. the real issue seethes below his crazy book ban. will erasing the word homosexual, the image of homosexuals, the fact of gay people be enough? will that satisfy their monster? i think not. their virulent hatred won't end until real gay people are gone. erased.

what does this sound like to you?