Just over a week ago I posted a story about a group of PA high school students who held an "Anti-Gay" day at their school as a counter to the National Day of Silence. I caught quite a bit of flack from some of the more sensitive readers for my implication that the students' (all male) homophobia may be compensating for some latent homosexual urgings. "You're insulting the Gays" was what most of these comments boiled down to. The truth is (as anyone who has read my diaries should have figured out) that my speculation was not meant as an insult, but an observation that has come to fruition time and again. And now we have more proof of how blatant homophobia can often be an indicator of someone dealing with deeper issues of their own sexuality.
From the Fargo-Morehead Forum...
Rep. Randy Boehning, a 52-year-old Republican legislator from Fargo [North Dakota], says a Capitol employee told him a fellow lawmaker vowed to out him as gay if he continued to vote against bills granting gays legal protections against discrimination.
...
The exchange came to light when Dustin Smith, a 21-year-old Bismarck man with no known connections to the Capitol, contacted The Forum earlier this month, saying he recognized Boehning from a gay dating smartphone app called Grindr. Chatting under the user name Top Man!, Boehning sent Smith sexually suggestive messages and, in the early morning hours of March 12, an unsolicited photo of his penis, according to exchanges reviewed by The Forum.
The bill which seems to be the catalyst for all of this is Senate Bill 2279, which extends legal protections to gays against discrimination. His apparent objection to the bill is that it extends protections to those who are "perceived" to be gay. Which is rather strange when you consider that lawmakers like Mr. Boehning don't seem to have any problems with such broad definitions when it comes to so-called Religious Liberty bills like the one that was smacked down in Indiana.
Asked whether he would be personally concerned about being discriminated against in the areas of housing, workplace or public accommodation, Boehning, who lives in a rented Fargo apartment, said landlords have the right to do as they see fit.
What I find particularly galling is that Representative Boehning seems to show absolutely no remorse or shame at his hypocrisy being exposed. In fact, he seems quite relieved.
Boehning, who is not married, said there are people who know he is gay, but many of his family members and friends do not. He said Saturday he is also attracted to women and was relieved to come out because he no longer has to worry about being outed.
"The 1,000-pound gorilla has been lifted," he said. "I have to confront it at some point."
Well, good for you, Mr. Boehning. It must be truly wonderful for you to no longer have to live with the shame and humiliation of being a closeted hypocrite.
To those of us who've been paying attention, this is not a one-off. The list of people who publicly slam the LGBT community as a smokescreen for their own sexuality ranges from public officials to clergy to doctors to just plain ol' ordinary assholes. George Rekkers, Ted Haggard, Larry Craig, Eddie Long, etc., etc., etc., etc. Now I fully understand why people remain in the closet. Despite the amount of progress that's been made in the move towards Gay acceptance, it's still a dangerous world out there. I'm not a fan of outing people, as I don't believe the Gay community would be well served by reluctant (and probably resentful) heroes. However, if you're going to hate on us in public while posting dick-pics on Grind'r from the comfort and safety of your closet, then frankly you deserve whatever happens when you are eventually exposed, not as a homosexual, but as the hypocrite that you are.
And for the folks who insist that somehow it's insulting to consider that the homophobia that we face each day comes from people desperate to hide their own homosexual proclivities, you would probably do well to turn your anger to those who truly insult our community. People who use religious dogma, political posturing, bullying, and even violence, to camouflage their own shame, disgust, and self-loathing at what they truly are.
When you consider what those of us who choose to live our lives in the open have to face everyday, calling attention to this kind of hypocrisy isn't insulting. The real insult is in not calling it out.