i can’t stand either of these men and they’re both coming to campus. bizarrely and tiresomely, both are jewish and both of the students quoted as bringing them — one ultra-left the other ultra-right — are jewish too, so the entire article centers around jewish infighting.
we’re not the only minority group clawing each others’ eyes out via the phoenix either. last week’s “coming out issue,” including an interview with a friend of mine, sparked a furious response among people in his community. even people i thought he was friends with hit the high-ground running. i’ve never even heard the word “integrationist” before: what does it even mean and why is it so bad? so what if some queer folks are also mainstream in other respects? i understand that for some, not making waves would be a denial of identity. but why should that be mandated for everyone?
moreover, i think, someone’s vision of “a straight couple and a queer couple sharing a white picket fence” isn’t meant to be taken literally. it’s a reference to MLK’s oft-quoted speech about little black children and little white children; it’s also a tongue-in-cheek reference to the “american dream”. what it means is that someone visualizes a state of normalcy between people of different orientations. i don’t think the person who voices that vision deserves being called “racist, classist, transphobic, and ablist, to name a few.” some people in the world are meant to be radicals, “anti-integrationists” and whatever other labels they choose. but to vilify others who don’t make that choice, especially in such a public space — and especially when you know from experience that the person in question is very much none of the above — , seems short-sighted, sanctimonious, and cruel.
so much drama on campus. tonite’s also the showing of bamboozled, advertised widely as the antidote to the dangerously naive action perpertrated by billy craig. he’s become the fall guy for the flaws in everyone’s racial consciousness. if i knew him personally, at this point i might feel sorry for him too. maybe i’m just growing conservative and soft in my old age.