Jerry Lewis is no longer relevant. I don’t care about him, or what he says. If, for example, at a press conference Joe Biden referred to the HRC as a bunch of disease-ridden faggots, then maybe it’s cause for alarm. But Jerry Lewis? Really? I don’t care. I’ll forget about it by dinner.

But demanding an apology from someone is to make a fool of oneself. “I know you hate me, but if you’ll say you’re sorry, I can delude myself into believing you actually feel bad about hating me.”

That’s crap. I get embarrassed when these groups demand public apologies, because they’re nothing more than forced contrition, which isn’t contrition at all, and that, to me, seems very childish. Jerry Lewis calls gays fags. Well, do something about it. Don’t just demand insincere apologies. That never did anyone any good. It just makes people think they can do whatever they want, then offer false remorse afterward, and all will be forgiven. It shouldn’t be so easy for them, and we shouldn’t accept fake acceptance.

However, let’s talk about the money;

How many of you actually think the money of the telethon actually goes for muscular dystrophy.

It really does show that the roots of homophobia are sexism: the social enforcement of norms around “what it means to be a man (which is superior)” and “what it means to be a woman.”

In one respect, it’s discouraging how we’re diminishing one prejudice while reinforcing the foundation prejudice. In another respect, maybe vanquishing the F word will force society into a more honest discussion about gender and sexism.

Bud Clark
San Diego CA USA