A Bleak Future For Homophobia

SO TO SPEAK

‘Out’ Cooper erodes hate that thrives on anonymity

Sunday July 8, 2012 5:27 AM

By Joe Blundo

So Anderson Cooper came out as gay last week and provoked no outrage.

I’m sure that a conservative preacher here or there called down heaven’s judgment on him, but, for the most part, the announcement prompted little in the way of open vitriol.

I doubt that it did so solely because many people had already assumed him to be gay.

Cooper, a CNN anchorman and an afternoon talk-show host, is familiar and respected, and it is a little dangerous to demonize familiar, respected people. Better to rail against the “gay agenda” because it is anonymous and impersonal, playing on fear by implying a sinister plot for world domination.

Such rhetoric becomes increasingly ridiculous as people become more open about their sexuality.

If there really were a “homosexual agenda,” you’d have to assume that Cooper, Rachel Maddow, Rosie O’Donnell, Suze Orman, Jim Parsons, Neil Patrick Harris and George Takei are all part of the conspiracy. Now, really, does that sound like a cabal that wants to take over the world or just the guest list for an Emmy Awards after-party?

Homophobia — the ugly, personal kind — still exists, of course, but it seems to have a bleak future in the public arena.

You can win points in conservative political circles by opposing gay marriage, but attack the same-sex union of Dick Cheney’s daughter and expect condemnation from all over the political spectrum. When bigotry moves from the abstract to the personal, it becomes harder to defend.

Well, the entire nation is moving from the abstract to the personal.

We all know gay people. They’re our neighbors, our relatives, our co-workers and — yes — our celebrities. So we live in this strange situation in which it is still permissible to oppose full rights for gay people — but don’t you dare say mean things about my cousin, my friend or Lance Bass.

It reminds me of the “some-of-my-best-friends-are-black” days of the 1960s, when people tried to prove their open-mindedness while reserving the right to consider another race inferior. Let’s just say that it wasn’t a particularly convincing position.

Cooper came out in email to blogger Andrew Sullivan.The anchorman wrote, in part: “While as a society we are moving toward greater inclusion and equality for all people, the tide of history only advances when people make themselves fully visible. There continue to be far too many incidences of bullying of young people, as well as discrimination and violence against people of all ages, based on their sexual orientation, and I believe there is value in making clear where I stand.”

Cooper becomes one more living, breathing, feeling gay person and therefore impossible to lump in with an anonymous “them” who can safely be accused of subverting family values — whatever those are. The more gay people who come out, the fewer who are left to be used as punching bags.

Attacking them isn’t just politics anymore. Now, it’s personal.

Joe Blundo is a Dispatch columnist.

jblundo@dispatch.com