From the ‘Way-Beyond-Goofy’ file, News of the Weird in the Chicago Reader (4-11) has the latest on the Rev. Fred Phelps and his anti-gay crusade. Phelps and family from Topeka, Kan., picketed organizations associated with the late Mr. Rogers. Phelps says that Roger’s TV show taught kids that being gay was acceptable. How did it do this? Apparently by never explicitly condemning homosexuality.
From the ‘Proudly Posthumous’ file an article on house makeovers (to sell them) in the Chicago Tribune (4-18) reports one re-arranger moved a vase from a side buffet to the middle of the dining room table whereupon the seller declared ‘Arthur would love this. He always had to be the center of attention.’ Arthur’s ashes were in the vase and Arthur was the seller’s deceased lover.
Richard Roeper’s column in the Chicago Sun-Times (4-22) asks ‘What makes bug chasers, gift givers do such a thing?’ In a fair portrayal of this controversial topic, Roeper exemplifies the non-homophobe he is reputed to be. He reviews a new documentary about people trying to be HIV-positive, ‘The Gift,’ and basically comes to the conclusion that the whole topic remains mysterious. One wonders if Roeper (understandably) might not have thought that many of these people (if they exist) might be suffering from remnants of internal homophobia.
The N.Y. Times op-ed page (4-25) carried an essay by gay sex advice sage Dan Savage on ‘G.O.P. Hypocrisy’ vis-a-vis Sen. Rick Santorum’s comments on gays. Savage points out that unlike Trent Lott’s remarks on race that were, and are, highly disapproved of, Santorum’s remarks are mainline Republican policy. Savage goes on to point out that Republicans are going to have more and more difficulty with lesbigays as they adopt children and raise families. They are, after all, acting responsibly and positively. Will the G.O.P. continue to criticize them?
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