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02/12/2009
Oh what a 'Pyle' of sheep poop
Kansas state senator Dennis Pyle is the latest social conservative to invoke man-platypus sex in order to oppose LGBT nondiscrimination. Speaking today in opposition to a proposal that would add sexual orientation and gender identity to the state’s nondiscrimination statute, Pyle is quoted as saying the following:
Sen. Dennis Pyle, R-Hiawatha, said he was concerned the additional layer of legal language might encourage homosexuals to engage in sex with animals.
“Would that protect bestiality?” he asked.
[Topeka attorney Pedro Irigonegaray] said proposed amendments to the discrimination statute wouldn’t promote any type of criminal conduct. He said the suggestion that gays and lesbians were tied to bestiality was “unfounded” and “very hurtful.”
Critics slam Kansas anti-discrimination bill [C-J]
(H/t: Right Wing Watch)
Hurtful and unfounded, sure. But we would argue that the far-right's curious insistence on invoking sex with Curious George is also quite telling. It tells us that their flawed version of "love thy neighbor" has zero problem putting their gay neighbors' honeymoon bed just a hop, skip, and schtup away from the dog house. It tells us that they familiarize themselves with certain topics far more than we or our loved ones do, since bestiality is quite honestly something that never comes to mind for most anyone that we know. It tells us that they just don't realize or care how their recorded remarks are going to read in the course of history. And perhaps most importantly: It tells us that these folks are willing to go to any extreme to oppose our basic fairness.
But the beauty part? They are also telling the very large people in the movable middle, the ones who are still feeling out this whole gay rights situation. Call us optimistic if you must, but we strongly believe that the vast majority of these fence-sitters can quite ably see the disturbing illogic of putting gays in (or at least near) bed with horses. And we're quite confident that it will help next of them vote neigh nay the next time one of our rights-rollbacks is put to referendum.
**EARLIER: Animal instinct: The anti-gay obsession with bestiality [G-A-Y]
Your thoughts
I find the linking of homosexuality to bestiality and polygamy to be quite ridiculous.
From the bestiality angle it is as thought they're acknowledging that homosexual behavior is common among animals.
And guess what, we're animals too. So maybe that explains their viewpoint.
Polygamy on the other hand, I think they're just jealous. Most of those guys would love to have a harem that bides their wishes.
Posted by: Tony P | Feb 12, 2009 7:48:06 PM
I think it's important to understand just how dubious this connection between gay human beings and bestiality is. Comparing the loving relationship between two people to the taboo of a person exploiting an animal sexually is part of the dehumanization process. It is how they assert the inferiority of the gay community. The Holocaust of World War II and the Rwandan Genocide have both been cited as atrocities predicated upon government-organized campaigns of dehumanization, while crimes like lynching (especially in the United States) are often thought of as the result of popular bigotry and government apathy. The main cause behind the American mutilation of Japanese war dead has been stated to be dehumanization. When people become things, the logic follows, they become dispensable -and any atrocity can be justified.
It is part of their strategy to dehumanize us. Pat Robertson said that if he had a dog that did what gay people do, he would shoot it. A popular phrase of the KKK is "You can't blame a nigger for being a nigger, no more than you can blame a dog for being a dog." Old segregation signs would read, "No dogs, negroes, or Mexicans allowed." Jewish people were depicted as rats throughout Europe before WWII and Rwandan Tutsi's were called cockroaches.
Dehumanization is typical of those who would enact hate, discrimination and eventually violence. Comments like this one should never be allowed to pass as simple ignorance. They are dangerous.
Posted by: Tony in West Hollywood | Feb 12, 2009 9:07:27 PM
I think that this speaks to something much more innate in heterosexual relationships. I mean, really, where do you think all of those phrases like, "Why buy a cow, when you can get.." comes from?
Posted by: Dick Mills | Feb 13, 2009 1:54:58 AM
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